16-hour days gave Netflix star skin disorder
THE actress Naomi Watts has said that 16-hour days filming Gypsy, the Netflix show, gave her a skin condition and made her life “miserable”.
The 51-year-old said she had to apply make-up “two to three times” a day and spend “hours under hot lights” to make the psychological thriller series, which was first broadcast in 2016.
“I was really suffering from rosacea. It was making my life miserable,” she told The Sunday Times Style magazine. “My skin was just saying ‘leave me alone’.”
Watts said struggles with her complexion inspired her to become the latest celebrity to tap into the evergrowing “clean beauty” market.
The British actress, who has twice been nominated for an Academy Award, cofounded Onda, a range of “clean” beauty products and stores, with Larissa Thomson, the former fashion market director at Condé Nast, and Sarah Bryden-brown, the former magazine editor.
To be stocked on Onda’s shelves, products must have limited toxins and have a low-hazard rating of one from Environmental Working Group, an activist body that researches the toxicity of cosmetic products.
Each product must also get the go-ahead from the co-founders. Watts said she had tested each of more than 70 items on sale. “Clean means not using anything you can’t pronounce,” said Watts. “The philosophy of ‘clean’ really started to resonate for me, so one by one I started to eliminate chemically driven products from my beauty regime.”
The venture bears a resemblance to Goop, the natural health company founded by actress Gwyneth
Paltrow that offers a combination of lifestyle and selfcare products, clothing and accessories. Goop, which was valued at £190 million in 2018, is best-known for its jade and rose quartz vaginal eggs, which cost up to $66 (£50).
Watts said Paltrow had been “very supportive” of Onda, including its products on her site and inviting her to wellness panels.
Onda now has four stores worldwide, including its latest on Westbourne Grove, west London, where facial treatments start at £160, but can cost more than £300.