Lupita Nyong’o’s Best Beauty Tips and Makeup Must-Haves Inline

January 11, 2015

1/14
"I use Lancôme Génifique serum, which is a great hydrator, and you can use it before bed. You can also use it before makeup and on makeup, which is nice…I also apply it after a long flight when my skin is dry. I try to keep my regimen simple so that I remember it. With all the travel, I don't want too many bottles of God knows what, then I don't get through customs!"
Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate, $78
Buy it now
2/14
"John Masters has a cleanser, and it's nice because it's not too foamy, but it's also not too hard. I want that soapy feeling, but I don't like it when it's too overwhelmingly soapy because then I don't trust that it's actually doing anything. I cleanse before bed, and I don't cleanse in the morning—natural oils are so important because I have dry skin. I want them to last throughout the day. That's when you need moisture the most."
John Masters Organics Rose Foaming Face Wash, $22
Buy it now

3/14
"There's not much [room] in those little clutches, but I do take eyedrops just because, you know, there are all those bright lights flashing and your eyes are adjusting; the drops are sensitive to light and temperature. I take eyedrops and a powder to freshen up. My favorite is [from a brand] called Iridina—it's Italian. They're really nice and really gentle."
Iridina Due Eyedrops, $8
Buy it now
4/14
"The best beauty trick my mother taught me was to use garlic on zits—it dries them out. You want to do it at night so that you don't walk around smelling like garlic all day…nobody would want to be your friend."
5/14
"I use avocado oil [on my body]. It's great, especially in the wintertime when my skin is really dry—it's really good for that. I also use kukui oil on my face, which is a lighter oil than avocado oil. It's good before makeup…My mom always said, 'Nature knows best' and that 'within 5 feet of a poison is its remedy.' And growing up, I loved avocados. We had so many avocado trees in our compound—they grow like weeds, and here [in the States] they are so precious! I had been using coconut oil, and then I realized in the summertime that it solidifies and becomes grainy in a way I didn't like, so I switched to avocado oil. Kukui oil is something I found on a website."
Primavera Organic Avocado Oil, $25
Buy it now
Life-Flo Pure Kukui Oil, $12
Buy it now

6/14
"When I have time, I use shea butter because you have to work it into your skin a little more! It makes me impatient. When it's a slow day or I took a bath, that's an occasion for shea butter."
Organic Essence Pure Organic Shea Butter, $15
Buy it now
7/14
"Working with Nick [Barose] is so fantastic because I've worked with him from my very first red carpet. He was the man, and so we've developed a trust, a rapport, a banter. We just jive. I can trust him, and he can push me and I can pull him back in. He hasn't had to push me much because I am very experimental. For me, makeup is not a mask, it is not a shield—it is an adornment. I have fun with it. I have all these events and things, and for me it's a chance to play, a chance to have fun. It's a spectacle, so why not embrace it for what it is? Blush Subtil in Aplum was the shade that he used on my first 12 Years a Slave red carpet at the Toronto Film Festival. What I love about it is that it gives my cheeks a healthy [glow] without looking too flushed. Because I'm so dark, it's so easy for blush to be too prominent, too obvious."
Lancôme Blush Subtil in Aplum, $30
Buy it now
8/14