Hunter Schafer Likes Her Fragrance as Complex as She Is

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The actor on femininity, glitter, and her go-to outfit formula.

<p>Harley Weir for Mugler</p>

Harley Weir for Mugler

Our series The One Thing is a Sparknotes version of the products, rituals, and moments your favorite celebrities and influencers swear by—their go-tos, must-haves, and can’t-live-withouts. So go ahead—take a brief, intimate peek into the lives of your favorites through the things (and people, and moments) they hold dear.

Like any true fragrance lover, Hunter Schafer knows the real power of perfume goes much deeper than simply smelling like a bouquet. The right scent can help evoke long-lost memories, allow you to try on a new personality for the day, or, in Schafer's case, allow you to reflect on your own identity.

The model, artist, and breakout star of Euphoria is the new face of Mugler's latest fragrance, Angel Elixir, an evolution of the iconic, sexy sugar-bomb scent we all know and love. Schafer has a long relationship with the fashion house—she tells me that YouTube videos of Thierry Mugler's runway shows helped get her into fashion. She's also walked the current creative director Casey Cadwallader's shows. But when it comes to scent, she's still new to getting into fragrance.

"It feels like something that I get to experiment with, as a grown-up, and I can grow into," Schafer tells Byrdie. "I think it really complements my relationship to femininity, which I'm thinking a lot about all the time, even as far as my work goes and what I make art about. But just I feel like the essence of the scent compliments [that] complexity," she says of the notes. Angel ranges from "masculine" wood to sweet vanilla and bright white florals, ending with "spicy metallic notes," according to the actress. "It has all these contrasts that make one unified, gorgeous thing. And that's kind of like how I like to approach style, my work, everything, so it feels like very in line with who I am."

Ahead, Hunter Schafer's signature beauty look, the self-care practices she relies on.

The One Thing She'll Always Remember About Shooting the Campaign

"It was a big production. I'd have to say I always love when I get the chance to kind of be more active when filming or doing stunt work. And this had a lot of that in it—I'd never done trapeze or anything of that sort before. But when we filmed this, they installed this trapeze arrangement inside of the soundstage. We were shooting, and they were flying me around 20 feet up in the air, and I got to do flips and stuff while wearing body suits. It's just very cool. I felt very safe the whole time. Actually, I was more excited [than scared]."

The One Thing That Smells Like Home

"One of the meals that my mom was had in rotation since I was a kid. Something like that. Or maybe the trees in North Carolina. I think the nature [there] has a very specific scent."

<p>Harley Weir for Mugler</p>

Harley Weir for Mugler

The One Beauty Tip She Learned on the 'Euphoria' Set

"Before Euphoria, I really wasn't wearing makeup very often because I was just coming out of modeling, and you're never supposed to wear your own makeup. So it gave me familiarity with it again to just scribble something on my face when I was going out in LA while we were filming. I think it just reminded me how to have fun with beauty."

The One Makeup Look She Can Always Count On

"When I do my own makeup, I take a little bit of... like a finger swipe of sparkles. [I] do that across my eyes. And that always makes me feel like, okay, I did this. You know?"

The Last Thing She Bought and Loved

"I went vintage shopping in LA on my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I got some really special... I got a Mugler peice! It was this chartreuse shoulder-less sweater with these chartreuse matching feathers that came around the whole thing. It's really awesome. I haven't worn it yet, but I'm going to."

The One Outfit Formula That Makes Her Feel Herself

"I feel like silhouette is like really important to me. And I think I have a pretty established favorite silhouette, which is just doing something kind of more top-heavy, then letting my legs just be my legs, maybe with like a boot or something, or a heel. But I like that silhouette of like a top-heavy moment and then just long legs underneath."

The Routines That Keep Her Grounded

"It's hard to stay consistent, but I did just start working out again. Everyone says it, and I always rolled my eyes at it before I started doing it, but it does a lot—a lot. Coffee is a ritual, which is very nice, and can be meditative. My therapist always tells me to enjoy my coffee. To think about every sip, and I try to practice that."

The One Creative Inspiring Her Right Now

"There's this painter, Shelley Uckotter, that I'm really obsessed with right now. She does these portraits of trans women that I think are just stunning. I really want one of her pieces."

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