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Welcome to Shelf Life, where celebrities break down every last detail of their beauty routines from the highest hair on their heads to the tips of their toes. Today, actor Scarlett Johansson reveals her secret weapon against damaged hair, her go-to lipstick, and the relatable reason she'll never get a facial.
When it comes to beauty icons, Scarlett Johansson might be one of the most underrated. She looks amazing in a bold red lip, represents all the tattooed girls out there, and can pull off any hair color, whether it’s her go-to blonde balayage, the pink bob wig she wore in Lost in Translation, or the plethora of red wigs she wore as Marvel’s Black Widow. Off-screen, she has The Outset, the skin-care brand she and cofounder Kate Foster launched in 2021, which allows Johansson to take her commitment to beauty to a whole new level.
While her Best of Beauty-winning brand might have made her worthy of the title of skin-care queen, compared to other celebrities, Johansson’s beauty routine is pretty minimal (she still doesn’t get facials!) but fascinating nonetheless. Ahead, Johansson details her head-to-toe beauty routine to Allure, talks about still being traumatized from her experiences with acne, and gives us the tea on The Outset’s new Barrier Balm, which launches October 17.
Hair
My colorist is this girl Dana [Ionato]; she’s the head colorist at Sally Hershberger. She's been coloring my hair for a little while now, and she's great. She does the balayage.
As I've gotten older, and it's just a hormonal thing, but my hair texture has changed, how much oil is on my scalp has changed… I feel like I suddenly have a dry scalp that I didn't have before. So I’ve been trying to unlock that. I've actually rediscovered the Olaplex No. 3 treatment because my hair was so dry over the summer, and I had a lot of breakage [from] getting it colored. I really love the Goop Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub Shampoo. Also the Act + Acre Shampoo and Conditioner.
Makeup
I don't regularly wear foundation — I mean, for work, I do. But it changes. Sometimes I use the Dior Forever Foundation, sometimes it’s the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, but it depends on what I'm doing. Foundation, on film, performs differently depending on the lighting and how the film is going to be digitally processed, so my makeup artist is always doubling between a few different foundations. But I like both of those. The Armani foundation is nice, and it doesn't break me out. Again, because I've had acne, I'm always terrified that foundation is going to break me out, but now things are formulated in a way that they don't break you out like they used to. But I don't wear foundation every day. Sometimes I like that Touche Éclat Undereye Pen. It’s still good.
I don't wear tons of makeup day to day, but if I use concealer, I love the Dior Backstage Flash Perfector Concealer. And they have a really good primer and mascara that I've been using. [Dior Diorshow Maximizer 3D and Iconic Overcurl.] And I also returned to my Chanel Eyelash Curler.
[The Outset] just launched at Nordstrom and all the girls there were so adorable, the whole beauty department. We were talking about how everybody had great eyebrows; they turned me on to this Anastasia brow soap [Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze], so I've been very into that.
Sometimes I wear lipstick. I just went to the Prada show in Milan, and they relaunched all their makeup. They have a really nice red matte, Monochrome Hyper Matte in Fuoco. That's my newest lipstick obsession. I love the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks. She has a lot of cute shades, like Very Victoria and Pillow Talk.
Skin
I use our three-step The Outset Daily Essentials Regimen in the morning. I do the cleanser, Prep Serum, and then the day cream, and that's it. And in the middle of the day, if I shower or wash my skin again, I use the serum again. At night, I wash my face with the cleanser and I usually use the Night Cream. Sometimes I’ll use just the Moisture-Boosting Oil, or every once in a while I won't put anything on my skin and see how it goes. I just wash it and then give it a break, but not regularly. I'm a creature of habit, so I’m usually a night cream person.
[The new Barrier Balm] started out as a lip balm, and I found myself using it for my cuticles, knuckles....You can use it to smooth your flyaways, your elbows, everywhere, anywhere. It doesn't have any flavor, which is nice, but it has a really lovely botanical fragrance. I'm crazy about it. My makeup artist Frankie [Boyd] was using it to give himself a glow all over his face. I wanted to make a big [balm] because it’s like an everywhere-balm. I tried to make it even bigger, but Kate told me it was too expensive. I was like, “We could do a huge one,” and she was like, “No, no. It would be a $200 cream.”
This summer, I was testing SPFs because we're still in the process of finalizing our formula. Kate says I have to use SPF every day, and I believe her, and my best friend is also on top of me because she’s had skin cancer scares. I have melasma, too. That's also why I use SPF
I'm not a facial person. I am scared of them. I think because I had acne for so long, I was just terrified of anybody touching my face. I cannot tell you the last time I got a facial. I use masks on myself, but yeah, I'm not a facial person. I should probably get over that because I have friends that have amazing skin that get facials regularly. So maybe there's something to it.
Nails
I always admired people who had gorgeous nails, and then nails obviously became a whole fun thing. But because I was working, I could never really participate. And then there was COVID, and after that I was pregnant and I didn't work for a while, so I just thought, ”Oh, this is a fun opportunity to go get my nails done and stuff.” So now I get my nails done, and I love it. I just do a regular gel polish. I'm actually kind of old school; I like a French manicure.
Body
Goop has this exfoliating scrub [Goop Microderm Instant Glow Body Polish] that smells so good. It's like a spa in a product.
Have you ever used an underarm mask? I actually tried putting our Blue Clay Mask on my armpit the other day to see if it would do anything. I use the https://koparibeauty.com/products/coconut-deo; I have really sensitive armpits — my skin is just sensitive in general, but that part of my body always gets, like, rashy or whatever, and I'd read about these armpit detox things. But then I thought I’d try the clay mask. I've used the clay mask in the shower, I put it on, and then I shampoo my hair. I just don't have the time to dedicate to anything, so I have to mush my steps together because I have two kids that, for some reason, as soon as I get in the shower, they have immediate emergencies. I'm going to keep you guys posted [on the armpit mask]. Maybe we’ll have another usage for it.
More celebrity beauty routines:
- Hailey Bieber’s Next Big Manicure Idea? “Little Bugs”
- New Music Isn't the Only Thing Ariana Grande Is Dropping This Month
- Why Marsai Martin Doesn’t Believe in Beauty Trends
Now, see Hailey Bieber's 10 beauty commandments:
