Jennifer Garner Gave Me the Skincare and Life Advice I Never Knew I Needed

When I meet with Jennifer Garner, she isn't supposed to have her camera on. I was promised 15 minutes of the busy star's valuable time—which is especially precious considering she's a Neutrogena ambassador, mom of three, co-founder of Once Upon a Farm, and more—camera off. Since I was working from home in my dad's old Patagonia pullover, sporting two-day hair, and didn't have even a trace of makeup on my face, that was perfectly fine with me. 

Imagine my surprise when I log into Zoom and find myself face-to-face (okay, screen-to-screen) with Garner herself. She's wearing glasses and athleisure and is also completely makeup-free. "Sorry," she says. "I just worked out, I haven't showered, and I was like, 'Oh, but who cares?'" 

I consider keeping my camera off (Jennifer Garner without makeup looks a hell of a lot better than I do without makeup, after all), but I decide to adopt Garner's "who cares?" attitude and switch my camera firmly on too. We share a brief laugh over both of our work-from-home getups before diving in to talk about skincare, self-care routines, and some of the best life advice I've ever gotten. Keep reading for our full conversation.

Do you want to start by walking me through your skincare routine?

That sounds like a really great way to start. I have always, always, always washed my face at night no matter what, even if I don't have makeup on. I like to go to bed with clean skin. I want it working for me while I sleep. I'll use retinol—the Rapid Wrinkle Repair is what I use because it's around, and I have it. I've learned that I can trust it, and I don't need to go fancy. I just really stick with what I know and trust.

Every other night, I'll use the Hydro Boost, the hyaluronic acid, because retinol is really putting your skin to work and saying, "Hey, get to work, regenerate, turn over cells. Let's go." And then hyaluronic acid is just like, "Let's just bring moisture to the surface of the skin barrier, and let's plump you up and quench your thirst and make you look dewy." So that is my combo. I have a new product that I love, which is the Hydro Boost Water Cream. It's a nighttime cream. It doesn't have SPF, but it goes right in. It's almost like it absorbs directly into your skin. You're almost not rubbing it in your skin. [It] just kind of goes, "Oh, I recognize you."

That also sounds nice for a summer-to-fall transition.

For sure. You need all the love you can get, especially going into the colder months.

If you had to leave the house in under five minutes, what are some staple beauty products that you would use before you leave?

I would start with SPF. You've got to have your SPF on. As a matter of fact, I like to layer it a lot, but the Hydro Boost moisturizer during the day has an SPF of 50. So if nothing else, then you know you're golden. If I have five minutes, I could get totally ready in five minutes. The one fancy thing that I love is Gucci Westman's Westman Atelier. You know the foundation stick? I would use a little bit of that. It's just like a concealer or any ruddiness that I want to cover up and do a little brow and a little bit of cheek, and I'm off. I rarely remember to do mascara. I rarely do anything like lips or anything. So if I have those things done, I'm out the door.

Are you a fragrance person at all? Do you ever wear perfume?

Yeah, I do. Right now, it's Gypsy Water. 

I like that one. It's an easy everyday perfume. What would you say your beauty philosophy is?

My beauty philosophy is "less is more." I just want to look like myself. I can't say that I'm particularly gutsy with my beauty choices either in what I wear—clearly [laughs]—or in makeup and hair. I mean, I did chop all my hair off. In that way, I just wanted something fresh and different, and that felt really, really good. But for the most part, I want to look like the best version of me that I can. So I'd rather take care of my skin and give my hair every bit of advantage it can. Really, for everything, it's just about moisture. That's true of your hair. It's true of your skin. It's really just how much moisture can you pack in and repair the cells you have. 

I feel like a lot of people are thinking about chopping their hair like you did for fall. Do you have any styling tips that you've learned now that you have shorter hair?

I would just chop it and then find what works for you. For me, what I loved is that I never use a blow-dryer. But it just dried so much more quickly. I always use Virtue 6-in-1. That's one hair product that I can count on. I know how to use [it], and it feels good. It doesn't feel like I have junk in my hair. So I do a little of that, and I'm gone.

I love it. Always better to do less. On your Instagram, I feel like you have so many good gardening and DIY home hacks. Do you have any beauty hacks that you do?

My beauty routine really is my beauty hack. It's consistency. It's really just about consistently wearing sunscreen. It's so boring. But at your age especially, you have to be so careful because it feels great to get a tan. You guys all do this. Look at me. I'm your 50-year-old self. I'm telling you [to] wear sunscreen [and] get a spray tan.

Oh my god, if you're my 50-year-old self, then I am on the right track. 

You're gonna be golden—not to worry. It's so nerve-wracking being your age. It really is. You're supposed to be married, and everything is about checking off these next boxes. There's such a time pressure it feels like to all of it, and it's going to work out. You're gonna be great, even if it's messy. I mean, it doesn't always work out like you think it's going to, but it'll work out.

That's great advice. I needed to hear that. Going back to your Instagram, I feel like it's such a happy corner of the internet. What has it been like to build your presence on Instagram? 

Well, I went into it kicking and screaming. I'm actually really private, but there are things about myself I am willing to share. I don't like, personally, to share my kids. But I am happy to talk about parenting and mothering. It's just like, Where do I feel an openness? It's been fun to open up that part of myself and share it with people because I do it with Mo Grosser, who's worked with me for 10 years. Years ago, I just said, "Hey, guess what? You have a new job. We're doing social media. And it's, it's you. Guess who I'm hiring? You!" She went to film school, and she's so good at recording and editing me because we're together all the time. I don't have somebody weird following me around. Mo is like my right hand. She's so great about it. It happens really naturally. It's really fun to share with people and to come up with silly things.

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