Whether you agree with her politics or not, Emma Watson is making waves as a champion of ethical and cruelty-free fashion and beauty. Few celebrities have used their voice as she has to draw attention to the damage caused by our love of fast fashion and disposable makeup products.
When we read Into The Gloss’ recent The Top Shelf conversation with Watson, we got excited. “Recently I’ve become super interested in sustainability and transparency and understanding what I’m putting on my face and on my body. Can I create a completely sustainable wardrobe? Can I dress sustainably on the red carpet? Can I put together a hair and makeup look with completely organic products? I needed to figure out if it was achievable or not. You can't talk the talk if you don't walk the walk.”
While that's extremely admirable of Watson, don’t feel too bad about your own makeup bag. She’s aware of the reality of maintaining an entirely sustainable-cruelty-free-ethical-green-recycled wardrobe and beauty collection: ”Most of my routine keeps to an 80/20 philosophy because it’s very difficult to be a complete purist, especially when working in the film industry. You can end up driving yourself a bit mad and make it more stressful than it should be. Sometimes you just need a mascara to be waterproof and that’s OK.”
So whether it’s out of curiosity (something that resonates with Watson: “There’s something about looking into someone else’s makeup bag – it’s such an intimate glimpse into their personality somehow”) or a bid to make your bathroom shelf just a little bit more ethical, click through to see the products the actress swears by.
“On a daily basis, I’ll always use [this]. It’s not certified organic or anything, but they do a ton of awesome work for the environment and fair trade. It’s something I always wear because A) it doesn’t really look like makeup and B) I tend to get very pale. I’m not someone who has a ton of pink in her skin, so I get washed out without a bit of colour added to my face.”
The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain in Red Pomegranate, £8, available at The Body Shop
“In the Instagram era it’s so easy to edit your life so that it looks perfect. But I bleach my top lip and tweeze my eyebrows and you’d never get to see that, even though it’s a part of my routine. There’s still so much shame around the things you do to get ready while you've got a towel wrapped around your head. It’s important to me not to edit that out. I’ve been bleaching my top lip since I was nine. I don’t do it very often, but I do it! There’s that, and I use Fur Oil. I’ll use that anywhere from the ends of my hair to my eyebrows to my pubic hair. It’s an amazing all-purpose product.”
Fur Oil, £31, available at Fur
“You know, it’s hard to find a bronzer that’s a good colour and not glittery. [This] actually tans you slightly while you’re wearing it. It sounds like a lot, but it’s actually super, super natural.”
Vita Liberata Trystal Self Tanning Bronzing Minerals, £35, available at Space.NK
“The only mascara I use. The thing is, I really, really hate using harsh makeup removers, especially around my eyes. They sting and make my eyes water and don’t feel good to me. But the DHC mascara only comes off in warm water. So I use it on films because if I’m in a tank or it’s raining, then the mascara doesn’t run because it won’t move in cold water. And the brush is really nice. I swear by it.”
DHC Mascara Perfect Pro Double Protection, £15, available at Amazon
“Finding a good, natural eyeliner took me like, six months, but I found one! Jane Iredale does an amazing liquid eyeliner and she has one in a dark brown, which I prefer to black on my skintone.”
Jane Iredale Easy to Define Liquid Eyeliner, £19.95, available at Jane Iredale
“I have a bath every single day of my life. And if I can have two or three – amazing. Nothing terrible is going to happen in the bath, so I always find time for that. I’ll take phone conversations in the bath, anything. Sometimes I’ll use Epsom salts and oils, but [this is] my favourite. Oh my God, it’s amazing! It has like eucalyptus and peppermint and bark and Echinacea and ginger… If you’re sick, it’s the ultimate. It clears out my sinuses and makes me feel really clean.”
C.O. Bigelow Cold & Flu Soak, £15.61, available at Nordstrom
“No matter what, I always wash my face at night. I could get back from a shoot at 4 AM and still cleanse, tone, and moisturise before going to bed. People are amazed by this, but it’s just one of those self-care practices that I really enjoy. I think it’s because, when I was going through puberty – particularly around ages 14 and 15 – I had really bad skin. So when you get in a good place with your skin, you really appreciate it and try to take care of it.
"Now my skin tends to run pretty dry so I use the Évolué Gentle Cleanser because it doesn’t have tons of alcohol in it or make your skin sting, but it really does the job.”
Évolué Gentle Cleanser/Makeup Remover, £34, available at Évolué
“For colour products, I like this amazing brand called Elde. The founder is this girl who started making her own products in her kitchen when she was 14 and none of the traditional products she had worked for her. Now she’s in her early 20s and makes the prettiest cream blushes and eye shadows. Great colours of all sorts.”
Elde Cosmetics Lip & Cheek Rush, £20, available at Ecodiva
"Hair is the hardest thing! My grandmother was a redhead, so I have quite a lot of warmth in my hair colour. But for whatever reason, when it gets dyed, it tends to go a bit brassy or orange. To get rid of that tone, I use the Maria Nila Sheer Silver Shampoo and Conditioner. The brand is amazing—vegan, no parabens, and their packaging is carbon neutral. Then occasionally I use the Masque in my hair for 20 minutes. That really gets the brassiness out."
Maria Nila Sheer Silver Shampoo £12, available at Sally Express.
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