Helen Mirren's Nighttime Beauty Routine Includes This Under-$30 Moisturizer

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.

Dame Helen Mirren isn't a model in the traditional sense, but that doesn't mean she's a stranger to the runway. The acclaimed British actor just wrapped up a stint in Paris, where she attended Paris Fashion Week and strutted the catwalk at the annual L'Oréal Paris Le Défilé event which celebrates women empowerment. The Sept. 29 show marked Mirren's fourth time gracing the runway since becoming an ambassador for the brand over a decade ago, but even now, participating still feels like a "pinch-me" moment.

"It's just one of the dreamiest things ever," she tells me in a video interview. "The whole thing is so mad and out there and unlike anything else I've ever done or I ever do. It's wonderfully exciting and nerve wracking as well." Mirren appeared at the Le Défilé show alongside other L'Oréal ambassadors like Viola Davis, Andie MacDowell, and Eva Longoria, all of whom she's formed a special bond with thanks to their repeated inclusion in the event over the years.

"Because it's L'Oréal Paris, you often are with some of the same people, so you become a little sort of sisterhood of the people who walk—models and actresses and influencers and things like that," she says.

Of course, it takes quite a bit of confidence to put yourself out there and be in company with powerhouse models, and Mirren opened up to me about everything she does to continue feeling like her best self. Keep reading to see the products and mantras Mirren swears by for getting In the Mood.

Don't worry, it'll all be alright in the end. I'm not a sort of grumpy morning person—I'm usually positive and happy to see a new day. But the day can grind you down, so a little bit of yoga is a good thing. I like to do about 15 minutes of yoga every morning and that certainly calm just settles you and centers you to start the day off.

I don't know if alluring is what I'm going for—I just like to look halfway decent. I never stick to a routine of any sort. I have no beauty routine, except I do always clean my face at night. I'll always put a moisturizer on at night, usually the L'Oreal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Face Moisturizer. And then, in the morning, I'll always clean my face again and put a moisturizer on. It can be different things. On some days I use a serum and other days I'll use a cream. I like to mix it up a bit. And likewise with makeup, I always do something a little bit different. I don't do the same thing over and over again, but I can do my makeup in about eight minutes, if that.

Hair's weird because it responds so much to what's going on on the inside of your body. Some days your hair just does nothing wrong, and other days your hair just will not do anything. These days I kind of like having a cut that I just really don't even have to dry—it can just dry on its own. My hair is very fine, so I try not to put too much heat on it. I just let it dry naturally. But again, it's different for different days. Some days you just want to pull it back with scrunchie. And headbands are a good thing—I love headbands!

Technology. I think I'm lucky in the sense that I experienced the world without technology in a profound way. The first 30 years of my life, if not more, was without technology. No mobile phones, no computers—none of that stuff. So I've actually witnessed and experienced the coming of this incredible change in human behavior and human knowledge and now being on the cusp of AI and where that might take us. I just find it so frightening, but at the same time it's very exciting. I love that every day there's a new extraordinary technological thing to be amazed by.

You need good underwear. Find bras and pants that really, really fit you, and then you can do what you want with your shape.

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