New interviews from the last SK-II event.

CATE BLANCHETT ON LATE NIGHTS, LEMON WATER, AND LAZY GIRL CLEANSERS

Welcome to My Morning Routine, where natural beauty Cate Blanchett and other good-life gurus share their personal (frequently surprising, often healthy) morning rituals—to help make your a.m.’s more awesome.

Cate Blanchett
Australian, Oscar-winning actress of the silver screen and stage, director, mother of four, SK-II global brand ambassador

I tend to go to bed quite late. I really like that moment when everyone is in bed and it’s silent and I can potter. I tend to have put everything out, done all the lunches and everything the night before. It makes it less stressful in the morning because waking up and yelling at your kids to get in the car is not a particularly nice way to start the day.

I don’t have a lot of time in the morning. I mean, who does? I drink hot water and lemon, which is really virtuous, and then I have a coffee. That’s it—I cleanse and then I tox.

If I’ve had a particularly late night and gone to bed with my makeup on, I wash my face in the morning,but otherwise I just tend to cleanse it at night. When I’m on stage or on a film set, I’ll use the oil-based cleanser [by SK-II], which is really like an eye makeup remover as well—it’s a lazy girl’s cleanser.

I don’t tend to wear makeup in the morning, mostly because I’m lazy and time-poor. I put the essence on, the serum, and the moisturizer, and then if I’m in Australia I put on the UV protect essence. I was out for 15 minutes yesterday in the sun and it’s just so intense. You really do have to put on 50 SPF and you have to walk in the shade.

When I was in high school…I tried [to tan], and covered myself in baby oil and went on our tin roof. My mother one day climbed up the ladder and said, “Just please get down.” And she gave me a big lecture on the fact that my pale skin was actually really beautiful. That was really great because I went, “Okay, I’m not going to do that.”

[Mine is] a pretty straightforward [beauty] regimen. It’s a bit like when you drive home and you can’t remember how you got there. My skin care is like that.

via Well and Good

Cate Blanchett: ‘Skincare Is Your Canvas’

Praising someone for her consistency may seem like an odd compliment, but it makes sense when it comes to Cate Blanchett. She always looks incredible (perhaps even better in her mid-40s than in her 20s) and has been perpetually recognized for her talent over a  25-year-plus career — her Best Actress nod for Carol at this year’s Academy Awards was her seventh Oscar nomination, and she’s already won two.

When it comes to her skin, at least, Blanchett credits her glow to a dedicated use of SK-II products, and has been an ambassador of the Japanese brand for 15 years. “I don’t experiment with skincare, because that’s kind of your canvas, in a way,” she told Yahoo Beauty, just as SK-II launches its new RNA (Radical New Age) collection. Here, the blue-eyed Australian beauty discusses red-carpet prep and her early years spent playing dress-up and slathering on baby oil, as well as her present role as a conscientious and busy mom of four.

Were you interested in beauty from a young age?

I don’t know if it was beauty per se. I was interested in change. My sister and I used to play this game where she would dress me up and I’d stand in front of the mirror — I’d sort of inhabit the costume she’d give me — and then we would give it a name and make a story up. So I was interested in how clothes or makeup [could change you]. Like, I always used to steal my mum’s and I put makeup on to make my face look different. It was more clown-like.

What were the beauty standards as you came of age in Australia?

When I was in high school it was that bronzed sort of beach bunny thing. I tried [to tan], I tried, and then covered myself in baby oil and went on the top of our tin roof. My mother one day just climbed up the ladder and said, “Please get down.” She gave me a big lecture on the fact that my pale skin was actually really beautiful, and why was I trying to be like all the other girls. That was really great because I went, OK, I’m not going to do that.

Did she give you lots of other beauty advice?

I think just by example. She was very no-fuss and quite individual in her looks. She was never trying to look like anybody else, and she always moisturized. You do look up to your mother, and I think you tend to imitate those things. It wasn’t that she lectured me, I think I just naturally followed in that.

Now you have your own daughter, in addition to your three boys. Since you’re so educated about skincare, are you extra conscious about what you use on them, your daughter in particular?

I’ve started her on SK-II! I mean, she’s 14 months, but you’ve gotta start them soon! [Laughs] No, no. I might wait til she’s 14. But all my children have — I think most children do — really beautiful skin. You know, you hold a baby and they’re so soft. But you do worry with a girl. Like the other day she tripped and had a little graze on her top lip, and you go, “Oh my god! It’s going to scar!” [Laughs] I’m super, super conscious about the kids’ skin. I think it’s because of growing up in Australia where the sun is so strong. My mother was very conscious of our skin, you know with sunscreen and the incidence of skin cancer so [high]. You really do have to put on 50 and you have to walk in the shade.

Speaking of SPF, do you wear it every day? What products do you use every morning?

I put the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence on, the LXP serum and the moisturizer, and then if I’m in Australia I put on the Facial Treatment UV protection. If I’ve had a particularly late night and gone to bed with my makeup on, I wash my face in the morning, but otherwise I just tend to cleanse it at night.

With something like the Oscars, do you get excited about planning out your look — not just the gown, but your hair and makeup?

Yeah. I work with people I like and respect and who have got really interesting ideas. It feels similar to working with my sister in front of the mirror, saying, “What are we gonna do? Oh, if I put that on I can be blah blah blah.” It feels fun, you know? I feel that there’s a lot of talk about who’s going to wear what, and you gotta remember you’re there because of your work and the rest of it’s just the fun bit. So yeah, I find it fun. I don’t take it too seriously.

When it comes to your film or stage roles, do you feel the hair and makeup really affects how you embody the character?

Oh god, yeah. Of course. Particularly in film. You look at Hail, Caesar!, and those masks are really thick, and then you look at a film likeBrooklyn and the masks are very thin. It depends on the requirement of the film, the genre that you’re in. But definitely it’s the conversation with the costume designer and the hair and makeup people where you start to simultaneously think about the character from the inside out and the outside in. I really love that collaboration with the hair and makeup team. As soon as you walk onto a bare stage dressed a certain way an audience will read meaning — before you open your mouth, before you make a gesture. It’s very powerful and you want to harness that. To be able to work with hair and makeup, yeah, that’s a big part of the process.

What has been your favorite role, beauty-wise, so far?

They’ve all been quite different. I relish playing the version of Bob Dylan. And I also loved playing Elizabeth I, especially the first time around, because we charted the hair and makeup journey, the visual journey, as much as the emotional, psychological, vocal journey. I really enjoyed that process, just those little sort of incremental changes.

Are you adventurous with beauty in real life?

I’m not. I don’t experiment with skincare, because that’s kind of your canvas, in a way. It’s also the biggest organ on your body, so I don’t want to be putting garbage into my skin. So that is unchanging, unwavering, and has been, basically, ever since I discovered SK-II all those years ago — god, 15 years ago. In terms of different colors or whatever, I will go far out as is needed, as left of center as is needed, for a role. But I probably tend to be more adventurous with what I wear than the makeup.

You’re promoting SK-II’s #ChangeDestiny campaign, which is about realizing you can make changes in your life as well as skin. What have been some of the changes you’ve experienced?

It’s often like that stop-motion photography, like the opening of a flower: if you were to sit there you’d fall asleep, you wouldn’t see the change. I think you get so photographed or you make films, which is a horrible, indelible documenting of the aging process. I actually think my skin — it sounds ridiculous — but it’s in a better condition than it was 20 years ago. It’s more consistent. Frankly, I think about it less. You know, people didn’t comment on my skin in my early 20s, they started commenting on my skin when I was my early 30s, and that’s when I had been using SK-II for a few years. So I can’t ignore that.

via Yahoo

Just in: Cate Blanchett shares her beauty secrets to amazing skin

Does Cate Blanchett’s pre-red carpet and daily beauty routine differ? We finally know now!

It’s no secret that multi-award winning actress and theatre director Cate Blanchett’s glowing (and near-perfect) skin is perhaps one of the most covetable in Hollywood. Having been the spokesperson and global ambassador of SK-II for more than a decade now, the talented actress shares her beauty secrets with us via Google Hangouts at the recent SK-II #ChangeDestiny forum in Los Angeles.

What kind of makeup is your go-to on the red carpet?

“When it comes to makeup I will go with a strong eye and soft lip or conversely a strong lip and a softer eye. This I think always looks balanced.”

What is your beauty routine before Oscars? Are there any differences when comparing with daily beauty routine?

“Three to four days before the big day I will supplement my usual skincare routine with SK-II Facial Treatment Mask in the mornings if I have the time. But usually I do it often at night when I am just about to go to bed though. I have recently found that using the SK-II Facial Treatment Oil helps to keep my skin hydrated for a long period of time. Just a few spritzes of the SK-II Miracle Mid-Day Essence helps to top it up.”
“On the day of a red carpet event, it is all of the above and then the SK-II LxP rangewhich I have been using for a long time now. I feel that SK-II has kept my skin in good condition so I really don’t need to mix my regimen up too much.”

Is there one product that has changed your skin and destiny?

“SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. I have been enjoying this product as part of my skincare journey for 15 years. It is simply the elixir of translucent skin.”

Can you share when was the biggest moment or experience you’ve “changed your destiny”? 

“There is no single moment that has changed my destiny. Rather it is the sum of many serendipitous moments: Meeting my husband, having children, working in the theatre, making movies, moving countries, travelling, reading a novel or play. It is the sum of all these things that ultimately changes one’s destiny. It is the small, imperceptible choices we make that can often have the most significant impact on our lives.”

Can you also share your personal thoughts about SK-II’s philosophy to empower women to bring out her true best self and the #changedestiny campaign?

“For me, the most impactful message of the #changedestiny campaign is that it is not only the big decisions that one makes in life, but the small moments that can impact the most profound change. It may be in the form of rejection that inspires you to seek an alternate path. It may be in the form of reading an article that gets you to think differently or challenges you to follow a different course. This to me, is what changing one’s destiny is about.”

What does #changedestiny personally mean to you?

“Change Destiny for me is always to be authentic and follow my heart. There are moments in life where people are telling you to do things, that you may not agree with and for me, it is following my authentic self that has seen the most benefits.”

Do you have any red carpet do’s or don’ts?

“Being on the red carpet is the ‘fun’ element of my work and I don’t take it too seriously. Of course, I like to take risks with fashion but that is my personal philosophy in that I appreciate design and I am dressing for myself, I am not dressing for others.”

What are your favourite products as of now?

“I have been using SK-II now for fifteen years, so over the course of that time, my product choice has varied but it has always been under-pinned with SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, which to me is my ‘desert island’ skincare product. Well that, and a good SPF protection. Currently I am using the LxP Range and find that for my skin, the infusion of concentrated Pitera works very well.”

“When travelling on flights, or if I have a red carpet event, I always have a SK-II Facial Treatment Mask prior to putting on makeup as this hydrates the skin in readiness for all the scrutiny of high-definition cameras. The SK-II Genoptics Aura Essence has been a new addition to my regimen to help brighten my skin tone. I have also been using the SK-II Facial Treatment Oil recently and I am very impressed with the results. I find it to be very hydrating and helps to keep my skin dewy.”

As one of the world’s top leading actresses, which role that you have represented you think changed your destiny the most?

“I think the role of Elizabeth (1998). It was a pivotal role with that particular character and also the strong pedigree of actors associated with it. I will always have a place in my heart for Elizabeth and the people that believed I could do her justice.”

via Buro 24/7