Kylie Cantrall, Like Us, Is a Bit of an Overthinker

Welcome to Beauty Around the Clock, Marie Claire's weekly peek into the daily lives of some of the most game-changing men and women in their industries. Ever wonder how they get it all done in a day? Here's your answer.

At 19 years old, Kylie Cantrall has been in the public eye for a decade, landing her first gig as a dancer on a music video for Fitty Smallz when she was only nine. She’s also been active on YouTube since 2014, reviewing Disney Channel shows under the moniker Hello Kylie. A dancer, singer, and actress, Cantrall’s career snowballed, and she landed her first small part on Disney’s Bizaardvark in 2018. Today, she’s the star of the latest installment in the Descendants movie series, The Rise of Red.

When Cantrall speaks to Marie Claire from Los Angeles on Zoom, she’s gearing up for the big release. "Last night, my costar Malia [Baker] and I went to Hollywood Boulevard. We found a giant poster of our movie and took pictures in front of it," she tells us. "This is the best part of filming something. It's sharing it with the world and finally having people being able to see it."

Despite her hectic lifestyle, Cantrall doesn’t consider herself stressed. "Because I keep myself so busy, I don't have too much time to get stressed, but then that's also a double-edged sword because I am also so busy that there's a lot that I have to think about and a lot that's on my plate that can be stressful," the multi-hyphenate says. It’s a good kind of stress, though, she adds.

Amid all the busyness, Cantrall still finds time to recharge and brush up on her self-care. She considers herself "an introverted extrovert" and craves some alone time to feel her best. Here, she shares how she takes care of her body throughout the day and dishes on her minimalist beauty routine—for the star, it’s really all about going with the vibes.

Rise Shine

I usually wake up around 8 a.m. First thing I do when I wake up, I mean, this is so bad, but I check my phone, and then I make coffee. I have my coffee right here, of course. I'm a coffee girl.

Morning Maintenance

I usually wash my face in the morning with cold water, and I won't even use a cleanser. I'll literally do some water, just to wake my skin up, and then a little rosewater toner spray, to give me that refresh in the morning.

Power Start

Lately I've been really into making these little egg mcmuffins. So I'll make a sunny-side up egg, a little bit of bacon and avocado, and put it on an English muffin. It's great. It's usually between that and either scrambled eggs or a hard-boiled egg. It's always an egg of some sort. You can't go wrong.

Signature Look

Especially with my job, I'm pretty much forced to wear makeup and be on camera like all the time. But even in my regular life when I'm not working, I'll always put on a little bit of concealer, a little bit of blush, little mascara. Yeah, that usually gets me through. More natural—I think less is more and I'm relying on my natural tan that I have going on right now. That's my favorite part of summer, the natural pigmentation that you pick up from the sun, little rosy cheeks. That's always the vibe, having my makeup accentuate that.

Daily Playlist

I've been listening to a lot of rap recently, a lot of Anycia, Cash Cobain. Who else? Doja, always. I loved her latest album, Scarlet, the Deluxe and, oh, Sabrina as well. I do love Sabrina, and her latest song is always stuck in my head. It's a summer bop.

Fitness Fix

Typically, I switch between my different muscle groups. I'm definitely into weightlifting, so either I'm doing triceps one day, or shoulders and chest one day, or back, or legs. Ugh, the worst. I hate doing legs, but I get through it. For cardio, I'm always dancing, and then Stairmaster. Love a little Stairmaster, listen to a podcast and just be in the zone. I love the sauna as well. I'm super duper into the sauna, can read a nice little book in there—except sometimes the pages out of my book will start falling out because the glue is melting. So, maybe not the best thing. I think I should invest in some virtual books.

Self-Care Ritual

Taking a warm shower and enjoying my nighttime skincare routine is my self-care. I always think those moments that you have to yourself—especially for me, I'm rarely by myself, my job also requires me to be so social, I'm always around people—but those little moments that I have to myself, like when I'm in my vanity, in my bathroom, doing my makeup or doing my nighttime skincare routine, those are such pleasant moments where I can just vibe in my own thoughts, have those moments to ground myself while I'm putting on my moisturizer, my toner and everything.

And then I've been trying to meditate more—YouTube is great for that little 10-minute meditation. I've been reading a book called The Age of Magical Overthinking, because I tend to do that. When I feel like overthinking, I just pick up that book and it can take my mind off of whatever is going on. I'm trying to read more and enjoy alone time listening to music. That's always cathartic.

Hair Help

When it comes to my hair routine and skincare routine, it's very simple. For shampoo and conditioner I use Living Proof shampoo and conditioner. Then usually what I do—this is actually a tip I got from my hairstylist—I mix my hair dye with my conditioner and I'll put that on while I'm taking a shower to refresh the pink. And it doesn't come on too, too strong when I mix it with the conditioner. It still makes my hair feel nice and soft, but adds that color a bit. And then I have this Moroccanoil that I always use after I wash my hair, this Olaplex mask that I really like using for hydration. My hair is definitely dry as well, so I'm usually doing a hair mask like once a week. Also the Miracle hairspray. It's a detangler and a heat protectant. Heat protection is also important.

Signature Scent

Carolina Herrera. The red high heel perfume. That's what I smell like.

Beauty Icon

My beauty icon is Rihanna. I would say Bad Gal RiRi.

Backup Career

Tarot reader. Yeah, I'm $50 an hour. So, my friends, you know, they don't book me all the time. It's a little pricey but it's worth it. No, no, free of charge, free of charge!

P.M. Routine

Usually I'll do a very light cleanser, like a CeraVe. I love a little drugstore cleanser, something that's just really simple, not a ton of crazy ingredients, no sulfates. I'll use that cleanser just to get my makeup off, micellar water also helps with getting that [stubborn] mascara off, then I'll use the First Aid exfoliating toner pads. Then, the Drunk Elephant polypeptide moisturizer, a little vitamin C oil, and the Laneige lip mask or Aquaphor, some sort of lip product. I cannot go to bed with dry lips. I have to put tons and tons of lip balm on.

I'll sometimes make a little jasmine tea. I'll watch a show—that's always my nighttime ritual. I've been obsessed with Sex The City. It's a perfect show to kind of wind down to, very easy comfort watch. And then I'll get in my little comfy PJs, and vibe. Sometimes I journal before bed. Not always, though, I'm gonna be so real, because when it starts feeling like a task I'm like, mmh-mmh. I do it when I feel called to or when it's been a crazy day and I need to vent, maybe even pull a little tarot card before bed. See what the vibes are. And then that's it.

Light's Out

I'm a bit of a night owl. It's usually hard for me to go to sleep before, like, 12 a.m. I think it's natural, you have to listen to your body. It's hard for me to force it to go to bed early. I just kind of vibe and then 12 a.m. is typically the hour that I start dozing off. I feel like that's a good eight hours. If you're waking up at eight, going to bed at 12? Yeah, it's like eight hours.

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