Samantha Munro knows a thing or two about beauty.
After five seasons on Degrassi, the 22-year-old Canadian actress has learned several tricks of the trade. Though she’s tried hundreds of products, she’s learned to stick with a few key picks that work best for her.
We sat down with Samantha (and her covetable makeup collection) to find out her favourite beauty products.
On her beauty routine:
As far as beauty routines go, I’m extremely low-maintenance. I wash my face every single morning and night, and that’s about it. Now, this is going to shock people, and I don’t know if you want to hear it or not, but I wash my face with Dove Soap for sensitive skin. That’s how I get all my makeup off of my face. I actually had a skin doctor tell me to do that because he told me I was ruining my face with my crazy amounts of stuff that I put on it. Anyway, I’ve never had a clearer face with Dove Soap…though I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone. That’s basically it! If my skin feels dry, that’s when I’ll use a moisturizer. Your skin will tell you when it needs something. I use Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream.
Her everyday essentials:
I absolutely love Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. Unfortunately, it’s really expensive, but it’s my favourite. It smells good, and my boyfriend’s a huge fan! I have gone through multitudes of very expensive mascaras, but my favourite is L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes, the gold one. That’s the one I use consistently, and constantly. I also can’t live without a BB cream. The Garnier one is really good. It kind of replaces everything you need for your skin – moisturizer, primer, foundation. If you have skin that’s just a little red, it’s not worth putting heavy foundation on it. Just put something lighter.
Everyday makeup look:
First off, I use my Garnier BB cream. If I have a blemish I’ll put concealer on over that. But the [BB cream] will take care of the coverage. I like bronzer moreso than blush because I think it gives more of a natural look. Quo Mosaic Shimmer Finish Bronzer works best for me. Then I use Lancome’s Le Crayon Kohl in Black Coffee, which is actually brown. A makeup artist from Degrassi told me you’re not supposed to use black liner if you have anything other than brown eyes because it makes your eyes look smaller. I usually just put eyeliner under my eyes, but if I feel like putting some on my upper lids, I use a darker eyeshadow, and create a line with that. Then, I’d just add my Fresh lip balm!
Go-to night out look:
I love smoky eye. I stick to the same pattern, and then I just experiment with colour.
I use the lightest colour of whatever palette I’m using all over my lid. For example, I’d put MAC eye shadow in Yogurt over my lid. Then in the crease, I’d add a darker colour, called Girlie, and finally, I would use the darkest colour, Print, on the outer corners and blend to make my eyes look larger.
I am a huge believer in false lashes. I did eyelash extensions for a while, but they’re way too expensive and they fall off! So, I stick to my falsies. I use the Duo eyelash glue – it works the best, and then whatever eyelashes I feel like. Sometimes I use MAC, or Ardell lashes are also great.
For the rest of my face, I start off with a MAC Prep and Prime Skin if I’m feeling uneven or really dry, just so that everything is smoothed out. If my skin looks terrible, I’ll put on foundation, if not, then I stick to the BB cream. I’d also put on MAC Blush in Tendering, in addition to bronzer.
For my lips, I would do plums and nude colours. I don’t like red lips, unfortunately. I think they make me look ridiculous! I use MAC Lip Pencil in Spice, Stila Long Wear Lip Colour Coquette, and put a clear gloss on top. Or, to keep it simple, I just use Revlon Color Burst Lipgloss in Gold Dust.
To top it off, I’ll add Cover FX Illuminating Setting Powder. If you sweat, which you will when you dance, then you need this! It stops you from getting shiny and makes your makeup stay.
Fav beauty brands
Definitely MAC. You never go wrong. Other than that, I kind of just pick and choose from all different lines. The thing is, I’ve literally tried everything! So I just use whatever works best for me, regardless of brand.
On her hair
I have terrible hair. I have the thinnest hair you would ever see. I use cheap shampoo, but I use Orofluido Beauty Elixir, which kind of makes your hair less frizzy and crazy. I straighten and curl my hair so it’s kind of necessary. I also use extensions to make my hair fuller – that’s my embarrassing not-so-secret! They used extensions on me on Degrassi, and everybody said, You have such beautiful hair! I didn’t tell them I had extensions, I just said, Thank you! I grew it myself! *laughs*
Best beauty tips:
I would say, don’t pick your pimples, but I do that all the time. A basic beauty tip is just listen to your skin. You don’t need to try all these different products – your skin will tell you what it needs.
Another tip is to not wash your face right just before applying makeup. It strips your skin of all the oils and nothing blends nicely after that.
Finally, invest in the right brushes. One of my favourites is from The Body Shop. It’s surprisingly the softest brush, and it works wonderfully for putting on bronzer. But, I have over 40 brushes, and people always love the way my makeup is because I have the right stuff to put it on with. Never, ever touch your face!
[Photo credit: Lane Dorsey]
