You’ll Never Guess Who’s on Hailee Steinfeld’s Beauty Inspo Board
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When you think of Hailee Steinfeld, her pop songs, iconic acting career (Pitch Perfect stans, rise), and enviable relationship with Josh Allen all likely come to mind. But when I, Cosmo’s assistant beauty editor, think of Hailee Steinfeld my brain immediately goes to her gorgeous hair. So when I heard that Ms. Steinfeld was partnering with Nexxus as the face of their new Hy-Volume collection, I had to sit down with her to get all the details and, of course, pick her brain on all things beauty.
Ahead, Hailee talks about her recent hair transformation, her favorite beauty muses, her daily skincare routine, and how she DIYs a bouncy blowout at home.
Since you’ve been in the spotlight, you’ve had long hair—how do things feel now that you have a bob?
It’s been great—no complaints, no regrets. I did it when I had no time to overthink things, so it just happened. That’s the only way for me because I would have sat and overthought it forever.
That said, I had a moment when it was happening where I thought, Oh my god, I actually haven’t thought enough about this. But once I was set, I felt really good. I was pulling references and felt great about it, and then the scissors came out, and I was like, Okay, okay, we’re getting rid of this energy. We’re moving on. We’re stepping into a new phase.
It’s felt very liberating, very freeing, and very exciting to play with my hair in a way I never have before. A voluminous blowout has always been my go-to, but now it really is because I love what short hair does. Oh, and it probably takes half the time—my morning routine has been cut down by 40 minutes. I’m obsessed!
What inspired you to chop your hair in the first place?
I had reached a point where I wanted a change. I’d always had long hair and played with color just enough to make me feel like I was doing something different, but then I reached a point where I thought, Okay, it’s time. I’d been doing a lot but also nothing with my hair at the same time, so I decided to go for the bob.
Do you have a muse who inspires your hair looks these days?
There’s always a ’90s supermodel blowout on my moodboard. Recently, it’s been Christy Turlington with that short blowout and voluminous bob. I’m obsessed.
Walk me through your beauty prep in the morning—do you have a set routine?
I love waking up with enough time to have a morning—a nice glass of water, a big cup of tea, whatever it may be—and a few moments to myself before the day gets crazy. My skincare routine is simple: clean face, under-eye patches, cold compress under the eyes, and then get on with the day. And I never leave the house without SPF—that’s a must.
The beauty editor in me loves that you always use SPF. Can you share one of your first beauty memories?
It’s a full-circle moment. Recently, probably in the last five years, a makeup artist touched up my beauty marks after doing my makeup, and I didn’t realize they’d been covered for so long until she accentuated them. At that moment, I felt like my beauty marks had been with me forever. When I think about my younger self, I’d tell her to lean into her natural beauty. Cover up what you want, but embrace what makes you you.
Besides your Cosmo covers, what’s your favorite glam look you’ve ever done?
That’s definitely up there, but the Met Gala is always the perfect moment to go all out with glam. As much as I love a ’90s blowout with subtle makeup, good skin, and a nude lip, at the Met, I’ve had moments of playing with freckles, contacts, and crazy lashes. There was one in 2019 when I wore the Viktor & Rolf “No Photos Please” dress and had fun doll-like glam. We tracked down contacts in Harlem the night before, did a test, curled my hair, and teased it big. It was such a fun and memorable moment.
Okay, now be honest with me—can you do a blowout with a round brush and hair dryer, or do you cheat and use a styling tool?
I can do the round brush and blow dryer blowout when I set my hair with velcro rollers, but the thing that I really struggled with for so long was trying to make my blowout last. I thought it had to do with not spraying the heck out of it once I was done drying, but it has so much to do with the foundation of the blowout. So this collection, the Hy-Volume collection from Nexxus, has been a staple for prepping my hair—then I go in with the brush, dryer, and rollers.
Nexxus Hy-Volume Weightless Lift Shampoo
Nexxus Hy-Volume Weightless Lift Cloud Foam Treatment
Nexxus Hy-Volume Weightless Lift Conditioner
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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