NOT JUST SKIN-DEEP
Laura Dern of Big Little Lies shares her beauty truths
Laura Dern has been acting since she was a tween girl, and, at 50, she is as in-demand as ever. This year she has a remarkably full slate, including roles as a high-powered working mother in Big Little Lies and as Woody Harrelson’s ex-wife in
Wilson (to hit US cinemas on Friday). Later this year, she will appear in the David Lynch reboot of Twin Peaks (out in May) and in
Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (planned for December). When she is not on screen, Dern is often shuttling her two children around town. Find out the skincare and make-up favourites that keep her feeling pulled-together through it all.
SKINCARE
I have a few beloved staples. I’ve been going to the Face Place for facials for many years, so at home I’ll wash and sometimes moisturise with their products. Recently, I’ve also discovered Kate Somerville DermalQuench spray. It’s oxygen you spray on your face, and it hydrates. I take it on planes. I’m not as diligent as I should be about sunscreen, but if I’m really going to be in the sun, I use an SPF by Dermalogica. My body lotion is Eminence. They use a lot of bamboo or coconut-oil derivatives.
The one thing that is with me at all times, in my purse, in the car, is my La Mer lip balm. I love it so much that when my 11-year-old daughter was figuring out what to give me for Christmas, she ended up getting it for my stocking. At night, I might use this really beautiful camellia oil by Julie Hewett, the make-up artist. Or I’ll use iS Clinical — they have a lot of cool oils and serums that I’m just learning about.
MAKE-UP
Being an actress my whole life, it feels so good to have a clean face when I’m off, so I’m not a big make-up wearer. The two things I always put on are my La Mer lip balm and the L’Oréal mascara I’ve been using forever — the Voluminous one in waterproof black. If I need something more, I use La Prairie cream blush. It’s supernatural and also looks great on film when you want to look like you don’t have any make-up on but you need some colour.
I use foundation only rarely. If it’s work, the make-up artists tend to use Clé de Peau. But on my own time, I’ve started using Burberry Fresh Glow BB cream. I’m raising two children; I need beauty products with luminescent qualities. Last night I had press until midnight, and was at a meeting at 5.15 this morning. I put the cream on with some face oil — Neal’s Yard has this lovely rosehip oil — and everyone says, ‘Oh, you’re so glow-y!’.
I also have these new Chanel lip crayons. I’m obsessed with the No.2 Rose Violine colour. It’s very close to my lip colour but better.
HAIR
I’m a natural blonde. I was a towhead as a kid, and then it got ashier when I was 18. But for film, I’ve been coloured auburn, strawberry-blonde and sometimes a little more honey-coloured. When I filmed
Wilson, we really wanted the character to be trashed, and to look like she’s been through a lot. For hair, I had really dark roots, and my colourist of the last 20 years, Johnathan Gale, made it look really fried and bleached at the ends. Now there are these beautiful masks that save me. I like Kérastase.
For my cuts, I go to my beloved friend, the brilliant 6-foot-1 [185cm] Icelandic creature Frida Aradottir, who’s one of the most brilliant hair designers. We met on
Wild At Heart. When she’s not busy — she was Emma Stone’s hair stylist on La La
Land — she’ll very kindly bring her scissors over.
FRAGRANCE
I care a lot about fragrance not only in my life, but sometimes it feels right while working on a character. Right this second I’m wearing Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily dry body oil. Jo Malone has a really nice vetiver, too. And then I love Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien, and Bottega Veneta has a new one, Eau Sensuelle, that is super-pretty.
Then I have this amazing thing: There’s a small group of doctors and scientists who started this line called Happiness Abscissa. They make scents that chemically change your mood — a scent as an antidepressant. I do have to say, sometimes I spray this on, and I absolutely feel good.
DIET AND FITNESS
Diet is weird. It’s elusive. I just try to listen to my body. Lately, I’ve been doing matcha green tea with my whisk, and I really love it. I put manuka honey in it. My children are like, ‘Mom! That honey is odd’. But then when they don’t feel well, I make them hot water with fresh ginger, manuka honey and a dash of cayenne. Drink that tea, and life is good.
The kids are actually very healthy. My son is an impassioned surfer and into healthy foods and juices. We don’t have a lot of gluten and dairy in the house.
The fitness part, it’s literally whatever I can get whenever I can get it. Before kids, it used to be an hour-and-a-half of yoga in the morning. Now I try to fit in some exercise on a dog walk. As a working parent, you’re just constantly trying to fit it all in.
I care a lot about fragrance not only in my life, but sometimes it feels right while working on a character