Jennifer Garner Shares Her Beauty MVPs and Why Her Routine Is Full of Vital — Not Viral — Products (Exclusive)

Jennifer Garner could talk about sunscreen for hours. 

It’s a topic that’s very important to her. Having suffered sun damage as a kid, the Neutrogena brand ambassador for 16 years learned early that SPF was essential. 

Sunscreen is the one step in Garner's routine she never, ever skips, and always puts effort into. And now she’s got new favorites to make her routine a breeze. 

“As we round into spring, you just can't remind people enough how important it is to wear some sunscreen,” Garner tells PEOPLE, joking on the call that it’s obvious from her skin tone that she’s “a consumer of the product.”

“I love, love, love, love, love this new serum,” says Garner, 51, of the Neutrogena Invisible Daily Defense Face Serum SPF 60+. “It is an SPF for the face and it does triple duty. A girl loves things that multitask.”

This happens to prime, moisturize and protect. “Why would you not use it?” Garner says, adding that the brand does a “great job of coming up with common sense solutions.”

“Why wouldn't you use a serum that's also a moisturizer and also a primer? And why not just add SPF to it? It’s like: Boom.”

Another “smart” product in her arsenal is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist SPF 70. “It was such a big deal when you could finally spray sunscreen on,” Garner recalls, adding that these days sprays are better than ever. “This mist [provides] wonderful, even coverage.”

After years of working with the brand, Garner says the most empowering aspect of the partnership is “talking directly to women.”

All of the exposure, she says, has “caused people to come up to me and say things like, ‘I actually started wearing sunscreen because of something you said,’ or, "I didn't know what hyaluronic acid was." 

“It's empowering. Knowledge is power,” Garner says. 

In March, Neutrogena and Garner 2024 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting to shine a light on effective skincare ingredients, products and habits. Garner also shot social content with Neutrogena R+D Scientists and partners to talk about skin health. 

“I was just [in San Diego] to help educate people about what is actually going to get the job done for your skin,” Garner says of the experience. “I think these young kids that are following trends on TikTok, they’re having fun, and that’s awesome, but there’s a difference between what’s viral and what’s vital.”

While Garner stocks her home “like a showroom” for guests to indulge in while visiting, she says the emphasis is on quality, not quantity.

“My vanity is very popular, so I can't have just one of anything,” she says. “I cannot help but send people home with my favorite things.” 

Adds the star, “For women who are from 35 up, my favorite thing is to introduce them to hyaluronic acid and in a real way. The reason is, as we get older, we lose moisture in our skin. So if you can use hyaluronic acid, what it does is it binds moisture to the skin to make you dewy and plump.” Her go-to: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Cream.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The goal: to be happy with the skin you’re in.

“We should know how to feel and look as great as we can without any makeup,” she says.