When Aurora Perrineau and I meet on Zoom, she’s sitting cross-legged on her bed in a New York hotel room. She greets me with a big smile. She is wearing a tracksuit and her hair is slicked back into a bun. Her eyeliner is perfectly applied. And her blush adds just the right amount of color to her natural face. Her beauty shines through the screen.
Provided by Tritime.
Aurora grew up in Hollywood, the daughter of actors Brittany and Harold Perrineau (Romeo + Juliet, The Matrix). Perrineau has had supporting roles in critically acclaimed shows such as When They See Us, The Carmichael Show and Westworld, and this summer he starred in the darkly satirical comedy Reimagining Greek Mythology. He came into the limelight with Netflix’s “KAOS.” Perrineau, who stars opposite Jeff Goldblum and Janet McTeer, is excellent as the unsuspecting heroine, Liddy. In our quick chat, we talk about hair care, the beauty of her character, and the products she can’t live without.
EW: I chugged KAOS, and first of all, congratulations. It was very good.
Aurora Perrineau: “Oh, thank you. Thanks for watching.”
Who first taught you about caring for curly hair and how did you learn?
“To be honest, I was really bad at it for a long time. When I was a teenager, I didn’t know what to do with my hair, and I always let it grow out. Then I started working on projects where I had curly hair for the first time. I think I wore the hair for When They See Us because the first person I auditioned for had curly hair, and during that project, Ava[DuVernay]. ) said in many words, “Oh, you should wear it curly.” When I did the show, it wasn’t in a good place, so that’s what motivated me to take care of it. ”
Hair advice from Ava DuVernay What a special occasion. Why was it straightened before?
“I think there were multiple reasons for that. You know, there’s a sense that if you don’t meet beauty standards, you’re not beautiful. In my head, I’m like, ‘Oh, other actresses… I think they all had straight hair, and all the other models had straight hair, too.” I think I should do the same. Then maybe you’ll get the job. But such a thing is not true. In fact, I feel much more beautiful when I let my hair out and curl it. I feel weird when my hair falls out. But I think it was. Also, I didn’t know how to take care of it. I didn’t even know the difference between conditioner, gel, and mousse. I didn’t know, I didn’t know anything about that. So I had to learn a lot. ”
And your parents are also involved in the industry. What was it like growing up in an environment that is notoriously difficult to navigate from an aesthetic standpoint?
“The thing about my parents is that they’re both really grounded, and all of their friends are very down-to-earth, normal people.” I mean, it’s as normal as it gets in this industry. So I think it was a pretty positive upbringing, because my standards of beauty didn’t come from their friends or anything like that. Because it’s so diverse. Even in work, not everyone was an actor. So, you know, they really grounded me in that. My standards of beauty. When you find out you didn’t get the role, you wonder if it’s because of a lot of things that have nothing to do with you.
Provided by Tritime. When I’m on set and doing press work, I end up wearing a lot of makeup. How do you keep your skin healthy?
“When I started Westworld, my makeup artist and I became really good friends, and she told me I didn’t need to wear heavy foundation, especially since I was in the sun during filming. So she used Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer, and that tinted moisturizer was great, and I use it as my daily makeup. It has sunscreen. It doesn’t clog my pores. I also like a thorough routine. I use Shani Darden’s acid peel mask and it gets rid of my acne-prone skin. But yeah, I’ve been using it (tinted moisturizer) ever since. I asked them to use it in everything, and I used it in KAOS. I think it also has to do with the fact that we’re playing characters that look the same. I don’t know if it’s always going to be that way.”
While watching KAOS, I noticed that your character Liddy’s makeup looks very normal. There are no better words. Like no make-up makeup. Does it look similar to what you normally look like?
“That’s right. Yeah, like I tried to erase the freckles. We tried to keep it supernatural. I think in real life I wear more blush. It makes no sense for Liddy to do that.” There wasn’t, because she’s kind of hiding from herself. That’s what makes her hair in a bun (very). And also, they’re where my curls aren’t. My curls were a little on the small side because I didn’t want her to be too proud, and having a big mane of hair made me feel confident. She felt like a full and proud person, and they didn’t want her to feel that way.”
Do you have a favorite look from the KAOS press tour?
“So in London I did a junket and then a photocall. And I loved the two looks I had there. One was a green Dior high-neck dress; I love the dress, and the color is a gorgeous forest green.And the other one is by designer Dominique Syrup.I happened to find that dress at a vintage rental shop in London, and both dresses are actually beautiful. I found it at a vintage rental store, and I loved it because it felt like a very Greek dress and I thought it was really pretty. It was a little weird and felt like what the show was about.”
If you had to choose four beauty products you would die to have, what would they be?
“My Kerastase hair products. Lord blush – it’s my favorite. I think I have every color.”
Do you have a favorite color?
“Freckles! Well, I feel like it’s the most natural thing to match my skin tone. And then there’s this lip gloss called Glosshood, which is all natural and amazing. And then lastly…I guess sunscreen. ”
Watch KOAS on Netflix now.
