Lucy Hale's Beauty Routine Is So Extra, But She Bows Down To A Famous Friend's Contour — EXCLUSIVE

Actress Lucy Hale is that cool girl who has an established fashion and beauty routine. Although she does admit to having an entire team behind her, Lucy Hale's beauty tips are mined from a myriad of her own personal experiences, and not all of them are fancy AF. I sat down with the actress to find out what her morning routine is like, where she shops, and how she deals with negativity. And you know what, we have a lot more in common than I expected, which is refreshing in this Instagram-hierarchy world.

You might know her as Aria Montgomery on Pretty Little Liars, but make no mistake, Hale is not who she plays on TV. When it comes to her own personal style, she takes a little piece of each of her character's fashion sense and makes it her own. "Being exposed to having a stylist and being on different shows, I’ve noticed that I’ve become more outgoing with my style because of my characters," Hale told me.

"Aria was more quirky and a little outrageous, and I’m more tame than that." Although her Pretty Little Liars wardrobe included mini skirts, sky-high heels, and loads of accessories, Hale likes to be really comfortable. "You’re not going to see me on my off day rocking heels. If I want to wear Lululemon that day, I’ll wear workout clothes and some days, I’ll actually get dressed up."

After a long run on such a successful show, Hale's not only learned style tips from her character, she's learned lessons that apply to her real life. “In this industry, you have to overcome so many negative thoughts from yourself and other people," explained Hale, who went on to say something that totally inspires me.

"Dodging that and creating my own image of myself has been the most empowering thing for me. I’ve been doing this since I was 15, and now at 28, I feel like I’ve finally figured out who Lucy is."

How could someone who puts so much effort into portraying a character, not walk away with a part of each one she plays? "My new character Stella that I play on Life Sentence has a vintage feel," Hale explained of her latest on-screen persona, which fans will get to witness firsthand come the Mar. 7 premiere date, following Riverdale. "I noticed that after I started that show, I started incorporating more vintage into my everyday wear. I’m really into thrift and vintage shopping right now, but sometimes that can get really pricey depending on where you go."

However, the 28-year old actress works hard for her money, so naturally, she knows exactly how to spend it. “When it comes to shopping, I splurge on staples and save on trendy stuff," she said. "I’ll spend more money on shoes and jeans and coats and stuff that I know I’m going to get a lot of use out of. But something that I know is going to come and go quickly, I’ll go to Forever 21." Yasss, girl!

There’s a mall close to my house and I love going there because there’s my Sephora, my Forever 21, all my stops that I need in one place."

I've already confessed to being a full-blown adult and shopping at Forever 21, so it's comforting to be in such good company. We bonded over the fact that the fast-fashion retailer actually has stellar pieces that take the guesswork out of styling yourself. Hale (AKA my new spirit animal) broke it down for me: "You know what I love about shopping at Forever 21? They know how to dress the mannequins in front of the store and it makes me think, ‘oh yeah, I need that.'"

OK, so I've never seen Lucy Hale casually browsing the racks at my local Forever 21, and I couldn't imagine her strolling through the mall the same way I do. She quickly corrected me. "You'd be surprised," adding, “there’s a mall close to my house and I love going there because there’s my Sephora, my Forever 21, all my stops that I need in one place." Sure, the mall is convenient for plebeians like me, but for an actress with impassioned young fans eager for selfies?

As it turns out, that's not so much of a problem.

“When I shop at the mall, I’ve noticed that people recognize me more when I travel," explains Hale. "That’s when it gets a little more chaotic, but going to the malls is not as crazy as you would think. I don’t go right after school gets out, but I can live my life and be fine. People are usually really respectful of my space and very nice.”

So, if you catch me standing outside a Forever 21 on a Tuesday afternoon while kids are usually in school, I'm just trying to catch an opportunity to shop with Lucy Hale. Just kidding. Kind of.

As for what I'd find on her Sephora receipt, I quickly unearthed that Hale is a bonafide K-beauty skincare junkie, who also loves to experiment with makeup. A typical day of beauty for Hale looks like the best day ever, IMHO.

“I wake up, I make a cup of coffee, I let my dog out and if I have time, I put on a face mask. Usually I go for a workout and come home and start my day." As for her workout de rigueur, she opts for international import Training Mate. "All the trainers are Australian, and they make working out really fun. It’s circuit training and it’s everything you’d get with a personal trainer, except there are like fifty other people in the class. I also like Soul Cycle; I like to change it up.”

When it comes to her makeup routine, Hale knows what she likes. These are the products she keeps on repeat.

“Avon just launched these great True Color Transforming Contour Sticks ($11, avon.com) and highlighters, which I’m obsessed with. Where I’m at with makeup now is all about the skin. I love having fun with my eyes and lips too, but in every-day wear, I love concentrating on skin and these are easy to use and really moisturizing."

While she admits to not being a pro at doing her own makeup, she mentioned a familiar face that is. “You know who does some good contour? Shay Mitchell. She can do it herself. She’s really good at makeup.” In case you're hoping to see the two reunite the Pretty Little Liars spinoff, The Perfectionists, never say never, but I didn't get a sense from Hale that she's looking to play Aria again in the near future.

"Pretty Little Liars was so amazing, but we had done it for eight years, so it was definitely time to close the chapter, although it's continuing with the spinoff. I didn’t have much time to think about it because I jumped right onto another project, and it’s the most excited I’ve ever been for something. Of course, when you do something for that long, you create a family. I miss the people."

Based on that response, I'd say fans shouldn't expect to see Hale make a cameo, but they can't necessarily rule it out, either. Family is family, after all. But back to her beauty routine, in which a good contour is never complete without a solid highlight.

"It’s amazing what a good highlighter can do. If you’re tired, you pop some highlighter on and you look way more awake than you feel. I love Avon’s True Color Illuminating Stick in the shade Champagne ($11; avon). It’s so cute and tiny.”

“I always have to have my brows on point. Kelley Baker does my brows and she just came out with a Tinted Brow Gel ($24; kelleybakerbrows.com) that’s really easy to use. She taught me to always brush up your brows, so I make sure to do that.”

“Lucas Paw Paw Ointment ($8; Walmart) from Australia is the best moisturizer of all time.”

“I’m obsessed with Avon’s Pout Velvet Lip Paints ($12; Avon). My favorite shade is this orangey-red shade called spark. When you wear it, you don’t really have to do anything else because it’s definitely a statement lip and the pigment is so strong.”

But by the end of the day, Hale is happy to go home, take off her makeup, jump into bed, and watch TV — just like the rest of us. “I love to be in bed by 9:30 p.m.," she said.

OK, so we're not exactly twinsies, her and I. "I’m all about taking care of my skin and I live for taking my makeup off at the end of the day. I always make sure to double cleanse. When you wash your face just once, you think you’re done but it’s horrifying what is left on your face. I’ll wash my face, then exfoliate and probably put another mask on." No wonder she has impeccable skin, and her maxed-out skin routine doesn't end there.

"A couple of years ago, I got really into the Korean skincare routine and keeping track of the order I apply my serums. I have like 15 of them and it takes a long time to apply them because you have to let them all dry in between. Then, I get in bed, I watch Netflix. I’m trying this thing where I’m not on my phone right before I go to bed. It’s not really working, but that’s my new goal.”

So what does she watch when she curls up under the covers? “Right now I’m in the third season of New Girl. I’m obsessed with it, even though I’m really behind. Or I watch Friends reruns."

In other words, Hale spends her nights the same way you do — only with 15 expertly-layered serums gracing her skin.