"Nothing Too High": Maude Apatow Discusses Blush Sandwiching, Euphoria Style, and Her Mother's Top Beauty Advice

      "I currently have, like, eight layers of blush on," Maude Apatow shares with me from her New York apartment. The actor, director, and May cover star for Who What Wear has just come back from the weekend pop-up event by Prada Beauty at Gansevoort Plaza, the final stop of its multicity Prada Touch Tour. From the Zoom screen, I notice her drawstring bag and black jacket carelessly draped on the neatly made bed—the only sign of urgency in the bright, airy room. A single flower basks in the sunlight on the windowsill, and Apatow's sleek bob is as polished as ever, without a single hair out of place. However, her cheekbones are quite flushed, possibly from rushing home or, as I later discover, enhanced with plenty of blush after some finger painting. After all, Prada named it the Touch blush for a reason.

      While having eight layers is admittedly excessive for her usual look, Apatow sometimes combines a few blush shades for added depth. "I'll apply a deeper shade on the apples of my cheeks and then a lighter shade up [the cheekbones]. That's only if I'm really feeling fancy," she explains. Right now, she’s using Prada Beauty's Waterlily, a bright fuchsia, and Tulip, a soft baby pink. Generally, she opts for a single bubblegum blush and calls it a day. "I tend to lean toward a bright pink, but I also enjoy a dusty rose or a deeper bronzy blush," she reveals. "I always use my fingers for application. I find I have much better control. I start on the apples of my cheeks and then blend upwards—but not too high. I try for a snatched look sometimes, but it never turns out as good as when others do it."

      Blush is essential for her daily glam routine, but when I ask about her favorite feature to accentuate, her focus shifts to her wide, round eyes. "I remember applying mascara for a Halloween costume, and my mom made me look down while she applied it," she reminisces, laughing. "I think I was dressed as the bride of Frankenstein...I thought, 'Wow, I look incredible.'" Nowadays, mascara continues to be a staple in her beauty kit for both her top and bottom lashes (which can be quite divisive!) to make her eyes pop as much as possible. "I prefer a deep brown," she says regarding mascara shades. "There's this Prada deep-brown mascara that I've been using. It's nearly black. If you have brown eyes, it looks great." While viewers can see plenty of stunning eye looks on Euphoria, Apatow reveals that her character Lexi Howard would favor a bold lip over extra-flirty lashes. "Tara Lang, my collaborator on Euphoria, and I always aim to do a lip look for Lexi," she points out. "That's Lexi's signature throughout the years we've worked on the show." Interestingly, that's also Apatow's signature style. "I love a red lip. It's my go-to look for going out," she adds. (And she pulls it off beautifully! Just look at the dark-red lipstick she wore at the Chloé after-party during Paris Fashion Week.)

      When she's not rocking a red lip, she opts for a simple buttery tinted lip balm. "Wait, let me grab it! It's right here," she says as she digs through her bag to find her favorite Prada product. "It applies really sheer, so it's not too overpowering," she explains, unscrewing the mauve-brown shade.

      Unless she's attending an event or filming promotions focused on blush, Apatow prefers a minimal base, using just a bit of concealer for targeted spots. "I try not to wear too much makeup daily because I want to let my skin breathe," she admits. "A little goes a long way, especially with foundation. I went through a phase of having very thick, dark brows and loads of foundation and bronzer. Looking back at those photos, I realize that wasn't the best choice." This sentiment is relatable—many experienced the overdrawn "Instagram brows" of 2016, which were a far cry from the tweezed brows that plagued the '90s. "[My mom's] eyebrows never grew back. She often tells me, 'Don't do what I did,'" Apatow shares. "I actually have quite thick eyebrows, so occasionally, they need to be plucked." There’s a careful balance, much like the line between a healthy, vibrant flush and excessive blush application. Yet, considering how Apatow’s skin glows from my computer screen, I'm starting to think there might be something to her eight-layer blush approach. Who knows? She may have just unintentionally set a new summer makeup trend in motion.

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