24 Hours With Gabi Butler

Welcome to Beauty Around the Clock, Marie Claire's weekly peek into the daily lives of some of the most game-changing women in their industries. Ever wonder how they get it all done in a day? Here's your answer.

When it comes to productivity, some people might want to have the same 24 hours as Beyoncé. Personally, I would jump at the chance to have the same 24 hours as Gabi Butler. The Weber State University cheerleader and star of Netflix’s breakout docuseries Cheer—the highly anticipated second season of which hit the streaming platform on January 12—manages to somehow fit a full cheer workout and a full self-care routine into just one day. And she does it multiple times each week!

I caught up with Butler to talk all things beauty, from her favorite no-makeup-makeup makeup hack (which is genius, by the way!) to the face cream that she relies on to keep her dry skin in check all winter long. Despite “not being as much of a beauty girl as everyone thinks,” Butler definitely taught me a thing or two. Below, see all of her tips.

Rise and Shine 

When I go to practice most of the time, I don't wear a full face of makeup. So if I'm getting ready for a day of practice, I'll get out of bed, I'll jump in the shower to wake up. I'll usually make coffee before I brush my teeth just because I don't want to brush my teeth and then go get coffee, I'm weird about that. After that, I'll start making my bed and I'll start getting ready.

Power Start 

I would say coffee, honestly. I'm so weird. I used to love breakfast, I was a super big breakfast person. And now, I would say, I just drink coffee and that gets me together. And coffee—even though it's probably not healthy—it does get you full really easily, so I’m good for however long until I get hungry. 

Morning Makeup Hack 

If it's a day of practice, I'll brush my eyebrows maybe. I'll curl my eyelashes and then I'll put Vaseline on them, so it's like a clear mascara. That's pretty much it for a day of practice.

Signature Look 

For a day that I'm actually getting ready, I will normally start with my face. I’ll start with putting blush on—I'm not a big person when it comes to foundation and powder and all those things. I don't normally use a lot of face makeup, just because I have a pretty nice color. So I don't really add anything, unless maybe it’s blush. If I have dark circles under my eyes I’ll put a little bit of concealer or powder under them. But I'll usually just put a little bit of blush, depending on the day. And then I'll just brush my eyebrows, curl my eyelashes, and put on mascara. 

I do this thing where I do this cat eye look—basically, I put eyeliner in the inner part and kind of wing out my eye so it looks like cat eyes. Everyone really likes that look. And I'm really good at that look too, so that’s my go-to. It’s very mysterious and it just looks really good. 

Hair Help

I use a Revlon curling iron. It's not one of the ones that you clamp or one that has a button on the end—it’s one of the wands. I use a thicker one. I just personally like bigger curls. I just feel like it makes it look better. 

 Makeup Must-Buys

I definitely love the [Urban Decay] Naked palettes. I think that they have a lot of great variations of colors. I really like the way that it holds on my eye. Some eyeshadows, they come off throughout the day, but the Naked palettes, they stick like glue. All their colors are super pretty and they pop really well. 

I don't know exactly what it's called, but I have this glow kit that I think is also from Naked. It has one glow, and it has sparkles. 

I like Revlon’s eyeliner. I have a bunch of Revlon eyeliners specifically. I think they do really good eyeliner and they have all different colors, too.

Signature Scent 

I just got a new perfume and I don't know what it's called, it’s this gold bottle. My friend was wearing it one time and I said, “Oh my gosh, what is that smell? It's so good.” And she said, “Oh, it's a perfume from Dubai." And I said, "I need it.”  So I don't know what the name of it is, but I will let you know on my Instagram. 

But other than that, for my go-to perfumes I would say that I love Bath and Body Works. I literally can go in there and just have a field day. I really love their Cashmere—they just came out with a Cashmere Perfume, so I really love that. Anything that's  kind of sweet and more feminine. I really like those kinds of smells. 

Shop Gabi's Favorite Beauty Products

Fitness Fix 

Right now my training regimen is basically just going to the gym. Sometimes I'll go to the gym twice a day and I'll go for an hour and a half to two hours each time, so I'm in the gym a lot. I'm a workout fanatic. I also do stunts—anything cheer related. There's no better workout than a cheer workout because you cannot feel your body the next day. If you do one cheer practice. You're like, “Wow, I didn't realize how much of my muscle I'm using." But I would say stunting is another workout that I do even though it's not so much a workout for me—it's more important for the guy—but I think it's still is a really good way to train and work those specific muscles. 

Self-Care Routine 

I would definitely say, after practice, I love to go get a Swig drink. I'm in Utah, so that's a West Coast thing. So I'll go get a drink after practice. And then I'll come back and honestly, coming home is unwinding for me and just spending time with my loved ones and just the people that I really care about. I think that unwinds me and helps me calm down. 

Cheap And Chic 

Some of the best makeup that I have is from Walmart. I'm not even kidding. Everyone says, “Yeah, I went to Ulta." I feel like I spend so much when I go there. I get two things and I'm spending $60. But then I'll go to Walmart or Target and I'm spending $60 on 20 things.

Style And Beauty Icon 

I'm really not into beauty as much as people think, but I would say maybe Kat Von D. I think she has really, really good makeup. I don't know if this really counts, but I love Jhené Aiko. I love her vibe, and the way that she dresses, and the way that she wears her makeup. She can one day have a completely different look, but it’s so natural. I really like her.

Backup Career 

I've been thinking about this because obviously, I'm not going to cheer forever and it's going to come to an end at some point. But I would really love to still stay active. I've been thinking about becoming a dancer. Cheerleading, it is a lot on your body and it's very harsh, but I think dance—hip hop dancing, or just dancing in general—that would be a really good thing for me to get into because I do love dancing so much. When I feel in the mood to dance, I feel like I could be really good at it. 

P.M. Routine

At night I just try to make sure that I'm moisturizing my face and put some night serum on or just something where it's not super dry. Because out here [in Utah], it's very dry compared to Florida. My skin is way more dry because the humidity is non-existent out here. I definitely think that moisturizing my skin is the biggest thing just because I don't want to wrinkle when I'm younger. My grandma, she's 81, but she's aged very well. So I'm really hoping that that carries on with me.

I use a lot of First Aid Beauty. They've sent me a lot of really great things. They have this Ultra Repair Cream that I use at night, it's super moisturizing. I love it. I use a lot of their stuff. I use the Neutrogena wipes that they have. 

Lights Out

I guess what calms me down is putting on a movie and I'll cuddle with my boyfriend, just to relax with him. I feel like during the day I'm very busy and I'm kind of hectic, so I'll try to check on my friends as soon as I'm done with everything. I would say just putting a movie on and just relaxing. I think that's the best thing, for sure. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.