Night Moves: Emma Chamberlain on “Hot Girl Vibes” and the Fruits of Quadruple Cleansing

Night Moves explores going out through the lens of beauty. Here, discover how your favorite stars get ready to paint the town red, including what music they're playing to set the mood, the essentials decorating their vanity, and which must-have products are taking up precious real estate in their evening bag. In the latest installment, InStyle spoke to social media star and Lancôme global ambassador Emma Chamberlain.

Describe your perfect night out.

With my best friends, obviously! Probably in L.A. or New York. We go to dinner—I don’t care what it is, but it needs to be really yummy. Then, to a wine bar. I need a glass of wine! Then, we’re going to go to not a club, but a bar, but it’s almost a club. But it’s a bar. But there’s dancing. That’s the vibe. I want to be there until it closes at two. And then I want to go to an after-party. This is we’re-going-all-night vibes. And I want the after party to have a lot of really fun people that I don’t know very well so that I can make a new friend. And maybe there’s a cute guy, and maybe I get a number.

If you could get ready for a night with any famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Helena Bonham Carter! Getting ready to go out with her would be f**king iconic. She looks amazing, and you know she’s so fun.

What are your top three getting-ready tracks?

My friends and I love Olivia Rodrigo when we’re getting ready. I’m sorry, but “Bad Idea,” right? When you’re getting ready, it’s such a vibe. It’s so indulgent. It’s so good. But also, I love something upbeat. We love the newest Strokes album. It’s just so good. That whole album is just so upbeat and fun. Obviously, it's “The Adults Are Talking,” and everybody knows the words, but I think it’s “At the Door.” That leads me to my third answer, which is sometimes I like to listen to The Smiths randomly. It’s just dramatic. And you feel like you’re in an ’80s movie, and you’re like, It’s hot. That’s right before you leave.

What’s your process for putting together a look?

It’s always finding one piece that I know I want to wear. So it’s like, Oh, I need to wear this pair of shoes or this bag, so everything’s going around with that. And then it’s finding things that are the same color, that are the same vibe. I’m all about the sandwiching.

Describe your beauty vibe in three words.

Hot girl vibes.

Do you have any pre-going-out skin-care rituals?

Honestly, my only thing is I just hydrate every day, day and night. So, I am also hydrating right before makeup. I always wash my face right before I do my makeup, too. Some people don’t, but I have to wash and go back and redo the whole skin-care routine. Even if I did it two hours ago, I don’t care. I also like tools, the little micro-current thing.

What’s your pre-going-out makeup routine?

I like super natural skin just because [makeup] ends up coming off anyway, so I don’t want to overdo it. But I’m definitely bronzing it up; it’s a key moment. I’m bronzing up the eye, too! And then a chunky lash, too, kind of. Not too chunky. And a really solid lip combo. I like it to be simple because over the course of the night, you’re sweating, you’re being funny. It doesn’t matter because it wears off nicely.

It starts with the Lancôme Génifique Face Serum because that’s the base for everything. I’ll mix it with foundation, and it creates this gorgeous, dewy, light sort of situation. Then, I will use the classic All Over Concealer. The Star Bronzer powder is so good, and it's also going on the lid; we know this. Lash Idôle is a classic. There are 10 lip liners, there are 10. Actually, by the way, there’s every lip product I’ve ever owned on my counter. So just imagine that, because the lip is the moment. I’ve taught myself how to re-line my lips without looking. I don’t need a mirror. It’s an unbelievable skill to have. It took me months. And I’m spot on, too. When you see me out one night with my lip all the way over on the side of my face because I actually did not nail it… it’s just...don’t bring it up.

What essentials do you tote around in your evening bag?

As long as I have the lip, everything else can be a mess. I always end up packing a cute little mini bag because that’s just what happens. It’s like, I can’t bring a cross-body to the bar. It’s weird. I would love to be able to bring a nice big bag out, but you know how it is; we just want a cute little bag, right? It fits nothing. I always have a wallet and portable charger. That’s the main thing. I travel light.

What’s your skin-care routine when you get home?

I’m going all in. Okay? Because listen, there are some nights when it’s like, we’re lucky that we’re getting out the micellar water, and we’re doing the bare minimum. But in an ideal world, I’m going all in. So we’re going in with the eye makeup remover. Then we’re going in with the micellar water and the incredible cleansing milk. Then I go in with a full cleanser... That’s the final step. It’s a quadruple cleanse. Then, I do like to chemical exfoliate, so, the Clarifique serum. My skin gets really dry after a night out. Génifique serum, Génifique night cream, Génifique eye cream. And if I’m really dry, the Absolue Oil, a thin layer of the oil, and we’re done. But, really, it’s all about quad cleansing!