Lifestyle Beauty & Style Ava Phillippe Lands First Ever Beauty Campaign with Pat McGrath — and It's 'Bridgerton' Inspired Phillippe shares all the details about her buzzy new gig with PEOPLE By Brittany Talarico Brittany Talarico Brittany Talarico is PEOPLE's Deputy Style Director, where she oversees the brand's digital Style and Beauty coverage. This includes running lead on the Met Gala, which is among PEOPLE.com's top-trafficked red carpet events every year, interviewing the industry's top influencers (including all the Kardashian-Jenners), and breaking A-list celeb news (a New Jersey shore native, it is no surprise that her favorite interview ever was with Bruce Springsteen). Brittany is a style contributor to People Every Day Podcast and has represented the brand on national TV programs including Good Morning America and The CW's two TV specials on the British Royals. She joined PEOPLE from Cosmopolitan in 2013, where she was an Associate Editor. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 10, 2021 03:53PM EST Comments Ava Phillippe is the newest Pat McGrath muse! The 22-year-old rising star, who is the daughter of actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, stars in the campaign for Pat McGrath Labs' new limited-edition Bridgerton collection, launching on Dec. 26 on patmcgrath.com. And while the cosmetic capsule is inspired by the bold, flirty and vibrant regency-era makeup seen on the blockbuster Netflix show, Phillippe and McGrath met in a very 2021 way — through Instagram DMs! "I was like ...Pat McGrath is DMing me? Huh?" Phillippe recalls to PEOPLE of the "pinch me" moment. "I have such admiration for her. And for her to even reach out to me or think of me was flattering." Beyoncé Enlists Reese Witherspoon's Kids Ava and Deacon Phillippe for Ivy Park's Holiday Ad Describing collaborating with the iconic, boundary-breaking makeup artist as a "joy" and "the most beautiful type of chaos," Phillippe says seeing the campaign come together behind the scenes was a real highlight. Courtesy Pat McGrath Labs "We all knew what we were doing and we wanted to make it perfect," she tells PEOPLE. "The team has such a commitment to detail and to creatively making it the best it can be. And problem solving and collaborating and being kind and friendly all in the process, even in the frenzy. Just to be a part of it in general is so special." McGrath and her team have been dropping hints about the capsule (in true cryptic Lady Whistledown fashion!) on social media, but Phillippe said she kept it a complete secret from her friends. The only person she confided in was mom Reese. "The first person I told was probably my mom. Just because I was like, 'Mom, I'm going to be going to New York,'" Phillippe says. "She did not give advice per se. She did want to make sure that I was going to be safe and that everything was accounted for and that I was going to be treated as well as possible. And I felt good about it. And I checked all those boxes and she said, 'Go have fun.'" Reese Witherspoon Twins with Daughter Ava in Matching Holiday Sweaters: 'I Had to Beg Her' Phillippe also credits her mom as well as her grandmother for showing her that makeup has the ability to empower anyone who chooses to wear it. "My first memories of makeup are of [watching] my grandmother and the way she does her lipstick and her blush and her eyeliner. And the way my mom would get glammed up for events," she says. "And just how it made them feel and present themselves was so cool as a little kid to feel like, 'Oh, it's an empowering thing.' It's not about changing how you look because you don't like it. It's really about making yourself feel powerful." Ava Phillippe Shows Off New Pink Hair as She Gets 'Dressed Up' Like Her '2014 Self' That sense of instilled confidence has also encouraged Phillippe to explore at-home hair transformations. In fact, the hair color and cut she sports in the new Bridgerton x Pat McGrath Labs campaign was her own work! "I did chop it [my hair] myself during the pandemic, which was a choice. Not a bad one, not a good one, just a choice," she quips. "I do my bangs regularly at the moment. This is my dye job. I'm really, truly the same person all the time, I think. But with the hair, I have this kind of inner sense that it's really just hair and you only live once and might as well have fun with it — it'll grow back. I don't take it too seriously, and I do what feels right." Another person who has encouraged her to take risks with her beauty routine is Mother McGrath herself. "I feel really open to trying a lot of things with makeup, and I think Pat has really inspired a lot of that for me by exposing me to more creative looks and colors and different angles and lines. It's just really great to feel inspired to try anything, and not be afraid. That's the most important part to me is that you don't just put it away because you're too intimidated. And I think she empowers me to feel like I'm not." Ava Phillippe Dyes Her Hair Purple Using a Product She Helped Create McGrath is continuing to inspire and empower her fans with the launch of her latest capsule, born out of "a mutual admiration" between McGrath and Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes. The modern take on regency beauty features a new MTHRSHP eye palette, glow and blush trio and highlighters, all made to flatter every skin tone. "Like so many people, I fell in love at first swoon with Bridgerton. I created a Limited Edition Cosmetic Collection inspired by the romance and searing passion that we saw in Season 1," McGrath shared in the release. "I have always been obsessed with Regency beauty and was thrilled to interpret the era with a modern homage via a new MTHRSHP Eye Palette, Divine Blush + Glow Trio and Highlighters in covetable, collectable packaging." Bridgerton x Pat McGrath Labs launches on Dec. 26 on patmcgrath.com.