Talking with Jennifer Aniston on the phone is a surreal experience. Her voice and manner — the way she stops and restarts before completing a thought — are instantly familiar. In fact, once I conquered my nerves, I felt as though I was chatting with a close friend (seriously, no pun intended). And by the time her publicist gently nudged us to wrap things up, I almost bristled at the intrusion. Who is this person ending our phone call? I was sure Aniston and I were this close to scheduling a girl's night and a mask session.
In retrospect, Aniston probably makes everyone (not just journalists) feel that way. Part of her power, her endless appeal, is her willingness to speak openly and honestly (even on hot-water subjects, like her professed love of tanning). Oh, and her pampering sessions are strictly reserved for Sundays, with her husband, Justin Theroux. He's open and honest, too — especially about his love of a good mask.
Ahead, Jen (I feel like I can call her that now) talks skin care, beauty regrets, and getting facials on the set of Friends.
Tell us about your daily skin-care routine.
"[It's] very simple, very consistent. Aveeno just came out with the Absolutely Ageless line. It’s incredible. I use their Nourishing Cleanser in the morning; they finally have a serum now — love me a good serum. So cleanser, serum, daily moisturizer, which has to have sunscreen in it. Their daily is SPF 30, which is great. That’s it."
Speaking of SPF, you have such amazing skin — how have you maintained it? What are your thoughts on tanning?
"Well, that’s a very tough subject for me. I know, I know, me and my tanning… Growing up in New York City, I would always go to visit family out in California, and I just loved how it felt to suddenly have sun exposure. I loved it, loved it, loved it. But boy, it has its downfalls. You've got to pay the consequences. It was in the days when we would slather baby oil all over our bodies, and I wish someone had made me wear sunscreen. I really do. [I believe] we do need a certain amount of sun, because of vitamin D. That's really important. I think it’s just about not abusing it, and taking care with proper protection. "Also, my dad’s side of the family has really amazing skin. My grandmother, until the day she died, had the softest skin in the world. I kind of lucked out with the Greek genetics in that way... But I’ve also always taken really good care of my skin. It’s one of those things my mom beat into my head. 'Take care of your skin; put on your moisturizer.'"
Besides the lack of sunscreen when you were younger, do you have any beauty regrets?
"I always jokingly say the entire decade of the '80s was a regret — on the hair front. That was just not a good look. Who was guiding us? Why were you letting us color our hair boysenberry and shaving it down to the scalp? Just go back and look at A Flock of Seagulls or Kajagoogoo, and then you’ll go, 'What on earth…'"
It seems like some of that stuff is coming back — at least dyeing your hair different interesting colors.
"Oh yeah, the trend of pink and green. But [those are] pretty colors, I have to say."
Cate Blanchett just dyed her hair pink; would you ever?
"Whoa, Cate is on the cutting edge. I don't know, maybe? Nothing is impossible, but I don't see that in my future."
Did you learn any beauty lessons on the set of Friends?
"I discovered the oxygen facial when I was doing Friends. My makeup artist had her own little oxygen tank, and before we’d go into hair and makeup for the show she’d give us a 10-minute little facial."
Do you still do them?
"I do love oxygen facials when I can get to them. I think they’re very good for us, our skin."
What beauty treatments do you love the most?
"I recently discovered Clear + Brilliant, a makeup artist told me about it, and it’s fabulous. It’s not a heavy laser, just a really light but effective laser treatment to even out skin tone, tighten up the pores, and give you a refresh."
I have to ask about your husband. He has such great hair, too. Have you ever learned anything from him when it comes to beauty?
"[laughs] That is so funny. No. [But] he uses my beauty products, that is for sure. He’ll just go right in there. We have a good Sunday-night mask together. That is when I put my Restore mask in my hair, I’ll do a scrub, and I’ll do a sheet mask or a cream mask. It’s all about maintenance, baby."
Tell us about your daily skin-care routine.
"[It's] very simple, very consistent. Aveeno just came out with the Absolutely Ageless line. It’s incredible. I use their Nourishing Cleanser in the morning; they finally have a serum now — love me a good serum. So cleanser, serum, daily moisturizer, which has to have sunscreen in it. Their daily is SPF 30, which is great. That’s it."
Speaking of SPF, you have such amazing skin — how have you maintained it? What are your thoughts on tanning?
"Well, that’s a very tough subject for me. I know, I know, me and my tanning… Growing up in New York City, I would always go to visit family out in California, and I just loved how it felt to suddenly have sun exposure. I loved it, loved it, loved it. But boy, it has its downfalls. You've got to pay the consequences. It was in the days when we would slather baby oil all over our bodies, and I wish someone had made me wear sunscreen. I really do. [I believe] we do need a certain amount of sun, because of vitamin D. That's really important. I think it’s just about not abusing it, and taking care with proper protection. "Also, my dad’s side of the family has really amazing skin. My grandmother, until the day she died, had the softest skin in the world. I kind of lucked out with the Greek genetics in that way... But I’ve also always taken really good care of my skin. It’s one of those things my mom beat into my head. 'Take care of your skin; put on your moisturizer.'"
Besides the lack of sunscreen when you were younger, do you have any beauty regrets?
"I always jokingly say the entire decade of the '80s was a regret — on the hair front. That was just not a good look. Who was guiding us? Why were you letting us color our hair boysenberry and shaving it down to the scalp? Just go back and look at A Flock of Seagulls or Kajagoogoo, and then you’ll go, 'What on earth…'"
It seems like some of that stuff is coming back — at least dyeing your hair different interesting colors.
"Oh yeah, the trend of pink and green. But [those are] pretty colors, I have to say."
Cate Blanchett just dyed her hair pink; would you ever?
"Whoa, Cate is on the cutting edge. I don't know, maybe? Nothing is impossible, but I don't see that in my future."
Did you learn any beauty lessons on the set of Friends?
"I discovered the oxygen facial when I was doing Friends. My makeup artist had her own little oxygen tank, and before we’d go into hair and makeup for the show she’d give us a 10-minute little facial."
Do you still do them?
"I do love oxygen facials when I can get to them. I think they’re very good for us, our skin."
What beauty treatments do you love the most?
"I recently discovered Clear + Brilliant, a makeup artist told me about it, and it’s fabulous. It’s not a heavy laser, just a really light but effective laser treatment to even out skin tone, tighten up the pores, and give you a refresh."
I have to ask about your husband. He has such great hair, too. Have you ever learned anything from him when it comes to beauty?
"[laughs] That is so funny. No. [But] he uses my beauty products, that is for sure. He’ll just go right in there. We have a good Sunday-night mask together. That is when I put my Restore mask in my hair, I’ll do a scrub, and I’ll do a sheet mask or a cream mask. It’s all about maintenance, baby."