Jennifer Garner

Five minutes with ACTOR

WHEN SHE’S NOT filming on set or bringing her A-game to the red carpet, Jennifer Garner devotes every moment to her three kids. We’d go so far as to call her a supermom (she helped spearhead the passing of a law in California to protect children from aggressive shutterbugs). We sat down with the Neutrogena spokesperson and basked in her flawless complexion—a testament to her passion for sun protection— while she shared advice, parental insights and, of course, beauty tips. — Julia Mcewen Who inspires you? In so many different ways—and beauty is at the top of the list—annette Bening. She’s always just stunning; she doesn’t apologize for who she is, where she is in life or what’s going on with her. When I worked with her in the film Danny Collins, I felt embarrassed because I had so many questions: “So, Annette, sorry, um, did you work out today? What are you having for lunch? And can I sit next to you?” What’s your mom’s top beauty advice? My mother has given me one piece of beauty advice: “Jennifer, make sure you moisturize your neck.” I’ve always been careful about that. I think serums are effective, so I use Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum under my night cream. What would you tell your 25-year-old self? Twenty-five is a stressful time because you don’t know if you’re going to end up with a family and kids. You start to wonder, How long should I wait? I wish I could have told myself to travel, to enjoy not being tied down and to take advantage of being able to go anywhere in the world. Now, I would love to travel; it’s just hard to leave my little dudes for more than a couple of days. How do your children handle having actors for parents? My kids live such a different life than I did. When I grew up, we weren’t allowed to pierce our ears, we didn’t wear makeup and we didn’t have our hair cut, coloured or permed. Now, they see their dad [Ben Affleck] getting makeup done and they think it’s totally normal. My kids have a thing right now: As soon as I come home, they tell me, “Put on glasses. Put on glasses.” As soon as I put on my glasses and I don’t have any makeup on, they get so excited; they feel like I’m just theirs. I try to let them celebrate that; I want them to know that the most natural version of themselves is the prettiest. REAL TALK: The best anti-aging product isn’t a pricey lotion containing meteorite dust or snail secretions (yes, those are actual skin-care ingredients); it’s a potion that’s found in every drug-, grocery and convenience store: sunscreen. By now, you’d think that applying sunscreen year-round would be a no-brainer, but in a recent Neutrogena consumer study, 80 percent of Canadians said they still weren’t using sunscreen during the winter. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a cloudy day or wintertime,” says Menas Kizoulis, global scientific engagement leader for skin-care research and development at Johnson & Johnson. The UVA rays are still coming through. Kizoulis says it’s important to encourage people to use sunscreen daily and to apply enough of the product for it to be effective. Enter Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Face & Body Sunscreen Stick. This genius sunscreen is oil-free and water-resistant, and it comes in a large (deodorant-size) stick that, when applied to skin, leaves a matte finish. Swipe it on, then toss it into your bag for easy reapplication. — JM