Madonna's Dermatologist Walks Into Sephora… Here's What He Buys for Her
Sephora is a hall of majestic wonders, but deciding what to buy all on your own (or even with a friendly Sephora employee by your side) can be as stressful as it is thrilling. Which is why helpful buying guides like this exist. It's always fascinating to learn how beauty professionals—like hairstylists, makeup artists, and skincare experts—actually spend their money. Their taste and experience make their product picks extra worth our attention.
Recently we were connected to a few celebrity dermatologists (who've worked on the complexions of little names like Madonna and Rebecca Romijn), and it occurred to us that they might be good people to lean on next time you hit up Sephora. So we asked three of these trusted board-certified celebrity derms to tell us the skin products (and makeup and haircare options) they'd pick up both for their clients and themselves at Sephora. Keep scrolling to see their selects.
Here's the first Sephora pick of celebrity cosmetic dermatologist Paul Jarrod Frank, MD, founder of PFRANKMD products and salon (and Madonna's personal derm): Tatcha's physical exfoliating cleanser, which is formulated with rice bran. "A great product to exfoliate the skin, but not too rough," Frank says. "You can control the exfoliation strength by mixing it with different amounts of water."
This Sephora sleeper hit uses nontoxic plant ingredients like Swiss apple stem cell extract and squalene to visibly brighten, de-puff, and hydrate the under-eyes. "A great product to decrease under-eye puffiness," says Frank. "The formula has a weightless feel, but is also moisturizing and soothes tired, dehydrated skin."
Frank would also grab GlamGlow's brightening, smoothing "facial in a jar" for both himself and his clients. As Frank says, "It has a tingling feeling that wakes up the skin and decreases puffiness."
Board-certified dermatologist Shari Sperling, MD, another skincare guru to the stars, would start her Sephora shopping spree with this classic Kiehl's cleanser. "It's a lightweight gel formula that foams up when water is added. It cleanses your face without overdrying it," she says.
"Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen is fantastic," says Sperling. "It's invisible, weightless, scentless, and won't make you break out. It provides broad-spectrum SPF 40 protection."
Sperling says this Sephora best seller is "top-rated for a reason." The product "targets dull, rough, uneven skin, and exfoliates without irritating the skin."
Obsessed with iconic Sephora skincare brand Drunk Elephant? So is Sperling—particularly this peptide-rich face cream, which she describes as "lightweight but incredibly moisturizing."
Board-certified dermatologist and celebrity beauty expert Anna Guanche, MD—whose clientele includes glowy-skinned queens like Rebecca Romijn and Olivia Culpo—would snag this cult product at Sephora. It's an "all-in-one lactic acid serum," she describes. "Good Genes smoothes out fine lines and wrinkles, and brightens skin."
Dermatologist-approved haircare alert! "This is great for repairing hair from within," says Guanche "It relinks the broken disulfide bonds caused by chemical, thermal, and mechanical damage to the hair."
As for makeup, Guanche would also pick up a jar of this lightweight, blendable loose powder. "I recommend applying it after your foundation but before blush," she says. "This setting powder locks in makeup for long wear and is popular because it doesn't contain light-reflecting pigments, so you won't look 'white' in photos."
Here we have a Guanche's holy-grail contour product: a vegan, cruelty-free palette offering a variety of powders all of which are blendable, natural-looking, and smell like chocolate.
Guanche swears by this Sephora best seller for long, healthy lashes. "The hourglass-shaped brush was designed with extra-stiff bristles, so one coat is all you need. Two coats and your lashes are multidimensional," she says. "This also is great because it doesn't contain parabens."
One last makeup pick from Guanche: "I use this every day after contouring," she says. The featherlight powder can be used on the face, eyes, or body for a subtle, stunning glow.Next: A French Girl Walks Into a Drugstore—Here Are the Beauty Products She Buys
Tie among Linda Rodin, Hari Nef, and David Bowie.
Who are your 5 favorite people to follow on Instagram?@petracollins @katiejanehughes @alwaysjudging @bonnyrebecca @hotdudesreading
What's the beauty essential you can’t live without?If I have some brow gel and Sisley's Phyto-Lip Twist, I'm good to go forever.
What's your desert island album?Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism
What's your favorite Byrdie.com story?Game of Thrones's Nathalie Emmanuel looks so achingly beautiful in our feature with her that I think it's gonna have to be that!
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