Breaking: We Finally Got the Inside Scoop on Madelyn Cline’s Hair Color (2024)

Um, dare I say Madelyn Cline is coming off one of the biggest years of her life? She started 2023 as Cosmo’s Money Issue cover star (NBD!), with a press junket for Knives Out: Glass Onion, following months of press for the third season of Outer Banks. But as a beauty editor, when I think of Madelyn, all I can think about is her winged eyeliner and hair color. Her acting talent? Unreal. But her hair and makeup? Simply the vibes. And now, I’m feeling vindicated in those sentiments because she’s officially been named the newest global brand ambassador for Revlon.

Of course, I sat down to chat with Madelyn over Zoom about how this whole partnership came to be. But ultimately, she got pretty real about beauty, including the all-too-relatable way she did her brows when she first started doing her own makeup, her experience with the ever-changing beauty standards of Hollywood, and what to ask your stylist if you, too, want the sought-after Madelyn Cline bronde hair color (oh, and the hair color she actually regrets).

Oh, and bc it’s Cosmo, we gushed about both being Sagittarius sun/Virgo moons (“I love Virgos; Virgo women—the men? Mhm...”—Madelyn’s words, not mine!). Keep reading for the full exclusive interview below:

Congratulations on this partnership with Revlon! How did this come about?

Last year, while I was on my press tour for Outer Banks, I met with the Revlon team. We were in between a bunch of other events and there was so much going on, but I really wanted to meet them and get to know them. I had 30 minutes between events, and we met in a hotel lobby, and we just hit it off. It was all women—so warm and welcoming. It can be really intimidating and nerve-racking to go into a meeting like this because I was so excited and passionate about the brand—I mean, I grew up wearing Revlon. So I wanted to make a good impression and immediately we had the best conversations.

After that, we hit the ground running. I didn’t know at the time those talks would turn into being global ambassador of the brand. I thought maybe I’d come on as just like a friend of the brand or something. But it blossomed into so much more, and I can’t think of a brand and family that I would want to be partnered with more. They’re absolutely, truly the best. And I mean, also makeup—like, I love makeup.

What are you most excited about?

I’m very excited about the campaign that we shot. It was like a three-day mad dash, filled with lots of makeup, lots of caffeine, and lots of champagne. It was truly such a special experience. Growing up, I would raid my mom’s makeup drawer and wear her Revlon products, and in the back of my head, I would always think how about cool it would be to be one of the girls on the billboards for Revlon. It was always a dream for me. And now, here, we shot the campaign, and I got to be behind the scenes, and it was a very cool full-circle moment that I never really thought that I would realize.

How has your mom shaped your routine or your love of beauty?

My mom doesn’t wear a whole lot of makeup. She’s very natural. So I really learned a lot about skincare from her. I learned the importance of making sure that your skin is prepped and ready for whatever you know you’re gonna put on—makeup or not. Your skin goes through so much every day, and we don’t even realize it, right? I wear more makeup than she does, especially for events, but my makeup artist, Jen Tioseco, and I prep my skin for 20 to 30 minutes before any makeup goes on, because my mom always told me good makeup starts with good skincare first. I think I also kind of take after her minimalistic approach too.

Outer Banks obviously took off so massively, propelling you into Hollywood practically overnight. What has your experience been like with this looks-obsessed culture, and what is your relationship with beauty treatments, procedures, fillers, etc. now?

It’s kind of a love-hate relationship. We’re fed so much marketing. It’s so hard sometimes to think, Oh, like, I don’t need this treatment, right? It kind of changes your eye a little bit where you then start asking yourself if you do need something. It drives me a little nuts for sure. Once Outer Banks blew up, all of a sudden, it felt like people were constantly saying, “Here, take this,” “Try this,” “Do this,” and it was very jarring.

But I think you learn how to quiet the noise. For me, I usually tend toward natural makeup with a heavy emphasis on skincare, so that’s primarily what I put my focus on. But do whatever makes you feel good, you know? Do whatever makes you feel confident. That’s my stance. Whatever makes you feel like a million bucks when you walk out the door, do it.

Do you remember the first makeup product you ever bought?

My mom took me to the drugstore, and she got me a few very, very basic products. I had a powder, and it was all about the matte, piece-of-paper, one-dimensional look at that time. So she took me to the store and she helped me pick out mascara, blush, concealer, and powder. And we definitely didn’t get the shade right. I would put on the concealer and foundation, and then so much setting powder, and it was so bad. I had no idea what I was doing, but I thought I was hot sh*t. And then the brows, I would use black eyeshadow to draw just the front half of my brows. It was just like a black rectangle right over my eyes.

And what are some of your favorite products now?

I’m really loving the Super Lusturous Lipstick. I like lip liner, but I tend to have really dry lips. So I’ve kind of been in a lipstick era recently. The Super Lustrous is really nice because the formula is really moisturizing and creamy. I’m also lazy, and I like that I can just pull it out and put it on my lips and I don’t have to worry about anything. I’m also a big mascara girl—I’m a big fan of the Big Bad Lash—and also just a little bit of bronzer for the cheekbones and call it a day.

You wear winged eyeliner a lot—red carpets, press appearances, your daily life. Do you have any tips you’ve acquired over the years?

Yes, I love putting eyeliner in my waterline. I love to take the eyeliner in my waterline and do the inner and outer corners, then draw a flick on the outer edge to lengthen my lash lines. It almost kind of makes my lashes look deeper. And then I like to smoke out whatever excess eyeliner has gotten a bit messy. I like a kind of slept-in look. I really like to elongate my eyes because that’s my favorite thing to accentuate on my face. When I’m doing a look, I put most of the emphasis on the eyes, and then let everything else is built around that.

Can we chat about your hair color? You’ve had bright blonde, brown, and now a bronde era. What made you make these transitions?

When I started Outer Banks, I was still a brunette and they weren’t really sure they wanted me to be blonde. I wanted to be blonde because I really wanted to dye my hair. So, I put Sun-In in it—which, of course, makes your hair orange, so the first season of filming, it was like warm-brown, honey shade.

Then second season was grown out to only my natural hair color. I’m so jealous of my season 2 hair because it was so healthy and so long. But then between the second and third season, I bleached my hair. So my third season hair was tragic. We don’t talk about it. When I bleached it, I just killed every strand of hair. I wish I could time-travel and slap myself right out of that chair.

But currently, this is what I feel best in. It’s bronde and grown out with my natural color at my roots and some honey-blonde highlights. My favorite is beachy, messy hair. I always give my colorist, Matt Rez, pictures on Pinterest of surfer-girl hair that’s piecey and sunkissed. I’ve found that the best way to get that look is to truly live in your hair and let it grow out a bit.