You probably (definitely) know Sadie Sink from her signature freckles, firey red hair, and equally firey spirit from her Stranger Things, where she plays Max Mayfield,  the “tough and confident” tomboy. And so it may come as no surprise that her natural beauty accolades from the show have won her an IRL campaign as the face of Givenchy Beauty’s latest lipstick ad. Sat clad in a bold red lip (Givenchy Beauty Le Rouge Deep Velvet 37, to be exact), we spoke exclusively to the actress about her beauty icons, make-up tips, and (obvs) some inside info about the new season of Stranger Things. 

Let’s get into the interview… 

Cosmo Middle East: Did you ever think that after appearing on Stranger Things that you were going to become a global beauty icon?

Sadie Sink: Absolutely not, especially from that show because I didn’t wear any make-up, my hair was a mess and just very free. I never thought that any opportunity like this would come out of that. For me, the acting was my priority and my focus. Since then, I’ve been given incredible opportunities such as working with Givenchy, it’s kinda crazy I’m very lucky and excited.

C: Your signature look is all about natural skin, red hair, freckles, your statement red lip – the Givenchy red lip – which I love! Amongst the sea of contours, lip fillers, injections and tendencies to manipulate your face, has it been important to you to embrace natural beauty?

SS: Totally, there’s two sides of the beauty world. You can go for that look or you can go for a natural look and embrace imperfections and flaws. I’ll tend to, in my everyday life or even for the red carpet, I like to do more natural skin then play around with the bold red lip for fun.

C:  So how did your work with Givenchy come about? 

SS: It was a very easy yes for me when they first approached me. Obviously, I love and respect the brand and the idea of the campaign seemed really cool and authentic to me. I love the idea of taking the red lip, which is considered a bold choice, and making it more casual and incorporating it into different looks. Also, lipstick is the one thing in makeup which I feel pretty confident about. It seemed fitting.

C: What is your all-time favorite beauty product of theirs that you have?

SS: I’d say number 37 is my favorite of the three [lipsticks] that I shot for, it’s very bold, it’s the richest from the three reds that I shot. This one is my favorite if I feel like I wanna make a statement. Number 36 is also good for more everyday looks, yeah, I’d say that’s my favorite product though.

C: Obviously we have to talk Stranger Things, I have to ask, how involved were you with the making of Max’s beauty aesthetic? How much did you work with the makeup artists and the costume designers?

SS: It was pretty easy developing Max’s look. Basically, I remember the first day even for season two I came in with my hair down and natural and no makeup on my face and they were like okay yeah this works, that’s pretty much it! So, it’s a very easy show for me in terms of the time spent in the hair and makeup trailer. The one thing we really had to develop was the bronzer because she’s supposed to be from California and spend a lot of time outside. So that was the one makeup thing we had to develop for the character but other than that its super easy.

C: Have you learnt any personal lessons from Max?

SS: Playing Max and being a character that doesn’t really care about what she’s wearing and what she looks like, it’s helped me be more confident in not necessarily feeling like I need to have my hair done and a perfect outfit all the time. She’s definitely taught me to be more confident in certain areas of my life which is a good lesson.

C: What do you have in the pipeline for this year. For this year that no one knows what is going to behold but what do you have coming up?

SS: The goal is to finish working on our fourth season of the show, I’ve got a few projects working on that I’m very excited about. Hopefully, that’s the goal we never know how things are going to turn out – we certainly know that at this point. We’ve been really focused and being as safe as we can on set and trying to get the fourth season out for everyone.

C: Do you have any of your own beauty icons that you look up to? Specifically, those that really rock a red lip.

SS: Taylor Swift, no one does it better honestly.

C: Have you learnt any tips and tricks from makeup artists or cast members that you can share with me?

SS: For sure, one of the big things I always learn from makeup artists, when they’re applying skin care they always apply it in an upward motion it’s supposed to help you in the long run. And water, lots of water, that’s been a key tip I’ve learnt from lots of people that I would trust.

Dually noted!