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The words “real” and “supermodel” don't often go hand in hand, but Hunter McGrady is changing that. Over the past few years, the model—who you may recognize from the pages of Sports Illustrated's famous swimsuit issue—has been an open book on Instagram. “Let’s talk about butts” opens one recent post, where she goes to to discuss pimples, ingrowns, and stretch marks. “Worn nothin but these black sweats, black sports bra, and black hoodie for 6 months, hbu," reads another.
So it only makes sense that she's teaming up with Olay for its new Maximize Not Minimize Campaign, which is all about celebrating women as they are, and encourages the world to maximize their achievements. In the campaign, McGrady is joined by actors Jennifer Hudson and Busy Philipps, along with everyday women like physicist Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, and actress and nurse Jennifer Stone.
“I'm such a firm believer that companies need to put real women on the forefront and celebrate women in all walks of life,” McGrady tells Glamour. “It’s awesome that this is what little girls are able to look at, and see themselves in these ads."
We caught up with McGrady to chat more about her thoughts on beauty standards and ask her our Big Beauty Questions, a rapid-fire Q&A on everything from the best feel-good music to the products she can't live without. Here's what she had to say.
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Glamour: What's one beauty rule that you swear by?
Hunter McGrady: SPF, SPF, and then more SPF. I use Olay's Regenerist Whip with SPF25. Sunscreen is a must-have and a must-wear, and I never believed it until I hit my 20s.
What's one beauty rule you think is BS?
That you have to stick within a certain color palette in accordance with the season. I like to have fun no matter what season it is. I'll wear a bright pink eye during the winter.
What have you been doing for self-care during the pandemic?
I’ve really been unplugging. Because we're home, I'm finding myself on my phone and computer a lot—just getting a lot of screen time. So any time I can, I get unplugged and try to get away from social media. I also love to take a bath, read, and light a candle.
Have you been reading anything good lately?
I just finished City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, and it is absolutely amazing. She wrote Eat Pray Love, as well.
What music have you been listening to to keep your spirits up?
Anything Lizzo! She is a queen. She's always blasting through my house. I love how she's all about women empowerment and girl power. It’s very uplifting. I’ll listen to it all day.
Fill in the blank, I love my hair…
When it's fresh out the ocean because it’s when my natural curls come out.
You’re stranded on a desert island. What are the three products you bring with you?
Like I mentioned, my Olay Regenerist Whip with SPF 25, because I'm on an island and I need sunscreen. Because I'm going to be in the sun, I’ll definitely choose my Olay Retinol 24 MAX and Chapstick—I'm going to be looking flawless.
If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions, what would you change?
We are constantly seeing a very Photoshopped version of women, which is another reason why I love working with Olay because it introduced its Skin Promise this past year. So the brand does no retouching on its ads. The campaign we shot had no retouching at all. Olay is also asking all the influencers it works with to do the same.
I think it’s really important to see real skin, to see real women, especially when it comes to ads, because that’s our reality. We want to know that these things truly work on real women, and you’re not seeing this blurred version.
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What's the last Instagram or TikTok rabbit hole you went down?
Okay, this is so embarrassing. Somehow I randomly got onto Justin Bieber’s paparazzi videos. I was on one of my main pages and I clicked on it, and just kept going. I was on it for 15 minutes, just watching how he interacts with the paparazzi. It was so funny. I am mortified to say it, but that was my last one.
Screw, marry, kill: Mascara, lipstick, highlighter
Screw lipstick, marry mascara, kill highlighter.
What beauty trend are you obsessed with right now?
Doing more of a full eyebrow, kind of like letting them go. I mean, I haven’t had my eyebrows done in seven months, so they’re very bushy. But I'm honestly not mad at it.
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What's your favorite perfume?
I love Burberry’s My Burberry. It’s what I wore the whole time my now husband and I were dating, so it reminds us both of that time.
You have $20 and free roam of a drugstore; what are you buying?
Mascara, Reese's, more Olay products, Diet Coke, and all the Chapstick in the world because my lips are always dry.
What colors are you loving on your nails right now?
Right now I have this ombré fall color. I don’t know if you've been seeing it, but each nail is a different color, and it starts with a deep burgundy, and it goes to this kind of pinky color, a light nude, an orange and then a white.
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Who are the women inspiring you most right now?
Well, as always, my mom. She has always been my inspiration since day one. Second I would say Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Since she passed away, I did a deep dive of her life, and I'm just so in awe of her and the way that she broke so many barriers. She is absolutely iconic.
Bella Cacciatore is the beauty associate at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_. This interview has been edited and condensed.
