Spring’s milder temps will be here before you know it, and the SkinStore Presidents’ Day sales are the perfect time to stock your top shelf with the lightweight serums and moisturizers you were probably going to buy full-price anyway. Discounts at the beauty retailer abound through February 22, with hundreds of skin and hair-care products marked down by up to 50% off with the code PRESIDENT.  

Notable sale highlights include the beloved NuFace Mini, SkinCeuticals’ best-selling vitamin C serum—which isn’t exactly on sale but you can score a gift with purchase, which is about as good as it gets—and U Beauty‘s Super Hydrator moisturizer. (For anyone new to the brand, it’s influencer Tina Craig’s high-tech skin-care line—and it’s won over a number of Glamour editors for its potent formulas that deliver overnight results.) But wait, there’s more. You can also treat yourself to spa-like body-care products and luxe hair tools from T3 and Ghd. Ready to shop? Scroll down for the best SkinStore Presidents’ Day sales of 2022. 

Once you’re all set in the beauty arena, shop even more Presidents’ Day sales that are blessing our carts this holiday weekend—from clothing deals to furniture and mattresses and the very best finds at Nordstrom.

Best SkinStore Presidents’ Day Sales 2022: Skin-Care Products

If you’re here for skin care, this beauty retailer has a truly top-notch selection. Start your haul with gentle cleansers and toners before moving on to best-selling treatments like SkinCeuticals’ C E Ferulic, which anyone who’s tried it praises for its powerful anti-aging properties and improving overall texture. Other must-haves include Patchology’s Flashpatch Hydrating Lip Gels for softening dehydrated winter lips, and Peter Thomas Roth’s viral under-eye concentrate, which may be just as effective as a double shot of espresso in the morning for making eyes feel tighter and brighter.

Best SkinStore Presidents’ Day Sales 2022: Facial Tools

Eyeing a new beauty tool to amp up the benefits of your favorite skin-care products? ? Now’s your opportunity to score a sweet deal. Pair a gua sha tool with your face oil to promote lymphatic drainage and ease muscle tension, or lift and tighten skin with microcurrent devices like the popular NuFace Mini and ReFa Carat. Oh, and in the spirit of spring cleaning, don’t forget to swap out your old makeup sponge for some new Beautyblenders.  

Best SkinStore Presidents’ Day Sales 2022: Body-Care Products

The skin on your bod deserves its own routine too. Add a touch of luxury to your bathroom lineup with a geranium-infused body wash, courtesy of Aesop. (Every day will feel like you’re vacationing at some five-star hotel resort.) Then upgrade your post-shower routine with hydrating body oils and butters. Beyond cleansers and lotions suitable for all kinds of skin types, if you need to treat specific concerns like keratosis pilaris, First Aid Beauty’s body scrub is a solid pick. And there are even staples for the little ones on sale like Pipette’s popular baby shampoo and SPF.  

Best SkinStore Presidents’ Day Sales 2022: Hair-Care Products

Sleek hair and healthy, bouncy curls can be easily achieved with SkinStore’s wide array of hair-care gems. In need of a deep conditioner? Phyto’s thirst-quenching hair mask is up for grabs right now for $44—or you can treat your hair to the moisturizing properties of prickly pear oil with Christophe Robin’s Regenerating Serum. (Both are excellent, so why not get both?) Finally, seal the deal by snagging a supercharged hair tool. We’re partial to GHD’s cordless styler for making impromptu straightning sessions a breeze, as well as T3’s convertible curling ward (complete with multiple attachments) for creating the mermaid waves of your dreams. 

Samantha Tan considers herself a beauty lover, but the professional race car driver’s introduction to skin care was less than enjoyable. 

“One of my most vivid memories from childhood, unfortunately, was when I was in kindergarten and my eczema used to be terrible,” Tan tells me over the phone. “It was all over my face and the skin above my lips used to always be raw. The other kids used to think I was contagious, even though obviously eczema is not contagious. It’s something that stayed with me for a long time. I would always wear long-sleeved clothes and long pants. I never wanted to show my skin. Even up until now, I’m still learning how to accept my scars.”

She adds, cheerily, “It’s part of me, and I got to learn to love it.” That same infectious optimism shines through when Tan discusses her successful career. In 2021, Samantha Tan Racing made history by becoming the first Canadian team to win the renowned 24H DUBAI; she also became the first Asian woman to win a major endurance racing series championship in the world.

“I think representation is just so, so important,” she says of the win. “It’s so monumental. It’s so important for people to people of color to see that their stories and voices are heard and for me to be the first one is amazing, but I also don’t want to be the last one.”

Tan is so passionate about encouraging others to follow in her footsteps, in fact, that she even agreed to share the secret to her skin care. Read on for Glamour’s latest Drop the Routine. 

My cleansers

To take off my makeup, I use a micellar water. Even if you’re drunk and tired, you just got to do it. And that’s funny because every time, somehow, when I get home—blackout drunk sometimes—I’m able to still take off my makeup. [Laughs.] I use the Bioderma one, which was recommended to me by my aunt, and then I’ll go in with the CeraVe, which I definitely found because of TikTok. I also use the FOREO Luna Mini.

So what products does she swear by? Read on as Brittany Xavier drops her routine. 

My cleansers

I always double-cleanse my skin at night. I use the Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm to remove all the makeup. And then for a cleanser, I’ll use the Clear Skin Probiotic Cleanser from Eminence. It’s really great for balancing and it doesn’t leave my skin feeling super dry. It’s a probiotic cleanser that I found right after I did the skin cleanse, and I liked it because I noticed the irritation didn’t come back after I used it. I’ve been using that one ever since.

In the morning I’ll usually just wash my face with water. Especially if I have oil from the night before, I’ll just pat my skin. I’ll just throw water on my face, probably five times, to where it feels like I’m cleansing my skin. But I don’t use a washcloth. I just use my hands. It leaves the face oil from the night before, so my skin still feels fine.

My toner

I love Thayers Witch Hazel, because it’s amazing for anti-inflammation. When I was researching all the irritation that I was having at the time, so many anti-inflammatory products came up, and that’s how I found Thayers. I’m really cautious about what products I put on my skin for that reason. This one is an alcohol-free formula; it’s really hard to find witch hazel that doesn’t have alcohol, so I was interested to try it. I love using a toner before serum because I feel like it really preps my skin. It also kills acne-causing bacteria, so I have Jadyn, my daughter who’s 14, use it too.

My serums 

I love serums and face oils—those are my favorite. They’re probably the majority of my skin-care closet. Right now I love using the Herbivore Cloud Jelly Plumping Hydrating Serum. And I also love the Versed clarifying serum. The plumping hydration one I like in the morning because I’m not too worried about the hydration at night because I use the facial oils. But in the morning I’m trying to use more of the hydrating serums because I’m not using an oil after my serums in the morning.

My face oils 

I don’t use any moisturizers on my skin; I use face oils. I don’t know if it’s a mental thing, but I feel like moisturizers clog my skin. I have not gone back to them after I did the skin cleanse. I feel like it’s more for if you really need the hydration. I don’t use anything that says “face moisturizer.” If it says oil, I’ll use it.

Right now I am switching between the Honey Grail Ultra Hydrating Face Oil from Farmacy. I love that. It smells amazing. I really like the True Botanicals Pure Radiance Oil. That one’s so nice, and the smell is really great too. If it smells too off-putting, I won’t be able to use it.

My SPF

It’s the Ilia Beauty Super Skin Tint—it has SPF 40. My daughter actually uses it for her base too. I’m really big on making sure she wears a sunscreen at school, so she wears that and she also likes it because it’s almost like a tinted moisturizer in a way. I like it before my foundation because it does have that hydration, but with the zinc, it’s not a pasty-white sunblock. I really like that. I also like the Suntegrity 5-in-1 Moisturizing Sunscreen. It depends on which one I haven’t run out of because I go through them pretty quickly.

I’ve been trying to be good with sunscreen since college, because in high school I would tan my skin. I would lay out in the sun and I wasn’t super aware of it, but my mom got two spots removed on her stomach that were precancerous. That freaked me out a little bit. I also started researching a ton about prevention and just using the sunscreen every day. I’ll never tan my skin again with just regular sun. If anything, I’ll use a sunless tanner, but at the beach, I’m fully sunblocked out all over my body. My daughter thinks I’m a freak. She’s like, “Mom, I have sunblock on. I’m fine.” But I’m like, “Don’t burn your skin.”

My eye balm

I don’t use any eye creams, but I really like this stick from Tula, the Brightening Eye Balm. I like it because I can use it before my makeup. Also, I’ve just noticed my eyes are a lot more puffy now with a baby from lack of sleep. And with breastfeeding too, sometimes I feel like I just need to drink more water, but I just feel puffy in the morning, so I’ll put that on and then I’ll put on my makeup. A few hours later, I’ll put it on top again if I’m going somewhere or need a little bit of a pick-me-up. It’s nice because it has that cooling feeling and has caffeine in it.

My LED light

When I do breakout, I’ll just use my LED blue light and put nothing else on my face. The Dr. Dennis Gross LED light is what I love the most for any acne because it kills the acne-causing bacteria. My daughter actually does it too now, so she has gotten into the routine where she’s like, “Can I borrow your light mask? I feel like my skin needs a refresh.”

My “retinol”

I don’t use retinol because during my pregnancy I stopped using it, just because I didn’t want to have anything that would irritate my skin because I knew my skin was going to be even more sensitive. I found that Herbivore had a retinol alternative. It’s supposed to help with skin smoothing and the renewal but without the irritants of retinol, so I still use that about three times a week.

My lip balms 

I love the Summer Fridays vanilla one. I also like the Agave Night Mask from Bite Beauty.

My masks 

Because of COVID, I got out of the routine of getting facials. I’m pretty low-maintenance when it comes to facials overall. I don’t really prioritize them. If I have an extra hour, I would get my nails done versus getting a facial. I really like having masks at home that makes it feel like a salon treatment, but not having to go anywhere, especially with a newborn too. 

I really love the Blue Tansy Clarifying Mask from Herbivore. It’s so good. I’m obsessed with it. And I also love the Tata Harper Clarifying Mask. Those two make me feel like I’m having that exfoliating treatment and it feels like a salon treatment at home

Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.

If your Instagram feed has suddenly been flooded by videos of people getting their faces getting slapped, pounded, and massaged in the name of beauty, you have Inge Theron to thank for that. The former beauty writer founded FaceGym, the massage-focused facial bar beloved by celebs like Bella Hadid, Jasmine Tookes, and Lizzo, after discovering the transformative power of facial massage and muscle stimulation. 

“I realized that if you don’t actually stimulate the muscles, there’s no topical ingredient that can help you when you’re in your late 30s or 40s, unless you do the work,” Theron tells Glamour. “So, to me, it’s all about treating the muscles in your face like you treat the muscles in your body.” 

Theron believes that great skin is a combination—half “the great actives,” and half how you apply the products. “When I think about cleansing, I don’t think, ‘Oh, I’m just going to purify or remove the dirt from my skin,’” she explains. “It’s, ‘Great. I’m going to use my knuckle. I’m going to increase circulation. I’m going to boost my collagen and also tone, tighten, and lift. And you know, my eyes are looking a bit dodgy so I’m going to de-puff them and sculpt my cheekbones.’ That’s all done while I’m cleansing my face.”

Theron discovered facial massage when she was traveling the world as a spa writer in her mid-30s. She says she had access to “any facial under the sun,” but she was consistently disappointed by results that didn’t last. However, she also wasn’t ready for something more permanent like injectables, so she researched what else was out there. “I went to Mexico, I worked with some Inca healers,” she says. “I went to Japan. I basically traveled the world and realized that face massage and muscle manipulation was a thousand years old—the Empress of China was using pressure points for her beauty routine.”

And so, in 2016, FaceGym was born. “It was taking something that was already established, proven, but making it cool and sexy,” says Theron. “It was just lots of research and then working with some really talented people. I’ve got a great team of master trainers. We designed this concept, which is warmup-cardio-sculpting-cool down, exactly like you train your body in the gym.”

Obviously, her routine is heavy on the massage and treatment, but she also relies on an ever-evolving  lineup of products for her combination skin. She also targets dryness, hyperpigmentation, and signs of aging, but tries to keep a positive attitude about it. “I laugh a lot. I live a lot. When I was younger, before FaceGym, I used to get super worried about it. But then now I realize that I worked so hard to get those lines around my eyes,” she says. “I didn’t dance on a table in Ibiza until 4:00 AM not to have those lines. Now I feel so comfortable with them that they are who I am.”

“You’ve got to own it,” she says. “At some point you’ve also just got to say, ‘You know what? I spent most of my youth worrying about is my bum too big in my jeans? Or do I look old?’ And then at some point you just go, ‘This is the best version of me. I’ve done everything I can, and this is it. Take it or leave it.’ That’s the one good thing about getting older: You get more confident.”

Below, Theron shares what’s in her current rotation for Glamour’s Drop The Routine. 

My cleansers

I am very much a seasonal skincare person. I treat my skin like I treat my body—I don’t eat pumpkins in the summer, I eat asparagus. Right now, given the fact that I was in the sun, I’m using the FaceGym Electrolyte Cleanser, because it’s got a really beautiful formulation. It has a light papaya extract, which is really good for the hyperpigmentation. It’s got electrolytes, which isn’t in any other product that I found. It really is brilliant for energizing. I also get some bigger pores, especially during the summer months. So it’s got a red clover extract, which has been patented. The results on the pores closing is unbelievable. It’s so gentle, it doesn’t hurt the skin barrier. At the moment I’m using it morning and night just because I’ve got this extended bit of hyperpigmentation at the moment and it’s really, really helping. I tend to use September to treat hyperpigmentation and dark spots, both in my FaceGym studio and with my skincare.

I don’t think I need to explain why my (naturally high) stress levels have skyrocketed during the last 18 months. And, much like my psyche, my skin has also been worse off—which is why Tatcha’s Indigo Overnight Repair Serum in Cream couldn’t have arrived at a better time. 

The brand-new cream launched on August 1 and is specially formulated to ease the effects of stress on the skin—like redness, inflammation, or itching—as well as to soothe a compromised skin barrier. In fact, it was created during early lockdown to ease flare-ups of Tatcha founder and CEO Vicky Tsai’s hives, brought on by pandemic-related stress.  

“We had a formula that we have been developing for quite some time,” Tsai tells Glamour. “I was like, ‘I think we need to fast track this,’ because when COVID hit, I knew everybody was going to end up with skin like mine.” 

As the name suggests, the star ingredient in Overnight Repair is indigo, which has been used in Japan for centuries to heal and soothe wounds and irritation. Tatcha has been using indigo in its products for years and has a dedicated Indigo Cream formulated specifically for sensitive skin. The Indigo Cream has a thicker texture and a high percentage of colloidal oatmeal, and is made to care for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. On the other hand, the new Overnight Repair is a lighter texture and is made to combat stress, which everyone deals with. 

 “Anybody who likes the Indigo Cream will like this, but this is for a much broader base of person,” says Tsai. “You don’t have to have something like rosacea to see a dramatic difference in your skin. But if you’ve ever felt stress, that stress is going to show through the skin. Different people show stress different ways,” she continues. “Some people will break out. Some people will get rashes, some people get hives, some people get eczema. This will address all the signs of stress in the skin because it’s actually working at the cortisol level.”

For me personally, stress shows up as increased acne. Even when I’m not particularly stressed out, my skin definitely is, and I’m dealing with two to five red inflamed pimples at all times. In an effort to soothe, I usually have an elaborate routine of a prescription topical, a hydrating essence, a calming serum, and a heavy moisturizer. But after Tsai mentioned that Tatcha Indigo Overnight Repair is basically a skin-care routine in a jar, I’ve been exclusively using it at night, and I’m hooked. 

The brand calls it a Serum in Cream Treatment, and that description is spot-on. It has a luscious yet light texture that melts into a silky-smooth serum upon application. It leaves my skin cocooned with moisture and feels instantly soothing.  

The results in the morning look just as good as the cream feels going on. Both active pimples and lingering pigmentation look less red, and bumps are noticeably decreased. Acne aside, my skin is just better—dewy and juicy, like a woman who gets eight full hours of sleep and chugs water, not coffee. It’s amazing that I can achieve this with only one product, especially since I’m finally out and about (for now at least) and prefer to spend as little time tending to my skin as possible. 

At $88 a jar, it’s a bit of a splurge, but for the cost of an essence, moisturizer, and cream in one, it could be worse. And skin that looks as calm and glowy as this? Priceless. 

Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.  

When you have adult acne, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one getting breakouts past the age of 18. However, anywhere between 12% and 22% of women are are ages 26 through 44 experience acne, and that number is increasing by the day (on the other hand, only around 3% of adult men experience the condition). In our new series Acne Diaries, we’re asking influential women who happen to have acne about their relationship to their skin, and the products they rely on to keep it happy. Next up: Starface co-founder Julie Schott.

Acne can be a burden no matter what, but when you work in the beauty industry, there’s added pressure to have perfect skin—or least very good skin. This is something Julie Schott, former Elle beauty director and co-founder of acne-positive skin-care brand Starface, knows intimately. 

Schott says her skin was perfectly clear during high school and college, but once she started her career as a beauty editor she found herself dealing with constant breakouts. “When you’re that young in your career, you just want to seem credible,” she tells me. “Having acne, for me, felt like [people were thinking] ‘You must not understand how to take care of your skin, you’re doing it wrong’.” She recalls relying on headwear—”like, not a cute hat that was part of my outfit”—to a dinner event in an effort to hide a particularly bad forehead breakout. 

Schott tried everything to clear up her skin, both for her confidence and for the sake of journalism. “I would try anything, from all the direct-to-consumer brands, to going to dermatologists and trying prescriptions,” she says. “And I would say it all exacerbated the situation. It was just too much, too many treatments.” 

But it wasn’t all bad. Over the course of her year working at the now-defunct lifestyle site XOJane, she was able to write in detail about her experience with her skin and create a community. “This was pre-Instagram, so I would share pictures on the site,” she says. “It was cool because people did really connect with it. There’s so much community around that experience.”

Despite finding some camaraderie, Schott continued experimenting with treatments into her 20s—including a medical facial that left her with “no clear skin on my face” and an oral medication that made her faint, twice. She finally settled on a less-is-more approach when it comes to skin care, and ditched face makeup altogether, experimenting with fun eye looks instead. “I started to feel comfortable with the fact that this is just what my skin is right now,” she says. “[But] that was definitely difficult as a young person.” 

One thing that helped her get through it—aside from her hormones starting to settle—was starting Starface in 2019. The acne-positive brand launched with bright yellow star-shaped pimple patches, but now offers a full line of skin-care products.  “I just decided to go in a different direction—I’m obsessed with acne, I’ve been focused on it for 10 years,” she says. “I’m not a doctor, but what I do know is, if you can change the way people feel about their skin, then you can really make things better. I know for myself, when I could just look in the mirror and say ‘No, I’m not going to put foundation over this, this is okay, 95% of people are also experiencing this with me,’ I don’t feel bad about it.”

She says that when she first started pitching the brand, people didn’t fully grasp why the patches would be so eye-catching. “People just sort of said ‘Why would anyone ever want to draw attention to their acne? People are ashamed of their acne are never going to want to do that,’” she says. “And I just was certain that it would be one successful way of accepting and owning a thing for myself. I’ve felt so ashamed. Schott says when she puts on one of the brand’s a Hydro-Star patches, not only is she not picking at her pimple, but she also immediately feels better thanks to its cute factor. “That was kind of the whole goal with Starface. I’ve tried everything with varying results and none of these things improved my mood and none increased my self esteem. So what can we do there?” 

The first thought that went through my head when I first saw Sydney Sweeney on screen in Euphoria was, “this girl is a star.” Shortly after, it was followed by “damn, her skin is incredible.” But according to her, it hasn’t always been this way. She’s dealt with cystic acne for most of her adolescence, and while she mostly has it in check now thanks to a routine from her makeup artist and dermatologist (and some key French pharmacy products), she’s constantly playing a balancing game of keeping her combination skin happy.

“I think that for skincare, it’s such a personalized journey,” says the 23-year-old.”You can never compare yourself to anyone else.” For Sweeney, that journey has been heavy on exfoliation. “When I’m filming I tend to exfoliate more,” she says. “I’m wearing so much more makeup, especially on Euphoria. My skin does tend to ‘eat’ makeup, which is weird, so I exfoliate more and make sure I’m drinking more water.”

Though she goes hard on the exfoliation, she keeps her routine pretty low-key elsewhere as to not irritate her super-sensitive skin. “I actually don’t get facials or anything,” she says. “Every time I go to facialist, I always felt that my face would break out more. I know they say it’s supposed to break out because they cleared your skin, but I feel like no one knows my skin better than I do.” 

For example, she’s discovered that the products her skin loves don’t have to be expensive. “I love French pharmacy products. I filmed a movie in Montreal and was introduced to them, and they have helped my skin immsenly,” she says. She’s also a fan of American drugstore staples like Nivea Creme and Bic Razors, which she recently partnered with. “They have such premium quality, they’re at such a great value, and they do such a great shave.”

Ahead of her new series The White Lotus premiering this July, I chatted with Sweeney and had her drop her skin care routine. Read on for the only moisturizer she’s ever liked, the product that saved her from acne scars, and the sunscreen she calls her “saving grace.” 

My Body Care 

I usually take showers in the morning, because my hair gets really greasy. While my conditioner is sitting in my hair I usually shave my legs with the BIC Soleil Click 3, it’s such an amazing shave and it’s easy to use. Some shavers actually freak out my skin—I don’t know why but sometimes whatever they put around the shaver does it. BIC’s doesn’t, and because I have such sensitive skin, I like using those because I don’t have any rashes or any problems after I use it. 

And then, this is a huge thing—I used to wash my body and then wash my face in the shower while products were sitting in my hair, but my body would still break out from the conditioner. And I learned that washing everything out of my hair first, and then washing my body with Nivea’s body wash is the way to go. 

My Cleansers

In the shower, I wash my face with Avène cleansing gel. I like this one because I’ve found different cleansers are either too strong or not strong enough, but this one is nice and gentle. Sometimes I’ll mix in an exfoliator, just to help, because I do have combination skin. If I don’t exfoliate the dry skin off then my makeup will sit weird on my face, and my face will break out—I get really bad cystic acne.  I use Caudalie’s because it’s not too harsh, it just works perfectly.

My Serum 

When I’m out of the shower, I use the SkinCeuticles H.A. Intensifier because my skin does get dry, so it helps soak everything in. I use it every day and night. 

My Moisturizer 

Then, I’ll use this French cream, it’s a cream concentrate. What’s crazy is it’s actually for dry skin to make it more oily, so I didn’t think it would work on me. But my makeup artist used on me about a year and a half ago, and it’s the only lotion that works for my skin when I’m wearing makeup. Usually makeup will split on my face, especially around my nose, and I could never figure out why, but it doesn’t happen with this one.

My Sunscreen 

I use the Elta MD sunscreen on top. This sounds horrible, but I never used to wear sunscreen because my skin is so sensitive, and sunscreens would usually break me out. I started using this over the past year and a half, and my face doesn’t break out so it’s been my saving grace.

My Makeup Remover 

I found that depending on where I am in the world and the season I have to change my products because my skin will just be completely different. So right now at night, I tend to wipe off my face with the Bioderma Sensibio Cleansing Water. I love French pharmacy products, I filmed a movie in Montreal and found them, and they have helped my skin immsenly. 

My Night Creams 

Depending on if I’m dry or not, I’ll put Nivea face cream on, or I’ll use Drunk Elephant. I also have a prescribed ointment from my dermatologist that I’ll rub on as well. 

My Acne Secret 

I was a horrible picker [when my acne was bad], and my mom was always like ‘Your face is going to get scarred!’ And now every day she’s like, “I don’t know how you don’t have scars.” It’s because I would lather my face with Neosporin and aloe and it saved my skin.

My Roller 

I have this ice roller that I got off of Amazon, that is the size of my face.  Every day literally while I’m in my car heading to set I’m just rolling my entire face with this ice roller. It helps immensely.

Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.

Halle Berry is an enigma. At 54, the Academy Award–winning actress doesn’t seem to age. If anything, she keeps looking younger, to the point where it’s totally normal to wonder a) what’s her secret, and b) no, seriously, what’s her secret?

Now, yes, some of that may be genetics, but Berry swears she’s had to work at it. And she does. Whether it’s a consistent skin-care routine or daily workout sessions, the mom of two prioritizes a strong body and soul. But on this particular day, when I find myself on a Zoom with Berry in her living room, she’s extremely open about what it takes to achieve that look. 

First, she’s incredibly disarming, telling me she hasn’t gotten dressed up in so long, “I don’t even know how to act right now.” (If it makes Berry feel any better, I tell her I actually logged on to our Zoom session a full 24 hours early—and got camera-ready—so I relate to her ‘awkwardness’). 

But what I most appreciate is how honest she is about the work it takes to achieve, as I call it, ‘Halle Berry skin.’ She’s a collaborative partner with Finishing Touch’s Flawless line of home skin care devices, which features everything from pedicure kits to body brushes. But it’s her willingness to talk about their facial hair remover—something celebs rarely open up about—that really makes me sit up and pay attention. 

“When I grew up, shaving your mustache or hair near the sideburns was just not cool,” she tells me. (And as someone who still bleaches the hair on her arms and upper lip, boy do I know it). “We used to hide the fact that we did it, and I burned my lip many times with these depilatories. It was just a mess.”

It’s why Berry wanted to team up with the company—to really speak openly about the fact that most every woman has at one time or another wanted to get rid of unwanted facial hair. “They’ve made hair removal acceptable and sexy again,” she says. “I’m not ashamed if someone sees it at my house and says, ‘What is that?’ I’ll just say, ‘Oh, that’s my lip shaver,’ and I have no problem admitting that.”

She even says she’s introduced the product to her 13-year-old daughter, Nahla. “She’s coming of age now, and has a chance to use all these products that I didn’t have when I was 13. How cool is that? We should all feel confident about the things that we want to do in order to feel like our best selves.”

It’s at this moment that I no longer am focusing on how gorgeous Berry looks (OK, well, perhaps I still am), but am more focused on how impressed I am that she’s so honest about some of the downright annoying things women have to contend with. 

So what else does Berry swear by to achieve her stunning look? We asked during Glamour‘s latest round of Big Beauty Questions, where she comes clean about bra support, facial serums, and microwave popcorn. (I mean, really, is there a better combination?) 

What’s one beauty rule you swear by?

Consistency, consistency, consistency. Have a routine and be consistent with it!

What’ s one beauty rule you think is BS?

That people are born with good skin, and it’s genetic. Not true. I have taken care of this skin since I was 13, morning and night, religiously! I’ve had a program, I’ve been consistent, and I’ve never wavered. Even on my drunken nights when I’d stumble in the house in my early 20s, guess what? I’d be in the bathroom washing that face off, as drunk as I was! So, no, it’s consistency, and I’ve been doing it since I was 13.

Is there a product that you’ve consistently used then that really works all these years?

Twenty minutes on the phone with Melissa Villaseñor is a lesson in keeping it real. Then again, would you expect anything less from the woman who makes us howl with laughter over her impressions on Saturday Night Live? (Wow, wowwww!) 

“I think seeing my face on TV made me more conscious of all this stuff,” the 33-year-old comedian says when I ask when her interest in skin care started. “I never had a routine until I started SNL. I honestly was just using Dove Body Wash on my face in the shower. When someone was like, uh, ‘You need a cleanser,’ I was shocked by what a difference it made.”

Like a classic ’90s makeover montage, her colleagues at SNL jumped into action. “Vanessa Bayer was so cute my first season at SNL. She was like, ‘We’re going to get you connected with hairstylists, and this new skin-care company, and this thing and that thing.’ I forget where we went, but we met on a Sunday once at some skin-care place, and the esthetician asked what my regimen was. I was like, ‘My what?’ So she just loaded me up on Skinceuticals.”

The rest, as they say, was history. Villaseñor says she became hooked on trying new products, until she settled on what she calls her “not too crazy” routine. The most important criteria she has now is that the products she uses are primarily cruelty-free. 

“Even with food and clothes, I try my best to be animal-friendly,” she says. “I try not to buy leather items or anything tested on animals. I have a dog, who’s a rescue named Jenny, and a gorgeous tabby cat named Ella, and they mean so much to me. I can’t imagine them being tested on. It hurts my heart.”

So what’s made the cut for her then? Ahead of the Film Independent Spirit Awards’ airing on April 22, which Villaseñor is hosting, we asked the comedian to drop her routine. Read on for the serums she swears by, the SPF she says smells “pretty,” and the gadgets that have upped her overall skin-care game.

My Cleansers

I’ve been changing it up with my cleansers lately. Sometimes I’ll use Tammy Fender’s Milk Cleanser, but the one I really love these days is Tata Harper’s Purifying Cleanser. I found Tata Harper though my mentor and friend Whitney Cummings—she’s a huge skin-care girl! I don’t know if you follow Whitney, but she’s shared so many posts throughout the years of her whole routine, and she has all these tricks up her sleeve. I think she tagged Tata Harper on some things, so I went on their Instagram and loved how the products look and that they’re cruelty-free. It’s a high price, but it’s worth it because whenever I use their cleanser, I can see the difference in my skin.

My Serums 

I love Drunk Elephant. Its vitamin C serum is beautiful. It makes my face nice and tight—and overall makes me look awake for the day. There’s a difference, I can tell. I swear. I also really like the brand’s B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum. I mix those together when I start the day. 

My Sunscreen

I use the Mad Hippie SPF. I got it at Whole Foods and love the way it smells because it doesn’t have that overly sunblock-y scent. It just smells really pretty. Also, the artwork on the packaging is great. I won’t lie—it’s what drew me to it. 

My Oils 

I love a face oil. I actually prefer them to moisturizers. My favorite of the moment is Josie Maran’s CBD Oil. I’ll mix a little in with my SPF and I’m ready to start my day. I also got a little essential oil roller called Love Potion from Tata Harper. It smells so good. I put it on my wrist for a little pick-me-up through the day. 

We all have those Instagram accounts we check daily and refer to in conversation as if they’re our actual friends. If you’ve ever scrolled onto one of these photos and wondered, How does she do it? you’re in luck. Welcome to our series Insta Stalking, in which we talk to the women behind the accounts we’re obsessing over about their beauty secrets. Below, seven women with great skin share their clean skin-care routines.

Thanks in part to the internet, we now have more information than ever about what we are actually putting on (and into) our bodies. As women gain awareness and interest in what’s in their products, the clean-beauty movement has rapidly grown. While there’s nothing wrong with pushing for products that are better for us and the planet, there are so many buzzwords—clean, green, natural, organic—floating around that it’s hard to sort through the noise. Add to the fact that every retailer and brand has their own definition of the word clean, and things can get a little murky.

Generally speaking, clean beauty refers to products free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and artificial fragrance (again, this varies depending on whom you ask) but has grown to include products with all-natural or organic ingredients. Some also take sustainability into account. There’s also a lot of misinformed stereotypes associated with clean beauty—that it’s crunchy (think more Whole Foods than Sephora), ineffective, or expensive—which can make going green intimidating. To make it easier, we asked seven women who are passionate about clean beauty to define what it means to them, and to share their clean skin-care routines. Read on for the products they can’t live without.

Vic Styles, 35, content creator in Brooklyn

Our skin is the largest organ in our body. What we put on it not only affects the appearance of it but can impact our overall well-being. I think healthy skin starts within. A good skin-care routine ends with what you actually put on your face and begins with what you put into your body. It’s hard to separate the two, since many skin “issues” are just our body’s way of letting us know that something isn’t balanced on the inside.

When it comes to my skin, my major concerns are antiaging and hyperpigmentation. In the morning I keep it simple, since I do so much at night. I start with Burt’s Bees Micellar Cleansing Water on a reusable cotton round. It’s like a quick and easy pick-me-up for my skin. I use the Activist Manuka Honey as a mask for 15 minutes every day—it’s my go-to product. It helps reduce inflammation and acne, and adds moisture into my skin. After I rinse the honey off, I swipe on Purpl & Prosper Crystal Healing Toner, which doesn’t strip my skin at all, and then I use Farmacy Very Cherry Bright 15% Clean Vitamin C Serum. This serum has been a saving grace for my hyperpigmentation, and I love how lightweight it is. I add the Caudalie Vinopure Skin Perfecting Serum, which instantly makes my face brighter, and the Farmacy Daily Greens Gel Moisturizer, which feels like I’m adding a layer of water to my skin. For even more glow, I add Plant People Revive Serum, and finish with SuperGoop! Unseen Sunscreen. SPF is a must, and I love how sheer this one is. Plus, it doubles as a makeup primer.