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People can be so obsessed with the idea of twins that sometimes they see them when they’re not even there. Maybe that’s because there’s a thrill to imparting some sinister subtext to the lives of twins: spooky telepathy, midnight rituals, clueless-husband swapping. And of course, everyone wants to know, who’s the evil one? Some fans of the modeling business spend an unusual amount of time pitting non-twins Gabbriette, 29, and Amelia Gray, 25, against each other. I’m aware of a narrative that insinuates this duo is a case of copycat-ism between mortal enemies—one model allegedly stealing the other’s steez a few years ago—yet I witness no sign of it when I meet them both at Gray’s sleek midcentury home in the Hollywood Hills.
On Amelia: J.R. Malpere hat. Cosabella bra. Chanel cuff. On Gabbriette: J.R. Malpere hat. Chanel jacket. Dolce & Gabbana bra.
Gray is a rangy five feet nine with incredible, furry brows. Her outfit is reminiscent of her famous mom, Lisa Rinna, and the uniform Rinna wears in her dance videos online: a tee with FreeCity sweatpants that start at $195. She has a pimple patch on her face, which is clear of any makeup. She considers herself a dedicated homebody. Gabbriette is in heels, making her petite five-foot-four frame a bit taller. Her hair and makeup are done, with her signature pale skin, dark, pencil-thin brows, and frosted lips. She has a more social persona and loves to go out to dinner and drinks with her friends, at least on the weekends.
“That is part of the dichotomy of Amelia and Gabbriette,” says Gray. “Gabbriette is always put together. I could never. This bitch is wearing jeans on the plane!”
“Gabbriette is always put together. I could never. This bitch is wearing jeans on the plane!”
Skin care, though, is where Gray puts in the extra effort. She describes herself as “high-maintenance to be low-maintenance,” sharing her treatment regimen with the detail of a forensic accountant. She’s fond of so-called regenerative injectable treatments like platelet-rich fibrin, or PRF, and says she’s done the hyaluronic acid microdroplet injectable Skinvive in her lips for hydration.
Conversely, Gabbriette says she needs to write down all of Gray’s skin-care details to prepare for her nuptials (which took place after this interview, in July) to The 1975 singer Matty Healy, as she doesn’t have much of her own regimen at the moment. She stopped getting Botox because she fears passing out from the needles—and no, she didn’t get buccal fat removal.
Allure sat down with the two stars of our Best of Beauty 30th-anniversary portfolio to discuss how they first met and when they learned of the comparisons between them. They’re not twins. Not copycats or looks-cannibals. “Kindred spirits” is a phrase that feels more apt.
Ashi Studios dress. Dolce & Gabbana intimates. Chrome Hearts earring and rings. To create a similar makeup look: MAC Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Tilt, Dazzleshadow Eyeshadow Sticks in Demure Diamonds, and Lipglass High Shine Lip Gloss in Ruby Woo. (Gabbriette is an ambassador for MAC.)
Jewelry by Alexis Bittar, Misho, Ben-Amun and Laurel Dewitt. To create a similar makeup look: YSL Beauty Couture Mini Eyeshadow Clutch in Over Orange, Loveshine Plumping Lip Oil Gloss in California Sunshine, and Kiss Shaper Long-Lasting Sculpting Lip Liner in Cocoa Flirt. (Amelia Gray is an ambassador for YSL Beauty.)
Allure: You’re both online. You see what people say. There's this whole thing about “who stole whose look”….
Amelia Gray: I stole Gabbriette’s. [Laughs.]
Gabbriette: And I stole every ’90’s person ever.
Allure: Did you know each other when that narrative started?
Gabbriette: No. We showed up to a shoot, and our friend Loftjet, who was doing the makeup, was like, “Are you stupid? This is the whole narrative.” But there was no negative connotation behind [doing] the shoot together.
Amelia: I had bleached eyebrows back then. I did it for a shoot and it ended up being the only thing that would get me booked in the beginning of my career. It got me signed. And Gabbriette's thing is having thin eyebrows.
Gabbriette: Then we saw each other, maybe four months into it being “nasty,” and I didn't know if I was supposed to be responding. I'm not very vocal on the internet. We saw each other at a dinner, and we were like, “Do we hate each other because the internet says we do? We don't even know each other!” So we laughed it off.
Full Saint Laurent RTW + ACC.
“We saw each other at a dinner, and we were like, ‘Do we hate each other because the internet says we do?’ We don't even know each other!”
Amelia: I've never had a feeling of, “Oh, I need to become somebody else,” and I'm so grateful for that. I was raised very secure about my quirks and my weirdness. I'm a rising Aquarius. I'm fucking weird. But to my point, the internet started telling me who I was. I was so confused. Like, “Oh, fuck, have I been copying this girl and completely stealing her steez?” Lisa Rinna is my mom; she taught me to fucking own it. At that dinner I went up to Gabbriette, and I was like, “I am so fucking sorry.”
On Amelia: Dolce & Gabbana bra. On Gabbriette: Cosabella bra.
Allure: When I first heard this narrative, I wondered if there was a way you could use this to your benefit.
Amelia: That's why we both wanted to do this.
Gabbriette: Because we literally don't care. [Addressing Gray:] Yes, we look similar, but you are on a completely different spectrum. You're taller, you're more of a runway thing. You are an insane, Gisele-type editorial model.
Amelia: Gabbriette is a pop culture icon.
Gabbriette: If we are in the same industry, we're not going to do the same jobs, because she brings so many different things to the table.
Amelia: And that’s what’s so beautiful about it, is that there's no threat. I want Gabbriette to get the job and I know she wants me to get the job.
Allure: Have your teams ever advised you not to work together?
Gabbriette: No! If anything, my agent is like, “Yes, bitch!”
Allure: Amelia, has your mom ever warned you about experimenting with your looks?
Amelia: My mom was the guinea pig of our family. Homegirl had fucking silicone in her lip. My mom told me to learn through her experience of what not to do. She was never the type of mom that [said], “No, you can't get anything done,” because she always empathized with not feeling like herself.
I remember really hating my nose, and being like, “Mom, I want to get a nose job.” My mom was like, “Listen, if that's something that you want to do, you need to decide that on your own and you need to understand and make that decision for yourself. I can't tell you that your nose is perfect, because I'm your mom and I think it is. I would be a hypocrite to tell you no, because I’ve dealt with this in my life.”
“When I was 16, I got a nose job. It changed my life.”
When I was 16, I got a nose job. It changed my life. Half of me [thinks], Why would you change what God gave you? But then the other half of me is like, I have one fucking life to live. We live in a vain world. I want to wake up and [say], “I like myself,” because at the end of the day, that's all that matters. It sucks that it has to do with beauty standards sometimes, but that's the society and culture we live in.
Allure: Gabbriette, what do you bring from your Mexican side of the family into how you think of beauty?
Gabbriette: I grew up in Laguna Beach, so I felt my version of beauty was very California standard. I was the only Hispanic girl in my grade… it felt like I was the only one. Then I started going to Los Angeles at 16 to see shows. Burger Records was the thing here, and I went to shows with my friends, and that is when I kind of saw what [a side of] Chicana culture was, with all the goth girlies.
“I started going to Los Angeles at 16 to see shows. Burger Records was the thing here, and that is when I kind of saw what [a side of] Chicana culture was, with all the goth girlies.”
When I first came to LA, I was so grateful for it. I got really into the old-car culture, and into the cholo scene. This felt like a part of me that I hadn't explored. People think I'm not Mexican enough. I'm as Mexican as I feel, and as I am, I'm half. I didn't grow up speaking Spanish, but the culture is through me. I go to Mexico every single summer and see my grandma. Not that I have to prove myself to [anyone].
Allure: When did you decide on your signature brows?
Gabbriette: It was 2017 or 2018. I was watching Never Been Kissed with Drew Barrymore. Then it was Angelina Jolie, Penélope Cruz, all these people. I said, “What is missing from the makeup that I like doing? It's the fucking eyebrows.” I took my mom's tweezers and I plucked them in the window light—and I didn't hold back. [My mom] fucking loved it.
“I was never the type that would go out of my way and try a new look, but when I'm Amelia the Model, I'll do anything to get the photo.”
To create a makeup look similar to Gabbriette’s: MAC Cosmetics M·A·Cximal Silky Matte 12HR Wear Lipstick in You Wouldn’t Get It and Brushstroke 24-Hour Liner in Brushstroke.
To create a makeup look similar to Amelia’s: YSL Beauty Rouge Pur Couture Satin Lipstick in Unshy Cacao and La Laque Couture Nail Polish in Noir Primitif.
Allure: Has your relationship with beauty gotten healthier as your career has kept going or do you think it's gotten worse?
Amelia: I am so down to create when I'm on set. I was never the type that would go out of my way and try a new look, but when I'm Amelia the Model, I'll do anything to get the photo. I think that has taught me a lot about the possibility of how you can change.
Gabbriette: With beauty, I know who I am. I used to get a haircut and then rebuy my entire wardrobe every three months from, like, 12 to probably 21. The only crazy thing I've done in the last five years is getting Botox, [then stopping because of the needles,] and considering getting my lips done. I want to be me, but more refined. But I’m also too carefree—I don't want to go to the doctor.
Watch Amelia Gray & Gabbriette Spill Secrets After Sipping the Truth Serum
In this episode of Allure’s Truth Serum, Amelia Gray & Gabbriette answer candid questions about beauty, love, relationships, friendship, and more. From their biggest beauty opinions to the things they’re not afraid to get honest about, the girls spill the tea and reveal a side of themselves you haven’t seen before.
