Stewart’s angsty lip curl can now be spotted on a new crop of Balenciaga ads for Rosabotanica (Florabotanica’s follow-up scent), where her stony, smoky-eyed stare contrasts the vivid floral vines creeping over her shoulder. The spicy rose-pepper blend aptly reflects the non-conformist personality the 23-year-old’s fans have come to adore.


Stewart’s F-bombed frankness and red-carpet Chuck Taylors are some of her best assets—because they’re real. “I had looked at the fashion world as superficial,” she admits when asked about her collaboration with Balenciaga’s former creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, whom she considers a “true artist.” “Before the photo shoot I did with him, it was always fucking torture,” she says of studio sessions. It’s this passion-first attitude that precipitated a gutsy two-year acting hiatus. “Unless there’s a story that you just fucking have to help bring to life, it’s not worth it,” she explains. Two roles have lured her back. In Sils Maria, she portrays a personal assistant to a troubled, aging actress, played by real-life Oscar winner Juliette Binoche. And in Camp X-Ray, a drama set in Guantanamo Bay, she plays a simple girl with unwavering ideals who realizes life isn’t black-and-white. “Her eyes are smashed open, and I know that feeling,” Stewart says, hinting, perhaps, at last year’s troubles.

As Twi fans wait for those flicks and her newly announced Chanel fashion campaign to be released later this year, they continue to beg, via tear-filled YouTube tirades, for a Bella-and-Edward reunion, be it fictional or real. Meanwhile, gossip blogs speculate daily about the pair’s on-again, off-again status. “They cast you as easily identifiable characters they can sell to the masses,” says Stewart. “When people pick up newspapers and read perfect summaries of my life in little concise stories, it’s kind of silly. Can anyone’s life be put into words like that?” Stewart is far from one-dimensional, and it’s that sense of mystery that keeps us hooked. A rose any less thorny surely wouldn’t be as sweet.

1 - Hands-off hair "I don't wash it a whole lot, so I use dry shampoo. Luckily I have a natural wave too."

2 - Canadian cuisine "Poutine is so intense. To put gravy on french fries with cheese.. it's the gnarliest fucking thing, but it's good."

3 - Ear candy "I was really into Interpol when I was little, so listening to them is nostalgic."

4 - Worthwhile souvenir "I bring books home whenever"

5 - Red-carpet special - Converse shoes