If you were Ashley Greene, with paparazzi constantly skulking about, you might not go out without your makeup on. But the "Twilight" star and face of mark Cosmetics is actually very vocal about not becoming too dependent on it. "I think it's dangerous to get too comfortable with needing makeup. You kind of lose yourself, and you don't think you're pretty without it. It creates this whole downward spiral."
Which is a pretty powerful message. But first, full disclosure: The day I sat down with the twenty-five-year-old at Chelsea Piers in New York she was indeed in full-on makeup. "Oh, yeah it's sad because I get all this beautiful makeup done," she acknowledged, "but I'm like, 'I've got to go wash my face.'" Makeup or not, Greene had some pretty solid beauty tips to dispense. Like, the advantages of full brows and and why she can't wait to be in her 30s. More on all that below, plus her ever-evolving beauty looks through the past few years.
On the pitfalls of bronzer--and finally getting it right:
The whole bronzy, glowy look, I think a lot of people have trouble with. I'm from Florida so I always had this tan, then I moved to California and basically haven't seen the sun since because I learned how dangerous the sun's rays are. It's really bad to put bronzer all over your face; you get too dark of a shade. When the sun hits you, it usually hits your cheeks, the top of your nose and your forehead, not your entire face. I had to learn that.
And her other fool-proof beauty trick…
I kind of follow the line of my brows and fill them in with a pencil or powder. That's one of the big things I learned: your brows really frame your face. It draws the attention to your face. When I was younger I used to pluck them and wax them, and I don't even know what I was thinking.
But like the rest of us, she's had some regrettable hair moments
My hair's been every color under the sun, and some are good and some are bad. I think the biggest mistake I ever made was when one of my friends was like, 'You should just iron your hair with an iron.' It was not good at all. It was just stick-straight. I was probably around 14 when I did that; I did a lot of dumb things at 14. That was bad. I used to also scrunch my hair. I used entirely too much hair gel. It was highly flammable, extremely crunchy. I feel you like you could break it. It was not a good look for me.
Green has famously posed in nothing but body paint. How did she get so comfortable in her own skin?
I don't know that I've ever met someone who hasn't had some type of insecure moment or stage. You're growing and you're learning, and some days are good and some are bad. I'm definitely the most comfortable in my skin than I've ever been. I understand that a lot of things aren't the end of the world. There were certain things I was very insecure about, but I'm constantly going out there trying to make girls feel like they are special, and I think it rubs off on me. A lot of it's you live, you learn, you grow. I'm finally to a spot where I'm comfortable. And my mom said she loved her 30s. She was most comfortable in her 30s. So I'm looking forward to that.
