‘Summer House’ Star Ciara Miller on Drugstore Haircare and Trusting Her Gut

When I sit down with Ciara Miller, I am halfway expecting her to be in a full face of prosthetics. The Summer House star has become known as the queen of theme parties, taking her looks to the next level with full-body Avatar paint or creepy alien masks paired with tiny bikinis. But when I sit down with her ahead of a Tresemmé pool party in the Hamptons, she looks like her gorgeous self—just with a little hot pink eyeliner and loose waves full of butterfly clips to suit the event’s Y2K theme.

Miller—who’s ill-fated romance with new cast member, West, was one of the most-discussed plots of the past season—has been working with the brand for years, but she’s been using the products since high school. “It’s such an organic partnership and it really just made a lot of sense,” Miller tells Byrdie. “They didn’t have to teach me anything about these products, because I use them organically—the Number 4 Hold Hairspray was like the first beauty product I ever bought.”

The model is a beauty girl through and through, and she’s learned a lot since she bought that first bottle of Tresemmé Ahead, she shares her best hair tips, her signature fragrances, and what she wishes she knew before filming last season.

The One Product She Swears By for Healthy Hair

“Right now I have a lot of protective styles. I’m going to always have sew-ins, especially since I have so many things to do—not always, but unless I can give my hair good natural break where I’m not being constantly styled. But I’ve genuinely been using the [Tresemmé] Heat Protectant Spray for seven, eight years… a long time, because I love it on my extensions.

“It’s lightweight, it’s not greasy, it doesn’t leave a residue or like a sticky, chalky [feeling]. But I also use it on my natural hair because I feel like it does cut down my drying time a little bit, and it does get my hair really straight while also protecting it. I’m all about trying to use products that are versatile, that can work on my natural and my extensions and take up less space my cabinet.”

The One Hairstyle That Always Makes Her Feel Herself

“I do love a sleek, straight, middle part. Like if someone new is doing my hair I just do that because I’m gonna be happy with it. Like a Naomi Campbell, straight, buss down, Law Roach vibe—not as long as Law Roach! But very sleek.”

The One Word That Describes Her Summer Beauty Philosophy

“Glow! Shine and glow on your face. Wear nothing but glow on your cheeks from a good highlighter, and silky, shiny hair. I’m rewinding time a little bit, and I just bought… Smashbox just released the Becca Chocolate Geode highlighter, it’s like a golden brown, it’s so beautiful. I loved Becca and I was so sad when they disappeared, so that’s my favorite highlighter right now since I’m just so happy it’s back. I also love the Dibs stick highlighter. It’s so potent and I love it—it’s kind of like a dewier formula, but it’s not too dewy. I love that because I can be wearing no makeup but just dab that on my cheeks and my nose and be done.”

The One Beauty Product Always In Her Bag

“The Morphe eyebrow pencil in the darkest shade it comes in.”

The One Way Her Routine Changes When She’s Not Filming

“I’m definitely not doing a full face of makeup, but my hair routine doesn’t really change. I’m pretty much using the same products for my hair. I like my hair to to look nice even in my house, just less makeup.”

The One Beauty Tip She Learned From the ‘Summer House’ Girls

“I’ve learned a lot of great fashion tips from them. Beauty I think it’s just different because I’m a Black woman and they’re not. But what I have learned is to like blush a little bit more. Them and my makeup artist [have been trying to convince me]. I hate blush, but I feel like I’m getting more acclimated. I’m dipping my toe in.

” [For fashion] I’m always trying to like absorb from either Paige or Amanda. Paige is obviously more girly, and Amanda’s sometimes edgier. But honestly, I do like a blend of the two. We love doing a fashion show, they love when I try on their clothes. So I do like to do a blend of the two—sometimes I have a really girly look, sometimes I have a really edgy look—but I feel like they’re very much fashion people, so it’s great to have friends that are so good at stuff that you’re not, because you can rub off on each other.”

The One Thing She Swears By for Beach and Pool-Proof Beauty

“For battling frizz and humidity, I’ve been using the Silky Shine Spray religiously. I was using the serum, and I still love the serum, but I love it in a spray form. I feel like it really keeps your hair shiny but it’s weightless and it’s not greasy. I feel like that’s the key, but it also does a lot keep the frizz at bay. In terms of makeup, the YSL waterproof mascara is so insanely waterproof and tear-proof. It’s a new discovery for me and I love it.”

The One Thing That Always Makes Her Feel Confident

“Honestly, just trying to do my hair makeup so well. I really do feel like if you look good it does translate, and you feel a little bit better, even though the problem might not be solved. But when you look good you feel good. And if it’s good enough to fake, whatever can get you through the day!”

Her Signature Fragrances

“Right now I am loving Delina by Parfums de Marly. I am obsessed with this fragrance. And then I always love an amber oil. There’s one from Nemat, it’s like an amber musk, it smells so good. I’m definitely more cozy, which is confusing in the summertime—sometimes I buy like a really great vanilla, but then I’m like ‘ug it’s not winter.’ But I don’t like something super floral. And this is always a go-to—I buy it for me and my mom—the English Pear & Freesia by Jo Malone. It’s such a classic. I love pear, it’s so underrated, and it’s not too fruity or strong, it’s just enough.”

The One Thing She Wishes She Could Tell Herself One Thing Before Filming Season 8

“If I could tell myself one thing… trust no one. [Laughs]. No, honestly, it would be trust your gut. We always know. And I think there’s a really thin line between wanting to give someone a chance… sometimes I beat myself up because I’m like, Am I just so regimented and are my strong boundaries limiting me from having fun? But at the same time, you just know. You know yourself. So, listen to your gut.”

The One Thing She Does Every Morning….

“Well my cat wakes me up at like 5:00 AM, so the first thing I do is give him treats. But typically, it’s wash my face. I don’t like the feeing of when you wake up and your face is like, crusty. So I’m definitely doing that.”

And the One Thing She Does Every Night

“Wash my face again. I’m really religiously trying to wash my face, and doing an exfoliator [with] AHAs and BHAs. I have to really keep up with my skin because I have such acne-prone skin, so I can’t just like go to bed.”