Before you go out and blow your mortgage on lavishly packaged serums and creams that promise the sun, moon and stars, let Jamie Lee Curtis have a moment of your time. The actress and author — who turns 60 in November — has an almost ethereal glow to her skin. And yes, she has laugh lines, proudly so.
So tell us, Ms. Curtis, what's your secret, aside from good living and satisfying work?
"You ready? It’s going to shake you to your core. Sea Breeze and Nivea. Water and sleep. Sea Breaze is that astringent. I’ve been using that my whole life," said Curtis, who then rubs Nivea all over her face and body.
Sea Breeze Facial Cleanser for Regular Skin, Pack of 3, $12, Amazon
You can also buy a single container at Walmart.
NIVEA Essentially Enriched Body Lotion, $5, Amazon
It's also sold at Walmart and Target.
Her skin care dynamic duo costs less than $10. But she, too, has “fallen prey to advertising” for very expensive products. “I spent $800 on a big jar of a cream. It didn’t do anything! It doesn’t do anything! The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t do anything for you. It’s a scam to make money."
If that sounds like calling it like she sees it, then Curtis is just fine with it. It's why she wrote her latest children's book, about a mom who gets a selfie stick, and can't put it down. Her advice, in so much as she's willing to dispense it? "Come up with a family plan. You set it up," she said, of smartphone use, whether that means no phones during the houses between dinner and bedtime, or something else that works for your family.
"Me, Myselfie & I: A Cautionary Tale," $10, Amazon
She's also learned from experienced just how quickly you can become attached to your device.
"My daughter’s fiancé — I just said that in public for the first time! — gave me a selfie stick for Christmas as a joke gift. I was so delighted with it. I got it working. I went outside by myself. Right away, it kicked off something in to me. It lasted about a week and then it was gone forever. I saw how quickly you could just become obsessed by it," she said.
I don’t have a Ph.D. in being a parent. I have my experience of being a parent.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The name of the game is balance. When I share that my son all too often laments that I'm on phone so much that I'm distracted and only half-listening when he's telling me about recess or what he did during circle time, Curtis understands. "We’re putting a device between our bond and I’m concerned about it," she said.
"My daughter and my son are both legal adults. The age that they are now, the phone may be in their pocket, but it’s not on the dinner table. When they were teenagers, that was more of an issue and had to be discussed. I don’t have a Ph.D. in being a parent. I have my experience of being a parent."
Curtis, a photographer, is no technophobe. She travels with her phone, hanging from a Bandolier, and a slew of chargers "shaped like cigars," so she can take photos.
Anker PowerCore+ Mini Lipstick-Sized Portable Charger, $20, Amazon
"Charging is crucial to me. My husband (director Christopher Guest) and I did a canoe trip for our 30th anniversary four years ago and when we traveled, I had a fanny pack — by the way, I brought back the fanny pack way before anyone else! I have my phone in my handy dandy Bandolier. I had those little chargers that look like cigars," she said. "Everyone else ran out of juice by the second day, but not me."
Bandolier Case for iPhone X, $88, Amazon
Dare we say, more power to her.
More celeb beauty bonanzas:
Judith Light soaks in these $16 bath salts every night before going to sleep
How Rose Byrne tames her 'wild and uncontrollable' hair
'Suits' star Katherine Heigl keeps this $5 moisturizer in her shower