BY DEVON ABELMAN
“Thank god my feet aren’t on camera” is a sentence I never thought I’d hear during an interview over Zoom, let alone from Kate Winslet. But here I am hearing the iconic actor tell me just how badly she needs a pedicure. Throughout the pandemic, Winslet hasn’t touched her toes or visited a salon. “My feet almost look unrecognizable as my own feet right now,” she laments. “They’re so horrible.” skin
We aren’t here to strictly chat about feet, though. (A relief on my part, but glad to know stars are just like us.) Instead, our conversation begins with an acknowledgment of the latest line on her illustrious resume: L’Oréal Paris’s newest spokesperson. Of course, Winslet feels honored to be bestowed with this title. “They celebrate women at every age,” the 45-year-old explains. “And yes, it’s a beauty brand, but at the same time, they talk about cost-efficient ways of taking care of your skin and feeling good about yourself.”
As the focus on her toes has gone to the wayside over the past year, Winslet has been all about, well, taking care of her skin and feeling good about herself. In the realm of products, she took time to experiment with new products and figure out what truly works for her complexion and what just isn’t doing the trick anymore. And on a deeper level, Winslet learned to stop scrutinizing her skin and to have a healthier, more positive outlook on aging.
“I’ve noticed my face and how it’s changing a little bit more in the last year because there’s just been more time with yourself to look at those things,” Winslet says. “What I’ve found is that — to my relief — I’m just going easy on myself. I’m at an age now where things are changing all the time. The skin on my neck is really different now, the skin on the back of my hands needs some serious TLC.”
Despite noticing these changes, Winslet stresses she has no desire to turn back the clock or alter anything, though. She’s just enjoying who she is right now, in this moment of time.
Making Time for Makeup
Although she’s enjoyed not constantly wearing makeup, Winslet has a newfound appreciation for the days when she does, luxuriating in the fun process of putting it on. Again, Winslet takes time to connect with her reflection, look herself in the eyes, and “have quiet conversations with [herself],” she says. Otherwise, Winslet barely looks at herself in the mirror when she quickly brushes her teeth, moisturizes, and heads out the door.
Oh, and this woman loves a nice, juicy lipstick — her words, not mine. Typically, Winslet gravitates toward beige-toned pink hues. She loves tapping lipstick on straight from the tube before smudging it out with her finger for a blurred wash of color. “I’ve got quite a defined Cupid’s bow, so I find if I use a pencil or a lip brush, then it looks almost too done,” Winslet mentions. “I used to like that look when I was younger, but I don’t really like that kind of perfect lip look now.”
When finessing her foundation, Winslet’s fingers also come in handy. After dotting it on with a brush, she pats, presses, and blends the pigment in with the pads of her fingers to help melt it into her complexion. She usually reaches for the L’Oréal Paris True Match Foundation, obviously. However, the part that surprises me is she keeps two different shades around — but not for summer and winter.
“Depending on my cycle, my skin can be a little bit more inflamed. Do you know what I mean?” she asks. I don’t. Basing your foundation shade on your menstrual cycle is a new concept to me.
The ideology behind this method that Winslet has intuitively created over the past 10 years is actually pretty simple to understand — and dare I say, genius. “At the beginning of my cycle, my skin is a lot more even,” she explains. “In the middle of my cycle, everything fires up a little bit, so I mix a couple of tones.” (OK, that checks out. “Around your period, your skin becomes more sensitive and more easily irritated overall,” Ohio-based board-certified dermatologist Melissa Piliang once told Allure.)
I’m definitely going to keep that trick in mind going forward. Winslet did declare earlier in our interview that she’s good at putting on makeup. I immediately believed her. When you work with some of the most beloved artists in the game, like Lisa Eldridge, Val Garland, and Jillian Dempsey, you’re bound to absorb their talents by osmosis, right?
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