Jennifer Garner is every bit America’s sweetheart as you’d imagined her to be. While we chatted over Zoom about Neutrogena’s new retinol-infused launches (more on that below), the actress shared her skin-care favorites, secrets on how she stays grateful and stopped herself from letting out an expletive, effectively keeping her sterling reputation intact.
Garner revealed that in her youth, her appearance was strictly regulated by her parents, which meant no makeup, no nail polish, no layers in her hair and no piercings. She giddily showed me her first ear piercing, which she got this year. As someone who stays away from peels and lasers, Garner has leaned on at-home skin care to keep her glow going.
I know we’re here to talk a bit about skin care, but we know just as important as taking care of your skin and your body is taking care of your mind. What are some wellness practices or products that help you maintain a healthy and happy mindset?
“For me, that is a fireplace and a journal. I think that having a daily practice, just taking a moment to write in your journal, it gives you a real chance to reflect on patterns in your life that you want to shift or that you’re proud of or you’re happy about. It gives you a moment of reflection and almost always, for me, ends up in a place of gratitude. No matter what mood I start in, that’s where it ends up. And if it’s next to a fireplace, even better.”
What’s your desert island skin-care pick? Something you couldn’t live without.
“Well, if you’re on a desert island, obviously, you’re going to need some sunscreen. I mean, my gosh, Allie, like that’s numero uno, dos, tres, quatro. You need all the different kinds. You need the Sheer Defense, you need the Hyaluronic Acid, you need a moisturizer with sunscreen, you need the spray. You just need it all.”
Are there any facials or in-office treatments that you’ve been enjoying lately?
“I’m not someone who really does peels or lasers or things like that. I really have not. I just am nervous about them. And I have never had to because I’ve worked for Neutrogena for so long. They always have given me the cutting edge stuff to take the very best care of my skin. And so I’ve really gotten to play around and see what works for me.”
I know your oldest daughter is a teenager now. Does she steal any of your skincare or beauty products?
“She doesn’t have to. I have her all set up. The thing that is in every bathroom of my house for my kids and me and any guests is the Gentle Daily Cleanser. My son is nine, and I use it on his face at night. That’s the thing you have to do before you go to bed, even if they’re not ready for moisturizers or things like that.”
What’s your absolute favorite skin-care product?
“My favorite things are things that I would have loved to have had when I was 30, which are these Retinol Serum Capsules. This is new, but it actually is my favorite thing. These are perfect for me for travel because you just take this little bad boy with you. And one thing I love is that Neutrogena is just so with the times. These are made of seaweed, and they’re biodegradable. It’s got vitamin A in there, it’s got all kinds of ingredients, but it’s just the perfect dose, especially for a beginner using retinol. Because you kind of have to learn your own skin and what works for you, especially with retinol.
Then this is my vibe—the new Retinol Pro Plus Power Serum. This is like something that you would have to buy somewhere in a prestigious kind of place for a—I was about to say bad words—a lot of money. And you don’t have to do that anymore. Thank goodness. I love that Neutrogena is all about just making sure women have access to the good stuff in a really healthy, great way. So this bad boy is no joke—this will change your skin. It will reduce fine lines, believe me. And this is formulated for you to be able to use every night. Personally, I like it every night, but sometimes I do it every other night.”
What drew you to Neutrogena?
“When I was a little peanut girl, my sisters and I loved the beauty bar. That to us was as fancy as you could get and we loved it. There used to be this Neutrogena shampoo challenge where you would wash your hair with Neutrogena for two weeks, and it would just leave your hair feeling so great, and we would literally get it in our Christmas stockings because it was fancy, you know.
The Garner girl aesthetic, as my kids say, the aesthetic was no makeup, we weren’t allowed to wear makeup, we weren’t allowed to have our ears pierced. I got mine pierced this year at 49. We weren’t allowed to have our nails done or have anything in our hair like layers. So we looked like really nice Amish girls. And if you’re going to do that, then you want to have great skin, you have to count on that, so that has always just been kind of my favorite thing about Neutrogena is that it’s just about making you feel great. It’s about your skin being great. It’s about taking care of yourself and everybody being able to take care of themselves.”
