Rosie Huntington-Whiteley reveals her beauty must-haves

Inherited talent

I always remember watching my mother get ready for work or for a night out. I’d creep into her bedroom and she would allow me to sit on the bed and watch her get ready if I was silent and didn’t ask any questions because it was her time. As a mother I totally relate, getting ready is often your own ritual, it’s a time to transform. So, I would sit and watch her. It was so intriguing for me to see her go from being my mum to a woman who was going to work for the day, or a woman who was going out for the evening. It transformed her confidence and for me as a young girl, she was the most glamorous thing I ever laid my eyes on. Then once I became a teenager, I saved up money to buy a baby blue eyeshadow or pink lipstick at the local pharmacies and begged my mum to allow me to wear makeup.

She would let me wear some but only if it was very natural. I remember her saying to me “makeup is about enhancing what you have, not hiding what you have”, and that stuck with me ever since I was a young girl. What does that mean? The sentiment of this has changed for me over the years, but what I think she meant was, don’t worry about hiding the features, don’t spend all your time masking your skin, embrace them. Focus on the good things so that has always been my approach to makeup. I always want to look and feel like myself, but just a little bit better.

If modelling didn’t work out

When I was 14-years-old I just remember always being obsessed with fashion and beauty. I grew up in a rural countryside town in the UK and my only connection to that world were magazines. There was no YouTube or Internet and it was such a shrouded business for most people, and I think that was part of why it drew me in. I would look at these beautiful images in the magazine and I wanted to be part of creating them. I remember my first few shoots and sitting down in a makeup chair and being surrounded by all these products, I wanted to learn everything. If I wasn’t doing what I’m doing I’d probably be a makeup artist, or an art director or stylist, I would’ve always ended up in a creative field and certainly I believe fashion or beauty.

The personal gamechanger

One thing you hear universally from all experts is to take care of your skin. I’ve been someone who struggled with acne-prone skin my entire adult life and my mother had acne too. I have been on this lifelong quest to research how to better my skin and it’s something I’m constantly learning about. A game-changer for me has been using non-comedogenic formulations when it comes to skincare and makeup products. It basically means it’s a formulation produced without pore-clogging ingredients in it. Since changing my products to non-comedogenic formulations, my skin is so much more managed. It improved in a matter of weeks.

Making it in the beauty industry

The beauty industry and beauty companies are built on a community. You have to connect with your consumer, there has to be a two-way dialogue. People respond to brands that stand for something. It used to be enough to have pretty makeup and packaging, but now you have to stand for something. Whether it’s a cruelty-free message that Hourglass has, or sustainable messaging or a brand that embraces diversity, so it’s important there is s community and messaging behind a brand. There needs to be a culture surrounding a brand.

 

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What women want from beauty

I always study how a woman wears her makeup and despite there being endless glamorous looks we can nd on social media, women just want to feel like the best version of themselves. They want to feel natural, and there are different variations, but ultimately they want to feel like themselves. I notice women sticking to classics that suit her. You want to apply your makeup in the morning, feel great all day and not think about it. I don’t want to think about it, I want it to work for me.