I’ll get right to it. I follow you on Instagram and TikTok, and you always look so bronzed. What’s your go-to product, and what’s your routine like?
My favorite self-tanner is Bondi Sands Technocolor ($27) in the color Emerald. The way Technocolor works is you take this skin quiz, and it finds the color that best suits your skin. Honestly, it’s been great for me. It gives my skin a nice glow, and it’s a good color for me.
As far as my routine goes, I definitely exfoliate before. I try to do my due diligence when putting on the tanner, making sure I get in every crevice and everything is covered. Sometimes I’ll put lotion on the parts of my skin that are drier so the self-tanner doesn’t stick too much to those, which is how I try to make it look as flawless as possible. Then, obviously, with the upkeep, moisturizing and putting lotion over the self-tanner is super important to have it last as long as possible.
Do you have a favorite moisturizer and exfoliator for your body?
Bondi Sands has a Self-Tan Eraser ($24) and an Exfoliating Mitt ($9). As far as lotion goes, I’m not too picky. I try to do something fragrance-free because my skin is super sensitive. The self-tanner is also fragrance-free, which is why I like the Technocolor especially.
This is kind of a fun question. Let’s play Fuck, Marry, Kill with self-tanner, hair extensions, and lashes.
I’m going to kill lashes because I don’t normally use those. We’ll fuck hair extensions, and we’re going to marry self-tanner.
Those would be my exact picks. Speaking of beauty products, in general, there are a few beauty products you’re definitely known for using: the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Drops, the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand, and the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil. If you had to only keep one, which one would it be and why?
I think that I would keep the Hollywood Contour Wand ($42) just because I’m obsessed with a bronzed look, and besides having bronzed skin already, I think it definitely does a good job of creating that nice contoured and sculpted look for your face.
Contour is my favorite part of my makeup routine.
It makes such a difference.
What is a beauty product that you’ve been loving lately? Is there one you’ve recently discovered that you’re excited about?
I have loved the Bondi Sands Technocolor Self-Tanner. I discovered it while I was still on Accutane, which made a big difference to me because it makes your skin so sensitive to the sun, and self-tanning helps a lot.
Definitely. Is there a product that we’d be surprised to know is in your makeup bag?
Surprisingly, recently, I’ve been using black or brown eyeliner to line my waterline. I’ve been using them from Ilia. I know I’ve been kind of known throughout the past year for this white-eyeliner look, but I have been experiencing and I’ve been liking the dark colors for my waterline. I think that would be shocking for some people to hear.
That is shocking actually. I feel like you’re so known for the white liner. You’re switching things up!
How do you like to use Homecourt products in your daily rituals?
They’re in every room of my home! [The] hand wash, hand cream, and room spray are in every bathroom and candles are in every bedroom. Then, in the kitchen, I have everything!
What initially inspired you to create Homecourt?
I’ve always been passionate about my home and the products in my home, but I got the idea to start Homecourt during the pandemic because of the increased use of cleaning products. I care about the way my home looks, so I wanted to design packaging that would look beautiful on any countertop. I also needed them to be safe for my family and pets and environmentally friendly. And just as important, I needed them to work and have a scent that I [wanted] to be surrounded by.
Do you have any self-care practices that help you keep the peace during stressful times in your life?
Every morning I put [my] Dermalogica Vitamin C serum ($95) on my face and I sit under a LightStim professional red light panel. I work out and lay on my HigherDose Infrared PEMF Go-Mat ($699). I also try to sit in a hot sauna and use a cold plunge every day that I am home.
Can you tell me how your beauty routine has evolved over the years?
Oh, I was Basic Betty back in the day. My mom didn’t have an extensive routine, and my older sister didn’t, so I was literally washing my face with a bar of soap… whatever was in the shower. It was more when I got older and my hormones changed that I was like, “Uh-oh, what’s going on?” I had started using the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Cleanser ($10) that had salicylic acid. I must have mentioned it, because I became a Neutrogena spokesperson, so I was using all Neutrogena products.
As I got older and the hormone situation just kept changing and changing and changing, I started going to a dermatologist and trying to figure out how to combat hormonal breakouts and dark spots and blackheads and cystic acne. As we moved into high-def, I was like, “Agh! The world is going to see the evolution of this zit. How do we deal?” I’ve tried so many different things. I’ve just had to piecemeal my skincare over the years.
I use the brand Topicals. I use the Little Herbs Co. skincare line. I use 111Skin as well. I just keep switching it up. I’m blessed that people send their new offerings, so I’m able to try things and see what works and what doesn’t.
Are there any beauty trends you’re happy you embraced? Are there any you regret buying into—like, “Why did I do that?”
Let’s start with the “Why did I do that?” I was the chip in the cookie. I lived in predominantly white communities. There was a trend of wearing the Wet ‘n’ Wild frosty-pink lipstick for ¢99. Everyone was on the frosty-pink lipstick. I was like, “Yes, of course it’s for me,” and it was absolutely not for me. When you pair that with a powder blue eye shadow, which looked amazing on my friend, it didn’t play out the same for me. I regret thinking that every trend is created equally. I remember trying that frosted pink with one of my cousins, and she was like, “Girl, haven’t you ever heard of frosted brownie?” I tried it, and that was the move.
What I love and what I’m all about today is the darker chocolate liner with a lighter gloss or nude lipstick. I’m all in. Me and Maddy from Euphoria, we’re all in. I also never have given up on my cat-eye winged liner. I’ve been rocking that since the late ’80s. I won’t give it up. I won’t do it.
Oh, never give that up. It’s the most classic look. Speaking of makeup, are there any specific products you love?
I go with any of the eyeliner pens. I’ll use store-bought no problem. If I run out, I just run back to the store. I don’t see a big difference between the super-expensive ones or the drugstore ones. They’re about the same.
I don’t generally put on makeup every day unless I have to be fully presentable. I use the Pat McGrath Foundation ($69). I like to tan, so I have 24, 25, and 26, and I’m obsessed with her Concealer ($34). Those are amazing.
I only wear Fenty lip glosses, and I worked in some Mario glossy lipsticks…
I love those ones!
I use the Caramel one all the time. I’m not “I gotta fully beat for the cheap seats” every day, but when I do… Charlotte Tilbury has this Finishing Spray ($38) that I gag for. There’s a Glossier lip treatment, and it comes in different flavors. It’s kind of fire.
I love the Balm Dotcom! They have a Birthday one that I’m obsessed with.
Yes! That’s the one I used today! I have all the flavors. I literally have a problem. I rarely shop online, but when I do… Yeah, it’s a problem. It’s a haul.
That’s how I am. Finally, what’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
Do you. Do what makes you happy.
People are going to have a lot of say about everything for your whole life. You’re never going to make 100% of people happy. Start with yourself—start and end there. Don’t make excuses for it. Don’t explain it. Do what makes you happy. If you want thin eyebrows, bitch, you better go for it! It’s no one else’s business.
Experiment. Try on different hats. Try on different styles. When you travel, if you see something you want to try out but you’re worried about what people might say, who gives a shit? They’re going to say something no matter what. Do what makes you happy.
Innerworld is a mental health platform that’s virtual. It’s as easy as using Zoom, but it’s interactive. You sign up, and it’s a free platform. You come in, and you are in a private room, and you can see a bulletin board. We have over 100 classes a week, and each class pivots around a single topic, like living with anxiety, social anxiety, living with depression, all kinds of things. And then you can go into a group setting where there’s a live community 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a live guide. You can just get to know people and hang out in a community setting. You can go up to a guide and ask them questions.
Let’s say your dog recently passed away, and you say, “I’m really sad. I don’t know where else to turn to.” And the guide might say, “Have you ever learned about the grief cycle?” And they can pop up a visual of the very famous CBT and DBT tool called the grief cycle. And then you could go take a class, for instance, on how you use this tool. We’re focused on behavioral tools. So if you go to a meeting for social anxiety or agoraphobia (when you just don’t leave your house), there’s a tool that we use, and the guides give [it] to people during this session. It’s called Solve It Ahead. You might say, “What is my goal? To go to the grocery store. What’s the worst-case scenario? What’s my biggest fear?” You write that down. What would I do if this actually happened? You make a real plan, then you say, “What’s my best-case scenario?” Then you make a plan. Not that you get to control the outcome, but you can maybe influence it where the best thing might happen. Then you write down what is the most likely thing and think about that. And then you begin to practice that tool.
We had one woman who hadn’t left her home in four years, and she decided to go to the grocery store. She had a plan, and part of her plan was using Innerworld on her phone live while she went grocery shopping because all of her friends came in to support her and were there. And she went to a concert of 5000 people within four months of being on our platform. So this is very real help. It’s very focused on best-in-class, scientifically proven behavioral tools. We are a clinical research platform. It is a very safe platform. There are no trolls. There is no bullying. And we’re very focused on behavioral skill sets to make sure everybody has access to them. Right now, as you probably know, we have a tremendous mental health need that has outpaced our ability to serve it in traditional therapy settings, one-on-one therapy, [and] even one-on-one Zoom therapy. There just aren’t enough therapists right now. So this is a way of doing it in a group setting that is skill focused.
What are you most proud of accomplishing with Innerworld?
I’ve been looking at the bottleneck that we’re in, in our mental health crisis. We’ve done a great job as a society through a great group effort of raising awareness around mental health and getting people to talk about it. But we haven’t done a good job innovating in the field to meet the need. We have more and more people willing to say, “I need help” or “My daughter needs help.” But you can’t get an appointment with a therapist. We’re currently 500,000 therapists short in the U.S.
That’s so crazy.
And if everybody who needed help got it, we think there’d be a five-million-therapists deficit. So we have a problem, right? We have a huge bottleneck. What I aimed to do with Innerworld was realizing the tools are scalable. We have to make these tools accessible, not just in a one-on-one environment and setting. We have to make these tools accessible to everybody, and putting those into a virtual setting allows us to create a massive scale that’s still very high touch. There can only ever be 30 people in any meeting. The great thing about virtual, though, is we can have 100 meetings happening simultaneously with only 30 people in them, all led by a guide that’s trained in this. We’re not training PhDs or a therapist, by the way. We’re training peers to lead groups, and it’s all given with a lot of oversight and a lot of training.
That’s really great. It feels like a very smart solution for the therapist deficit that we’re in. What does mental health mean to you personally?
Mental health is having the right feeling at the right time or the appropriate feeling at the appropriate time.
I like that.
I do think there’s a little bit of a danger right now in wellness culture selling or giving us the idea that we should be happy all the time. Happiness is a side effect of choices, and we want to create an environment that causes happiness as a general result, that’s cultivating the soil for good things to grow so that your overall experience is positive. But again, mental health is having the appropriate feeling at the appropriate time. … If something is betraying, you should feel angry, and then you should figure out the right course of action to take. I think a lot of the problem, for me, personally… I call it emotional dyslexia. Something betraying would happen, and I would talk myself out of anger and get myself to forgive them. Instead of acknowledging that I was angry, that hurt, this is the action I need to keep myself safe. Or I betrayed my own values. That makes me angry at myself. This is the action that I needed. The anger was an appropriate response. So knowing the right feeling to have and when is a huge part of mental health.
Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.
Up next, we’re getting to know actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks. Below, she’s answering all of our rapid-fire questions and sharing her favorite products, best-kept beauty secrets, and more. Enjoy!
No7 is such a beloved brand. It’s been a go-to for so many people for so many years. Can you talk about when you were first introduced to it and how it fits in with your beauty routine?
I’m a recent convert, to be honest, but I’m newly in love. I’m getting older. I’m finally paying a lot more attention to everything, and I was really impressed with, frankly, how much retinol is in No7. That’s something your dermatologist is always like, “Maybe it’s time,” and I was like, “Wait a minute. There are these incredible products that already have a lot of retinol in them.” I got really excited for a nighttime ritual with retinol that doesn’t dry me out because that’s always been my fear about retinol. It’s kind of why I shied away from it. None of these products do that to me. My skin is just smoother, and I feel like I’m really working toward… I don’t really like to say anti-aging. I’m not anti-aging. I’m pro-aging, guys. It’s always better than the alternative. For me, it’s about managing my skin to feel like my best self as I get older—that’s what I feel the No7 Pure Retinol does.
If you could only use one No7 product for the rest of your life, which one would it be, and why?
Okay, I’m debating. One is the Night Repair Cream ($40) because that’s been a delight. But here’s the thing: You got to have SPF. They have so many great day creams that are fragrance-free and that have sunscreen in them, so I think I’d have to say their Day Cream with SPF 30 ($28). You have to protect. That’s number one—protection. Everything after that, the hydration and the lifting and the illuminating, none of that matters if you haven’t protected your skin first.
Yes, 100%! Sunscreen is so important, and it’s great that it’s a one-and-done thing.
Yes, everything’s in it. You’re lifting, you’re illuminating, you’re protecting, [and] you’re toning—all of it. I love it.
I love a simplistic routine. Speaking of, what’s your daily skincare routine like? Are you more of a minimalist or maximalist when it comes to skincare?
I’m pretty minimalist. I’ve even actually started not washing my face in the morning if I wash at night. I feel like it’s just a little extra moisture before I put on my makeup. I’m finding that I don’t want to overcleanse. You know what I mean? For me, I don’t feel the need to cleanse my face more than once every 24 hours unless I’m covered in makeup.
I’m also really into No7’s Exfoliating Cleanser ($10). I think you can use it every day. I just love the way it feels. That’s what I use when I feel like I have to get rid of build-up. So sometimes, I’ll do that. And just as a reminder, anything you do on your face you should do on your neck. I’ve known this for a while, but I love being reminded, and I love reminding people.
Then, I’ll use the Radiance Serum ($25), which is vitamin C. Throw that on, throw your day cream/SPF cream on, and you’re off to the races, and you can layer makeup on it with no problem.
That’s my biggest problem with skincare. You know when it pills or you feel that residue? I can’t stand that.
Yes, or if it’s too white when it goes on and you’re worried about how it will react with your foundation. I don’t have any problems with that with these products.
How has being an actor, being on set, and spending time in the makeup chair affected your skincare and makeup routines?
Beauty begins with your insides, like internally. Are you eating well? Are you hydrating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? All of that affects your skin, especially as you get older and especially when you’re working long days on set like I do. That’s become my number one. That’s why serums with vitamin C feel like healthcare but for your outer layer. I’ve come to understand my exterior is really a reflection of my interior. I have to take care of that first. So hydration and sleep are my number one.
Definitely. What’s your post–set day routine like to get the makeup off and reset your skin?
No7 has a really great everyday cleanser. I keep one in my shower and one on my sink. Again, it’s keeping it simple. It’s a wash, a serum, and a cream. They also have an eye cream that I put under and over my eyes. I use the cream I use on my face on my neck. They even have an incredible moisturizing body serum that I’ll use as well. I’ll be honest. I take too-long showers, which is bad on every level, but I’ll admit it to you. Don’t judge me too much, but I love a long, hot shower. It’s not good for your skin.
It’s not, but I think everyone does it. I do it.
Same. I guess you just have to have the products to deal with it.
Totally. Could you walk me through your daily makeup routine, if you have one? What’s your makeup aesthetic? Has it changed over time like your skincare routine?
I call it the “morning drop-off” look, so it’s just getting me out the door. It’s super simple. It’s just foundation, some pink lipstick on my lips and cheeks to just pop my cheeks, and a little mascara. It’s like, how do I make my routine as simple as possible while feeling like I’ve brightened myself up? The pink tends to bring out my blue eyes, so again, I’m just trying to highlight some natural features without going overboard. I don’t love to wear a lot of makeup when I’m not at work because I have to wear so much makeup when I’m at work.
Understandable. Do you know the name of the pink lipstick and the foundation?
Oh gosh, I couldn’t tell you. I can tell you my mascara is the really old-school bright-pink tube.
With the green top?
Yeah, Maybelline Great Lash ($6)! I’ve been using it for 30 years. It never lets me down. And it’s affordable; that’s the other thing. I’m a high-low person. I don’t mind the drugstore bits. It’s all good for me.
Absolutely. That one’s a classic. You’ve played so many iconic characters over the years. Which one was the most fun for you in regard to beauty and fashion?
Of course, Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games. That was everything. I had to dye my eyebrows. It was four hours in the makeup chair, and then there were the nails. Everything we did for that was incredible. We used a lot of products that you couldn’t even get in America, like these incredible eyelashes that were just beyond. We could do anything we wanted—there were no restrictions. I loved playing Effie Trinket. I loved her outfits, and she definitely influenced my fashion a bit after the fact. I was like, “I can be a little more outrageous and wear different shapes and colors.”
The other is Seabiscuit. Playing in that movie, in that time period, I absolutely loved it. Judianna Makovsky,who’s an incredible costume designer, custom-made these incredible suits for me. It was the 1930s and an incredible look. I absolutely loved the beauty in Seabiscuit.
Wait, how long did you have dyed eyebrows?
Girl, I had that on and off for two years. The worst part was the grow-in. It looked like I had blonde tips in my eyebrows.
That’s so funny because the bleached brow is a trend now, so really, you were just ahead of the game.
Yeah, but you can’t really get away with that unless you have, like, Kate Moss’s face. You gotta really lean into it if you’re going to do it. I looked like I was ill. I didn’t look good.
Oh yeah, I would too. That’s a trend I’m never going to touch, but I love it on other people.
Agree. It wasn’t great for real life—I can tell you that.
Did you ever use a brow pencil or anything, or did you just roll with it?
Oh no, I covered those babies every day. But even that felt weird because I’m not a big fill-in-my-eyebrows person. I’m very fair, you know? I don’t have a big eyebrow anyway, but suddenly, I did have a big eyebrow because I was covering up these bleached brows. It was a lot.
Did you have a go-to product to fill in your brows?
I don’t know if it’s discontinued, but … please have them send me some if they’re not—it’s called Vanity Mark. It was my favorite brow collection. They had pencils and a powder with a custom brush that I loved. I have a little bit still, but it’s hard to get, and it might be discontinued.
That’s always so scary when you have to hoard your product because you don’t know if it’s still around. Finally, what’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
Here we go. Age gracefully, whatever that means to you. Everyone has their own relationship with their skin, their face, their routine. There’s too much judgment about how everybody ages, and I would just love it if we were moving toward encouraging people to age gracefully, whatever that means to them.
Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.
Up next, we’re getting to knowactor Brianne Howey, who stars as Georgia on the Netflix hit show Ginny & Georgia. Below, she’s answering all of our rapid-fire questions and sharing her favorite products, best-kept wellness tips, and more. Enjoy!
If you had to leave the house in five minutes, what are a few staple beauty products you’d apply or bring with you?
I would definitely bring under-eye concealer—100%, that’s a must for me. I would probably bring a brow gel just to keep the girls in place, and I am obsessed with the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion ($17). So for emergencies, I would definitely keep that with me.
Do you have a favorite brow gel? You have really, really nice brows.
Anastasia! It’s always my go-to.
How about skincare—can you walk me through your morning and evening routines?
Of course. First off, tools. Twice a week, I love using my Clarisonic ($135). I think it’s a must. And then I’ll do a couple of masks a week depending on what’s going on. I love the Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial AHA + BHA Mask ($80)—obsessed. And then the Eminence Organic Skin Care Eight Greens Phyto Masque ($59).
That’s the one that heats up and feels really spicy on your face, right?
Yes! You’re a little bit pink or red afterward, but it clears up everything. So the Clarisonic, the masks, and then I also use a facial steamer a couple of times a week, and I swear it immediately reduces fine lines.
Because I utilize these tools and these masks, I feel like I can keep my daytime and nighttime routine simple. I’ll do a really clean foaming cleanser and sunscreen in the morning, and then at night, I’ve been using a lot of this brand called U.SK Under Skin, especially the serums, a light moisturizer, plus the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion anywhere and everywhere. [Laughs]
Do you have a favorite sunscreen? It can be so hard to find a good one.
I love Supergoop! They have an amazing tinted one, and they also have a really great regular one that’s clean and never makes me break out. Sunscreen can be really tricky, especially if you’re layering makeup over it, but the tinted one is really perfect if you’re on the go.
Agreed—love Supergoop! How does your own approach to beauty compare with that of your character on Ginny & Georgia?
I would say it’s pretty different. Georgia loves utilizing fun colors and loves playing dress-up. She loves matching with her outfits and having everything be on theme, whereas I keep it pretty simple for the most part. I try to keep it fast. I don’t want to use up too much time, so I’ll on throw my Clé de Peau Beauté concealer ($75)—I’m obsessed with it—and then some BareMinerals foundation ($35), which I just brush on really fast. Some Anastasia brows, and then I love Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick Eye Shadow ($32). It’s just super easy to swipe on. If it’s nighttime, I throw on a black liner (I like gel formulas because they go on so smoothly) and then some blush! I love my Laura Mercier blush ($34), but Drunk Elephant also has these Rosi Glow Drops ($36) that add a nice tint and glow to your skin.
What about mascara? I’m a big lash girl, so I’m always nosy and want to know what people are using. [Laughs]
Yes! You know what I love? Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real! Lengthening Mascara ($28). It goes on so well, it doesn’t clump, and it also washes off fast and easily. It’s super simple. I don’t know if the magic is in the bristles of the brush or what.
I swear Benefit has some of the best mascaras, and I love that one too. Do you have any favorite makeup or beauty tips that you’ve picked up while on set?
I really like keeping any facial tools or eye patches in the fridge. When you apply them, the coldness really reduces any puffiness and redness, so I love doing that. Also, for season two, our makeup artist used a really fine brush to apply the under-eye concealer. It’s not something I had ever done before, but I actually think it helps a lot with preventing creases as opposed to a sponge. Oh! Another fun little trick is to put white eyeliner on the inner-lower rim of your eye. It really makes them pop.
I’m sure that’s especially helpful when you have early call times or a crazy schedule without a lot of sleep.
I will take all of the help I can get! All of the eye patches, all of the brightening, whitening—yes!
What about hair? Do you have any nonnegotiable products or practices that keep it strong?
I love using Oribe. I love the Gold Lust Dry Shampoo ($48) and the Dry Texturizing Spray ($49). For shampoo and conditioner, I’m using Pureology’s Hydrate collection right now. It’s just wonderful, and it smells amazing. We wrapped up shooting for season two a couple of months ago, and they have hot tools on your hair multiple times a day in between takes and constantly switching up looks. You’re also getting your hair color-treated a little more frequently to help with continuity. So when we wrapped, I took it down a few notches just to bring some new life back into my hair and let her breathe a little bit. I stopped getting as many highlights and just let it be a little more natural. I’ve been having some fun with that, and it’s also nice to just mix it up a little bit.
That said, I do have the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer ($429), which is a complete game changer. I have surprisingly thick hair, and it used to take me 45 minutes to an hour to dry my hair, and now, I can get it done in like 25 minutes.
It’s so good! It’s spendy but a really smart investment if people can do it. We’re super obsessed with fragrance at WWW—do you have a signature scent, or do you switch it up?
I love Jo Malone London Grapefruit Cologne ($80). It’s clean, simple. … I don’t want anything too loud. I feel like it works day to night, and I just love it.
It’s such a classic. Hmm, okay. How about some high/low? What’s the most affordable beauty product that you can’t live without, and what’s the most expensive?
I love the Dr. PawPaw Multi-Purpose Balm ($6). It comes in a red tube. … I think I’m addicted to it! I put it on everything because it’s not just for your lips. I love it for skin everywhere. We shot season two in the winter, and it’s just so moisturizing and wonderful. For most expensive … I think La Mer. I have a La Mer eye cream that I love. I just love it so much.
Your Instagram is full of travel highlights—what are some treasured products or pieces of beauty wisdom you’ve picked up in other areas of the world?
You know what’s so funny is that I didn’t really notice this until I was in Paris, and of course, I bought a bunch there, and now that I’m home, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I could have also gotten it here.” But Caudalie! Amazing! They have this gorgeous face mist that I can’t get enough of. And what else… Biologique Recherche. I just feel like it’s a lot easier to get when you’re in Europe. It’s a hunt when you’re here, but I love grabbing that when I’m abroad. I discovered it when I was shooting in London, actually. I was getting a facial, and that’s what the esthetician was using.
It’s such a nice line! They actually just opened their first flagship store in the U.S. here in L.A. last year, which I’m super happy about. The facials are amazing. Okay, switching gears. Beauty and wellness are so intertwined—do you have any sacred self-care rituals or tips for staying centered when life starts to feel especially stressful?
In the last couple of months, I started doing acupuncture, and it’s an enormous game changer to help with stress. Sleep is something that I’ve always struggled with. I’ve always had a little bit of insomnia, and I can get really anxious at nighttime. The acupuncture not only helps long-term, but that 30 minutes when I’m doing it is almost like a gateway for me to meditation. Meditating can be an incredibly intimidating exercise, so it sort of forced me to stay still in the moment and focus on breathing. When that time is already carved out for you, it makes it so much easier.
Definitely—I’m personally so intimidated by meditation even though I know it’s so life-changing for people. I sit down for two minutes and immediately start to squirm. [Laughs]
Right! You get distracted, and then your pet’s there. [Laughs] … It’s so hard! I have so much admiration for people who do it. But I guess that’s why they call it a practice. I really respect people who take it very seriously.
Completely. Okay, so let’s say you have a whole day. You’re not working and have absolutely nothing to do and are devoting it entirely to self-care. What would you do, start to finish?
I would … take my dog on a walk. I love getting to spend time with Bodie, especially if it’s not rushed and we can take our time. I love starting off my day like that. Then, I will make a nice breakfast—like actually take the time to make some delicious scrambled eggs and actually cut up some fruit. Maybe even sit outside to enjoy it. Then, Pilates. I love doing Pilates classes. It just feels so good to stretch and to tone. I feel like Pilates is what helped me get through COVID. It really helped with my mental health. I would take a nice shower and lather myself with a lot of body oil—Osea’s Undaria Algae Body Oil ($52) and Body Butter ($56). Especially if you mix them together, [they’re] phenomenal. I would indulge in a book. That always feels like a luxury if I have time. I’m reading The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan right now. It’s actually really dark, but I also really love dark content.
I’m such a huge book lover and have seen so many people buzzing about that one. It’s on my list.
Oh my gosh, okay. It’s really heavy. It’s like The Handmaid’s Tale for mothers, but it’s very thought-provoking and provocative, and I have also cried quite a bit while reading it.
I’ve been warned!
Yeah, yeah, it’s heavy—I’m about 20 pages away from finishing it and just gutted. But then I would go out to eat dinner either with girlfriends or with my husband. That always feels like such a treat—not having to make dinner or do the dishes. And then I love going to the movies. I feel like that really got robbed during COVID, and the novelty will never wear off for me.
Me too—nothing else compares. Okay, this is actually my last question! What’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
8. Strong lip or a strong eye? Red lip and kitten liner.
9. You’re having your nails done. What’s your go-to color? I usually do a different color on thumbs than rest of hands, and it might be a combo of red and pink.
10. What is your beauty philosophy in a sentence? Nature will make you the most beautiful inside out, so be in it as much as possible.
