Barbie Ferreira Talks Acne on Euphoria: Beauty Interview
Barbie Ferreira on Having Her Acne Accentuated on Euphoria: "It Was Grounded in Reality"
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In an admission that's about as surprising as Euphoria's much-anticipated return to HBO: "I used to be bit of a maximalist with my beauty routine," Barbie Ferreira confessed with a laugh. "I was very extravagant. I wore a blue smoky eye with winged eyeliner and fake lashes all through ninth grade."
Revelatory? No. But unlike her character Kat Hernandez on the show, Ferreira's approach to makeup has since evolved. (We forgot to ask where she's shifted in terms of lace-up bustiers and fishnet tights, but that's a story for another time.)
"I love makeup, don't get me wrong, but as I started working more as a model and getting older and having less time for things, I've realised that keeping it simple but adding a cool twist to whatever glam look you're doing works wonders," said the actor and newly minted Becca Cosmetics brand ambassador. "Rather than putting so much stuff on my face, it's more about keeping it natural or simple with little flares."
Regardless of beauty preferences or approach, one thing about Ferreira is palpable: there's a self-assured confidence that runs through her blood. To hear how she manifests that air in everything she does — plus her aim to change the beauty industry, what you can expect from the makeup in season two of Euphoria, and more — take a life-affirming pause from your Instagram feed, ahead.
Barbie Ferreira's Advice to Sustain Self-Confidence
Unfortunately, there's no roadmap to self-love, no Complete Guide to Barbie Ferreira's Special Brand of Confidence — although, could you imagine the impact!? — but there is a good rule of thumb that help can help you manifest your own: keeping that message of positivity close to you at all times.
"Surround yourself with positivity, create a space of safety and acceptance, and own your light."
"Make sure that you are surrounding yourself with people who you can relate to," she said. "Not on Instagram or in ads or whatever it is that makes you feel bad about yourself. If you're following someone on social media that makes you feel bad about yourself, unfollow them. Be sure that the things around you make you feel good, surround yourself with positivity, create a space of safety and acceptance, and own your light in that way. That's a big step."
At the end of the day, Ferreira says, it's not what you wear — it's how you wear it. "I play with my looks a lot, and whatever I'm feeling that day I'm serving. So whether it be a really outrageous outfit or putting on some fun eyeliner that makes me feel really cool, that's what makes me feel alive in a way. It's about finding what you want that day and embracing it — and feeling yourself in whatever mood you're in."
Barbie Ferreira's Euphoric Makeup Moment on Euphoria
Unlike her high-key to low-key evolution with makeup IRL, Ferreira's character Kat Hernandez experienced quite the opposite. "On the show, I actually had to wait a long time before I even got a makeup look," she explained. "In the first two episodes, it was really just Kat feeling insecure and not exploring her glam or sexuality. After that, I had a day where I was like, 'Hell yeah, I get to look cute today.' I finally got to wear glam makeup after that."
And wear makeup did she ever: from blood red lipstick lined in black to a cat eye so sharp it could cut a b*tch, Ferreira's looks were bold and unapologetic by design — and ones she's aimed to re-create herself at home, too. "In the finale episode, I had this cool coloured eyeliner look that I had been talking about [with the show's makeup artists] for a long time," she said. "I would send them videos of the kinds of eyeliners and cat-eye shapes that I liked, because there are so many shapes of a cat eye you can do. Then we settled on this neon pink colour that just gives it this perfect shape. It's my favourite look we did. I still have not achieved a better winged eyeliner since."
On Producers Wanting to Show Acne on Euphoria
One of the strongest draws to Euphoria is that it sheds light on the real, sometimes hard-to-discuss aspects of being in high school — acne included.
"For the first few episodes, I was breaking out — I usually break out on my cheek in a very specific area — but nobody did anything specifically to get rid of pimples," Ferreira said. "We were like, 'We're playing teenagers, teenagers break out, what's the big deal?'"
Sometimes, the show's makeup artists Doniella Davy and Kirsten Coleman even accentuated her spots. "They would actually add red to it to make it more textured because they wanted to really show it. For three episodes, I had my temples accentuated, with a little more red gooeyness to it, you know? "We wanted it to be realistic even within this unrealistic space of a really cool teen fiction show. It was all grounded in so much reality." (If you didn't notice the blemishes, though, that's cool too — "it's probably just because the lighting is very moody," she laughed.)
Why She's Excited to Be in the Beauty Space
Ferreira's partnership with Becca marks a first for both parties, but for her, the opportunity to be involved in the beauty industry has been a long time coming — and at a time when it's more important than ever.
"People want to see themselves reflected, or people that they can relate to reflected, in campaigns for the products they want to buy."
"My problem with the makeup industry came when I was modelling," she said. "I started realising that even within spaces that are not clothing-based, it's not inclusive. I don't necessarily fit into the box of what people think is the face of a beauty brand, and I would never see bigger girls or girls with different skin colours in a campaign. It was always the same fantasy that people were selling — it was a lot of 'put the skinny white girl in makeup.' That's what turned me off from a lot of the marketing of beauty brands, but it's lame and nobody wants to see that anymore. People want to see themselves reflected, or people that they can relate to reflected, in campaigns for the products they want to buy, and I've always wanted to work with a beauty brand that includes gorgeous people wearing the makeup."
Shown here: Becca Cosmetics Light Shifter Brightening Concealer (£21)
Barbie Ferreira's Approach to Skin Care
"For me, my skincare routine has evolved just as much as my makeup," Ferreira said. "I used to put on thick oils on my face, like rosehip oil or vitamin E oil, and lather it on my skin, and I was breaking out a lot. I learned that my skin just doesn't take that. Now, I keep it really simple."
What that looks like is exactly how it sounds: she cleanses with a milky face wash, she tones, and then she moisturises. "I like to use hydrating masks every so often, and sometimes do a yoghurt mask or a yeast mask. It's really good for my skin. I don't like to buy skincare products from big stores because I find that a lot of them tend to have fragrances in it, or can have these chemicals that I'm really sensitive to. Most of the big, major skincare brands that people live by, if I put it on my face it will break me out or give me dermatitis."
What You Can Expect From the Makeup in Euphoria Season 2
It goes without saying that the beauty looks on Euphoria changed the game, and Ferreira says you can expect a little more of that — though to what degree, she's unsure.
"We're going to continue pushing the envelope with makeup, and continue putting wild or out-there ideas into play, but I have no idea how it's going to unravel," Ferreira said. Like they say in showbiz (or life, or something): guess you're going to have to just wait to find out.
