Madelaine Petsch Interview
The Gross, Guilty Pleasure Madelaine Petsch Shares With Millions Of People
As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work.
Madelaine Petsch knows damn well how to make being bad look good. Just take her character Cheryl Blossom on the CW's Riverdale, who can only be described in five words: wicked in the best way (with a red lip that could make even the Ghoulies swoon. Fine, 16 words). But she wants to make one thing clear, and it's that she is not who she plays on TV.
"A lot of fans ask me if Vanessa [Morgan, who plays Toni] and I are dating in real life, which is funny to me because she's my best friend in the whole entire world," the actress and Bioré brand ambassador told POPSUGAR. "It is strange having people ship you and your best friend, and that is exactly why I started my YouTube channel forever ago — to separate Madelaine from Cheryl."
On her channel, and in real life, Petsch is actually the opposite of bad — save for a few guilty pleasures. She maintains her skincare routine, practices some self-care every day, and listens to her mother. Still, you're going to want to read her juicy (and we do mean juicy) beauty secrets, ahead.
The Real Reason She Will Never Dye Her Hair
Almost as synonymous with Cheryl Blossom's red lipstick is her matching hair colour — which is 100 percent unaltered (and not changing any time soon).
"My hair's naturally red and if I ever dyed it, I think my mom would disown me," she said, laughing. "So I don't ever think about dyeing my hair. However, cutting my hair is an interesting thing because my hair grows incredibly fast. We cut it shorter at the beginning of this season [of Riverdale] but I kind of miss not having a lot of hair to touch. I think I'm ready to grow it out long again."
Her Guilty Beauty Pleasure
The infatuation doesn't end there, either: "I'm so obsessed with pimples, it's gross," Petsch said, adding that she's also been known to watch some blackhead extraction videos. (Dr. Pimple Popper, you hear that?) "But then after 10 or 15 [clips], just scrolling through Instagram, I get a little sick and have to turn it off."
A Note About Cheryl Blossom's Red Lips. . .
No, she won't tell you what red lipstick she wears on Riverdale ("I will absolutely never divulge that," Petsch said) she did say she applies it herself for the show. A tip she learned along the way? "I always conceal around my lips afterward because that gives it that crisp line — I learned that from my makeup artist [Erin Mackenzie]."
How Her Skin Routine Differs From Lili Reinhart's
Working with a group of young, talented actors seems like a prime opportunity for beauty tip swaps — and it is, to a point. "Lili [Reinhart] is really good with skin care and makeup, but we all have picked up some beauty tips from each other after being on the show for three years," she said. "We all know our own skin so well now, and so whatever works for Lili might not work for me because we have completely different skin types. I'm an oily gal; she's not."
For example, Petsch swears by Bioré's Witch Hazel Pore Clarifying Toner ($7), whereas Reinhart has admitted she loves Dermalogica's Clear Start line. "The things that work for her aren't going to work for me, and that's all right." As they say: to each their own.
