The Spanish actress and beauty icon reveals her favourite products

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Photo: Courtesy of Lancôme

Hollywood actress and Lancôme ambassador Penelope Cruz knows a thing or two about beauty. She talks to us about growing up in a salon, the secrets to looking radiant and her life-long love affair with mascara and makeup. 

My interest in cosmetics started when... I spent many afternoons in my parents’ beauty salon in Madrid as a child. I watched women coming and going, and realised that although the visit did not change their lives, this time devoted to pampering themselves was important. 

See also: 7 Beauty Hacks from Cassandra Grey, Hollywood Beauty Expert

The beauty product I can't live without is... mascara. Even as a child I had a particular fascination with it. I love Lancôme’s Grandiôse mascara. It’s not easy to invent a new one that is even better than the ones that already exist, but they’ve done it.

I love mascara because... an actress’s gaze is what brings life to her character. It’s hard to lie with your eyes; they are the door to your soul, your feelings. For some of the characters I’ve played, lashes were key to the look’s success.
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From L-R: Lancôme Grandiôse Mascara, Tresór perfume by Lanôme, Lancôme Advanced Génefique serum, Kérastase Nutritive Masque Magistral (Photos: Courtesy of brands) 

My favourite scent is... Tresór by Lancôme.

My beauty routine is... day to day, I cleanse my skin very well. I use creams and an anti-ageing serum like Advanced Génefique and I don’t wear much make-up—my skincare routine is very important, especially at night since it’s the time when the skin regenerates itself.

The hair product I swear by is... Kérastase Nutritive Masque Magistral for hair. It was always in my mother’s salon.

My beauty icon is... Isabella Rossellini. Her beauty made a great impression on me because of the values she conveyed: there were no clichés, no boundaries.

This article appears in the March 2017 issue of Hong Kong Tatler.

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