Off-Campus had viewers considering the philosophy of ghosting. Søren Kierkegaard, according to Belmont Camelli’s character, Garrett Graham, would say that we have “shared moral responsibility” and that “ghosting is choosing comfort over courage, despair over strength.”
Mika Abdalla takes a different approach: “Mama’s gotta take care of me”—at least in the context of her latest campaign for Urban Decay. She is the spokesperson for the brand’s new Ghosting Trio, which, in addition to a cheeky name, includes a blurring primer, setting powder, and setting spray. In this campaign, ghosting “isn’t just going MIA for no reason,” Abdalla says. She alludes to it being more about being okay with not keeping things that no longer serve her in her life. “It’s like, ‘This thing doesn’t make my life easier, okay.’”
As it relates to dating, however, she sees ghosting as “mean up until a point,” saying it’s not how she operates. “I don’t have a problem being direct.”
The actress took us through all things beauty and self-care while on and off the set of the Prime Video show.
Mika Abdalla on her makeup go-tos
Her makeup remains simple: Day to day, “I’ll throw on a bit of mascara and then do my Ghosting Spray,” she says. If she decides to add more products to the lineup, she reaches for multitaskers. “Many of my products are two- or three-in-one. I have blush and highlighter duo sticks.”
Urban Decay
Ghosting Spray
On set with her makeup artist, however, Abdalla likes to experiment. “I love playing with Old Hollywood tricks by using different colored eyeliners in specific spots around your eye to enhance your irises, brighten up your eyes, or change their shape,” she says. Her most recent obsession: Brightening the whites of her eyes by putting a tiny bit of red eyeliner at the inner corners. “My set makeup artist, Rex, and I were playing with that [trick] yesterday.”
….on her on-set hair transformation
Abdalla’s hair is slightly more involved, especially since becoming Allie Hayes in Prime Video’s book-to-screen adaptation of Off-Campus. Fans of the book series were quick to notice that it’s different from the source material. (Allie is originally a blonde.) When asked if she ever considered dyeing her hair for the role, Abdalla says she was open to it, but it was never really part of the conversation with the showrunners. “I remember asking them, ‘Do you think you’re going to dye my hair?’” to which they responded, “‘No, this isn’t about hair color. It’s about vibe.’” They did, however, suggest that she get highlights so that her natural texture showed more on camera.
