Debra Messing Beauty Routine - Interview with Debra Messing ·

08 Jun 2024, 00:00

Earlier this week in an Upper East Side hotel, Debra Messing sat in "pajama party position" as we chatted about Korean skin care, UGGs, and the one item she goes to Brooklyn to buy from the street.

It's an exciting time for the Will & Grace star. Messing recently celebrated her 50th birthday while the show just turned 20, and now she's on a heavy press circuit promoting a new partnership with Colgate Optic White.

For mortals, all these life events would be a perfectly reasonable excuse to skip out on our beauty routines in favor of a month-long nap. But Messing is doing better than ever — her skin was glowing and her energy bubbled excitedly as we dished on her favorite things. We suspect that's because she's one of the lucky ones who have it 'figured out,' so, naturally, we found out all of her secrets.

Read on below to see the beauty and style items Debra Messing swears by.

On her favorite toothpaste

[My partnership with Colgate] just made sense, it's an organic partnership because I use the product and I've used it for years. I'm a really bad liar so I can only partner with companies that I actually use. When they reached out to me it just made sense and I was thrilled to share my secret.

I tried charcoal toothpaste, and it was just a disaster. It was just so messy. It was so hyped up and I was like, 'You know, I've got to try it,' and I just ended up with a mess in my sink and my teeth were not whiter so I went back to the Colgate Optic White ($7; walmart.com).

The natural beauty she loves

The companies that I'm really into right now are iS Clinical and Joanna Vargas. I love her products! I love her vitamin C cleanser ($40; dermstore.com), and her vitamin C serum ($150; dermstore.com) is a game changer. I always have her paper masks ($75; dermstore.com) — she has three different kinds of masks and every time I have anything special I swap them out.

iS Clinical has a cleanser ($42; dermstore.com) that I swear by because I have to wear so much makeup every day and my pores get clogged, but I also have super, super, super sensitive skin. Things that are strong enough to clean my skin usually strip it and make it red and blotchy, and my skin gets angry. iS Clinical somehow found the perfect balance of being really deep cleaning without being too harsh.

They also have this spray with copper ($32; dermstore.com) that seems to help even out the skin tone. I found NIOD — it has a copper serum ($45; net-a-porter.com) that I now am obsessed with.

I also love Amore Pacific, and I've gotten into Korean beauty and I've gotten into the essence. It actually has made my skin better. Amore Pacific has a moisturizer spray ($35; sephora.com), and the smell makes me so happy, I use it all the time.

Every blog says you have to try snail mucus and I'm like 'that sounds absolutely disgusting,' and it does feel disgusting if we're really honest about it, but I don't hate it. I love Klairs' moisturizing essence ($21; amazon.com), I'm really into that right now.

Picking up beauty tips on set

I didn't even know what an eyelash curler (our suggestion: $13; dermstore.com) was when I started 20 years ago. Double washing is something I had never heard of before and now I'm kind of into it. That's using oil to cleanse first and then going for the deep, deep cleanse.

Shu Uemura used to have a cleansing oil ($67; amazon.com) that I loved, and Amore Pacific has one ($50; sephora.com) that I love. Clinique has a tub ($30; sephora.com) that's not oil but it might as well be. It's in this lavender tub and when you take some out and then rub it in your hands, it basically turns to oil and it breaks down the makeup. It just seems to be easier on my skin also.

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All about that hair

Most of the time when you see me a professional has made my hair look nice. I'm not going to pretend to be able to replicate it, but I have learned about some products that have made a big difference.

Goldwell has a rich repair line that really is amazing. It's a very deep, deep conditioner ($14; walmart.com) — it comes in a big tub, and I use it every time I wash my hair. I get my hair colored every six to eight weeks and when the color starts to fade, Goldwell has a color mousse ($20; amazon.com) that you just put in for five minutes and then you just wash out. It just brings the color back to life and it fills the cuticle so it doesn't look so dry.

It's the whole Goldwell-rich repair line. They have a leave-in conditioner ($15; amazon.com) that I've used for years. I've tried other things and I always come back to it.

I also love Davines — it has some sprays and some leave-ins that are really wonderful. There's the heat protectant spray ($37; barneys.com) and there's a gentle leave-in ($26; barneys.com).

I have Harry Josh's hair dryer ($249; dermstore.com) and I love it. I like the T3 curling irons ($325; dermstore.com) that have detachable rods.

What she can’t stop wearing

Stuart Weitzman flat boots (our best guess: $491 [Originally $655]; saksfifthavenue.com) that are really high — it's the classic flat boot. I wear them all the time. I don't like to be in heels unless I have to be. I can throw those on with a skirt and feel dressed, but I can also just throw them on with jeans and be as comfortable as if I'm wearing sneakers. That's something I reach for a lot.

I've got this black Chanel clutch (our best guess: $4,875; shopbop.com), that I always reach for. It's big enough to carry a whole face full of makeup, money, my phone, and all the things that you want, and it still looks chic.

[Pointing to a pair of UGG slippers ($120; nordstrom.com) by the couch] I got those as a gift from, was it The Ellen Show? One of the talk shows I've been on. You know, you can't go wrong with those.

Her signature scent

It's a mix of oils — an Egyptian musk ($6; amazon.com) and another musk oil. One I buy on the street down in Brooklyn. The other I buy in Duane Reade (our best guess: $15; walgreens.com). I keep trying different scents and I keep coming back to these because every time I wear them someone says "Oh my God, you smell so good!" I try to be snobby about it but it just doesn't work out.

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