- 7 minutes ago
Here, in our exclusive one-on-one Q&A, Blake chats about her personal style icons, braving the phalanx of awards-show shutterbugs, and a mind-blowing blush trick. Oh, and you know we asked her about her hair â so, if you've ever envied those tresses, you'll be thrilled to know that she gave up her best secrets.
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00:05Hi, it's Annie with Refinery29, and we are here with the lovely and talented Blake Lively. Hi,
00:10how are you? Good, how are you? Good, thanks for chatting. Of course, thank you for having me. Of
00:14course. So, I want to just talk with you about your red carpet style. We see you all the time,
00:19you're looking good, you've got the gorgeous gowns. When you think about red carpet, what
00:23is like iconic style to you? Well, I always look to women of times past for iconic style,
00:29because, you know, they're not wearing what's trendy now, you know, they're wearing, you know,
00:35you look at Katherine Hepburn and her pantsuits, or you look at Grace Kelly and her incredibly
00:41feminine gowns that look like a, you know, a princess, very fittingly. You know, so I look
00:46to women like that because I always look for style and not trends. You know, there are two very
00:51different things. One can be iconic in any time period. It's, I always want to wear things that
00:58my kids will look back on and say, Mom, that's amazing, why don't you keep that? Not like, I can't
01:03blame you for that, you're embarrassing me so much. Oh, yeah, we never want to look back at our style
01:07and
01:08think what was I doing. Yes, exactly. When you're creating these looks, like, are you thinking about
01:12it day of? Are you very calm, or is it, do you feel pressure because you're going to have all
01:17these
01:17people taking your picture? Um, I feel, um, it's always stressful when you're on a red carpet, because it's
01:24never comfortable when there are a million people with cameras that are screaming your name, and,
01:29you know, you're afraid, you know, and a lot of them really want to get that embarrassing photo,
01:33so they're like, you know, you're getting out of your car, which is an SUV, and there's a guy laying
01:37on the ground trying to shoot up your dress, and then it's your fault later when, when somebody could
01:41see up your dress, you know, it's like, there are people that are trying to get that embarrassing
01:44shot, too, so it's always a bit of a stressful thing, so, um, but leading up to it is never
01:50stressful,
01:50you know, because I, um, I don't know, you make it a fun process, it's like, uh, going to a
01:56costume
01:56party, you get dressed up, and you treat it that way, and, and, you know, the, the few minutes you're
02:01on the red carpet is like, but after that, it's okay. Walk me through a day where you have a
02:07big
02:08event, what is, what does that look like for you? Um, like any other day, I just try to fit
02:14in as much
02:14as I can before the event, because, um, because, you know, you run out of time, but the last premiere
02:19I went to, um, I had my nieces and nephews, I was babysitting them, they were at my hotel at
02:24the pool
02:24all day, um, I was getting dressed, I was in my gown, I had my whole, you know, it was
02:28that 40s look
02:29that I was telling you about, and my sister hadn't shown up yet, their mom, and she was late, so
02:34I was
02:34like, okay, you guys, we're coming to the premiere, so I'm carrying babies and, and wet bathing suit trunks,
02:40trying to put a towel between us, but I knew my dress wouldn't show watermarks because of the,
02:44it was beating, so it won't show water, so I'm holding the babies, I have them in the car with
02:48me, I walk the red carpet, and I get back in the car and continue to watch them until my
02:53sister shows
02:54up, and then I can go through my night. I was not expecting, I was not expecting this at all,
03:00I think that is really fun. It was, it was really fun, you know, it's, it's fun to treat it
03:03like any other
03:04day, and it's also fun for my niece, you know, she's like, wow, look at these outfits, and, um, but
03:09also one of my
03:10favorite moments was, you know, having my niece do that, but then the next day, I went to the next
03:15premiere, and she had, um, she'd been eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and I came home, and she just
03:20had her grilled cheese sandwich in hands, covered in grease, and she just wrapped her arms around me,
03:25and hugged me, and just kind of, like, wiped her hands on me, and walked up, and that was so
03:29great to
03:29me, because she didn't, like, treat me like anything other than her aunt, and it was so nice to be
03:34on that
03:34red carpet, and have everybody screaming at you, and, you know, asking you what it's like to, you know, be
03:39in the
03:39spotlight, and then to go home, and just be dressed like you were, and have the same environment that
03:45you were, where people were treating you like something other than what you are, to go home,
03:49and just be her aunt was, like, the greatest feeling ever. I, I could see that, that's a really sweet
03:53story. So, you know, we, we put the call out on Facebook to our readers that we were going to
03:58be
03:58talking with you, and without fail, all of you wanted to know, how do you have such gorgeous hair,
04:04because I also kind of want to know. Well, that's a nice thing to say. I don't know. My hair
04:12is something that is, I'm actually a pretty shy person by nature, so it's very much a safety net
04:18for me, so I love to have my hair down, and I love to have it full, and I always
04:22like it to look
04:23really relaxed. Oftentimes, you see people on the red carpet with very, like, structured hair,
04:29hair, and to me, that just makes me feel stiff and uncomfortable, and if I have my hair down,
04:34there's something romantic about it. I feel like it looks lived in, or it feels like it
04:39has a story. It feels, like, much more effortless with the rest of the look, so I always, even
04:44in my daily life, go for sort of effortless things, so I'll, like, when I wash and dry my
04:48hair, I have naturally wavy hair, so I'll dry it to where it's still a little bit wet, and
04:52then I'll put it just in a ballerina bun, and then when I take it out, it has a really
04:56nice,
04:56natural, deep wave, and, you know, it's a good trick, and people are like, oh, that
05:02wouldn't work. It would only not work for you if you have really fine, really, really,
05:05really straight hair, but if you have any sort of natural bend in your hair, if you let
05:09it dry in that bun, or you put a blow-dry on it after you put it up in that
05:13bun, and make
05:14sure the bun's really tight, then it will come out with really pretty waves, so that's
05:18what I like to do. I'm doing this when I go home, and my hair
05:20should look like yours tomorrow. I'll be very excited. Just going back to, before you
05:26get on the red carpet, what are kind of the last style or beauty things that you do before
05:31you hit the crowd? You know, there are things like, you know, the obvious things, you touch
05:38up your lip gloss, or, you know, you make sure your face isn't too shiny, or this, that you've
05:42got it in a tiny little clutch, so you can't really see what you're looking like, but I think
05:47that, you know, it's always, for me, most about, okay, are there any accidents that are
05:53going to happen? Because, you know, I'll wear some daring pieces in the way that they're
05:59cut, so I've often times just come to the point of, like, okay, if it's windy today,
06:05and this thing is flowy, I don't want any sort of mistake, so what can I do? A top stick
06:11shows
06:11up too much, you know, it's a big square, so let's use eyelash glue, so we'll use that and stick
06:17my,
06:17glue my outfit to my body, but, you know, that's, that's sort of probably the last minute things
06:22that you're doing, is just making sure that everything is going to stay in place. I'm
06:25impressed, I don't think I would have thought of eyelash glue. Really? It's very MacGyver of you.
06:29Yeah, I don't know, my mom is very clever that way, so I'm always thinking of odd things in a
06:33pinch.
06:34Very smart. My mom used Advil as, as blush once. Wait, no. She didn't have blush, so she licked the
06:40Advil,
06:41and took the, the, um, the pink off of it and used it. I'm learning so much. I feel, I
06:48don't know,
06:48I don't think I recommend this at home, but, you know, she was in a pinch and she made her
06:51blush,
06:51so that's what she did. You come from the family of, of beauty MacGyvers. I'm so impressed. So,
06:57I know people talk about hair, makeup, the dress, but what, where does fragrance come into play? Well,
07:04fragrance for me is actually one of the most important things that I, um, that I live by daily, and
07:10as well
07:10as on the red carpet, because it's, um, I like a more natural, effortless look, so, um, I often don't
07:17wear much makeup in my real life, if any, um, but fragrance is something that really defines you,
07:23and it tells your story. It brings back so many emotions, and, and so many memories, and like,
07:27when you smell the, the smell of someone you love, and, and even if it's not on them, if it's
07:32somewhere,
07:32or your favorite meal, it just, the, the flood of emotions, the power that that has, is, is incredible. So,
07:39to find your signature is something that, um, that is, um, it's like a little magic potion, you know,
07:45it's, it's a very special thing, and unlike fashion, which trends in and out, uh, fragrance is something
07:51that can be your signature for life, you know, my mom smells the way she always smelled, and it's the
07:55most comforting,
07:56amazing feeling to have that. It's also wonderful discovering a new one, when someone walks into a
08:01room, and you say, what is that smell? I have to have that. You smell really good right now,
08:06so I do need to know what, it's actually, it's genuinely Gucci premiere. Yeah, she, she does smell
08:11really nice. Thank you, but, um, but, you know, it, it says so much about who you are, I think,
08:17and, um,
08:17you know, this fragrance is the perfect fragrance, because I would always mix perfume with cologne,
08:23because I love the, the sensuality, and the, and the, the feminine tones that you get in perfume,
08:28but I love the strength, and masculinity, and empowerment that you feel from cologne,
08:33and so I would always mix the two, and I was always looking for the perfect concoction,
08:37and then when I went to work with Gucci on this, they let me smell it, and I was like,
08:42you guys did it! How did you do it now? I only need one bottle, um, because somehow,
08:47that, you know, they mix the wood, which was the, the masculine side, they mixed floral,
08:51which is that femininity, and, and grace, and elegance, and then they mix citrus in there,
08:54too, which gives it, like, that, that flirtiness, you know, that sassiness, and, and it's just like,
09:00everything that you want to be as a woman, and everything you want to represent yourself as,
09:04they, they have in this bottle, and, and that's, that's much more powerful than I think people give
09:09it credit for. What is something that most people wouldn't know about getting ready for the red carpet,
09:15aside from using Advil as, in, in a pinch? Or eyelash glue. Yes. Um, I don't know, I feel like,
09:22I feel like
09:23everybody looks at it to be such a glamorous thing, but it's, it can, it can be a very intimidating,
09:28and a very scary thing. I think that when people see the gold red carpet, you know, they look all
09:33comfortable, and sultry, and posed, or poised, and smiling, and nobody ever feels like that, I think,
09:39before they're stepping out of the car, when they're home. Afterward, you, that's when you can feel
09:42glamorous, like, you're at the ball, but before, you're like, oh, good gosh. Um, so, that's, that's
09:47always scary, and I think that, um, I think that's something that I find, um, to be a little frustrating,
09:53is that, um, like, this whole group mentality of, like, let's decide if this is a best dress,
09:58or if this is a worst dress, because I think that it discourages people in their real life from
10:03making bold choices, because you'll see somebody on a red carpet that made a bold choice, and they'll be
10:07slammed, and you'll think, well, I don't want people to make fun of me. It goes back to, like, being
10:11in
10:11elementary school, you know, I want to do the thing that's safe, and, um, somebody was just saying
10:15to me, you know, what do you think about, how do we avoid things like Bjork's swan dress, and I
10:19said,
10:20that's exactly the thing, we can't avoid the swan dress, because if she didn't, if Bjork didn't
10:24wear the swan dress, she wouldn't be Bjork, she wouldn't be making the music that we love, she wouldn't
10:28be, um, everything that we want her to be, so just encourage and nurture people to, to really be
10:33themself and express themself in whatever formation that is, I think that that's, um, there should be more
10:38of that out there and less judgment. Well, I'm excited to hear you say that, and I can't wait to
10:43see the next thing you wear on the red carpet, so thank you, thank you so much for talking with
10:48us,
10:49and thanks for watching Refinery29.