Hunter Schafer is a force to be reckoned with. At just 23, she's modelled for the likes of Dior, Miu Miu, Prada and Marc Jacobs, and fought alongside the American Civil Liberties Union as the youngest plaintiff, to have North Carolina's transphobic “bathroom bill” repealed.
The trans actress and activist stars as Jules Vaughn in cult teen drama Euphoria (returning for season 2 this month), which follows a group of high-schoolers navigating addiction, sex, drugs, family dynamics and life. She even co-wrote one of the episodes, “F*ck Anyone Who's Not A Sea Blob” which explores the emotional backstory of her complicated character.
Unsurprisingly, Hunter has no problem with expressing herself – through her work, through her writing (she's also contributed to online teen magazine, Rookie) or through her appearance. Her unorthodox outfits and experimental beauty looks have made the red carpet a much more exciting place (see: last year's MET Gala look). Which is why it makes total sense that Shiseido jumped at the chance to on-board the actress as the brand's beauty ambassador.
We sat down with Hunter over Zoom to discuss her earliest adventures in beauty via a pre-school encounter with one very special lip gloss, her beauty regrets (there are no mistakes, only iconic moments) and the ways she ensures she makes time for self care.
An eye look is where I feel most comfortable experimenting, cause I feel like they're so expressive already. It's where expression belongs on the face. Creating shapes or designs around my eyes is one of my favorite things to do and makes me feel like I've done something to express myself. Even just creating a really yummy combination of colours with different eye shadows is cool. My makeup and hair is based around my mood. It really depends on the day.
Back in kindergarten we used to have this treasure box that someone got to pick something out of at the end of every week. When it was my turn, I found this little lip gloss ring in there and I wore it probably for like the rest of the school year. It had this glittery clear gloss in it that I would always put on. I didn't even know what it was at the time, but I thought it was really cute.
I went through a period where I had my brows bleached and perhaps I looked like Rufus the rat from Kim Possible. I guess I looked kind of crazy. Maybe it didn't work for my face? But there we go. At the same time, I still love a bleach brow and if it didn't feel like a mistake on the day then was it really?
Working with Shiseido has been really exciting because it's given me a chance to really nurture my relationship with makeup more purposefully. It's allowed me to build more of a routine. I feel like we have very similar philosophies around beauty and making sure that you feel like yourself when you're wearing makeup – and that you're not putting on another face or something. It’s more like an extension of you, which is always my goal and it's theirs, too. So we feel very hand in hand with that idea.
I'm a huge fan of Shiseido’s Essential Energy moisturizer. I use it first thing after I shower every night. It’s kept my skin in pretty wonderful shape, I love that stuff. I’ve also gotten really into sunscreen recently, which I was never a fan of before, despite knowing that it's a very important part of preserving the life of your skin and everything. I just didn't like the feeling of it on my face but I’ve found one I really like, which is the Shiseido Urban Environment sunscreen. It doesn't feel like sunscreen necessarily, or like you have something oily sitting on your face all day, but it’s protecting my skin from those scary UV Ray that could f*ck sh*t up, you know? So that's made it really easy and lovely to integrate into my routine.
Showers are an act of wellness for me. If I'm having a rough day and I feel like I need to reset, showers can change the course of my day. I don't care if I have to take five showers to get through the day. After a shower I get to start over and that’s a valuable way – at least for me – to make sure I'm feeling good about myself. I also try and keep this thing with me all the time. It's like a sketchbook and journal. I found it to be a really important routine for me to record my thoughts or draw. It’s a way for my brain to process everything that I've taken in during the day and let it out. That feels good.
The biggest piece of advice that people with good skin have told me is ‘wash your makeup off at the end of the day, cuz your skin will be mad at you if you don't,’ so I feel as though I should listen. But it’s still hard sometimes, especially depending on what kind of evening you've had!
Hunter Schafer, we adore you.
For more from GLAMOUR's Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk