‘Empire’s’ Grace Gealey, Kaitlin Doubleday Talk Makeup Must-Haves

Empire may be known for its over-the-top style but let’s not forget about its bold beauty moments either. From Cookie’s bright lip colors to Anika’s always on-point cat eyeliner, the ladies never fail to bring out the theatrics.

While the ladies may embrace their characters’ flawless makeup, the show’s actresses Kaitlin Doubleday and Grace Gealey say their personal beauty routines couldn’t be far more different.

During the Birchbox pop-up in Chicago over the weekend, we caught up with Doubleday and Gealey to talk daily beauty routines and how their personal makeup preferences differ from that of their show’s characters.

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Pret-a-Reporter: Tell us about your everyday routine when you’re getting ready.

Kaitlin Doubleday: I always curl my eyelashes — I feel like that opens up everyone’s eyes and it’s sometimes looked over. I use the Shu Umera curlers and I actually always just use cheap waterproof mascara from Rite Aid — whatever brand they have. And I layer it on and then I use a nice SK-II oil makeup remover at night before putting on Latisse so I’m all about the eyelashes obviously. I have to sleep in a thick heavy moisturizer because my skin in Chicago, especially while I’m working, gets super dry and I use SK-II and it’s an amazing product. Right now I’m using the Philosophy face wash. I love the way it smells and it works really well. And good lip balms, I’m obsessed with.

Grace Gealey: OK I think for me, the biggest thing for me is that I use a consistent line and the line I use is Murad. It’s not as pricey as a lot of the other ones that you assume people would use but it’s the only thing that consistently works for me. I use it day and night — it’s pretty much the same routine except in the daytime I make sure to use things with vitamin C in it just so I can fight off the free radicals.

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How does your personal beauty look differ from that of your Empire character?

Doubleday: Rhonda wears thick luxurious lashes everyday and that looks totally amazing but in real life, I like a more natural look in real life so I love my lashes which is why I use Latisse and all that stuff. Rhonda wears very thick lashes with thick eyeliner. More of a mod ‘60s look.

Gealey: Because it’s a TV show, everything can be a little more enhanced so my character almost at all times wears a very, very strong cat eye. Although I like to wear cat eye every once in a while, it’s never like a super strong high wing type of thing. You can almost always catch her with a very strong lip. So in my daytime I’ll wear something like this which is much more nude and softer.

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Best beauty advice you’ve gotten?

Doubleday: It was from my friend Shelly telling me not to wear makeup because I’m more beautiful without it.

Gealey: I would have to say it’s a 2-in-1. Facials — I underestimated them but they’re so wonderful. It’s great to have somebody just maintain, ‘Hey you’re getting a little dehydrated, moisturize a little more’ or to exfoliate in a really wonderful way, and that ties in with the second one. At home, the most important thing for me is to make sure I’m exfoliating.

What’s the one makeup item you can’t live without?

Doubleday: Lip balm.

Gealey: One specific item would have to be mascara, I think. I love it. It’s the one thing you can put on your face and it instantly brightens everything up.