Ava Phillippe Discusses Her "Fantasy" Brunette Phase and the $12 Lip Stain She Purchased After Seeing Billie Eilish

      Introducing Unfiltered, a new beauty series that offers an inside look at the bare-bones beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They'll share their guilty-pleasure beauty habits, the essential five-minute routine products they can’t live without, the one skincare tip they cherish, and much more. To complete each conversation, we ask every celebrity to provide a set of self-taken, unfiltered photos that embody their Unfiltered beauty philosophy. Next, we’re chatting with actress and model Ava Phillippe, who has recently become the global brand ambassador for Vince Camuto Fragrances. Below, she answers all our quick-fire questions, sharing her preferred makeup and haircare products, cherished fragrance memories, the best beauty advice she has received, and more. Enjoy! If you had to dash out of the house in five minutes, which beauty products would you use or take with you?

      I like to focus on an eye look, a lip look, and something for my face. I naturally have some rosiness, so I’d say concealer for any blemishes, mascara, and a versatile lip liner because you can also use it on your cheeks sometimes.

      Any specific recommendations? I’ve been loving the Urban Decay lip pencils; they’re fantastic. And just any good concealer—when you find one that blends well and matches your skin tone, that’s crucial. I often get it wrong.

      Same here! I’m often off with shade matching.

      It’s difficult! As a painter, I feel like I can see the various tones, but applying it to myself complicates everything.

      And do you have a mascara favorite? I really like Diorshow mascara. The Diorshow collection is superb.

      Regarding lip liner, do you prefer rosy pink or mauve-brown? I definitely lean toward cooler shades for lip liner—mauve or rosy taupe, something easily wearable.

      Moving on to fragrance, what’s your earliest fragrance memory?

      Oh, my mom always smells like gardenias, so I think of her whenever I catch a whiff. We even had gardenias in our childhood garden. She would pick them and float them in a bowl of water. That's a lovely scent memory. Beyond that, I recall exploring essential oils as a gateway to perfume since, you know, little girls shouldn’t be spending too much on perfume. I loved scents like lemongrass and vanilla; that’s probably where my fragrance journey began.

      That’s sweet! What was the first fragrance you bought for yourself, and what made you choose it?

      The first fragrance I received was from Taylor Swift; she had this purple bottle that I thought was so cool. Celebrity fragrances were quite a moment. Now I get to experience it from the other side, which is really exciting.

      Tell me about that! It’s wonderful. I feel lucky to be part of such an amazing team, and the imagery and messaging behind this campaign—especially for the Wonderbloom fragrances and Wonderbloom Haze—are very positive, dreamy, celebrating individuality and femininity without being overly sentimental.

      [Wonderbloom Haze] has a lovely amber, gourmand scent but is also floral, providing the best of both worlds.

      We briefly mentioned this, but how do you approach fragrance now? What do you seek in a scent, and do you change it based on your mood or the season?

      Absolutely. Certain fragrances convey particular vibes. If I’m going out, I’d choose something warmer and gourmand like Haze. For daytime, I prefer it light and fresh. A sunny day makes me think of a subtle floral scent, and our other Wonderbloom is perfect for that. In spring, I want a scent that represents spring—something floral. [Wonderbloom] is ideal for capturing that essence, and in fall, I lean toward pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon. Fragrance marks the passage of time.

      For sure. Do you still favor gardenia?

      Yes, gardenia always reminds me of my mom, so I want it in my home. I'm also really into candles, which are a significant part of my fragrance journey.

      Speaking of candles, do you have a favorite right now?

      I’ve been loving the Nette candles—they offer a great variety of layered scents in each candle.

      Now onto hair—you seem to change colors often. What has been your favorite look to try?

      I’ll always have a special place for pink hair; it’s so fun and captures my wild California girl spirit. But I’m really enjoying being brunette; it feels like a significant change. Many people from my childhood are surprised to see me like this, which is amusing. Just the other night, my best friend couldn’t even recognize me at a bar, and she was staring right at me.

      But I really love it. I think it reflects where I am in life currently.

      It suits you