Rising star Laura Harrier, 28, is in high demand. You’ll find her in one of the buzziest films of this awards season, Spike Lee’s ‘BlacKkKlansman’, which vied for Best Motion Picture, Drama at the Golden Globes last weekend. And she will appear in two movies this year, including sci-fi thriller ‘Warning’ with Annabelle Wallis and Alice Eve. In the near term, there are the Screen Actors Guild awards, where Harrier and her ‘BlacKkKlansman’ cohort are up for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Although awards season is exciting, it can also be a grind. See what beauty products Harrier, a native of Evanston, Illinois, is using to survive the back-to-back red carpets.
SKINCARE
In the shower, I use a face wash from my aesthetician Shani Darden. And she has this lactic peel that I do when I get out of the shower. I alternate between that and serums by iS Clinical. If I’m breaking out, I’ll go for the Active serum, and if my skin is dry, I do the Pro-Heal.
When I moved to LA from New York, almost exactly a year ago, I didn’t know anyone. The girl who does my eyebrows, Kim Nguyen, told me about Shani, and she kind of saved my face. I like that she’s straight-up and tells you exactly what you need to do. For me, it’s dealing with breakouts. I didn’t struggle with it until late in my 20s.
Before I head out, I do an SPF 30 — the one by Control Corrective. It’s really lightweight and just feels like a moisturiser.
At night I use the Bioderma micellar water to remove makeup. I wash again with Shani’s cleanser, and then I use her retinol. I’m not using the retinol for wrinkles, but it helps a lot with my acne scarring. And my skin feels smoother.
MAKE-UP
I love to watch the make-up artists at work. Now I can do my make-up for an event if I have to. Day to day, though, I keep it minimal. I do the Nars concealer — my colour is Caramel. Then it’s Glossier Boy Brow every day in Black.
I have the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate palette that comes with the two colours. I throw on the highlighter for everyday and do the contour colour if I’m going out. I like the Lash Slick by Glossier for day — it’s pretty and natural.
At night, I switch to the Marc Jacobs mascara. The make-up artist Hung Vanngo told me about it. I’ve learned the most from him and from Nina Park. Nina has taught me that if I have an early press day and look terrible, do a lip. She’ll look at my face and say, ‘Uhhh, OK, let’s do a lip on you!’ With an eye look, you can still look tired and droopy. A bright lip colour is lifting, and honestly, it’s easy.
I have this YSL matte lip stain that I love so much, the bottom label has worn off. Now I don’t even know the colour. Ruby Woo by MAC is always good.
I really like the RMS Lip2Cheek colours. You can layer them so you can choose if you want to go lighter or darker. I also wear foundation if I have an event. I mix the Tom Ford one with the Tom Ford highlighting primer.
HAIR
My hair is so dry, it’s like the desert. It’s like sand in the desert, it’s so rough. I do make an attempt to moisturise, but it’s really tough to get ahead of it when I’m working a lot. All the heat styling damages it, and I have really fine hair.
I do Olaplex a lot. I throw it on like a hair mask and go to SoulCycle. I feel like it heats up in there! I like the Shu Uemura shampoos and conditioners. I also use Oribe Gold Lust hair oil.
I usually get my hair cut by Teddi Cranford in New York, but I’m actually trying to grow it out, so I haven’t had it cut in ages. People always tell you that you have to cut your hair in order to grow it, but whatever, I don’t want to. And it doesn’t even make sense, as your hair is growing from your scalp!
FRAGRANCE
I had the best smell ever: this tiny unmarked vial from Morocco that my friend got for me. It smells like orange blossom. I used to get so many compliments. I have saved literally one drop just so I can smell it. Now I do these roll-ons from Maison Louis Marie. In the winter I do No 04, but more recently I’ve been doing the Antidris Cassis one.
DIET AND FITNESS
I’ve actually been lazier here in LA. In New York, I would go to the Dogpound. My friend Kirk Myers founded it. Now, in LA, I go to SoulCycle and barre class and hot yoga, but I bounce around. Also, I’ve been travelling so much that it’s hard to keep anything together. I downloaded the Nike app to work out while I travel, and I think I did it once.
For me, diet is about moderation. I work out, but I love cheese, pasta and wine. As I say that, I’m drinking a green smoothie that was a million dollars at Erewhon. The truth is, the timing of awards season, right after the holidays, is really cruel. I’m not at my peak right now. Honestly, I’m just trying to work out a lot, and I’ll go to Shani for a peel before a big awards show.
