“I was excited just to feel that energy of everyone again,” said actress Peyton List of returning to Coachella.
It’s her fourth or fifth visit, she said. She’s lost count.
“I just love coming for the performances,” she went on. “I feel like there’s so much production, so much money poured into these performances and seeing such talented people put so much time into it, it’s incredible. It’s such a big thing for these artists. And I just appreciate everything that goes into it so much.”
It was Saturday, Day Two of the festival. The night before, she had watched headliner Harry Styles take the stage.
“He was amazing,” she said. “He left on such a good note.”
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He closed the show with his first hit single as a solo artist (following the indefinite hiatus of One Direction), “Sign of the Times.”
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“And he asked everyone in the audience, ‘Who are you? Do you know who you are?’” List said. “Like, after all this time with the pandemic. ‘Who are you?’ Got deep. And it’s just so beautiful. People came in all angsty, pushing, whatever, then everyone left feeling kind. That energy is passed on.”
List, now 24, began as a child model and actress, making her debut in 2008’s “27 Dresses” before rising to fame playing Holly Hills in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” film series, and subsequently getting even greater attention for her role as Emma Ross on Disney’s series “Jessie.”
Most recently, she was seen in Netflix’s “Cobra Kai,” the martial arts comedy-drama adapted from “The Karate Kid” films, in which she plays the tough, sometimes villainous Tory Nichols.
“Getting to do stunts — I just never thought I’d be able to do martial arts,” she said of the experience. “Right now, I’m going to have to learn a completely different skill for a movie.”
She’s learning to play an instrument for the unannounced project, staying mum on details but sharing it shoots in New York in June.
Did she grow up playing music?
“Barely,” she said. “I play acoustic guitar. But I just appreciate other people.”
She cried hearing Daniel Caesar live on stage, she admitted.
“He was all emotional,” she said of his Coachella performance. “I don’t usually cry seeing artists, but I cried watching him, just seeing him be so open and raw with the audience. I was, like, that must take so much, to open yourself up to that many people and be open to criticism like that. I really respect it. No one knows what anyone has been through, and it’s just beautiful to connect in that way.”
That evening she was looking forward to seeing Flume and Disclosure.
“It’s nice to have a specific plan about your lineup and who you want to see,” she said. “But it’s such a free-for-all once you’re in there. I think you have to go with the flow and not get too upset about missing someone, just letting it take you wherever you go. And also I feel like people think, ‘Oh, a festival life can be insane,’ and do drugs or whatever, but you can just run around and look at the art, listen to music, meet people. Yesterday, actually, I was freaking out because I met these girls from the U.K. and now we’re friends, and the only photo we have with each other is a Polaroid. I was, like, ‘This is the first time in like two years I’ve made friends in person and not online, in DMs or something, or through Zoom.’ And I was, like, ‘This is so mind-blowing, to make friends like this again.’”
Outside of Coachella, she’s been attending Revolve’s lineup of events, including Revolve Festival. It’s where she was heading first.
“The Revolve team is so sweet,” she said.
She’s gotten to know them through her partnership with the e-tailer for Pley Beauty, her cosmetic brand, which she launched in January.
“Yesterday, when I saw them,” she said of the Revolve team, “they were, like, ‘We knew when your dad came into the meeting that you were serious about this.’ And I was, like, ‘That’s what did it?’ I was actually kind of, like, ‘Dad, just please don’t talk, like I get that you’re looking out for me, but just, you know, hang out.’ And then he gave a whole speech.”
She laughed. “I feel like we’ve all gotten to know each other very well.”
Pley Beauty makeup stations were at Revolve’s events, offering looks from the brand’s special festival-ready collection — full of face gems and vivid colors.
List had on makeup from the “Love Child” palette, a wing-shaped purple look with craft store glitter on the lids (and “Mojave Rose” on the lips). “Helps the eyes pop.”
She works with makeup artist Melissa Hernandez.
“She and I will always collaborate,” List said. “I feel like she really gets what works on my face, too. That’s so valuable. Usually I find [inspiration from] things online or in books or from shows. I just get inspiration everywhere.”
While developing the new products, she thought about her own needs during Coachella: “What will look good under the lights? What will look good from day to night? And then, with our cream, cheek and lip tint, having something that’s versatile, that you can easily dab with your finger. Because what are you going to do in a Porta Potty? I’m testing these products, truly.”
It’s color cosmetics with sustainability in mind.
“Our eye shadow palettes are 100 percent recyclable,” she said. “[Working on this] has shifted my whole perception of just how I look at every product and how it’s made.”
Next she’s leaning into glitter products, out this summer.
“It’s eco-friendly glitters,” she said. “I always see glitter going down the drain, after Coachella. With this, you can use it…but it’s not harmful. And it’s fun.”
That’s what she’s also offering with the line: playfulness.
She was sporting neon, glow-in-the-dark nails herself while wearing her look for the day: chunky white leather Dr. Martens and a breezy pearl-colored two-piece set by Nué (courtesy of Revolve).
“I’ve been wearing their clothes a lot,” she said. “They’re so pretty. And perfect for this weather.”
The desert grounds would hit over 90 degrees that day.