On skincare
I grew up such a tomboy that I only recently learned about cleanse, tone, moisturise. It makes a difference when you’re living on a plane! I use the Chanel Mousse Confort Rich Foaming Cream Cleanser right now, which is really nice for winter. Then I love True Botanicals, which has a really nice nutrient mist. They’re really eco-friendly too. There’s a Prickly Pear Seed Oil by Mūn which smells so good, too. If I’m going to treat myself I make my own face mask of Bio-Oil mixed with Egyptian Magic. When you wake up the next morning you look like you’ve had 14 hours of sleep.
On make-up
The most I’ll do on a normal day is a lip. I’m a big fan of Charlotte Tilbury’s lipsticks because they smell like chocolate. There’s one called Bond Girl that goes with every hair colour I’ve ever had. It’s a browny plum shade. When you’ve been – in the space of three weeks – a short bobbed brunette, a redhead and then a blonde, and you’re travelling all the time, that lipstick is so solid. I’m always going to be a lipstick girl because my eyes are really big and I’m really fair, so lipstick anchors it around a solid colour.
On the red carpet
What I love most about red-carpet style is that I love magic and fairytales and drama and being extra. If you’re not going to have fun on the carpet, when are you? It’s such a good opportunity to be a bit dramatic. I’m an actress, I like dramatic things! It usually starts with a dress and then I’ll go from there. The red-carpet experience itself is a sensory overload. At the beginning, I was terrified because I didn’t realise yet that it’s also a performance. It’s keeping your eyes open, trying not to look directly into the flash – or you’ll be momentarily blinded – and knowing that these events are a lot more fun if you’re going with your friends. And you only make friends in these situations if you spend time working.
On beauty treatments
Something I do splurge on, because my lashes are very light, is a good tint and perm because then you don’t have to wear mascara. So I try to get that done whenever I am. Also, there’s a 24-hour Korean spa in midtown Manhattan, above a karaoke bar, so if you want a really good evening you go have a couple of drinks, sing karaoke and then go there to have your back cracked afterwards. And Karine Jackson does my hair. She uses a lot of vegan products. She’s got her priorities right.
On fragrance
As somebody whose job it is to literally be different people, one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten is one of my friends hugging me and saying, “oh it’s been such a long time but you smell like you”. I love the idea and the tenderness of having scent as a fingerprint, in a way. I’ve always been really into fragrance. It was sort of the first beauty thing I was into. As a little girl I was like, “maybe one day I’ll be the face of a perfume”. But the fact it’s Viktor & Rolf… I have a very pinpointed memory of understanding what the brand was from a very young age because I was very attracted to the packaging of the original Flowerbomb fragrance. But the fact I’m not just the face of Flowerbomb but also Flowerbomb Midnight, which feels like a devilish little sister, is amazing. It’s fun to have that juxtaposition.
On social media
I was quite wary of social media to begin with but it’s something that’s part of your career arsenal now, and a way to connect with people. Something I’ve really enjoyed is that luckily I don’t get a lot of hate on my Instagram. The people who enjoy my work tend to be quite lovely, so it’s nice to have a community of people who are bigging you up!
On acting
I like to feel that I act with empathy, rather than projecting my feelings onto another person. I try to think of my characters as my best friend. Being able to walk around in someone else’s shoes gives you a much broader understanding of what everyone else is going through. I’m fascinated by human psychology; I think humans are the weirdest, messiest, most interesting things, so to get to play so many different ones and understand so many different thought processes means you are endlessly learning. I get very protective of my characters.