Hunter Schafer Is A Self-Proclaimed "Moisturizer Diva"

Hunter Schafer is no stranger to the beauty world. Whether she’s covered in glitter and graphic liner on the set of Euphoria, walking the runway in minimal makeup, or starring in a campaign for a major fashion brand, the star has spent much of her career working with an array of beauty experts. Now, she’s adding “product designer” to her extensive resume.

The Cuckoo star has just taken her five-year global ambassadorship with Shiseido to the next level by designing the packaging for a Limited Edition Face Set, which features new and improved versions of the brand’s popular Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, Aura Dew Illuminator, and DAIYA FUDE Face Duo. All items are sold on SSENSE and freshly covered in illustrations hand-sketched by Schafer on paper.

“Over the years that I've been with Shiseido, what’s been consistent is our idea of what beauty and beauty products are supposed to do, which is just bring what you might feel interior, outwards,” Schafer tells NYLON. “I wanted to focus on the joy and ease that I feel and want to show to the world when I put my face on.” That lighthearted feeling extends to the animated film she directed with illustrator Andrew Onorato, which was inspired by anime and manga and explores the idea of beauty as a source of empowerment and growth.

Ahead, Schafer gives NYLON a look into her experience working with Shiseido, her daily skin care routine, the album that gets her through the day, and her love of moisturizing.

You’ve been a Shiseido global brand ambassador since 2019. What has been your favorite part of the partnership?

I think it's really special when a partnership has longevity to it and it's not just something where you drop in and drop out after a year. I feel like I've really gotten to grow with Shiseido. Shiseido has been there every step of the way for my beauty and personal evolutions, and it's nice to grow with something.

Out of the three products in the limited-edition collection, which is your favorite and why?

I'm so excited about all of them. I've held prototypes in the past before, but I got to hold the finished product two weeks ago for the first time. It was so exciting and kind of bonkers to have my own artwork on the products. My favorite? [It would] maybe be the illuminator because I think it's really cute. Obviously, my illustrations are on the exteriors, but they also included a piece of my illustration imprinted in the powder. Being able to run my finger over that and then put the makeup on, I mean, that was wild.

Did you draw on anything from your own life or experience with makeup?

There's a face that made it onto the Ultimune packaging, and faces are some of my favorite things to draw. I've been told by many friends and loved ones who are more familiar with my day-to-day art practice that the faces and the people I draw often look like me to some degree. So I think in some ways, it's maybe a bit of a self-portrait. I feel like all the doodles are in some ways self-portraits, but I hope they feel relatable, too.

What was the inspiration for the glittery makeup look and iridescent slicked-back bun you wear in the promo for the launch?

I definitely have a set of colors I naturally gravitate towards, which made their way into the collection itself and the packaging. We wanted to reflect that in the photo shoot. I was working with one of my best friends, Dara, who's my stylist, and Ethan James Green, who I've been working with ever since I was a teenager. It was this sort of a family affair. It's this process of feeling it out and channeling that joy, fun, and ease that the collection concentrates on and making that evident in photos.

One of the fun things about glitter is that it kind of heightens anything it touches. You can especially tell from the short film that it's about heightening something that's every day and making it feel fantastical. Makeup is capable of doing that for you.

What does your daily skin care routine look like?

I am a big moisturizer diva. I use it every morning and night. Right now, I'm filming something, and it's prosthetic-heavy at times. ... Being able to start my day and end [it] with a very basic ... moisturizer helps add some steadiness to an otherwise kind of chaotic work day that my skin gets put through. I use the Brightening Gel Cream Moisturizer a lot. Additionally, on airplanes, I've become a big fan of eye patches. ... I'm definitely now one of the girls you pass on the plane that has eye patches on first thing. ... I always just pick up another pack when I'm at the airport.

What's the most life-changing beauty tip you’ve learned from a makeup artist?

I don't know if it necessarily came from one person or one artist in general, but I think over the years, because I used to not think about my eyebrows too much, I've become aware of how gently shaping, filling in, coloring, trimming, or just maintaining eyebrows can really impact the harmony of your whole face. ... I definitely have a very meticulous relationship with my eyebrows now, which I love. ... In modeling, we're taught not to touch the eyebrows unless a makeup artist is doing it. Since I [now have] more control over my look as my own person, I've gotten into tweezing. ... It's kind of interesting as someone who loves to draw and study faces.

You love Japanese anime and manga. Has there been a particular series, movie, or book that has influenced your perspective on beauty?

There's always a part of me that wants to look like an anime character. I feel like that's kind of always there, whether it's in fashion or in beauty. Frankly, in most anime and manga, I feel like it's a very fresh face, which I definitely am a fan of. I love a no-makeup makeup look. I think there's also a lot of power in just a little bit of blush too, bringing some of the life and color into your face in the spots where it makes sense. It can really be as simple as that, or you can go for the real deal and not wear makeup.

What's your nighttime beauty routine?

If I'm being completely honest, routine is something I'm only just starting to become familiar with as a 25-year-old. And even still, considering my lifestyle and the unpredictability of my job, it's hard to maintain for sure. But what I can control is definitely music at the end of the day. I also use it to start my day in the car ride on the way to work. I never really had a proper Clairo phase until now, but Clairo's new album is absolutely delicious, and I've been starting my day with it pretty much every day.

I [also] find water to be really important. Even if I'm running late, I have to at least just hop in the shower for 30 seconds and wash the night off me. The same thing at night. There's something about water that really resets my mind, calms me, and puts me in a new sort of restful and peaceful head space. Ideally, someday I would love to live by the ocean and make the saltwater part of my routine.