'My schedule is pretty busy, so I've learned to do my makeup quickly because I prefer to sleep. [Laughs] I'll wait until the very last minute to wake up and get ready in about 20 minutes. First thing, I drink about a liter of water. Then I use Olay Regenerist Regenerating Cream Cleanser, and that really helps with the surface of my skin. I do that in the morning and at night, and then I use Olay Active Hydrating Cream to moisturize. I’ve been using Olay for many, many years, and I grew up with my family members using it. And in New York, I'll actually wash my face more because I feel the city's a dirtier place. Whereas in California, it's very dry, so I actually drink more water and moisturize more when I'm there.

I'll do my makeup in the car sometimes. In the summertime, it’s all about putting the sunscreen on, then some mascara and maybe a light eyeshadow that's in the same shade range as my lipstick—something really natural. Tom Ford has a good lipstick called Blush Nude. I also like using Chanel's Lèvres Scintillantes lip gloss.

You know, I always keep powder blush in my purse. That’s my little trick because, sometimes, you never know what the day is going to bring, and blush can really wake you up and make you look presentable. It can take you from a school pick-up to a dinner. My favorite blushes are Tom Ford's—I really like nectarine-peachy colors. It's funny because with my sisters, we all look alike, but we choose different colors of makeup we play around in. I guess I'm more classic—though I do wear purple eyeliner instead of black. It makes my eyes look greener.

And then with my hair, I like to twist it and put it in a bun. I think it looks good at home, but it doesn’t really translate when you go out. [Laughs]. I wash it and let it air dry that way. When I was a little girl—if I could have—I would have gone a year without washing my hair. I hated it, to the point where my sisters had to pay me to wash my hair. I think after experiencing that, I like to wash it every day. I shampoo and condition it every morning with Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner and then put in the Caviar Anti-Aging CC Cream, which is like a leave-in conditioner to keep it from getting to dry. It makes such a difference in my hair—I feel like it strengthens it even though I put it through a lot.

I went with a pixie cut when my daughter was really young. It was easy—I mean, it was really easy. But I missed my long hair. Especially after a long winter, all I want is sexy, summer hair. I put my hair in a wig for the Met Gala this year, and people thought I actually cut it again, but no. Sometimes it's tough with the internet—you'll do something different and get dressed up just to get cut down because they don't like your new haircut or something. But that's probably a bigger problem. [Laughs] Either way, if I were to cut my hair again, I wouldn’t cut it so short that I couldn’t put it in a ponytail.”

—as told to ITG

Katie Holmes photographed by Tom Newton.

For more of The Face, check out Olivia Wilde, Rowan Blanchard, and Kate Bosworth.