Back in November, I met with Hailey Bieber at the exclusive Soho Farmhouse Oxfordshire, just two hours outside of London, to talk about her partnership with bareMinerals and celebrate their #PowerOfGood campaign (plus her thoughts on social media, comparing herself to other people, and self-care because I'm nosy like that). "You look so cold," she said to me, swaddled in an oversized red coat, curled up on the couch of a cozy cabin she was doing interviews in for the day. "I'm freezing!" I replied as she took my hands and held them to warm my fingers before we began our talk. A small gesture, but it led me to assume a few things: 1) She was observant and thoughtful, 2) She was personable, which meant she'd probably be open and honest in our conversation, and 3) She was big on moisturizing because her hands were crazy-soft, and that's not easy to achieve in U.K-cold. As we delved into our chat, I discovered I was right about all three things. #psychicpowersornah?!
In a time where seemingly everything is filtered, on and off social media, Bieber is just bare (no pun intended) in the best way possible. There's no facade, nothing seems rehearsed. For our meeting, she puts effort into her monochromatic athleisure getup but it's not overdone. Her answers don't sound like fake-deep Instagram captions, just her genuine thoughts and feelings. At one point she even admits to not having it all together and still figuring out what it is she brings to the table. Every girl squad has a friend like her. The chill one who's always on positive vibes; the one whose casual conversation is peppered with quotables that make you go, Yo, that's kind of deep. The one that never asks "What's everyone wearing?" in the group chat because she's gonna wear whatever she wants regardless of what the rest of y'all are doing.
It makes sense that Hailey Bieber is a face of bareMinerals because much like the brand, she's just consistently her, and she's aware of her quality so she doesn't feel a pressing need to overcompensate for relevance. After our conversation it was clear why her celebrity sticks. Sure, her maiden and married last names come with lofty privileges. But its her candor that keeps the attention of her 16-plus million Instagram followers. Because at the end of the day, people just want authenticity in everything from brands to celebs to their own personal relationships. In our chat, Hailey kept it real on how she aces the no makeup-makeup look, what she wants to be better at, and how she's still figuring herself out.
You really nail the minimal, natural makeup look. What products do you use?
Usually if I'm doing that it's a little bit of concealer. I like the bareMinerals Mineral Veil Finishing Powders. I like to look glowy but not oily because my skin is very dewy kind of naturally, which is nothing to complain about. I usually just powder areas where I need it, and a bit of a cheek, a little highlighter, and mascara. And that's it.
I was about to ask, do you have on eyeliner?
No, I don't. Just eyeshadow, the Latte palette; it's a good one!
We're in an era where "extra" is so glamorized, especially on social media, but you seem so chill and authentic.
You know what it is, it's so exhausting trying to be extra. Having to, like, try so hard to be done up or put these extravagant outfits together. It's just like, for what? I think there's something so cool to just being yourself. I'm so into clothes and fashion. I like being put together. I love looking cool, but I also feel like that can be done in sweats and a big coat and sneakers. I just think there's something so cool about natural beauty and just being able to just be yourself. I think attainability is much more attractive than when you see a picture of somebody that you admire and you're like, "That's just unattainable to me."
Why bareMinerals in such a visible way? Because this is a pretty big deal; you're the face of a brand!
I just think kind of going back to what I was just saying. Partnering with somebody that makes sense for me because they understand the natural, bare beauty and that's something that's just so my style. It was an easy partnership. It wasn't like a big back and forth situation. It was one meeting and that was it.
I just did a campaign, and it's for the Complexion Rescue Stick which is a really cool product. It's like the Complexion Rescue that they already have, but they did it in a more portable way. It's kind of a foundation and a concealer all wrapped up into one. It's easy to travel with, and that comes out in March!
What skin care products do you use?
Well, actually I use the Total Cleansing Oil. It's really good at getting your make up off. I struggle with trying to take my makeup off, and their wipes are really good too. I also use Barbara Sturm skin products. I have now for almost two years. I met her a while ago in Paris. She kind of came and gave me the whole spiel on the blood and how that works. I'm fascinated with medical anything! That was it; she had me there.
[Editor's note: In an interview with Elle, Baldwin said she love's Sturm's MC1 Blood Moisturizer. "She creates these blood creams where she’ll pull the blood out and put your plasma in the cream. It’s not red, but they split it so it's the plasma from your blood," the model said. "She takes my blood and stores it, so I’ll do it once and then go back to restock every couple of months. You can never be too young to care about your skin. I don't know, I’m a weirdo and love sci-fi beauty."]
What advice do you have for teens today because social media is so huge now now? When I was growing up it wasn't even really a thing.
It wasn't even that much of a thing for me until like probably like three or four years ago. I mean Facebook and MySpace, then there was Tumblr. It went in phases, you know, but now it's just so much bigger and everything. Obviously I still see things that bother me. I still read things sometimes, and it's obviously really difficult for me because everything in my life is so magnified right now and there's so much attention on every move that I make, every move that my family makes.
I think something that people have to remember is there's some sort of freedom people feel behind a computer screen. They think that they can just have this alternate persona and just bully people and make themselves feel better, to people that they don't even know. The thing that I think is so weird and scary is I see people speaking on people's lives and relationships and just making things up in their heads and assuming things, and I'm just like, Where did you come up with that? It just makes you start to second guess so many things if you really feed into it. It just does something to your soul, I think, if you pay too close attention to it. Taking breaks from social media, I think, is really important. I have times where I'll just take the app off my phone for like a week or a couple of days.
That's really freeing in a way because I think I got wrapped up in the urgency of seeing what everyone was doing. It's almost like you feel this crazy FOMO all the time because you don't see what's happening all the time. I think it's bad for your health — the constant need to be picking your phone up and refreshing your feed just to see what it is that's going on or what you're missing. You're not really missing anything because one way or another you'll find things out in the world. You'll find things out that are happening in the world through the news or whatever it is. I just think being able to take a step back off of it and not let it consume your life [is important].
Right, and a lot of girls have admitted to comparing themselves to others on social media. What would you say to that?
I've struggled with comparison. I come from a world of modeling where it's really easy to compare myself to my own friends. You're just surrounded by a lot of beauty. I would say that every girl struggles with comparing themselves, whether it's on social media or [something else]. There's always going to be other women or other girls that you feel insecure around, or that you compare yourself to: What if she's this and I'm not this? or What if I'm this and she's this? That is always happening no matter what, you know? I just think I have had to learn, and I've been taught by my parents my whole life, that individuality is so important. There's only one you. I think a lot of girls struggle with feeling like they can't bring something to the table, but they forget that you — just yourself — is bringing something to the table because there isn't another you.
Everybody has their own thing. It may take a little while to find it; I still struggle with it, you know? What is it that I offer, what is it that I bring? I just think girls need to look inside more and look at themselves more, and it's not all about looks. Everything on the internet, at some point, it's like it's a false reality. That's just what it is. You're looking at people's lives through photos, and you're not seeing their actual life. For me social media has much more become about work. I use it as a tool more than I use it as something to show off my life. I also like it to be able to stay in touch with followers and people that have supported me.
How do you practice self-care?
I think the way I practice self care is I make time for my personal life, and I make sure that I'm trying to get as much rest as I can. Being in a place like this, taking the time to maybe chill out and go to the spa or veg out and watch a movie — for me that is self care. Just relaxing and being kind to your body, because I'm the type of person where I can go, go, go. I'll run myself down. I've done that for like three or four years now, whereas I'm now learning that I have limits. I can't do everything.
bareMinerals' #PowerOfGood campaign is all about practicing goodness, to ourselves and others. What are you working on as a person? What do you want to be better at?
What I've tried to be better at is just ... paying attention to little things, like being kind in every circumstance. If somebody is your waiter or waitress, going out of your way to be like, "Thank you so much." Or notice things and compliment people, because honestly what it does for you too — I think it's like a soul cleansing way of being almost. Just going out of my way is what I've been trying to work on more. I think there was a period of time where I didn't care and I didn't go out of my way with people. That's so important because we're all people trying to live life in this world together.
Hailey Bieber-Approved:
bareMinerals Mineral Veil Finishing Powder. Get it from Ulta for $24.
bareMinerals Gen Nude Eyeshadow Palette in Latte. Get it from Sephora for $29.
bareMinerals Oil Obsessed Total Cleansing Oil. Get it from Ulta for $22.50 (Originally $30).
Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream. Get it from Molecular Cosmetics for $215.
bareMinerals BarePRO Glow Highlighter in Free. Get it from Ulta for $28.