Continued from page 3

Two Cool

Friday April 30, 2004 09:25 AM EDT

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Although the Olsens, who travel with a team of bodyguards, will soon be in charge of their own finances, both plan to continue taking a monthly allowance. Despite a passion for fashion – "Of course you love when you get the most beautiful pieces from Chanel or Stella McCartney or Missoni," says Ashley – they say they rarely splurge. "If we buy something we think is too much, we have buyer's remorse," says Ashley. And hey, even the youngest self-made millionaires like a good bargain: The girls use frequent-buyer cards at L.A.'s Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to earn free java.

Whether they are sipping morning coffee or promoting their new movie, the girls' relationship "is a little more than sisterhood," says Judy Swartz, their longtime stylist and the head of their fashion and makeup lines. "They're like best friends." Do they ever fight? "Yeah. They get in arguments. But it never really sticks." Adds pal Hubbell, who has known the twins since kindergarten: "They definitely know what the other is thinking. Sometimes they'll look at each other and laugh. It's freaky."

When asked who's the better student, Ashley replies, "I think there's no better student. We excel in different things" (Mary-Kate at writing; Ashley at math). Both took the SATs and wrote admissions essays of their choosing. Mary-Kate's essay examined "a big fear that I have. It was a lyric by Ben Harper that said, 'When you have everything, you have everything to lose,'" she says. Ashley's essay compared her life to "Number 1," a work by abstract artist Jackson Pollock. Looking at the painting, "you can get exactly what you want out of it, and it's kind of like our life has been, being in the public eye," says Ashley. "People can judge it whatever way they want."

• By MICHELLE TAUBER. MARK DAGOSTINO in New York City