As far as beauty routines go – 38 steps seems fairly excessive. However, take one look at Madelaine Petsch’s skin and she may convince you otherwise. Known for her role as Riverdale’s extremely extra Queen Bee, Cheryl Blossom, Madelaine is clearly onto something with her beauty routine. So when she revealed to Vogue the steps, products and hacks she swears by for her flawless skin and glowing makeup for a day-in-the-life, we obviously took notes. Here’s what we learnt.
1/ BYO candle is a vibe
As a protagonist on one of Netflix’s most popular series, it’s not surprising Madelaine spends a lot of time in hotels. “So this is a little weird but I always travel with a candle, it makes me feel like I’m more at home…” she says of Byredo Bibliotheque. And if you’re going to bring a candle with you everywhere you go, Byredo is a killer choice.
2/ De-puff
Her first skincare step is an interesting one, and while it’s not uncommon to use some sort of tool to de-puff, Madelaine has an interesting take. “One of my little secrets, I love tools, tools are my favourite thing on the planet. I use so many beauty tools. So, first one is this really cool little ice-ball thing. I put it in an ice bucket today but I usually put it in my freezer. If you don’t have one of these at home, I recommend sticking your face in an ice bucket for 20 seconds, literally, that’s it.”
We’re not super sure about that last technique but de-puffing is for real. We love the Acelogy Ice Globe Facial Massager.
3/ SPF, always
Madelaine is obviously on the same page as us, re: SPF. It’s non-negotiable. Post toning, and applying her vitamin C serum, the actress says, “next up, AND the most important step is sunscreen.” While Madelaine uses a pea sized amount in the video, we recommend at least one teaspoon for your face, neck and each limb after that. Madelaine swears by Renee Rouleau Weightless Protection SPF 30. “My mum has a lot of sun-spots from growing up in South Africa, and so does my dad. That’s why sunscreen is so important in my daily routine. They’re deathly afraid of me getting sun-spots,” she says.
4/ Don’t forget your neck
You’ve likely heard it said that your neck ends at your boobs? It’s true and Madelaine knows it. In applying her moisturiser (The Water Cream by Tatcha), she says “don’t forget your neck, I forgot my neck, it’s such an important part.” She takes this even further, later in her routine. “So, I have a neck cream. I’m 25 and I have a neck cream…My mum always puts her products all the way down onto her collarbone. And I feel like you learn a lot of your great beauty secrets from your mum.”
5/ …or your lips
“Let’s get to the lips. Exfoliating your lips is so important, especially for the plumpness and the size of your lips. I love this lip scrubber…I think it’s Nurse Jamie. So usually I will put hot water on this first and then you just kind of scrub-a-dub-dub….I do this twice a day”. Given Cheryl’s affinity for a matte red lip, we’d say this step keeps her lips in perfect pout-worthy condition.
6/ Pat, don’t drag
In applying her eye cream, Madelaine says the most crucial thing she’s learnt is to pat, not drag. “Never, ever drag along your eye. That’s something I learned from Riverdale. Always pat.”
7/ A dry makeup sponge could be the key
We may have heard every YouTuber since the beginning of time telling us to use a damp beautyblender, but Madelaine is here to keep things interesting with an unpopular opinion. “Now this is strange,” she says in reference to blending her concealer, “I use a dry beautyblender, I think it works way better. For those of you who have never used this adorable little tool,” she explains as context, “typically you should run it under water and squeeze it until it gets full, like a regular sponge. I accidentally used a dry beautyblender on my face on Riverdale one day and it got my concealer in my face so much better than a wet one. I feel like wet ones pick up extra makeup…give it a try and then talk to me.”
And while 38 steps is leaning towards the unrelatable end of the spectrum (just a tad), Madelaine still well and truly keeps it real: “I feel like when you’re on camera all the time and people are just looking at all of your pores, it’s nice to take care of it to the best of your ability. Although breakouts and stuff you really can’t control, who cares, we all get breakouts.”
That’s some real talk.