Amelia Gray Hamlin may be making headlines as the face of MAC’s latest campaign, but her love affair with beauty—especially MAC—started long before the cameras rolled. The 23-year-old model, actress, and beauty muse grew up with a front-row seat to glam sessions courtesy of her mother, Lisa Rinna. Now, she’s stepping into the spotlight in her own right, with a personal beauty philosophy that blends nostalgic favorites, Gen Z irreverence, and high-fashion cool. We caught up with Hamlin to dig into her beauty bag, her makeup rituals, and why she’s unapologetically carrying five lip liners at all times.
A beauty dream come full circle
For Amelia Gray Hamlin, joining MAC’s latest campaign isn’t just another job—it’s a lifelong dream realized. “MAC has just always been the dream,” she says, her voice warm with sincerity. “I have journals where I write down my manifestations and dreams, and MAC has been in them many times.”
Her earliest memory of beauty is deeply intertwined with the brand. “My mom had all these drawers of makeup when I was growing up—she only ever used MAC lipsticks. There’s something very nostalgic about the smell to me, that vanilla scent takes me back.”
That scent, of course, is from MAC’s iconic Lipglass, a product that’s as synonymous with early-2000s glam as it is with Hamlin’s childhood. “I remember the little tube, and it looks the same today,” she says. “It’s crazy that now, years later, I’m not only using it professionally—I’m sharing a campaign with my mom.”
Her ultimate go-to: cool tones and contour
While she shares many beauty habits with Rinna, Hamlin has forged her own path when it comes to makeup. “I feel more confident in cool-toned makeup,” she tells us, pulling out a handful of MAC lip liners from her bag—five, to be exact. “These are my life. I do not go anywhere without all of those.”
Among her favorites? MAC’s Oak (which she carries two of, just in case), Stone, and Greige. “I have grayish colors for girls’ night out when I’m feeling like my dark, feminine self,” she says. “You can just always play around with Oak and put it anywhere.”
Her ride-or-die product, however, is a vintage MAC circular contour stick from the ’90s. “All the girlies buy it on eBay. I was lucky enough to get mine from a makeup artist on set,” she says. “I put it on my eyes, cheeks, and sometimes lips. I’ll put my Lipglass on top in a brown shade. Nobody is allowed to use it—just me.” She has a message for MAC, too: “Please bring it back!”
Minimalist face, maximalist lips
Despite her devotion to certain products, Hamlin’s makeup routine is relatively low maintenance. “Plot twist: I don’t use foundation,” she says. Instead, she swears by a tinted sunscreen, mixed with a bit of Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter for glow. Her concealer of choice? Kylie Cosmetics.
As for primer, don’t expect her to jump on the bandwagon. “I don’t know what primer is,” she says with a laugh. “Well, I guess I know what it is, but I feel like it suffocates your pores. I also don’t wear makeup enough to need it. It’s really for a nine-to-five makeup day.”
Setting spray, however, earns a firm yes. “I’ve only ever used the Huda Beauty one in the silver packaging or the Charlotte Tilbury Setting Spray. My mom always puts the Charlotte one in my stocking for Christmas.”
Blush: a new frontier
For a long time, blush wasn’t part of Hamlin’s routine—especially during her bleached eyebrow phase. “I was very anti-blush for a very long time,” she admits. But that’s changed recently. “Something shifted, and I realized how important blush is—also how important the color of blush is.”
She’s learned that blush is far from one-size-fits-all. “An orange, pink, or red all create such different looks. I think blush will make or break a look,” she explains. “I don’t think it’s for every occasion, though.”
Her first foray into blush was with Rhode’s Toasted Teddy. “It was cool for my beginning blush journey, but now that I’m confident in my blush abilities, I’ve been mixing a few Pat McGrath blushes.”
Skin first, always
When it comes to skincare, Hamlin’s approach is refreshingly unfussy. “I don’t know what my skin type is, but I am always putting oil on my face, and my skin absorbs it in two seconds,” she says. Her current go-tos include the Josh Rosebrook Active Infusion Oil with retinol and Vitamin C, as well as the brand’s rich Vital Balm Cream. “It’s very low-key. The girlies don’t know about it.”
She credits this simple routine with keeping her skin makeup-optional. “I don’t need a full face. I’d rather let my skin breathe and just focus on the things I love—like lip liner and contour.”
Her beauty icons—and MAC’s legacy
When asked about her biggest makeup inspirations, Hamlin doesn’t hesitate: “Gabbriette. She is in the MAC family, so it just makes so much sense for me to say her. We have very similar facial structures, and we both kind of play into the cool-tone vibe.”
But her OG beauty icon? Her mother. “My mom was always applying lip gloss. We would spend hours doing our makeup, and she would give us all these lipsticks to play with,” she recalls. “She was very kind to give us MAC—I would not give my kid that,” she jokes.
Now, being in a campaign alongside her mom is not only full circle—it’s deeply personal. “It’s cool I get to work with MAC because she’s the reason I was ever actually interested in the brand in the first place.”
Final thoughts: beauty as nostalgia, and individuality
For Hamlin, makeup is more than glam—it’s a way to connect with memory, self-expression, and even family legacy. Whether she’s channeling her “dark feminine self” with greige liners or reliving childhood through the vanilla-scented Lipglass, every product tells a story.
She’s not chasing trends or overhauling her face—just refining what already works. “It’s all about what makes you feel confident,” she says. “For me, that’s a lip liner (or five), a little vintage contour, and maybe—just maybe—some blush.”
