Sitting across from Ava Phillippe, it's hard not to notice how much she resembles her famous mom, actress Reese Witherspoon. It's a fact that she's often made aware of. Just look at her Instagram — her followers point out their similarities almost every time she posts a new photo.
"It's funny, I'm like, it would be a lot weirder if I didn't look like my parents," Phillippe tells Shop TODAY during a recent sit-down interview in New York City. "My brother and I joke about it a lot because he gets similar comments. But I don't hate it. It's a great comparison."
While genetics clearly come into play, it could also have something to do with the fact that the two share beauty tips. (While her mom has said she has the "best makeup tips," Phillippe says it's more of "a mutual exchange.") However, the biggest beauty lesson she's learned from Witherspoon doesn't have much to do with appearance at all.
"My mom's from the South and a big Southern saying is 'pretty is pretty does,'" the 24-year-old says. "Which I take to mean, you are only as beautiful as you are on the inside. How you treat people, how you treat yourself, how you move through the world is equally, if not more important, than how you appear on the outside or on the surface. And I do think it really translates more than we give it credit for. When you see someone with a beautiful smile, or they're feeling good, it's energy that radiates. And when they treat people with kindness, you're like, that's a beautiful person."
As for her personal beauty routine, Phillippe, who was just announced as the global ambassador for Vince Camuto's Wonderbloom fragrance, says it is "always evolving" and has changed a lot through the years.
"As a younger girl, I definitely started off wanting to change or hide or adjust things about my appearance. My beauty routine was mainly about that. And so, as I'm getting older and doing some self-reflecting, really identifying what matters to me and what makes me feel good, that's where my beauty routine comes from now. Or I'm trying to make it come from there, at least — we all have days where we feel insecure." When choosing what to add in, she thinks about, "Does it feel right for me? Does it make me feel happy and good and confident? Then that's what's going in the routine. Anything else can stay for others."
For our Shopping Diaries series, we asked Phillippe about some of her current favorite things, from her go-to drugstore purchase to the book that helps her "reset when times are chaotic."
Shopping Diaries: Ava Phillippe
Vince Camuto Wonderbloom Eau de Parfum
Phillippe calls her partnership with Vince Camuto "very organic."
"When I first smelled the fragrance, it was something that I could see myself wearing, as an everyday [perfume]," she says. "I love a good floral — who doesn't? And this is very youthful floral, too. I feel like sometimes it can lean a little mature for me, but this is very light and positive and it puts me in a good mood. Not to mention the bottle is really pretty."
When it comes to perfume application, Phillippe says she has a few "dos." (While some people might be against rubbing their fragrance in, she is all for it.) "I spritz on each wrist and I rub them together — so I am a rubber — and then each side of the neck. My other one is if I really want it to stay, I spray it on my hairbrush and I brush my hair with it. Or I spray it on my hair because I feel like it stays longer."
“Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar,” by Cheryl Strayed
Another thing that she has in common with Witherspoon? Her love for reading. "Non-fiction is very much my thing," Phillippe says. "I love learning from whatever I read. I love memoirs, real stories about real people. I'm not a huge re-reader, but if I do re-read something it's by Cheryl Strayed. 'Tiny Beautiful Things,' specifically, was really important for me. I listened to each chapter on a drive in the car by myself, so I'd really soak it up, her advice. She's very wise and some of the most simple things she says are so profound. And it's these letters from real people asking her, 'What do I do?; and she's so good at showing you the path that you already know is right in front of you. So I feel like that always helps me reset when times are chaotic."
Essie Gel Couture Long-Lasting Nail Polish
When it comes to drugstore beauty finds, Essie's nail polish is her go-to. "I'm always chipping my nails when it's regular nail polish," she says. "I don't love sitting still at a salon even though it's pampering and awesome. So when I do my own nails, I do it with the Essie gel because it stays longer than regular polish and they have really great colors."
Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Invisible Broad Spectrum SPF 40
"I'm a big sunscreen girl," she says. "I'm very fair-skinned, so that's important. But I honestly believe that the ozone [layer] is not what it used to be, and we all need to be really careful with our skin. And so sunscreen is a great part of that for me. I love the Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen, because some leave a white cast or they feel greasy on your face and this is perfect for me. And that's every day. If it's cloudy, if it's sunny, I'm going to wear sunscreen."
Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm
Like most Gen Zers, Phillippe gets beauty tips and product recommendations from TikTok — though she says she leans more heavily on the platform for the former. One product that she did discover on the app? The viral Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm. "It's goopy and thick, it stays on. No matter how much water I drink, I swear my lips are going to get chapped, so I gotta keep it with me. They have tinted versions but I like to have the clear and then put on whatever I want that day."
However, while TikTok beauty trends can be fun, she adds that she tries not to play into them too much. "I feel like it's very important to keep your beauty routine yours. I've always been happiest when I do me. And I don't try to subscribe too hard to what's going on in the culture, even though sometimes it's fun, I love to try it on. But I like to keep it personal and I like to make it feel good for me."
Pat McGrath Labs FetishEYES Mascara
"Mascara-wise, I'm loving the Pat McGrath mascara lately," Phillippe says. "Pat is like my beauty godmother. I worked with her a little while back and she's just lovely to be around."
Smallbatch Pets Freeze-Dried Food
Phillippe is mom to a (very cute) rescue dog named Benji, and Smallbatch is her go-to food for him. "I really love Smallbatch, they're a company from San Francisco and they make really high-quality dog food," she says. "And that's what I've been feeding him the entire time I've had him, almost four years now I think. And he's a happy dog, he's well-fed, his coat is smooth and it's been doing us very well."
