We sat down with the stunning Shay Mitchell in Toronto and talked to the home-grown actress, and star of Pretty Little Liars, about the her hit TV show, her beauty and fitness secrets and her latest partnership with Acuvue.
On her Pretty Little Liars castmembers…
“These past two weeks, we have never worked more. We shot the Halloween episode and now we are shooting double-ups (which mean two episodes at one time), so it’s a little bit crazy. We have so much fun because we are all so different, we all have something interesting to bring to the table. The girls [Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson and Lucy Hale] are like my sisters and coming to work is always so much fun. You get to hangout with some of your best friends. There are no catty fights! Although, no one believes me. We all have our own group of friends outside of set, which I think does help. Work and relationships need some separation. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better cast, and I love all the guys [Tyler Blackburn, Ian Harding and Keegan Allen] too. They are so amazing!"
On this season of Pretty Little Liars…
"[Last week’s] episode was fun! I got to get back into the pool which I love. And I will tell you a little behind the scenes secret… I did my first dive on camera. I usually have stunt doubles, but this is actually me, so I am very excited for the world to know that. A lot happens this season for Emily and for all the girls because they are all planning what they are going to do after high school. “A” obviously wants to mess that all up, so some of their plans get switched last minute and everything is up in the air. This season’s probably one of the darkest seasons that we’ve had. The first episode kind of sets the tone for that. But, it is also going to be the season of answers. Our fans have been so patient in wanting to know all of these things and we keep holding it above their head. But, this season I think they will get a lot of their questions answered."
On her partnership with Acuvue…
"The Acuvue 1-Day Contest is really awesome because it’s me, Demi Lovato, Dwight Howard and Joe Jonas. We each got someone different to mentor. We chose the people we would mentor from video submissions sent in on Youtube, on the Acuvue page. And I was blown away watching them because they all have these big goals and big dreams and to be able to help one of them by sharing my experiences, and giving them a little bit of advice, was a really cool experience. It’s something that I love doing. Any way that I can, if I can put out a little inspiring message, that’s what I love to do.
The girl I worked with was wearing glasses the whole time, but then when she put in contacts for the first time, to just see how big of a life changer that was for her (because I remember how big it was for me) was really neat. We talked about similar experiences we had in high school. She was kind of feeling like an outcast because she was dealing with her height and looking different than her friends, and I dealt with that as well. So it was really nice to connect with her on that level and it was a very fun experience.
We also shot a webisode for that which comes out July 4th on youtube.com/acuvue."
On her fitness secrets…
“It's just toning down my eating habits a little bit, and drinking a lot of water. I work out like a monster, but I don't diet that much. I think one of the things I will do before a big photoshoot is not eat past eight o’clock. My tip is to drink a lot of water. I realize when I am just snacking that I'm not actually hungry, I’m just thirsty.”
On her beauty secrets, specifically her gorgeous hair…
Whenever I am not on set, I try not to do anything with it. The more I can let it air dry, the better. I am also a big believer in masks, I love to go to Korean spas and I'll go there and sit in the saunas with a hair mask on under a shower cap. I try and do that once a week. So, whenever you can let it do its natural thing is best. I also use a lot of coconut oil, it’s natural and you can use it to moisturize and it smells great.
