Hollywood natural beauty and star of the new X-Men:Dark Phoenix, Jessica Chastain, was more than happy to dish her budget beauty hacks, and her love for red lipstick over tea with in London.
A woman after our own hearts, she is firmly in the sisterhood camp, from her vocal support for the Time’s Up movement to her role in the #LeadLikeAWoman campaign with Ralph Lauren, promoting conversation around the leadership gap between women and men.
This, plus her keeping-it-real-approach to beauty, and we don’t think we could love her more…
Hell yeah you can be a feminist and wear any shade of lipstick you like…
“A feminist isn’t someone who tries to put women in a box. Right? Women for ages have been told what they can be; what they can’t be; how long their skirt should be, how tight or how loose; whether or not they should wear pants. I am a feminist and I don’t see being a feminist as someone who dictates to a women what she can or can’t appreciate. ”
A spritz of scent can be empowering…
“I’ve always used fragrance and to me, it’s a confidence-booster. It’s also something I use in my roles. Every character has a fragrance and it makes me feel like I’m in the skin of another person and how they chose to present themselves to the world.
“For me, Woman by Ralph Lauren Eau de Parfum, £49 is a very empowering fragrance. First with the name and the bottle, it’s like a flask. It’s cool, modern and not stereotypical for a women’s perfume. I love the way it smells, the juxtaposition of white tuberose flower with the sandalwood, there’s a lot of depth to it and it goes alongside what the campaign is – on who women are today.
“I’ve been sat here holding and sniffing this tuberose flower and it takes me back to when a gentleman caller sent me flowers. I didn’t know what a tuberose was, they were all closed up and then in a few days, they opened and my entire house had the most delicious scent. When someone gives or send me flowers, I love the ones that smell. ”
The best beauty advice I received…
“Was from Sissy Spacek, when we were working on The Help, and she told me she doesn’t wear foundation. Before that, I thought I had to wear foundation everyday. After that I was like, “Oh I can just wear concealer and let my freckles shine. ” That was the best advice, and wear sunscreen. I like an un-air-brushed face and I like seeing freckles. ”
Sometimes I’ll skip class and stay in bed
“My guilty pleasure is not working out. I don’t like going to the gym. I like going for hikes, doing yoga and dancing. If I’ve booked a personal training session or reserved a place in a Soul Cycle class and already paid for it, but I wake up in the morning and ask myself, “‘Is not going to this exercise class worth the $50 that I spent? ’ And I’m like, ‘Yes it’s worth it! ’ that’s a pleasure sometimes. ’
If I’m heading OUT OUT it has to be a red lip
“I don’t like to wear a lot of makeup. A clean face and a bright red lip is my go-to. I don’t put it on from the lipstick tube though, I usually put it on my finger and rub it into my lip so it feels less like a mask and more like a stain and a part of my body. I don’t like to feel like I’m going to get red lipstick on my teeth and I really don’t like red lipstick on glasses. ”
The beauty hack I swear by is…
“Vitamin C applied to your face before your sunscreen, it makes it more effective. Skinceuticals have one that I use three drops of everyday. It’s interesting as it has a meaty smell, but I buy it anyway as it’s great for my skin. I don’t swear by a specific sunscreen, but it has to be over 60 SPF. It’s really important for me to have a high number. I know some people say it doesn’t matter after a certain point, but for me it doesn’t even if it’s psychological. ”
MY PMA go-to is…
“Self-care. If I’m not feeling 100% I think, “What do I need in my life? Is it having a good meal? Being kissed? What is it right now that I need? ” It could be be sitting in silence for ten minutes in a room with a lit candle, taking a hot bath or going for a massage, a yoga class or a hike and being in nature. That’s really important to me. Whenever I go on vacation I go somewhere where I can be in nature, whether it be by the ocean or in woods, on our honeymoon we went on safari. ’
My beauty regret I won’t be repeating anytime soon…
“Dark lipliner with a light colour lip for sure! I tried it a long time ago, it was terrible. So garish! ”
I’m never tempted to change my signature red hair…
“A lot of the characters I play have different colour hair so I don’t feel like I miss that in my personal life, as whenever I want to mix it up I’m in a movie where I look completely different. I get to live these other parts and it makes me very happy to return to myself.
I have just finished reshoots on X-Men and the character I play has white, white blonde hair. I didn’t wear any makeup, just concealer and a little tinted lip balm, but no mascara on or anything else. Normally, I tint my eyelashes and eyebrows so when they’re not tinted it my eyes almost disappear. But when I played that character it was so cool. I saw my face in a way in a way I hadn’t been able to in a long time, with the white wig and no makeup on my eyes I felt like they were present in a way they hadn’t been for a long time. ”
Coconut oil works for EVERYTHING
“Coconut oil is great for your skin. It’s the best thing for a budget as it works as a hair mask, a body lotion, a lip balm. I put coconut oil on the ends on my hair. You can cook with it. So many uses it for it! ”
My grandmother is the most glamorous woman I’ve ever met…
“I remember being a kid and sneaking into her room, opening her drawers and smelling her sweaters. She is the most glamorous person I have ever met and still is! She always smelled of warm vanilla. I could never pinpoint the perfume she wore but it made me feel so loved. Now when I smell perfume they bring back these past memories. ”
