Beauty Detail
Hunter Schafer Literally Washes Away Her Workday
The Euphoria alum talks fresh skin, thin brows, and her nightly ritual of “shedding” her roles.
In Bustle’s Beauty Detail, we dive into the beauty bags of our favorite celebrities and talent for intel on the rituals that keep them glowing. Here, Hunter Schafer shares the one beauty trend she can always get behind, the nighttime routine that helps her separate herself from her characters, and the exact products behind it all.
Long before Euphoria came along, Hunter Schafer was experimenting with eyeliner. “It was the big YouTube boom,” she says, laughing. “In high school, I used to do a little cat-eye wing almost every single day.”
When she landed the role of Jules, those makeup skills came in handy. Throughout Season 1, she worked closely with the show’s makeup team to establish the artistic, graphic looks that defined her character’s immediately recognizable visual identity — an aesthetic that wasn’t too far off from her own. “Sam [Levinson] sort of built a lot of the characters around the actors,” Schafer says, noting that the bulk of her personal collection at the time was just colorful liner.
But as Jules evolved over the seasons, Schafer’s real-life beauty routine went in a different direction as well, trading rainbow glitter for effortless, understated glam. “I feel more of a distance between me and her,” she says of the character. Today, the actor’s focus is fresh skin and sheer washes of color, much like the look she showcased at this year’s Met Gala.
What has stayed the same, though, is her philosophy behind it all. “My general rule for makeup is, if it makes someone feel true to themselves, I’m living for it,” Schafer says. That mindset leaves little room to chase fleeting trends, which she calls “fraught and hollow” — moving so fast that she’d prefer not to keep up with them. The one exception? Thin brows, even though she’s temporarily pausing the look at the moment: “I’m growing them because I’m about to do a period piece that takes place in, like, the 1300s, where people didn’t pluck their brows at all.”
Beauty, for Schafer, is as much about the process itself as the finished look. “I really like the ritualistic elements of it all,” she says. “It’s this practice of assembling yourself, yielding this divine femininity outwards.” As the global face of Mugler’s Angel fragrance line, she sees perfume as the final layer to that “presentation,” completing the ritual of getting dressed, doing her hair, and putting on makeup. “It’s a really beautiful and visceral addition to the whole process because it activates another sense apart from sight.”
Her beauty routine is also a firm psychological boundary. She ends every day with a shower — or, if she’s lucky, a dip in the ocean — to physically wash away her onscreen identities. “It’s a shedding of whatever you were before and entering something new,” Schafer says. “Some actors want to bring the character home with them and sit with it, but I found that it’s really important to come home from work and be myself again.”
Ahead, the actor shares the five holy-grail items that help her put herself together — and take it all back off again.
Her Date-Night Fragrance
“I’ve been loving the Angel fragrance for years now, but I’m particularly excited about this one. As a single girl who goes on dates every once in a while, it’s really perfect for that. The almond milk accord, musk, and sandalwood make it sweet but sensual.”
Her Skin Care Splurge
“I was a little suspicious of red light therapy at first, but I did an intense session earlier this year and felt like I actually saw a difference. That sold me on it, so I ended up getting my own mask. It’s kind of fancy — and expensive — but worth it.”
Her Must-Have Moisturizer
“Another notoriously pricey product I love is the Augustinus Bader Rich Cream, which I use to moisturize at the beginning and end of the day.”
Her Everyday Essential
“I look at my brows every day in the mirror and make sure that they’re still maintaining the shape that I like. I’m an ADHD girlie and lose things quite often, so I’ve gone through my fair share of tweezers over the years.”
Her Makeup MVP
“I remember discovering mascara when I was in middle school and becoming obsessed with it. It’s still one of the few makeup products that feels essential when I’m getting ready for dinner or a night out. I like formulas that coat each individual lash instead of creating chunks. Lately I’ve been reaching for Tarte’s brown tubing mascara.”
