Michelle Monaghan Discovered This Skin-Perfecting Product Combo on the Set of The White Lotus

In a true "life imitating art" moment, it just so happens that Michelle Monaghan portrays a charming, successful actress on HBO's smash hit The White Lotus. Unsurprisingly, she and her character are similar in this way. I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Monaghan for a chat, and she was everything you'd think—kind, down-to-earth, and incredibly easy to talk to. Of course, because of this, I seized the opportunity to ask her all my burning beauty-related questions. And, luckily for us all, she was more than happy to oblige.

You might be surprised to learn that Monaghan's beauty journey really began with a health scare. After being diagnosed with melanoma, she was forced to take a hard look at her entire lifestyle—specifically, her beauty routine. "It completely impacted the way that I started to look at my health and my well-being," she said. "That was the catalyst for me doing a deep dive into skincare, ingredient study, science—everything,—because I really understood that I had to take a holistic approach to my health."

Luckily, Monaghan is now melanoma-free, and something synergetic came of it. She's now an ambassador for one of my favorite brands, U Beauty, a partnership that came about organically due to her love for one of its hero products The Resurfacing Compound ($148). "I got introduced to U Beauty through a makeup artist because of the sun damage [I'd accrued]," she explained. "I was complaining to a makeup artist about my sun spots because I had to do a look that was a no-makeup makeup look. And I just said, 'Use as little foundation as you can, but just use it on my hyperpigmentation.' She was really gentle with me and said, 'I've got a great product for that. You might want to try the Resurfacing Compound."

After that, Monaghan was hooked. "I've been using that product the longest, but it still continues to work. It's like, eight products [in one]. When I started using that, I stopped using my topical vitamin C, retinol, [and] hyaluronic acid—it eliminated three or four products out of my routine. It will always be a part of my routine because I will forever be revealing the past sun damage that I've accumulated over the years and as our cells turn over, new things reveal themselves. We can count on products like U Beauty's and its siren capsule technology to tackle exactly those things. The beauty of this siren capsule technology is that it leaves all of your healthy cells behind, keeps them nourished, and keeps them balanced, which is what we want. But it tackles the ones that are giving me issues—the ones that need to be treated and targeted. To me, it was smart, innovative, science-backed skincare that just made perfect sense to continue to be my little sidekick for the rest of my life."

Below are a few more things I learned about Monaghan and her beauty routine including her favorite discoveries on the set of The White Lotus and the items she never travels without.

She never leaves the house without sunscreen.

Obviously, Monaghan is now a huge advocate for proper suncare. In fact, she rarely goes anywhere without it. "I don't leave the house without applying SPF," she says. "That is really the last step in my my beauty routine. [In the] morning, I use the Multimodal Sheer Mineral Sunscreen. I love it, not only because it's a non-nano mineral-only formula, but I like something that sits atop my skin, and it protects me from all the lights—the UVA, UVB, and the blue light. But I love the blurring effect, and it blends down really nicely. It works for all skin tones, it really doesn't have a white cast, and it's buildable. It's like a primer, and I can just put it under because I wear minimal makeup, but it blends really nicely with my concealer. I wear a Clé de Peau concealer [that] I've been using for 20 years."

When out and about, she makes sure to go for a more heavy-duty formula. "If I'm at the beach (I spend a lot of time outdoors), I always go for a water-resistant formula. I usually go as high as I can, an SPF of 50 or 60, because I also like a streamlined SPF routine with multiple people in the in the family."

Filming The White Lotus inspired some of her recent travels.

Season three of The White Lotus was mainly shot on the beautiful island of Koh Samui in Thailand. Since then, Monaghan used this summer to do a ton of traveling—some of it inspired by her time there. "There's just something so beautiful about that region [in Thailand]," she shares. "I think it might be the religion, the Eastern philosophy, and the cultures that we encountered. The Thai culture and Indonesian culture, they're just so warm and inviting—I don't know how to explain it. My husband and I talk about it all the time. We really love it—we love the food, and we love the history. I got to discover a region that I fell in love with. I knew, after having spent seven months there with my kids and my husband that we had to come back to this region."

As for her recent summer travels, Monaghan visited Aloita Resort in Indonesia after it popped up on her social media feed four years previously. Filming The White Lotus in the area further inspired her and her family to finally give it a visit. "It's a really special little spot, and we surfed at all different levels—they had a surf break for each and every one of us. They had these cute little bungalows, and it was an occupancy for 30 people. We met the neatest families from all over the world. There was no Wi-Fi, and it was beautiful."

She discovered some of her current favorite items on set of The White Lotus.

Her self-care routine leveled up in a big way while filming in Thailand. So much so that she still cherishes some of the habits and products that she picked up while there. "I love a Thai massage," she says. "I think we were all getting multiple Thai massages, and that's something that stuck with me, for sure. One of the great things I have to mention is this brand, because I, like Jaclyn, don't mind a faux glow—I don't go in the sun. There's this great body makeup brand called Westmore. I actually use that with the Super Body Hydrator [from U Beauty] because I'm obsessed with it. It's the best thing ever. I always say it's a sleeper hit, and it's perfect. It [gives] the most amazing coverage [with] Westmore.

Another wellness favorite Monaghan discovered while in Thailand was butterfly pea flower tea. She loves it for its vibrant color and the fact that the flowers are totally edible. But above all else, the health benefits are what keep her coming back for more. "One of the things I learned about butterfly pea flower tea is that it helps with your eyesight. I'm just in total in denial about having to wear readers all the time, so I'm drinking butterfly tea [laughs]."

She never travels without a few key items.

Because she travels so often, there are a few key items she never leaves home without. For starters, SPF is the one thing that's always on her. Another tea she always brings with her is dandelion—she's learned a few lifesaving travel hacks involving the drink. "I travel on airplanes with that, and I drink it daily. It de-bloats me on a plane, when everything kind of swells up. Basically, the dandelion tea will prevent that. I just bring the tea sachets, and I get the hot water—it's a good hack. I also have this little Aesop product. It's a roller called Flight Therapy. Nobody knows they have it. It's really relaxing. Then, you know, I travel with all my U Beauty essentials since they make the minis. I live for a carry-on. Anything that I can just put in my backpack or roller bag is perfect."

She swears by U Beauty's new Smooth Dynamic Wrinkle Defense Serum.

U Beauty's newest launch, the Smooth Dynamic Wrinkle Defense Serum, is her latest obsession. "I think it's their most innovative product yet. They're all innovative, but it's certainly the most innovative wrinkle serum I've ever used and ever tried. I think what's special about it is that it utilizes their patented, powerhouse siren capsule technology. It treats the wrinkles from the past that you have now, and at the same time, it boosts the longevity of your skin. I started using it in March, and I've been using it religiously since. I use it after the Resurfacing Compound. I've specifically seen a noticeable difference in my crow's-feet. It's so amazing. And it's clinically tested so results are as fast as 15 minutes, and the longer you use it, the bigger the results. It's a really special formula. We're all growing and aging, and these things are inevitable, but if I can do something and utilize something that's preventative and also tackles things from the past as well as the future, that's just smart skincare."