Zoe Saldaña, 47, says she wears less makeup as she’s gotten older.
“I don’t wear makeup. I can’t remember the last time,” Saldaña told Harper’s Bazaar in an interview published on Monday.
“When I was younger, the idea of walking out without makeup — I would always do the no-makeup makeup thing. I would spend so much time mastering that. And now it literally is no makeup, except mascara. I’ll put on mascara because I do need that little volume,” Saldaña said.
Earlier this year, Saldaña became the highest-grossing actor of all time, with her films grossing more than $15.47 billion worldwide.
She says lessons from her family still shape the way she takes care of herself.
“I think it was like my grandma, and my mom too. It’s just hygiene, good hygiene. To have a clean mind, a clean heart, and a clean body are all imperative things to living a good life,” Saldaña said.
In her family, beauty comes down to cleanliness, shaped in part by her Caribbean upbringing. “It’s just, it’s a lifestyle for us. Caribbean peoples, you know, it’s so hot in the Caribbean, so you’re constantly taking showers,” she said.
Saldaña added that her “less is more” philosophy stems from her mother.
“My mom did not believe in overwhelming our bodies and our systems with too many products. So for her, it was as natural as possible,” she said. “But also, there was that one thing that worked. Let’s just stick to that one thing, and let’s not overstimulate our senses.”
She’s also not the only celebrity who has embraced a more minimal approach to makeup.
Alicia Keys has long been open about going makeup-free. In 2016, Keys wrote an essay about her decision to go barefaced for the now-defunct Lenny Letter, a weekly newsletter and website created by Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner.
“I hope to God it’s a revolution. ‘Cause I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing,” Keys wrote.
Pamela Anderson has also spoken about how she stopped wearing makeup after the death of her longtime makeup artist, Alexis Vogel.
“She was the best. And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup,” Anderson told Elle in 2023.
