Beauty

tavi gevinson on what makes people beautiful

inside and out

Tavi steps out as Clinique's ambassador for their legendary three-step skin-care system. Here, Gevinson drops wisdom on what makes someone beautiful, inside and out.

So, how did this happen?!

Clinique approached me, and it felt really right because I was already using their products—I’ve been using the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion on a daily basis since high school. I like being part of a campaign that talks about skin care and beauty in the same way that I feel like they are parts in my own life. There are things that I do to feel comfortable, to feel confident, sometimes to get creative with, but also just to take care of myself.

Will you tell me more about the Face Forward Campaign and why you were so attracted to it?

It’s about how these kinds of things you do for yourself can help you feel like you can look ahead and accomplish things, and that’s always the role that beauty and fashion have played in my life. It’s just a matter of eliminating your self-doubt. I like how the other women, Hannah Bronfman and Margaret Zhang, selected for it are also people who do a lot of different things. 

What’s your current skin-care routine? 

I use the three-step system in the morning, and then at night I use the Take the Day Off Makeup Remover to get everything off. In the shower I use the Liquid Facial Soap, and then when I get out I use the Clarifying Lotion toner and then the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I love how their foundation fits over the lotion really seamlessly, and then I also like the Chubby Stick because I get a bit of color, but it’s not something I’m worried about throughout the day. I usually keep it pretty simple, so then really the only other thing I do is mascara or sometimes I sharpen my brow. 

Do you have a favorite color of the Chubby Stick? 

I have this pink one called Coming Up Rosy that I brought when I went to L.A. when it was really cold there, and I was just like, “It’s summer for me! Look at my pink lips!” It’s the kind of color you just want to eat.

So what else are you working on now? I know you’re coming up with Rookie Yearbook Four, which is so exciting! 

Yeah! So along with my day-to-day Rookie responsibilities, I’ve been working on the book and it is really exciting. It’s the last yearbook that we are doing, because there’s one for every year of high school. That comes out in October. Right now we are in the process of designing and laying it all out and commissioning illustrations, and then doing my favorite thing which is pulling in different artists to bring all of these elements together. It’s just kind of like, “Okay, today I have to go through Etsy and find fabrics that will work as backgrounds for the spreads, cool!” It’s truly my favorite thing. 

Who are some of your all-time favorite beauty icons?

I have so many! Let’s see, the many stages of David Bowie are great. I feel like a lot of the time I end up going back to very Queen looks, especially in this weather because I think I’m often trying to capture a vibe that’s like a ‘90s, fresh-faced Clinique ad [laughs]. I just want a beige trench coat and my hair slicked back. But when I was younger I was very into Enid from Ghost World, because she was always mixing it up, or, well, your hair looks great! [I have rainbow hair at the time of our interview.]

What’s the best beauty advice you have for our readers?

Wear whatever you want and do whatever you want, but take care of it. Like, wear sunblock and take off your makeup at night. You can do whatever you want creatively but those are kind of like the health things that I think are good.

Okay, lightning round: What are you listening to right now?

Say Lou Lou!

What are you watching?

Louie. Say Louie Louie [laughs].

What are you wearing?

Lots of Rachel Antonoff and some Creatures of the Wind culty stuff, you know? And a long beige coat!