In Bustle’s Beauty Detail, we dive into the beauty bags of our favorite talents for intel on the rituals that keep them glowing and the MVPs (most valuable products) they can’t live without. Here, Camila Mendes tells Bustle about her skin care essentials and her hack for making deodorant even more effective.
Camila Mendes is a self-professed minimalist — until she hits up her bathtub for self-care. “One of my favorite things to do right now is towards the end of the night when I need to get myself into the headspace for bed, I set a bath,” she tells me over the phone. “I have my music, my candles, a good book, and I’ll do a [face] mask in there too. I use a lot of Lush bath bombs. I really pile on all the activities at one time.”
If a bath isn’t in the cards, she hops into the shower. “I can’t go to bed without showering — even if I’ve already showered that day, I’ll shower again,” says Mendes, who shares an ulterior motive for her nighttime habit. “I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like washing my face at the sink. It makes a mess, and I want it to be in warm water,” she laughs.
It’s clear Mendes knows what beauty products work for her: She rattles off her go-to facial creams and serums and why she uses each without missing a beat. And, though the actor and singer admits she’s more into skin care than makeup, Mendes isn’t opposed to playing around with fun makeup colors. “I like a lot of fun blues — [I like to wear bright shades] when I’m hanging with the cast [of Riverdale] at night or when I’m feeling a little bolder,” she says.
On the subject of makeup, I had to ask for her brow secrets. But, as it turns out, the star’s full, fluffy arches aren’t from a gel or pencil — they run in the family. “I was a kid who grew up with a unibrow — a really impressive one,” says Mendes. “I got it from my dad. He has pretty prominent brows, so I got the shape from him and all I really do is tweeze the middle.”
She’s also a fragrance devotee, and the pandemic hasn’t interrupted her daily spritz of perfume. “I love wearing fragrance,” gushes Mendes. “I love Arizona by Proenza Schouler, and Miss Dior is a great one. Also Poison by Dior, which is more of a nighttime one.” Don’t ask her what they smell like, though. “I am so bad at describing fragrances — I’m like, I dunno man, it smells good,” she laughs.
Below, Mendes shares her current beauty staples.
Her Fave Moisturizer
“I really love Sunday Riley’s C.E.O. moisturizer. It’s a great thicker nighttime hydrating cream and it feels amazing.”
Her Go-To Deodorant
“I’ve been applying Secret’s Aluminum-Free Deodorant at night, which is a tip I recommend to all my friends because it works better that way — it works overnight. It’s also nice to have a nice scent [on] when going to bed. My personal favorite is lavender.”
Her Must-Have Toner
“I love the Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist — it’s what I put on right after washing my face, and I use it as a toner.”
Her MVP Makeup Product
“I haven’t been wearing that much makeup lately, but I have been using some shadows from the Naked Wild West Palette. I did a campaign with them and there are so many fun colors.”
Her Essential Beauty Tool
“They have [a NuFACE] at my station on set — it’s like a face massager that helps de-bloat. I for sure see a difference. I wake up with a puffy face a lot of the time, and it really helps a lot.”
