If you only had five minutes to leave the house, what products would you use?
I have to wash my face, always. At the moment, I’m using an Environ face wash.
Are natural and organic important factors for you when choosing products to use?
Sometimes, but I mix it up, really. My skin is a mixture of very sensitive and dry and spot-prone, so it took me a while to find things that work. So I use the facial oil and then after that I put on factor 50 sunscreen on my face. Especially at the moment when I’m working in Berlin and it’s been 36 degrees here. I use a Dermalogica sunscreen for my face and a Jason mineral one for my body. Although I do love a hat, too! [Laughs] I’m a big hat gal—it means you’re super protected from the sun.
And what about makeup? Are you someone that wears it on a daily basis?
It depends on what I’m doing. I definitely take lots of days off with makeup, but when I do wear it I’ll put a bit of light foundation on and I’ll thicken my eyebrows a bit because I overplucked mine loads when I was younger [laughs]. There’s a brand called Cosmetics à la Carte that I found a few years ago and who really saved my bacon because for a while, after a particularly exhausting job, I got allergic to nickel, which is in a lot of makeup products. They are a family-run business and they can tailor-make your makeup. So I use their eyebrow cream (£28) and I use their makeup when I’m on set every day—I just love their products.
I always like a bit of something on my lips too, either I’ll lightly tint them or if I’m going out and I want to have fun, then I quite like the darker, plummier, more gothic kind of colours. I love Chanel’s Rouge Noir (£33) or Laura Mercier’s glossy lipstick in a plum colour which is very sheer, but it’s got a slightly more gothy, boho kind of look. Because I’ve got blonde-red hair and I’m so pale, I don’t like looking too girly—I like to push against it a bit and wear colours that are a bit darker, more striking and I guess less feminine. I like playing around with no eye makeup too, which can be a bit of an odd look, you know? No eye makeup but a strong lip.
When I was younger, I always felt like I had to kind of gel and fit in, and especially as an actress, I thought I couldn’t be so unconventional-looking. I couldn’t be so pale and red [headed] in order to work. I had to blend [in] a bit better. And now that’s just not true. I love it when I see all sorts of people just embracing what they have naturally. … I find that really inspiring. I also think that the beauty industry—finally—because of what women have been pushing for, is starting to adapt and cater [more] to everybody’s unique looks. I think that’s really important. I definitely felt in my teens and early 20s that I couldn’t find foundation that would match my pale skin. I wore fake tan instead, so it’s nice that we can all appreciate our uniqueness now.