Catherine Zeta-Jones Has Sworn By This $24 Moisturizer for Decades

“It's the answer to everything.”

Catherine Zeta-Jones Has Sworn By This $24 Moisturizer for Decades

In an age of influencers and overnight Y.A. sensations, Catherine Zeta-Jones is the kind of glamorous Hollywood royalty we don't see enough of. But that doesn't mean she hasn't been busy.

The 51-year-old actor recently joined the cast of the hit Fox drama Prodigal Son, on which she stars opposite fellow Welsh actor Michael Sheen. The Oscar winner also just expanded her Casa Zeta-Jones empire with the launch of her ready-to-wear collection—a dream of hers for the last 20 years. “My mother was a seamstress and made all my clothes on her own and taught me to sew, so I've been wanting to do this as a creative outlet for years,” she says. The result is a gorgeous yet practical day-to-night collection that's timeless: “It had to be well-made and a good price point. I really like to get something that looks so much more expensive than it is.” 

And she hasn't stopped there. Last fall she dipped her toe into the beauty space with the launch of her own mascara and eyeliner. “I’ve been made up by the best makeup artists in the world and I’ve had what feels like every product ever on my face or body. And yet I’d always be like, ‘Oh, I love this mascara, I just wish it wasn't such a nightmare to get off.’ Or, ‘I love this liner, but it just doesn’t blend and stay put.’” The result: a partnership with Wunder2 to create a cruelty-free lengthening mascara and eyeliner in two shades. “There's more coming,” she hints, “but I've found a great formula that was just kind of mine and what I love.”

Casa Zeta-Jones + Wunder2 My Mascara

Casa Zeta-Jones + Wunder2 Eye Contact Long-Lasting Pencil Eyeliner

Speaking of what she loves, that was the perfect opportunity to quiz Zeta-Jones on all the tips and tricks she's picked up over the years, both in front of the camera and on the red carpet. And as only Hollywood royalty can do, her stories are for the books. Lucky for us, she's sharing. Time for another round of Glamour's Big Beauty Questions.

Glamour: With so much going on in your life, how do you take a moment for yourself?

Catherine Zeta-Jones: I’m very hands-on, and I work with all women who are very close to me, and whose passions are equal to mine about the brand. And I trust their taste. So when I'm acting, I'm only focusing on my acting, and that's when my team really kicks in to make sure all the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted. Michael [Douglas] and I both love to work, but we also love to travel, so that's a nice way for me to take a moment for myself and also get inspired. I'm always photographing things, whether it's a fabric or a paint color. 

What city or a country gives you the greatest beauty inspiration?

I think it's our home on the island of Mallorca, Spain. The whole island is a sea of light blue, and the sheer beauty of the area in which we live—we have vegetable gardens and we go on lots of walks and hikes. We have a view of the Mediterranean, and it's just a very rugged and dramatic place. It's just a real place for me to recharge. I call it my nirvana, and the same is true for my husband and our kids. 

What’s your go-to perfume and why?

I love Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge and Tom Ford Noir de Noir. We have a lot of jasmine around the property in Mallorca, and I always take my last swim as the sun is going down. That’s when the jasmine really starts to flourish and you can smell it. It evokes such wonderful memories for me.

Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge Eau de Parfum

Tom Ford Noir de Noir Eau de Parfum

What’s the best beauty advice your mom ever gave you?

The best beauty advice my mom ever gave me was to make the most of yourself. Nobody's perfect. And she used to say, “You’ll never know when you'll meet the president of the United States.” That's a bizarre thing, right? Especially since I grew up in Wales. She never said the prime minister of Britain or the king of Spain.

But then, one day, I was in Washington D.C. because I was going to be giving Sean Connery [an award] at the Kennedy Center Honors. The morning of, I was going on a tour of the Christmas decorations at the White House. It was 8 a.m. I didn't have a scrap of makeup on my face and was wearing a baseball cap with my hair in a scrunchie. Then they let me take a look at the Oval Office. Bill Clinton was chipping golf balls outside—and then he came in. All I was thinking was, My mother told me to make the most of myself, you never know when you’re going to meet the president! I didn’t even listen to anything he said to me. I was just thinking, Oh my God, my mother told me this, and look at me, not even a lick of mascara. To this day I'll never forget it. I had stress over the whole incident. 

What do you use to keep your hair in such great shape?

Well, sometimes when I get a haircut, my hair [reacts] and it’s like, “Whoa, you cut too much off!” But I do have a good trim quite often just to keep the ends clean. My hair is dry and actually quite fine, but there’s lots of it, so I use Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil on the ends. And if I’m not working, I try to avoid the hair dryer or heat because when I'm working it takes a bit of a beating. There's nothing worse than lots of hair that’s not in good condition.

Oribe Nourishing Hair Oil

If you could use only three products for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Well, it has to be my Casa Zeta-Jones mascara because it took me so long to get that formula right. If I was on a desert island, I would actually probably forfeit water to take my mascara. Next would be the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream. I was the face of Elizabeth Arden for many years, but I used the Eight Hour cream before that because my grandmother used it. It was the only cream she ever bought and it was the answer to everything. If you cut yourself, you put it on. If you have a sunburn, you put it on. And the third thing would have to be Epsom salt because when I was tap-dancing for many years, I would soak my feet in it. I still do that, and I go through bags of it. It relieves all my aches and pains.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

Dr Teal's Lavender Pure Epsom Salt Soaking Solution

If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions, what would it be?

That you don't need to have spray-on or tattooed eyebrows to frame your face. I like eyebrows that look natural and not perfect. My daughter has the most beautiful eyebrows and I’ve told her since she was four years old, nobody touches them. She knows to pluck some, but she has rich, untouched, natural eyebrows that are just pretty and do what they need to do to frame her face. 

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Jessica Radloff