Regina Hall is obsessed with hair and makeup—for good reason. “It’s really how I start,” she says of her process as an actor. “When I read a script, I always visualize what the character looks like and how she presents herself. Because how you present yourself says a lot about how you’re received and how you see yourself. For me, it’s kind of my favorite part.”
Take Breaking News in Yuba County, which came out in February. As a small-town detective, Hall relished her character’s crazy mullet-style wig. “We colored just the front because she doesn’t care about the back,” she says with a laugh. “It was so great!”
Then there’s her upcoming role in Hulu’s much-anticipated series Nine Perfect Strangers. “She’s very bare as far as hair and makeup, because she hasn’t prioritized herself for a long time,” explains Hall, who wore a wig to play the role of Carmel, but when the series relocated to Australia from Los Angeles due to the pandemic, the humidity occasionally got the best of it. “We were like, ‘Oh, she grows!’” Hall jokes of her hair.
And then there’s Dawn Towner, Hall’s character in Showtime’s 1980s-set Black Monday. When season three picks up (premiering this Sunday, May 23), Dawn is in prison and looking “rough,” Hall says. “There’s still effort, but nothing like her typical glam.”
As for her real-life look during the pandemic, the 50-year-old jokes it’s not going well: “It’s just sweats and a topknot—very simple, but actually very nice. I just need to get a pedicure going again.”
Self-deprecating humor aside, Hall has an abundance of great skin-care secrets that she was more than happy to share with us. Time for another round of Glamour‘s Big Beauty Questions!
Glamour: What is one beauty rule that you swear by?
Regina Hall: Starting with the inside. So for me, that means a bunch of water and bone broth. I try to eat bone broth at least four times a week because it has a lot of collagen in it. Sometimes it’s turkey and lamb or chicken or beef, or even seaweed and mushroom. All you need is a cup.
What is one beauty rule you think is B.S.?
Maybe these weird chin and neck exercises my mom did. She would move her chin up and down and say, “This will save your neck!” But I was like, “Mom, nothing saves the neck but the doctor!” I’m sure it helps, and her thing was very much about keeping the neck moisturized, but otherwise I was like, “I don’t know, Mommy!”
What’s the best beauty advice your mom ever gave you?
She said to always take care of your skin. She was huge on skin care, and would always tell me to wash my face. She really believed in good moisturizing cream and eye cream. I use Avalon Organics with Vitamin C that I mix with argan oil as my moisturizer. As women’s hormones change, you have to make sure you don’t lose the luster in your skin. And that’s why you have to nurture yourself from the inside.
Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewal Creme
$21.00, Amazon
Fill in the blank: I love my hair…
When I used my dry spray-in conditioner from Shuga. It’s really good, especially for Black hair, so it keeps it soft and not brittle.
Shuga Leave-in Conditioner
$25.00, Amazon
What are three products you swear by?
Definitely my argan oil. Then a mocha rose lip balm, like Rosebud lip balm in mocha rose. And then a foot cream.
Rosebud lip balm in mocha rose
$7.00, Amazon
What is your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?
I love walks outside, and seeing plants and trees. I love nature.
What colors are you loving on your nails right now?
My nails are just buffed. I have to do press-ons for Black Monday because we block-shoot our episodes, and Dawn has different looks.
What is your go-to perfume and why?
There’s a fragrance called Acqua di S.M. Novella that Nicole Kidman gifted me because I probably harassed her into giving it to me. She smelled so good every single day, and I’d be like, “Nicole! What is it?!” And then she gave it to me and I love it! It’s subtle, but I would know when she was coming because she smelled so good! [Laughs.]
Acqua di S.M. Novella Officina Parfum
$135.00, U.S. Santa Maria Novella
Let’s play Screw, Marry, or Kill: Beauty Edition with lipstick, highlighter and mascara.
I would marry eyeliner instead of mascara and screw a good lipstick. And kill highlighter.
What’s your favorite lipstick and eyeliner then?
I’ll do a pop of red on my lips sometimes called Toosie from Chloe + Christian. It’s a beautiful shade. And then Chanel has a great black kohl pencil.
Chanel Le Crayon Khôl Intense Eye Pencil
$30.00, Nordstrom
If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions in social media, what would that be?
To show how beautiful it is to age gracefully, especially in a time of social media where there’s so much airbrushing. There’s this perception that a woman’s worth is connected to her beauty, but it’s so much more than external.
Who are the women who inspire you the most right now?
I’m inspired by all the women fighting the good fight. I’m inspired by Nancy Pelosi. She’s such a badass to me. And Stacey Abrams.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
