BEAUTY TO ME

Actor and activist Emma Watson has worked with beauty products since starring in Harry Potter. Here, she shares her natural beauty routine.

Emma Watson shares her natural beauty routine.

I started having my hair and make-up done when I was nine years old, which is pretty unusual. For the first two

Harry Potter films, we had a lot of make-up, but then when I worked with Alfonso (Cuarón) he didn’t want to cover up any teenage spots.

I had terrible acne during the fourth Harry Potter film and I would take my make-up off at night and my skin would be so sore. I think being under lights, sweating in make-up every day, and the stress was really tough on my skin. That was the moment I really learned to value my skin and really take care of it.

It’s actually made me wear less make-up now, be more conscious about what I’m putting on my skin and to appreciate when my skin was good again.

If I have to sit still for a long time before something that makes me nervous, it just makes we more nervous. So I try to keep my mind busy and be disciplined about reading a book, listening to an audio book or meditating.

Recently, I tried a float tank, which sounded insane to me, but I actually loved it. I go on meditation retreats and it’s great for me, but to find time on a daily basis to do it when you live in a busy city, with the phone ringing and your cat trying to crawl all over you, isn’t always the easiest. The float tank provided a specific place for meditation, which I think is really helpful.

Product-wise, recently I’ve been in LA a lot, so I’ve been trying Jenette Serrins at Being in LA. I love that I get to use products that say things like ‘be happy!’ and ‘be calm’! In LA, the sun is out every day, so I wear Coola Mineral Face SPF30 Cucumber Matte Finish. I like that it uses a mineral rather that synthetic sunscreen. In cold months, I use Vita Liberata Trystal Self Tanning Bronzing Minerals, which gradually tans as you wear them. When I’m out in the sun, I try to wear a hat and limit my exposure. If I catch the sun I use MV Skincare Rose Plus Booster – it’s great for when skin is tender or inflamed from sunburn.

I’m still using my The Body Shop Red Pomegranate Lip and Cheek Stain. It’s not entirely natural but I like that founder Anita Roddick started numerous initiatives within the industry, including a global campaign tackling the media stereotyping of women and pioneering a ‘Trade Not Aid’ program. And I’ve recently become obsessed with French Girl Le Lip Tint in Ambre Noire.

Since I had my fringe cut I’ve had to start using styling products. My fringe has an annoying tendency to sort of swing up on one side, so I’ve been using the Josh Rosebrook Styling Cream and Lift Hair Texture & Volume.

I’m usually the person my friends ask about new products. I do have a friend who is a bit more experimental and wacky than I am, and she pushes me to experiment with more exciting colours. She was the reason I started wearing a matte orangey red colour on my lips.

It’s really intriguing how beauty changes depending on where you go. When I was in Japan they wanted to apply blusher to my earlobes and a lot to my cheeks, because blushing is a sign of beauty. In the early days of Harry Potter, I always wanted to look like an American movie star who lived in Los Angeles so, of course, this involved fake tan. I remember arriving in Japan for a press tour and asking where I could buy fake tan and they literally looked at me like I was insane. I find these things humorous and important … Beauty is a construct and we know this because it is constructed differently all over the world. I think realisations like this made me take the whole thing a lot less seriously.

My mum has been really instrumental in teaching me about make-up, because she doesn’t follow any beauty rules. She will put lipstick on her cheeks and use eyeliner on her lips. Some days she will wear make-up if she feels like it, but she feels equally beautiful with nothing on at all. I love the variation. It is just fun to her. I still often use whatever I put on my lips on my cheeks, and I often don’t wear any make-up at all, and that’s from my mum. Mostly, I think that perfection as a word or idea should be avoided in general … the best version of yourself on a particular day? That’s a better way to sum it up.