Leighton Meester Talks Gossip Girl, BB Creams, & Love At First Sight
You've always been a big proponent of going makeup-free when you are off-camera. How would you advise women to work up the confidence to try that themselves?"It has a lot to do with my job, [which] entails wearing makeup every single day and that’s something you get really sick of. I remember before I was comfortable, I would look at my skin and think 'oh I need makeup' or 'I should pencil in my brows.' You get used to [looking at] yourself wearing makeup, but makeup isn’t really benefiting your skin. [I would advise women] to give it a trial period — your skin will glow in a way you haven’t seen before.
"I recently tried BB cream — the Maybelline one from the drugstore — and I really liked it a lot. It’s not a total makeup look, but it’s benefiting your skin, so if I want to look if I put some effort in, at least I know my skin is protected from the sun. I do like makeup, but putting on a face to go out — I’m not that good at it. So, having a very quick makeup routine is beneficial."
That must make skin care really important, for you. What's your routine like?
"Depends on the day. If I’m really busy, I carry around travel toner. If you’re sweating or you go to exercise or you want to wash your face but don’t want to go through a whole routine, it's good to have toner. I'm also a big advocate of eye cream. As much as the rest of my face can be kind of oily, I get dry around my eyes. I love Vasseur, Tata Harper, and Ren. Vasseur has a really good product called Day Glow — it's kind of like BB cream, so you don't need any foundation on your face and it has sunscreen."
What are your top three beauty must-haves?
"My top hair product is Moroccanoil because my hair goes through a lot and I need to protect it, nourish it, and treat it. Plus, it also smells really good. For skin care, I would say I love the entire product line from Vasseur but I especially love the Green Tea Skin Rejuvenating Serum. It’s a magical serum that does everything. I love an eyelash curler because a little bit of that goes a long way. I'm also a fan of red lipstick because if you’re going to put anything on to make a statement, a red lip [is the best]. I found one in the H&M Lanvin collaboration that I’m holding on to like treasure."
We spoke with Blake a few weeks ago about the end of Gossip Girl and she likened the experience to college, in that now she is facing the "real world." Do you feel the same way?
"I think the best part is that now I can pretty much do whatever I want with my life. I can visit my family as much as I want and be open for other projects. That was one of the biggest barriers over the past six years. I think you sort of get into a comfort zone when you are on a show for so long and you stop being stimulated by the character. As much as I loved the people I work with, I'm ready to move on. I don't want to be a Blair-like character in a movie, ever.
"I want to be challenged and stimulated. Doing The Oranges [Leighton's newest movie], was the best experience of my life. It changes a lot for me. It inspired me to figure out a different way of doing things. Working with [director] Julian Farino and Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney — being around all these incredibly talented people was really exciting. I don't think I would consider doing a TV show for quite a while, but I would never say never."
We, for one, can't wait to see what's next for Leighton, as long as she promises she won't be a stranger once GG signs off for good this spring. Pinkie swear, Leighton?
Photo: Courtesy of Vera Wang
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