Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.
Up next, we’re getting to know actress and model Ava Phillippe, who was recently selected as the face and global brand ambassador for Vince Camuto Fragrances. Below, she’s answering all of our rapid-fire questions and sharing her go-to makeup and haircare products, her favorite fragrance memories, the best beauty advice she’s ever received, and more. Enjoy!
If you had to leave the house in five minutes, what are a few beauty products you’d either apply or bring with you?
Okay, I like to touch on an eye look, a lip look, and then something for the face. I have some natural rosiness going on in my face, so I’d say concealer for any blemishes, then mascara, and a good lip liner because I feel like it’s very versatile. Sometimes you can put it on your cheek, too.
Any specific recommendations?
Ooh, I’ve been loving the Urban Decay lip pencils. They’re really great. And then just any good concealer—when you find one that blends right and matches your skin tone, that’s a huge thing. I get it wrong all the time.
Same! I’m the worst at shade matching.
It’s so hard! Because I paint, I feel like I can see the different tones, but something about doing it on yourself just complicates things.
And mascara—do you have a favorite?
I really like the Diorshow [mascara]. The Diorshow collection is great.
In terms of lip liner, are you more of a rosy-pink girl, or do you go for a mauve-brown?
I definitely like to stay on the cooler side for a lip liner. I like a mauve or a rosy taupe color, something really wearable.
Moving on to fragrance, what is your first fragrance memory?
Oh my gosh, I feel like my mom always smells like gardenias, so I think of her anytime I smell them. I remember we used to have them in my childhood garden growing up. She would pick them and put them in a little bowl floating in water. That’s a really pleasant scent memory. Other than that, I remember getting into essential oils as kind of a gateway to perfume because, you know, little girls don’t need to be spending all their money on perfume. [I loved scents] like lemongrass, and I really love a vanilla scent. So that was probably where I started.
I love that. What’s the first fragrance you ever bought yourself, and why did you pick it?
The first fragrance I was ever gifted was a Taylor Swift something. I remember she had this purple bottle that I just thought was the greatest thing.
Celebrity fragrances were just such a moment.
Now I get to be on the other side of it a little bit, which is really cool.
Tell me about that!
It’s great. I couldn’t have a better team to work with, and all the imagery and messaging behind this campaign—especially for the Wonderbloom fragrances and Wonderbloom Haze—is very positive, dreamy, and embraces individuality and femininity but without being too cheesy.
[Wonderbloom Haze] has a very nice amber, gourmand-y scent to it, but it’s also very floral, so it’s kind of the best of both worlds.
Okay, we kind of touched on this, but how do you approach fragrance now? What do you look for in a scent, and are you someone who switches it up based on your mood or the season?
I do. Certain scents communicate certain vibes, so if I’m going out, I’d pick something more warm and gourmand, like the Haze. But for the daytime, I want to keep it light and fresh. A sunny day just reminds me of a very light floral, and our other Wonderbloom is great for that. When it becomes springtime, I want to smell spring. I want to smell flowers. [Wonderbloom] is perfect for that. And then in the fall I want, like, pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon. [Fragrance] kind of marks the passage of time.
Totally. Do you still gravitate toward gardenia?
I do. Gardenia will always remind me of my mom, so of course I want it in my home. I love candles too, so that’s a huge part of the fragrance journey.
Okay, now I have to ask, which candle do you love right now?
I’ve been loving the candle brand Nette. I think they have a really great layered variety of scents to each of their candles.
Moving on to hair, you’re kind of a color chameleon. What has been your favorite look to experiment with?
I mean, I’ll always have a fond space in my heart for pink hair. I just think it’s so fun. It’s the wild, carefree California girl in me, but I’m really loving the brunette. It seems like it’s been the biggest change. A lot of people from my childhood seem to remeet me when they see me for the first time with it, which is really funny. Actually, my best friend and I were going out for drinks the other night, and she couldn’t find me in the bar. She was staring right at me.
But I’m really loving it. I feel like it’s where I’m at in life right now.
It suits you! Do you think you’ll try any new trends this spring and summer, or will you keep the brunette for a while?
I feel like I’m gonna keep the brunette for a second and just live the fantasy of it, the other side. I’ve been really loving curly hair, so I’ve been thinking, “Oh, what could I do to make it more of a thing?” I’m also tiptoeing toward extensions, but I’m trying not to because I’m scared it’ll damage my hair. But we’ll see. Maybe I’ll just end up with mermaid hair.
Do you have a go-to product lineup for your hair?
For my hair, I feel like the biggest thing is heat protectant. I use the one from Virtue, which is really great. I like curly hair, and I don’t actually have that, so I don’t want to burn all the hair I do have. I also love a gloss. That’s been my new thing. The gloss is a fix-all for so many different little hair issues like frizz, color…
Especially for brunettes, it just makes the hair look so liquid.
And dimensional, yeah. That’s a huge thing I’m learning.
Do you have a favorite?
I use the one by DPHue. It has a little touch of color.
I love that one. So I feel like your approach to beauty is just so fun. Like, you’re not afraid to experiment, and you’re kind of known for being a little carefree, and you don’t take yourself too seriously, which I love. Is there a current beauty trend—whether it’s skin, hair, or makeup—that you’re excited to try out?
One product that I feel like is becoming huge is lip stains—like the peel-off ones. I’ve been really loving that. I’ve already tried it, but it’s a new favorite of mine because it just stays all day, and you don’t have to worry about it. I also think eyebrows are a huge part of the face. I’ve never really done too much to my eyebrows, but I was recently with a makeup artist who taught me the ways. Now, I’ll kind of do a little bit here and there, and it really does change your whole face.
Which brow products are you loving?
I love a brow pencil, something really light, or sometimes I use eye shadow. I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pencil, and that looks really good. But otherwise, I love a little eyebrow razor for the tails, because that’s a very lifting thing you can do for your face.
I’m really impressed, because I’m scared to do that on myself.
I’m scared to use the tweezers because I don’t think they’ll grow back! I don’t want to brave that storm.
As for the peel-off lip stain, there are a few that are viral on TikTok. Which one do you use?
The one that Billie Eilish [made] viral everywhere. The Sacheu. That one’s lovely, and I use P-inked and Muah-ve. Those are the two I’ve tried, but I’m excited to try more.
I’m excited to try that one. It’s currently in the mail.
And they’re a really good price! I was like, oh, I can get, like, 12 of these.
Kind of on the flip side, is there a beauty tip you think is overrated?
Honestly, the thing that I think is overrated when it comes to beauty tips or beauty trends is telling people what to do or that they’re doing too much. The whole blush blindness thing that was going on, or eyebrow blindness… I mean, you’ve got to find your own way with it and let people have their journeys. Also, beauty is very subjective. We don’t need to be policing each other. There’s enough of that out there in the world.
As someone with blush blindness, I appreciate that.
I love blush! It brings life to the face. I had a huge highlighter phase that I think of when I think of blindness. When I was a teenager, there was a huge highlighter trend going around. I look at the photos, and I don’t like what I was doing there. It was a little too much. I looked like a highlighter myself, glowing, but you know, you gotta live and learn. That’s okay.
She was dewy!
She was so dewy and so shiny, too much so. Whatever! You’ve gotta learn.
Is there a blush that you love right now?
I love the Pat McGrath blushes, but Dior makes a really good one with shimmer in it. So it’s kind of a highlighter-blush.
I love that one too. What’s the best beauty tip someone in your life has taught you?
I’ll give you one practical one [and] one more of a whimsy metaphor. I’d say [for] practical, don’t touch the eyebrows with the tweezers. That’s always a good one. If you have to pick between foundation shades, go with one darker rather than one lighter. I’ve also made that mistake. Looked like a vampire.
Then I’d say the biggest one that the women in my family repeat over and over again is “Pretty is as pretty does.” So the way you treat others is the most beautiful thing about yourself.
The foundation tip—was that from a makeup artist?
Yes, it was, and I don’t know who I heard it from. I think it was Molly Stern, so I’ll give her that one. It’s a good tip, especially for fair girls. You can always kind of blend [foundation] if it’s a little darker, but if it’s too light, you look a little crazy sometimes.
Okay, last question: What is your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or fewer?
You’re only as beautiful as you treat others—and yourself.
Shop Ava Phillippe’s Unfiltered Beauty Edit
Vince Camuto
Wonderbloom Haze Eau de Parfum
Vince Camuto
Wonderbloom Eau de Parfum
Urban Decay
24/7 Glide-On Waterproof Lip Liner in Peyote
DIOR
Diorshow 24H Buildable Volume Mascara
NETTE
Pearl Dust Scented Candle
dpHUE
Gloss+ in Cool Medium Brown
Virtue
Frizz Block Humidity Proof Smoothing Spray
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Brow Definer 3-in-1 Triangle Tip Easy Precision Eyebrow Pencil
SACHEU
Peel Off Lip Liner Stay-N in P-Inked
PAT McGRATH LABS
Skin Fetish: Divine Powder Blush
