The actor shares her beauty essentials, thoughts on social media trends, and the women she loves for Glamour's Big Beauty Questions.
Hunter Schafer Likes Her Makeup to be a Mini Painting
Hunter Schafer wants you to know she's not her Euphoria character, Jules Vaughn. However, I can't help but notice some overlap—perhaps because Schafer co-wrote the most recent (and her most personal) episode of the show. Both she and Jules have almost an etherial quality and a playful, bubbly way of talking, but they also drop gems of wisdom well beyond their years. Oh, and neither is afraid of an out-of-the-box makeup look.
For the majority of the series, Jules's makeup is soft and painterly, while Schafer's is more on the edgy side—graphic liner, studded accents, and tiny face tattoos are normal fare for her. But both she and Jules use makeup as a means of self expression. This makes Schafer the perfect ambassador for Shiseido, who she's been working with over the past year.
“It's sort of reignited the love that I've had for makeup and for generally just being playful with presentation,” she says of the partnership. “I think that aligns with the way Shiseido moves creatively with the looks they produce, and the kind of creativity they encourage from people who use their products, which just feels very aligned with how I like to navigate makeup as well.”
Keeping that creative spirit in mind, we caught up with Schafer for a round of Glamour's Big Beauty Questions. Read on for the products she can't live without, some tea on the Euphoria makeup trailer, and the women she looks up to.
Glamour: What's one beauty trend that you're obsessed with right now?
Hunter Schafer: I don't know it's a trend yet, maybe it is, but my lovely makeup artist Sandy Ganzer did this fun gradient of Earth-toned pearls down my face, connecting with my brow. And I'm really vibing with that today. So if it's not a trend yet, let's set it off.
I have to ask, what's been your favorite makeup look you've worn on Euphoria so far?
I feel like I've given several different answers to this since the show came out because my favorite changes all the time. Right now, it's the club look in episode seven on Jules. I really loved that look because there's something really minimal and artistic and sort of abstract about it. It's also kind of emotional, and adaptable with the kind of emotions that she moves through that sequence. She has these these two darker small beads attached on either side of her eyes, and then this small, angular line on her lid that we had to redo like five times to make sure it was the right angle. We wanted her to look like fierce, but not too angry. And then she had a blacklight mascara on, which was really cool; when she ends up crying it moves down her face in a really beautiful way. I really loved what happened with that look.
Do you have any input when it comes to the makeup on the show?
100%. I would say nearly every aspect of Euphoria is pretty dang collaborative. But particularly with Donni [Davy, the show's makeup artist] it feels like every time we establish a new look it's a little mini adventure in the makeup trailer. Particularly with Jules, I think we both feel we get to do her looks with a level of experimentation that's really fun. It feels painterly a lot of the time, which is my vibe for sure.
If you could change on thing about beauty perceptions in Hollywood or on social media, what would you change?
Something that scares me a little bit about social media: It's like a new wave of mainstream culture, but it still feels a bit like a guinea pig project in that we don't really know how it's effecting us in the masses. Especially younger people, and how fast trends move. The more optimistic side thinks, well, these trends are moving so fast now, it's almost like trends don't exist anymore and everyone's just doing their own thing. So then it just really feels like a giant space of experimenting, which I'm definitely here for. But on another side of the internet, I think there's also still a pressure—that has been around since freaking forever—to look a certain way. A certain standard of beauty, which has evolved over the years and morphed into different things depending on who's the most like influential beauty icon at the time. It scares me because sometimes I do feel like masses of people begin to strive to look like one singular person, which I don't find to be a healthy movement.
You can only use three beauty products for the rest of your life, what are they and why?
I think the three would come down to: Eyebrow gel because I have relatively thick eyebrows, and I've gotten accustomed to doing them again after getting to take more control of my makeup after leaving modeling work. I've been really getting back into makeup, and that's something that's felt really good, and I like doing my brows and making them clean.
Number two would 100% be the Shiseido Essential Energy Moisturizing Cream. I live by that cream; it's literally the first thing I put on after I shower. I also sometimes put it on other parts of my body; I don't know if that's bad, but I find it to be a very nourishing and light formula—I'll put it on my neck and chest, places that I just want to make sure feel extra attention. It makes my skin feel very happy.
For the last one, I've been really excited about the new POP PowderGel Eyeshadow (available July 1). Once again, I'm getting back into makeup so I've been having a lot of fun with color. And while I'm not Jules, I do take a similar approach to makeup. I love playing with it. Those feel like a wonderful palette play with, as far as colors go, and how rich they are. They're so easy to apply and mix together, and create little mini paintings on your face. That's how I like to think of it.
Shiseido Essential Energy Moisturizing Cream
$48Shiseido
Shiseido POP PowderGel Eyeshadow
$22ShiseidoWho are the women who are inspiring you the most right now?
I love women and femmes so much. I would say first and foremost, my friends and chosen family and loved ones. The people that I see every single day and share and hold emotional space with, and make things with, those people inspire me deeply. As far as a fan level goes—people I don't get to interact with as much but admire to the end of the earth—I always say Arca. I love that bitch, she's crazy! I think she's incredible, and a genius on so many different artistic levels.
I love Juliana Huxtable and Gogo Graham—I've been looking at her collections, I'm trying to get some pieces soon. As someone who would like to get back into design one day, she is a constant inspiration of mine. And I just hung a painting up by this wonderful artist, Gwendolyn; her work has really been inspiring me as well.
Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Condé Nast
