Month: July 2019

Ariel Winter has a new TV family, the Special Victims Unit. The Modern Family star will pop up in an early episode of the history-making Law & Order: SVU season 21.

Winter teased a new project, as well as new hair, on Instagram. “Filming something new that I’m really excited about,” she teased.

The Modern Family star was spotted filming alongside SVU mainstay and executive producer Mariska Hargitay. Winter’s episode, airing fall 2019, will explore the newest techniques and methods used to help victims disclose their trauma and recall key details for the investigating police.

So far, season 21 of SVU’s guest cast also includes American Gods and Deadwood star Ian McShane.

In addition to Modern Family, which will return for an 11th and final season on ABC, Winter’s other TV credits include Sofia the First, Minnie’s Bow-Toons, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Phineas and Ferb, ER, Monk and Bones.

Premiering Thursday, Sept. 26, season 21 of SVU makes the NBC drama the longest-running, scripted, live-action primetime series. Gunsmoke and the Law & Order mothership series held the record previously at 20 seasons each.

Ariel Winter is known for playing Alex Dunphy on Modern Family, and Alex Dunphy is known for wearing the same dark hair in every episode. But in real, non-TV life, Winter enjoys playing around with the naturally dirty blonde hair on her head by switching up the color (magenta, red, a variety of wigs) and style (shaggy layers, very good waves, more wigs) whenever she can.

All of this experimenting has led Winter to become the poster child for blowouts — specifically Ulta Beauty’s new blowout service, which offers five different styles at Ulta’s in-store salons for $35 a pop. The Cut quickly caught up with Winter before the launch event to talk animated mermaids, on-set hairstyling, and Peach Rings. Here are seven things we learned.

01. It’s a happy coincidence that she and the animated Ariel have the same hair.
When asked if Disney’s half-fish, half-person princess inspired her recent decision to go red, Winter says it was more born out of an itch to drastically switch things up in general. “Typically, I experiment with my hair a bunch, and like to change it up multiple times. I hadn’t done anything in a year and a half, so I really wanted to try something new; I just didn’t know what.” Eventually, Winter and colorist Tabitha Dueñas decided on a “copper tone” (rather than an animated red), Tim Dueñas gave her a shag, and the “Part of Your World” Instagram captions just flowed organically from there.

02. But she’d like to go Khaleesi next.
Winter is a huge fan of her current color (it’s her favorite yet), but she’s a bigger fan of hair changes and she’d like to turn it up a notch next time you see her. “I want to try really, really white, platinum hair, which I’ve never done before. I probably won’t try it for a minute though. But it’s definitely something on my list.” If you’re feeling similarly, here’s some summer reading to catch up on first.

03. These weren’t real bangs, by the way.
As a hair chameleon who likes to make changes, surely she’s thrown bangs into the mix. I asked Winter if she ever misses her headline-making 2017 bangs from the Critics’ Choice Awards, and she informed me that she doesn’t, really, because she never really had them. “Those were clip-ons!” she tells me. I’ll give you a moment to digest.

04. Alex Dunphy makes getting ready a breeze.
A lot of effortless-looking onscreen and red-carpet hair takes professional amounts of effort, but Alex’s hair mostly requires showing up. “My getting-ready time on set is almost as short as the boys’,” Winter explained. “I basically just wash it and let it air dry. By the time I get there, my hair’s already dry, and it’s already as straight as can be. I probably have the shortest getting-ready time of everyone.”

05. Which leaves more time to ignore Instagram.
Winter’s been known to deal with the army of trolls camped out in her comments by straight-up confronting them. These days, she’s dealing with the everyday soul-sucking reality by switching up her strategy. “It’s been a journey, that’s for sure. I used to get so mad, but as I’ve gotten older, I’m trying to be more positive and just look on that other side instead of focusing on all the negative.” Her tips for handling haters: “I also try to look at Instagram less, way less, in general, and just gloss over it. If I’m reading something and the first part is not nice, I just skip. Next.”

06. She can sleep anywhere.
Winter is staunchly pro-nap, but anti-bedtime in that the bedtime does not exist. Any time can be your bedtime if you believe it can. “I’ve never had a schedule where I have to go to bed at a certain, set time. But I could personally go to sleep at any time. Seriously, I could go to bed at 6 p.m. or 9 p.m. or 4 a.m., doesn’t matter.”

07. And she’s a candy connoisseur.
While famous people tend to answer the provocative “What’s your favorite snack?” question with items that gesture toward health, Winter is proud to champion what we all really want at the end of the day. “I go through weird phases of liking different things, but it’s almost always candy. I had a big Peach Rings phase and a Hot Tamales phase. Right now, I’m really into mint chocolate-chip ice cream. I have six different mint chocolate-chip ice-cream brands in my freezer right now.”

Haters gonna hate! Ariel Winter is no stranger to social media bullying, but the Modern Family star, 21, exclusively tells Us Weekly why she regrets clapping back at some of her trolls.

“I try to not respond. I wanted to respond positively to people for a long time because I do feel that if you are sitting and sending somebody that message, there must be something you’re not getting in your life,” she explains to Us, “if you’re gonna sit on your computer and send somebody that.”

She continues, “I have had those moments where I’ve responded and I have regretted to responding to some of them, not all, but some I have regretted. I’ve been like, ‘This is stupid. It’s unnecessary.’ I do know … I think as everybody knows, when somebody is posting that comment they want an argument, you know, they want you to respond.”

The actress has made a stunning transformation from raven-haired tween to redheaded adult during her decade as Alex Dunphy, a middle child far wiser than her years. With the series’ 11th season — its last — debuting in September, Winter, the newly minted spokeswoman for Ulta Beauty, is ready to put the negativity behind her.

“I actually had a fan comment on one of my posts and said, ‘You respond more to negative comments than you do to positive,’” she reveals. “I didn’t even realize I was doing that. I think about the positive comments way more and it affects me way more … As a society we do comment more on the negative and that comment really hit me and so now I’m really trying to follow that of like, doing what I actually feel, which is to be thankful for the support and actually show that and kind of try and bury the negative.”

While you might still picture 11-year-old Alex from Modern Family when you think of Ariel Winter, outside of the show, she’s clearly grown into her own. From shutting down body shamers to killing rumors about her relationship, the 21-year-old actor can take care of herself. “I’ve been on my own self-empowerment, self-confidence journey in my life,” she tells Glamour.

While most of this confidence comes from within, having killer waves and skin she feels great in certainly doesn’t hurt. We caught up with Winter in L.A. at Ulta Beauty (which is rolling out new blowout bars in its salons this month) to chat all things hair, getting-ready music (yes, she’s a Lizzo stan), and the products she wouldn’t be caught without. Read on for her answers to our Big Beauty Questions.

Are you a do-your-own-hair girl, or do you prefer to get it done?
I’m not good at doing my own hair. It’s really thin, and I have a good amount of it—and if I let it dry on its own, it’s pin straight. So I like to go somewhere to get it done, because I don’t know all of the perfect products to use. Everyone has their own expertise, and hairstylists are killing it and know what to do. If I’m going somewhere and someone is doing my hair, I usually like it tousled with texture. It’s chill, looks nice, and goes with a lot of different looks. But I also like vintage curls.

What’s one beauty trend you wish you’d never tried?
The seriously white under the eyes—the really, really light concealer and lots of highlighter. That was not my prime. Or making my face way too matte. When I did my own makeup in high school, I had no idea how to do it, so I put foundation on and powdered my face six times. It looked so caked on.

What’s one beauty rule you swear by?
Always do your eyebrows. I used to think brows weren’t important and didn’t get them done for a while, and then I did them and realized they really do change your face. I don’t wear a ton of makeup daily, but I do like to fill in my brows if I’m just hanging out.

What beauty rule do you think is B.S.?
I mean, in general I don’t believe in doing all the rules. I think the rules should come from you trying it—not other people saying that’s the rule. You have to see what works for you.

You travel a ton. What city or country gives you the greatest beauty inspiration?
Oh wow, that’s really difficult. I feel like L.A. has really great hair and makeup. I’ve lived here my whole life, but…L.A. and New York. In New York I’ve seen a lot of the high-fashion things, and it’s so cool. I could never runway it, but the inspiration and style is really cool. Continue reading “Ariel Winter Is Sick of Comparing Herself With Other Women”

Ariel Winter’s long, black hair has shined on our television screens since 2009 when she first began playing Alex on the hit show Modern Family, but when she’s not filming, the 21-year-old actress has become known for experimenting with her locks (case in point: Check out her current red color.)

“I have always changed my hair,” Winter told Stylish while celebrating the Salon at Ulta Beauty’s new expanded blowout service with five signature looks starting at $35.

“I’m pretty much open to trying anything because you never know if something is gonna look good on you or not. I’ve tried things that I thought would look amazing on me and they’ve looked terrible. I’ve tried things I thought would look terrible and they look amazing, so really I’d be open to trying any style,” she explained.

While she’s always been down to try a new ‘do, Winter admits there was a point where she thought she should just stick to black. “I always thought after I dyed my hair a bunch, I just went back to having my hair black and I was like, ‘You know, I’m just gonna keep it black. It’s the best color on me. I should stop. I’ve tried all of these things and they haven’t looked great. My base hair should be this dark color.’”

Instead, the Modern Family star switched it up again and landed on a gorgeous red color, which is her new favorite. “When I experimented with this and I had this color, I was like, ‘I found my base color again. This is what it is. This is the hair color I love.’ So this is probably, definitely my favorite,” she spilled.

When it comes to her beauty routine, the same sentiment applies and she’s learned what she likes from trying out various makeup trends. “When I was in high school I didn’t want to be without makeup. I just wasn’t really comfortable with it. … I was like, ‘I always want to look my best with my makeup on,’” she said.

Now, when Winter steps out, she is just as confident being makeup-free as she is when she’s glammed up. “I used to wear a lot more cakey makeup that I would put on myself than I do now. … Now I feel a lot more comfortable going out and just having a bare face. You know… it’s my face. Your face is not gonna change unless you change your face. That’s how I look and I’m comfortable with that over the years. … As I got older, I was like, ‘Aright. I can wear my makeup. I can not wear my makeup. I can feel good about it,’” she dished.

“I still try different things with my makeup and if I’m going out or if I’m meeting friends even for lunch I’ll try some things, I’ll put on a little bit of makeup, but I also like to just put on some moisturizer and sunscreen and go about my day,” Winter added.

“Of course I love it when I’m glammed up and my outfit is killing it and I’m going places. That’s, like, a given, but I think it really just depends, you know. You can feel your sexiest whenever you feel your sexiest. … I have felt my sexiest occasionally going to the store in my pajamas, so really I think it’s environment. I think it’s so many different things.”

Ariel Winter‘s secret weapon when she wants to feel her best? A good blowout.

“Every time I come out of getting my hair done I feel like a new woman,” Winter, 21, told PEOPLE at the launch of her latest partnership with Ulta Beauty.

The Modern Family star has teamed with the beauty giant for the launch of its new signature in-store blow-out services.

The self-professed hair chameleon said she loves switching up her look, especially since she’s become known for the dyed-black style she’s worn for eleven seasons as Alex Dunphy on Modern Family.

“I’m pretty adventurous with my hair, I’ll try a lot of things,” she said. “Alex doesn’t change up her look that much. I don’t experiment with it [on the show] so it’s fun for me to do it outside of work.”

Her latest hair experiment is being a redhead, one that she says she’s loving so far.

“It makes me feel like a new me,” Winter shared of her copper locks. “After I got it done, I was looking in the mirror and I felt like a completely different person. I was pretty shocked that my hair color could make me look so different and a lot of people will not recognize me. They don’t piece it together because the hair looks so different for them, but I like it a lot.”

Another surprising fact fans might not know about Winter is that although most people are used to seeing her with black hair, she’s a natural blonde.

“People never guess, but my natural hair color is dirty blonde,” she shared. “I’ve always had dark eyebrows so I was that person. I have dirty blonde hair and really dark eyebrows and dark eyes. I’ve dyed it so many times in the past so really the most important thing for me with my hair now is trying to keep my hair healthy.”

Winter said she wanted to partner with Ulta because of the chain’s focus on inclusivity and beauty for all.

“Ulta Beauty and myself have similar ideals,” she said. “I’m very big on inclusivity and diversity and self-empowerment and self-confidence, and I think we kind of share the same views together.”

Nick Stenson, VP of Ulta’s Salon Services, said that Winter’s style and personality are perfect for the partnership.

“She’s such a great fit for us,” Stenson shared. “She’s a busy, working woman, her hair always looks so great and she just made a major hair change.”