It's hard to believe that just a few short years ago, Lili Reinhart wasn't yet a household name. Then, she landed the role as Betty Cooper on the CW's Riverdale [1] and everything changed. She's now a regular at the Met Gala, one half of the most talked about celebrity relationship (with her costar Cole Sprouse [2], no less), and starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the movie Hustlers [3]. Now, she's the face of CoverGirl's newest collection, Clean Fresh.
If her résumé weren't impressive enough, snagging the partnership with CoverGirl is telling of Reinhart's star status. Case in point: Drew Barrymore [4], Queen Latifah [5], and Issa Rae [6] have held the role as CoverGirl spokesperson before her. Needless to say, it's a huge deal for Reinhart — and she's downright excited about it.
We had a chance to catch up with Reinhart in December while she was on set for her first CoverGirl campaign to talk all about the new gig, her longtime love for makeup, and why her experience in Hustlers was so unique.
Lili Reinhart on Her Longtime Love For Makeup and YouTube Tutorials
Scroll down far enough on Reinhart's Instagram and you'll notice a lot of photos of the now-actress painted in SFX makeup or particularly polished Halloween looks. Turns out, she took up the skill when she was just 16.
"I started watching YouTube tutorials when I was young, which really sparked my interest in makeup. I moved to North Carolina from Ohio at 16 and I used beauty as a way of therapy. When I did my makeup, I was in my own little world," Reinhart told POPSUGAR. "I used it as something to dive into and take on as a hobby."
Eventually, Reinhart decided to level up her makeup skills by taking on SFX makeup after watching more tutorials and decided, I can do that! "I went to Spirit Halloween and slowly started building my collection with liquid latex and stuff like that," she recalled. "It was basically playing around and looking at the Halloween makeup tag on Instagram and seeing what I could replicate."
"I love the opportunity for expression. There's a huge freedom right now in makeup to really do whatever you want."
Reinhart's talent for makeup ran so deep she even considered it as a career after moving back to LA for the second time. "I told myself that I'd keep acting, but if I didn't book anything or things don't seem to work out for me, I'd go to makeup school,'" she recalled. Of course, acting did work out for her. Reinhart never went to makeup school, but she said she still enjoys doing her own: "I love the opportunity for expression. There's a huge freedom right now in makeup to really do whatever you want."
Lili Reinhart on Doing Her Own Makeup on Riverdale
Reinhart's love for doing her makeup hasn't faded since becoming a star. In fact, she began doing her own makeup on the third season of Riverdale [7]. "I found it very therapeutic to do in the morning," she explained. "There are a lot of trailer people everywhere and I found it easy to zone out [while doing my makeup]. I think putting a soft sponge to my face and putting foundation on became very soothing. I kind of found that therapy again in doing my makeup on set."
Lili Reinhart on Her Character's Makeup in Hustlers
After landing the role of Annabelle in Hustlers, Reinhart suspected she might want to do her own makeup for that role, too. "I got so used to doing my makeup for Riverdale [8] that it felt very strange to have someone else doing it for Hustlers," she explained. Of course, Reinhart had to run the idea by the movie's director Lorene Scafaria, who approved.
"The character I played in Hustlers wasn't having her makeup professionally done," Reinhart explained. "I think that's why I wanted to do it because she was doing her makeup herself." Now, Reinhart said doing her own makeup for a character helps her get into the role. "It adds a sense of reality to the character and their situation. It's sort of become a part of my process."
Lili Reinhart on Her Clean Fresh Philosophy
Of course, Reinhart isn't partnering with CoverGirl for just any campaign; she's the face of the new Clean Fresh collection. The line is a four-product range of sheer coverage vegan products, including Clean Fresh Skin Milks [9] (nourishing lightweight foundations), Clean Fresh Cream Blushes [10] (a personal favourite of Reinhart's), Clean Fresh Cooling Glow Sticks [11] (stick highlighters that are cool to the touch), and Clean Fresh Lip Oils [12].
It might be surprising to see someone who loves intense makeup looks partnering with such a chill and low-key beauty collection. But for Reinhart, it's a perfect fit. "Clean Fresh is so representative of me and my makeup philosophy," she explained. "I think clean and dewy skin is important, it can be the foundation of your whole look. The line emphasises that: beautiful and glowing skin." But it gets even more personal than that for the actress. "My personal philosophy is very simple. I'm not vegan, but my skin is very sensitive and I try to keep my products as clean as possible. To represent a brand that honours that and wants to show off your skin makes sense for me."
