I Went on a Beauty Safari With Shay Mitchell, and It Was as Surreal as It Sounds

They told me the car would pick me up at 7:30 a.m. and that I should wear flats so I wouldn’t trip as we toured the dusty grounds of the animal sanctuary. Google Maps told me it would take an hour to get there from L.A. I set out a pair of loafers and a tablet of Dramamine in case the drive got wild.

Because I’m a late sleeper, I didn’t have time to finish my makeup before my ride called me to come down. As we hurtled around the winding switchback roads, making our way toward the mountains of Angeles National Forest, I quickly regretted my decision to apply liquid lipstick in the car. We whipped around a tight corner, and I inevitably dropped the applicator in my lap, leaving a bright pink streak on my thigh in the shape of a check mark.

Damn, I thought. Shay Mitchell’s going to think I’m a slob.

I was headed to an event for Bioré, but this wasn’t your typical launch party. Normally when brands release a new product, they host a dainty breakfast at a hotel centrally located in Los Angeles. But to honor the release of its limited-edition animal-print pore strips, Bioré decided to do something out of the ordinary.

All I knew was that the event would be held at a wildlife shelter in the mountains and that I’d be interviewing Shay Mitchell, the face of the campaign. I certainly did not know that within the hour I’d be splitting papaya with the celeb and accompanying her on a walking safari.

To find out what went down (and get some genius beauty tips from Shay), keep reading.

When it was time for our interview, Shay appeared from behind a banana leaf, flaunting her signature bronzed complexion and a fresh lob (which her stylist had cut just that morning). Far from the pollution and stuffy hotels of Los Angeles, her posture was relaxed, her eyes sparkling.

I complimented her hair, which she was still touching and playing with like we all do after a new chop. “If you had to make another radical change to your hair, what would you do?” I asked her.

“Dye it,” Shay said without a beat. “Like, I don’t know, maybe go a really light brown or blond. That would be super pretty. Like Ciara blond.”

Something about the early morning sun and the mountain air (and her expertly applied foundation, no doubt) made Shay’s skin look particularly luminous, not even the faint memory blemish in sight.

“Do you ever have trouble with your skin?” I asked. “It seems flawless.”

“Sometimes I have dry, flaky skin,” she told me, “because I wear so much makeup and then use makeup removers. I hate washing my face all the time.”

Shay cited Bioré’s Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub ($10) as her favorite way to treat it. “It’s gentle enough, but it still exfoliates your skin. … There’s nothing worse than having a dry spot and trying to cover that up. … You want an even canvas to work on.”

She had plenty more drugstore recommendations.

“I always use Bioré’s Self Heating One Minute Mask ($8). As soon as I take my makeup off, that’s what I put on because it just leaves your skin super tingly, and I love that feeling,” she said. “I also always have the same mascara: CovergirlLash Blast ($9). And coconut oil. You can use it to cook, you can use it to moisturize your body and hair, everything.”

“Any other must-haves?” I asked her.

“Oh, the pore strips,” she said, “the animal-print pore strips.”

Keep reading the rest of the interview at Byrdie.com! Do you have any beauty tips to share? Tell us in the comments below.