Leighton Meester's Beauty Routing Involves a “Damage Control” Hairstyle, Exfoliating Mitts, and a $69 Date Night Fragrance

Beauty routines are integral to getting In The Mood—not for any other person, but for you. Here, get a glimpse into the products, habits, and mantras that help powerhouse women slip into the sexiest version of themselves.

Something I love: that last year was a Leighton Meester renaissance. She was in The Buccaneers, I Love LA, and Nobody Wants This, the latter of which brought inexplicable joy to every ‘90s baby. She landed a beauty partnership with Bubble, had a stint as a redhead, and, if you’ve been on TikTok, had a “Good Girls Gone Bad” viral moment.

And now that we’re firmly in 2026, it’s clear that the actress is just gaining more momentum. She has a Netflix romcom based on “The Bodyguard" coming up (release date TBD) and, most recently, landed another beauty partnership, this time as the face of Elizabeth Arden’s Eternal Aura Eau de Parfum. “The brand is such a tried-and-true for me, and they’ve been a part of my consciousness, for, well, pretty much my entire life, so this really feels like a pinch-me moment,” Meester tells me over our Zoom call this weekend.

Fragrance aside, the Gossip Girl alum has many beauty secrets to share. My favorite of which: exfoliating her body like she’s “an alien coming to Earth for the first time” who needs to shed her “alien skin.” To learn how she does just that, and scoop up her other beauty tips for getting In the Mood, read ahead.

I used to listen to Louise Hay, who is a motivational speaker. The first thing that she says is I am worthy of love because I exist. That’s the core of all of my natural or learned insecurities and saying it means I can face the world because I am enough. At first, it felt really alien and embarrassing to say it, and I had to actually force myself to feel that way. But now I just say it naturally without having to reinforce it constantly and I do just believe it. It comes from within. I mean, love is our most core need, and to know that I am worthy of existing, and being loved, and loving myself—it matters.

My dream is to do an everything shower, but my reality is an efficient shower. However, I take pieces of the everything shower and infuse them into my efficient shower. I’ll do a deep conditioner one day, exfoliate another day—that way there’s not such a buildup for an everything shower. But I am actually a bath person. It isn’t that I go into my bath planning to spend hours there—although I can and I will. But I’ll do work from the bath (obviously not Zooms), I’ll read, and relax. If I can get a morning bath in? Wow, it’s kind of crazy, but it helps me just seize the day.

I love an exfoliating mitt. I love going to a spa day at Olympic Day Spa in LA, which is a Korean spa. It’s co-ed, but there’s a women’s only section. The first time I ever went I was like, what is this? They use these exfoliating mitts, and it's like if you were like an alien coming to Earth for the first time, and they're like, you need to shed your alien skin to be here. It’s amazing. I bought a version of them so I can use them at home before I shave or something, but I’m much gentler when I use them myself.

I like the idea of a signature scent. I’m in love with Elizabeth Arden’s Eternal Aura. I wear that regularly. I feel like it is a date-night scent because it gives you a sense of romance. It’s grounding, but still an uplifting, happy fragrance in my opinion. It’s not too heavy either, so I can wear it during the day.

I use tinted moisturizer, actually. I don’t think I ever use foundation or concealer. My skills have actually gotten worse over the years, which you would think I would have learned a thing or two. I curl my lashes and take my time with that. Then I like a brown liquid liner and something on my lips.

My hair has taken a lot of heat and color recently, so it’s pretty damaged. I went from brunette to red to blonde back to brunette just in the last eight months, so I’m really doing damage control. I’ve been doing oil treatments, avoiding heat, and letting it air dry whenever I can. Occasionally, I’ll use a diffuser, or I’ll put a curl in my front two pieces and grab a claw clip for the rest so it stays out of my face.

I love a cherry red. Any time I try to do anything different, unless it’s neutral, I regret it. I just love looking down and seeing red, short nails.

I might truncate my routine, but it’s so minimal anyway because I have to pack it all the time. I’m pretty consistent with it because I have to be. Taking off my makeup is number one for me.

As more time goes by, the more hindsight I have. There’s also a confidence that comes from getting to know myself more and more, from just experience in life.

Don’t overdo alcohol and use sunscreen. The sun that I got when I was young is now starting to show up.

Shop Leighton's Routine

Why Trust Marie Claire

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.