Daphne Groeneveld on Those Famously Big Dutch Lips

Daphne Groeneveld, the new face of Jean Paul Gaultier’s Classique and the Le Male “Welcome to the Factory” campaign, is best known for her big Dutch lips. But though they’re a signature now, the sort of memorable feature that once made her own modeling icons like Lara Stone famous, she didn’t always love them growing up. She’s learned to grow into them, of course. Fresh off walking Gaultier’s couture spring show, she talked about how she stopped worrying and embraced her roots.

What’s always in your purse? My lip balm (Rosebud Salve) and my phone.

What’s your exercise routine? I try to work out five times a week, but I have a trainer right now, someone to tell me what to do. I kind of need that, I guess. I like boxing a lot. I also do ballet. I used to do ballet when I was a kid. I wasn’t good at it, but I liked it. I played field hockey also. I run, too. I used to ski, but I’m scared a little bit since I became a model. I don’t want to break something!

Where do you live? I live in New York now, in Chelsea. I signed a lease a year ago.

You have beautiful hair color. Is this your natural color? Finally! Yes!

Did you have it colored for work? Yes. I had it bleached for such a long time. It’s finally grown out. I used to have a really full ponytail, and really long. Then I bleached it kind of straightaway for a job, and it just started to fall out. I told my agency, “I’ve got to stop. It’s killing my look!”

Do you get facials? I don’t do facials. I do massages.

Where? All different places.

You’re so chill! What’s your skin care routine? I’m really easy. I clean with Bioderma, then lip balm and that’s it. I don’t wear makeup much, because I like to let my skin breath.

What beauty product will you splurge on? Hair products. Kiehl’s shampoo. It’s kind of expensive for a shampoo, but I used to use it on my bleached hair and it kept it soft. I use all these hair masks, too. I think I take more care of my hair than my skin.

Do you have a favorite snack? Nuts. I’m obsessed with nuts. I always have them with me, or fruits. Almonds or walnuts or hazelnuts, mixed.

What are you currently reading? This terrible book, honestly. It’s about this kidnapper who was Belgian. It’s really intense. Of course, I don’t like those stories, but I’m dyslexic, so if I’m not full engaged, I won’t read it. But I’m really into this one.

What’s your earliest beauty memory? I never wore makeup until I was 12. When I see pictures of myself, I look ridiculous. Since I didn’t like my lips much, they were really light. Then I had a lot of mascara and black eyes and platinum blond hair. I can’t believe my mom let me walk out of the house like that.

So you didn’t like your lips. Yeah.

Wow, that’s crazy, now that they’re such a signature. I suppose you had to grow into them. Exactly.

Who are your beauty icons? Lara Stone and Natasha Poly. They have such unique beauty and I think they will be remembered for another 100 years. And when I see their careers, they’re so professional and so pretty to me. Of course, when I started modeling, I didn’t know anything about beauty, so I wanted to be a standard beauty, but they made me realize that they are unique and people will remember them.

What would you be doing if you weren’t modeling? I think I’ll model, maybe another five years. I’m 21 right now, but I actually want to open my own hotel one day.

Where? Well, I always used to say Italy but maybe Holland. I love my Dutch country.