"I was born in London, but I live in Los Angeles now. I don't think I chose to make the move for career purposes—in reality, I think I just wanted more space. I very purposefully chose to live somewhere completely different than where I grew up—I'm very interested in how your environment affects your ideas and work and everything. You'd think that in London or New York, there's so much energy around you, and that would translate to getting work done... But I think I get more done here. There's more mental space. I’ve been here for the past eight months, and my hair goes lighter, and I have freckles, and my eyes are bluer. It’s really strange. A lot changes when you're constantly in the sun.
SKINCARE
I love beauty in the sense that I love ritual. Having that self-care moment has always been something I've appreciated—when you travel and work all the time, it's amazing how that can ground you. Recently, I've been using more natural and organic products, and I'm trying to be more conscious of where they come from. I think it's made a huge difference in the way I get ready, and the enjoyment I get out of those things.
In the morning, I wash my face with the Rose and Camellia Cleanser from Pai. After that I have this Marie Veronique Treatment Mist, which I love. It's a light spray toner, and I feel like it's good for moisture. The minute I get out of the shower I feel so dry, so that helps. Kristina Holey has this collaboration with Marie Veronique, and I use all of the serums from it. First I use the Soothing B3 serum, and then I apply the Barrier Restore. They're super light, so the idea is that you layer them, but I just use a tiny amount of each. Marie Veronique also has this tinted sunscreen that I love. I've always been protective with the sun, but since I've been in California, it's even more important.
It's funny, but I'm kind of scared of retinol, in a pharmaceutical way. They seem so strong. But the Marie Veronique one is really light and gentle. I feel it, and sometimes my skin will be a little red after I put it on, but I'll notice the next day that my overall skin tone looks better. I follow that with lots of sleep. I'll throw in the Marie Veronique Intensive Repair at night, too. That brings down a lot of redness and everyday wear and tear. Only recently have I found a mask that I like—the Silver Mask from Julisis is really moisturizing, which is perfect if you've just been in the sun, or for winter in general.
HAIR
I've been going to this salon for the last three years called Julien Farel, and it's on the Upper East Side. I get it cut when I'm here—I love them, they're the best. This is my natural red, but sometimes I'll have them do a single process to brighten the color. The salon has its own brand of shampoo and conditioner that I use. Or I'll use Rahua—the Rahua Conditioning Mask is really great.
My hair is super thick, it puffs out. I never use any heat on it. I might use a blow dryer [with cold air] to get it to a damp state, but the only time I blow dry it is when somebody else is doing it. I try to keep it conditioned. Shu Uemura has a great hair oil, or sometimes I'll use the Bumble and bumble Surf Spray. There is this thing I'm dying to try—there's a place in LA called Striiike and they just started this treatment, which is the opposite of having your hair straightened. Long term, it gives you this really nice wave. I'm also dying to try their lash lift.
MAKEUP
From the age of nine, I've been getting my makeup done—that's pretty weird. [Laughs] I was a big tomboy as a kid, and by the time I actually wanted to start wearing makeup, I had been wearing it for work for years. It was fun, though. All of the makeup artists on the Harry Potter films were lovely and made sure our skin was nourished before we got slapped around with makeup. And then there was my mom, who had a very minimal and natural way of putting makeup on. That's always been an inspiration of mine.
My skin can get pretty red, and I've noticed that some makeup products are too pale and too yellow—I stick to Marie Veronique's tinted sunscreen and RMS Un Cover Up in 00 on spots. Then I put some W3ll People bronzer on and blend it around. I love that. Not every bronzer looks like a real tan, but this is just the perfect shade for me. And I find that with natural makeup you don't need to work as hard to blend it. If I want more pigment in my cheeks, I use Glossier Cloud Paint in Haze. I've found that blushes that have a little bit of blue or gray in them look best on me.
Funnily enough, there aren't that many brow products made for redheads—I usually do my eyebrows with the Laura Mercier Eye Brow Pencil in Auburn and follow that with Glossier Boy Brow in Clear. My mascara is Kjaer Weis. I think it's so difficult to find a good mascara, but I never need to reapply that one.
Sometimes you just need to put on red lipstick and go out. My favorite is the Nars Velvet Matte Cruella. It's the most amazing shade ever, and the pencil is really easy to apply—I can't do lipstick [from the bullet] or else it strays off. I have another pencil from Nars that's a bit more peachy, and I wear that sometimes. I go through different phases of lips—little momentary transformations. I love those.
BODY
On my body, I use Dr. Bronner's Almond Oil with Lavender. I don't really like body lotion, but sometimes I do like to mix Sun Potion Shea Butter some Jiva Apoha oils, if I have time. I love taking baths, too—in Venice [Beach] I have a great bathtub. The Love Bath Salt from Cap Beauty is great, and I also have one called Dr. Singha's Mustard Bath. It’s bright yellow and it heats you up—I've survived on it during New York winters. And if you’re ever stiff or sore, it’s amazing.
I go through phases of taking care of my nails—I need to file them more, but they grow really fast. There’s a shade by OPI called Malaga Wine that I’ve probably been wearing since I got my first pedicure, or else I'll buff them. I intended to get a nice manicure and pedicure before coming [to this shoot]. Then life happened." [Laughs]
—as told to ITG
Bonnie Wright photographed by Tom Newton in New York on April 24, 2017.
