“I haven’t always been a skincare girl,” confesses actress Camila Mendes. “I never wore that much makeup.” But now that 15-hour, foundation-filled days are a part of her regular routine as one of the stars on The CW’s hit show, Riverdale, taking care of her complexion is key.
First, Mendes gives her skin a thorough cleanse and a swift pat with some pH-balancing toner. “This brand was introduced to me by Prabal Gurung, who took me to the Met last year,” she says of her favorite Whal Myung hydrating serum. Gurung isn’t the only one who’s imparted wisdom on the brunette beauty: “Lili [Reinhart] my co-star teaches me a lot,” Mendes says. “She’s like an expert, so I definitely go to her a lot for advice.”
To banish any signs of puffiness, the actress massages her face with a roller and swipes on a light moisturizer and primer—“it helps the makeup stick.” After a dab of foundation, Mendes applies concealer with her own special trick: “For the eyes, I blend in immediately and then when I go to cover blemishes, I kind of let the product dry first or set, so when I do go to blend, it is a little thicker.”
Next up, a multi-use blush stick gets dabbed on eyelids and cheeks for a subtle flush. “I definitely don’t like to see where the makeup stops and the hairline begins,” she explains while patting the creamy formula into those face-framing hairs. Brows are brushed up and filled in with a light-brown pencil and to fake a recent grooming appointment, Mendes draws on a light highlighter above and beneath the arch for definition.
“It’s like eyeliner but I don’t want it to look like eyeliner,” she explains while adding a thin row of brown shadow to her bottom lashline. Mendes also applies the same “less is more” strategy to her mascara, painting on a few light strokes of the lengthening formula to her top and bottom lashes.
Finally, the time has come to blend in those previously concealed spots and ensure any redness is gone. As for the raised visitor on her forehead, Mendes also takes a tiny speck of translucent powder to hide its shape. “See that?” she says, and the blemish does seem to disappear. Lips get a wash of light pink lipstick, applied with a fingertip so the hue appears natural. For the last step, it’s a quick mist of Tatcha’s facial spray followed by Mendes’s signature Marc Jacobs scent. “I’ve literally been using it since high school,” she says. It’s all about playing to your well-honed strengths.
Camila Mendes in Araks top.
Director: Amanda Brooks
Filmed at The Shangri-La Hotel
Originally Appeared on Vogue
