Rylee Phillips Knows What Perfume Your Favorite Fictional Character Wears
The content creator’s vanity reviews are taking TikTok by storm.
Our favorite TV shows and movies are deeply ingrained into who we are, so much so that the characters in them begin to feel like real people — and for TikToker Rylee Phillips, they are. Since May of this year, Phillips has been hand curating the vanities of characters like Bella Swan from Twilight and Cat Valentine of Victorious, detailing everything from their signature scent to the shampoo and conditioner they use.
As a film production major and lover of media, Phillips’ deep understanding of character building allows her to recognize that small details like makeup profoundly contribute to making a character feel real. Her hyper-fixation for Polyvore collages and 2000s teen culture manifests itself in the ability to fully encapsulate a character based on beauty products alone. For this reason, her TikTok account, Champagneshoress, has quickly gained a reputation for delivering an incredibly accurate look into the vanities of fictional characters.
Taking the characters’ location, time period and socioeconomic status into consideration, Phillips has the process of sourcing products for her vanity reviews down to a science. She can’t afford to skimp on the details, so she examines every character with care and intention. With her eye for detail and deep admiration for the characters themselves, Phillips is doing way more than just dreaming up vanities — she’s bringing our favorite characters to life.
Below, we talk to Phillips about conceptualizing her viral vanity reviews and the one character that stumped her.
On Starting Her TikTok Account
I started creating these vanity reviews just under three weeks ago. I am a chronic movie and show watcher, and I often find myself scanning the background of scenes just to get a glimpse of what those fictional characters might use in their day to day lives. Being a film production major in college helped me understand the importance of character building — and that set design, wardrobe and makeup play such a crucial part in developing a character. With that, I quickly became interested in what my own favorite fictional characters would use for beauty products. I began the first official vanity review for Carrie Bradshaw from Sex & the City. Given her New York style and messy elegance, I thought it was so fascinating to dive deep into the inner workings of the products she would keep stored in her vanity.
On Her Polyvore Obsession
Growing up, I had always been interested in beauty, fashion and perfume — really anything girly. I stumbled across the app Polyvore when I was in middle school and quickly became obsessed with creating fashion collages [that replicated] outfits from popular shows and movies. Any chance I got, I found myself on the app just creating and posting, which quickly made me realize I had a deep love for beauty and fashion. I would find myself really enjoying The OC, and other similar shows — I fell in love with 2000s teen culture and beauty items from that time period. It’s so fascinating to see how much trends have changed over the years and evolved into what we know today.
On Curating Vanity Reviews
The process for curating these vanity reviews is time consuming, but so rewarding. My starting point is choosing a character based on how much they’ve been requested, or [one that] I personally want to dive into. Next, the most important thing to consider is the time period and location. For example, my H2O: Just Add Water posts involve researching popular Australian brands — so, for one of those posts I look into what skin, makeup and hair brands were popular in Australia in the 2000s. From there, I go based on who that character is, and what items they might have been inclined to buy. If they’re a wealthy character, they most likely would purchase from higher end or department store brands — versus a character who’s middle class just buying average drugstore products with a few upscale products here and there. It’s also important to look at the characters style, colors they like, what their bedroom looks like and even their hair type. Narrowing it down as much as I can is crucial to making [the vanity reviews] specific.
On the Power of a Signature Scent
Scent is such an important part of what makes a character unique. Scent can tell a story within itself. Usually, I can pick up on what [scent] a character would like based on wardrobe or set design choices. For example, recently I did Abby Littman from Ginny & Georgia — Abby is a character who has a lot of deep-rooted insecurities, meaning that she would probably have varying product lineups depending on her mood. If she wants to appear more confident, she might opt for a bolder scent that stands out. But if she’s feeling a bit more insecure or reserved, she would go for a softer, more comforting scent. What helps me decide on a character’s signature scent is the use of product placement in shows, or if they have a favorite food or flower. All of those character decisions help me better understand them and their preferences, making it easier to guess what their go-to scent would be.
On Her Most Difficult Vanity Review
Some of the most difficult vanity reviews are for characters who aren’t into beauty products. Of course, naturally, everyone would have the basics like shampoo, conditioner, body wash and a few personal hygiene items. For example, with characters like Rue Bennett from Euphoria — her character arc never centers around doing her hair or dressing up. So, when it comes to curating a vanity review for a character like her, you have to go as general as possible, or opt for cheap products she might’ve picked up at the store. To expand on those types of characters, I sometimes lean into what makeup was used on set to create that character’s look. Euphoria is such a makeup heavy show — and the makeup artist, Donniella Davy, put in a lot of work so that the characters’ makeup choices reflect what they’re feeling. We see Rue wear makeup in certain scenes, so she probably would have a few makeup items lying around somewhere. Beyond that, I might use some of the products that the actresses use in their personal lives, because those choices can often influence how their hair or skin looks in the show.
On Her Favorite Vanity Review
I have a lot of favorite vanity reviews that I’ve done, but I really enjoy getting to research some of the older characters from the ’80s or ’90s — to get a glimpse into what beauty products were popular before I was born. But, I also love all of the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon characters because those are the shows and movies I vividly remember watching growing up, and I owned a lot of the products that are in their lineups. For me, it’s easier to do characters from the early 2010s, as that’s when I really started using makeup, hair, skincare and fragrance products.
