Plain and simple, Rebecca Romijn just gets it. The 42-year-old star is not only a mother to twin girls, but a wife, an actress, a model, a lover of dogs AND cats, as well as a mascara-obsessed Pilates addict. Guys want to marry her (sorry boys, she's taken) and girls want to be her. And the best part? She doesn't even know it! Or at least acts like she doesn't. Rebecca has taken things full circle in her role as GSN's host of Skin Wars, a show where contestants compete with their skills in body art. From being the very first supermodel to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated in nothing but paint, to drenching herself head to toe in blue makeup not once, not twice, but three times for her role as Mystique in X-Men, Rebecca has proven she is far from basic. In fact, the star is one of the coolest, most down-to-earth, game-for-anything entertainers we've met.
1. Be honest. How do you manage to look so chic and effortless all the damn time?
Rebecca Romijn: Effortless? Ha! This is literally the fifth dress I've worn today. I don't own any of them! I have my dear friends who touch me up with hair and makeup, and that is my secret. Nothing beyond that. It's all for show.
2. So for a day like today, did you already have these dresses picked out?
RR: I've been working out of town and I actually got to our first show this morning 15 minutes ahead of time and we did the fastest fitting ever. It was like a lightning fitting and I picked out all my dresses for the day. And this is what I picked for BuzzFeed! Can you believe it? It couldn't be more perfect. With this yellow? Come on! I look like I'm in the tropics. Perfect!
3. When it comes to fashion, what do you feel sexiest in?
RR: I'm an old school, wear my husband's T-shirt kind of girl. I would say that's what I feel sexiest in. It depends on what the deal is, but what in my heart of hearts I feel sexiest in, it's got to be an article of clothing that belongs to my husband. It just feels good.
4. What's one fashion no-no that drives you up the wall?
RR: CROCS! Actually I take that back. Men in flip-flops. My husband wears flip-flops every once in awhile because, you know, we live in southern California. Every once in awhile is OK. There are certain situations, like if you're running out to do the garbage, you get a free pass on flip-flops. I don't know why I feel so strongly about this. I guess maybe because women take care of their feet more. A lot of men don't take care of their feet...and I don't want to look at that.
5. At what age did you start wearing makeup?
RR: I started messin' around with makeup when I was about 11 or so. You know, Wet n Wild. No. 528 lipstick was my color.
6. What color was it? Pink? Red? Blue?
RR: It's a frosty pink. Wet n Wild is very frosty. A lot of frosts in the Wet n Wild world.
7. Who taught you how to apply makeup?
RR: Nobody! I grew up in Berkeley, California. I don't think anybody knows how to put on makeup in Berkeley. Pretty sure. Still. At least I've never seen it. I was self-taught. I'm not saying I was good, but I played around with it.
8. Name one makeup product you think you'd die without?
RR: Mascara. Lip gloss! Ah, it has to be a toss-up between lip gloss and mascara. I love O-Gloss by Smashbox. It comes out clear, but then according to your body heat it turns pink. I love the texture of it, I love the color it turns. And then there are a lot of drugstore lipsticks and lip glosses, like pencils. Like, Clinique makes those Chubby Sticks that I love. I love Whole Lotta Honey by Clinique, but Revlon now does them. And you know who my new favorite is? Bonnie Belle. Bonnie Belle broke my heart when they stopped making Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker because that was my go-to lip color for years and years and years. And now they make a chubby stick and they've got great colors. The texture is phenomenal. And they're from the drugstore! I like telling people I'm wearing Bonne Belle.
9. Speaking of makeup, you're hosting the show Skin Wars, which is a competition for body painters, something you certainly know a thing or two about. When you were Mystique in X-Men, how long was the application process?
RR: Honestly, it felt like eternity! Nine hours on the first one. By the third one we got it down to in the seven-hour range. But the first time they did my makeup test it was a 12-hour test and I did not think I was going to survive the experience. I really didn't.
10. How the hell did you get it all off?
RR: The Mystique costume that I wore was 75% prosthetics. So a lot of it was giant silicone pieces and I had to put on a fresh new set every single time. I think they made like 30 sets for each X-Men that I did — there were three — and I would put on a fresh set every single time. And because so much work went into making these prosthetic pieces, they were always begging me to be as careful as possible taking them off, but I was like, "GET IT OFF ME!" It was crazy-making.
11. I feel like that would be exhausting. Was it not?
RR: I actually read an interview with Jim Carrey when he did The Grinch and he said he had a psychologist on call for mental issues. When you're in that kind of makeup, it feels claustrophobic. When I read that, I completely connected with him. There were many moments when I felt like I needed to talk to somebody. It's sticky. I would ask them to leave my hands clear for as long as possible, because it was like my only connection to sanity. Leaving my palms clean was all I had!
12. You were also the first model to pose in just body paint for Sports Illustrated. What kind of preparation does it take to be on the cover of SI?
RR: Quite a bit of exercise! This is going to sound old school, but a good ol' fashioned suntan. Now we can fake it a little bit, but there's nothing like the real deal. And a good hair day. You're usually shooting those covers in humidity and in tropical whether, so you never knows what's gonna happen.
13. I would imagine you had to stand in some pretty awkward positions during the body paint application for Mystique and SI?
RR: As in bend over and spread 'em? Yep.
14. Let's get back to beauty! What type of face makeup do you like to wear at night? A chic smoky eye?
RR: Yes, makeup! I love contour. The Nars sculpting powder is my favorite. I'm pretty good at contouring. Not bad at it! I like a little liquid eyeliner and a lot of mascara. I'm a mascara whore.
15. What mascara do you use?
RR: I do a combination. I do a traditional mascara. I do a lot of curling. You have to curl way at the base, and then you have to curl down the shaft, and then you have to curl again at the tip. But you have to take your time with it. If you can heat up your curler, even better! So I use a traditional mascara and I really coat it on there, and then I double coat with Kiss Me, that latex mascara that comes off in tubes. I coat that over the traditional because it makes your lashes even thicker and does not smudge. Especially on the bottom.
16. Do you ever wear fake eyelashes?
RR: I use fake eyelashes for work, but I can't do them myself. I don't know how. It's too hard. There are a lot of things I can't do myself, and that's one of them.
17. What is your nightly skin regimen?
RR: I'm not somebody who wears makeup all the time, and when I do wear it I take it off well. But when I don't wear makeup, I don't always wash my face at night. I'm ashamed to admit it! I think there's something to be said about letting your natural oils do their job too. I mean, I always rinse and I always use a washcloth, but I don't always clean my skin the way everyone is told to clean their skin every day. And I use something called Oxygen Plasma that I love. It's something amazing that I feel like is a miracle for your skin.
18. What is one makeup product you used in the '90s that you wish you never had?
RR: My very first concert was the Prince Purple Rain concert and I went to Wet n Wild and bought every single purple product they had. PURPLE. I just layered on as much purple Wet n Wild makeup that I could possibly get on my face. I'm not even sure if that was the '90s. It might have been the '80s! Whatever it was, it was bad.
19. Do you let your daughters play with makeup at all?
RR: I think it's OK to let them experiment. I mean, I'm not trying to let them go to school in it! But I feel like makeup is a real expression of yourself and it's something that everyone should be allowed to play with. They love digging into my makeup now and of course when I see them running around with a Chanel eyeliner I'm like, "Get back here!" They draw on their skin. I think they think they can re-create Skin Wars at home with my expensive makeup. That's not OK. If they're using my expensive makeup, it's not OK. But they're allowed to play with theirs. I've bought them some cheap things that they're allowed to experiment with. Its fun!
20. Looking back, what is one thing you'd tell your twentysomething self?
RR: To lighten up.
21. Being a mom of twins, a model, an actress, and a wife, do you ever find time for yourself?
RR: It's always a struggle, but I figure it out. I always make time for a hike and for a massage. A massage comes first. If I have to pick between a hike or a massage, I'll take the massage.
22. What's your favorite meal to cook?
RR: I just started cooking within the last three years. I waited as long as I could because I knew that I would have to once I had children. So I really only started cooking like three years ago, and I like to cook. I don't like the mess that you have to clean up afterwards, so I get lazy sometimes and I order out. We go out to a lot of meals. I don't know, I've got a few things that I like to cook. I like to make a big soup that'll last for a while. It's tough to find something that my kids like, that I also like. So there's a broccoli cheddar soup that we all like, so I'll make a big thing that'll last. It's easy. I'm all about easy!
23. So what were you eating for all those years of being a non-cooker?
RR: Coming from work, grabbing something. Grabbing things on the fly, you know how it is. My go-to is sushi, so if I need to, I'll call in something on my way home and run in and grab it. There are some prepared foods at my local supermarket that I like. I usually don't really like kale as a general rule, but I found a kale salad that I love, so I eat that a lot. And I might add something to it, like egg or chicken or something.
24. Every girl loves a good cheat day. What's your ultimate cheat meal?
RR: My ultimate cheat day meal involves onion rings, a cheeseburger, and vodka. And a milkshake, because vodka and milkshakes go together so well. I dip my onion rings in ranch dressing and ketchup. Heaven.
25. Who is your model of the moment right now? Cara? Kendall? Gigi?
RR: I mean Cara, it's hard to argue with that one. I love Jessica Hart. Lara Stone! Lara Stone is it for me. I love her! I love gap teeth. I'm a sucker for a gap tooth.
26. What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
RR: What's popping to my mind right now is Sir Ian McKellen once asked me if I wanted to have children and if I did, not to wait because he had seen too many actresses miss their chance. I've thought about that a lot because it's really tough to balance work and kids, but I'm so glad that I've done it. That I'm a parent and that I have these beautiful children.
27. How would you rank your twenties, thirties, and forties?
RR: My twenties were the most fun. Thirties, pretty tough. And forties are kind of tough, but I don't care as much as I did in my thirties. I don't have as many shits to give. I don't have as many fucks to give. It doesn't matter as much. That's the best thing about getting older, you realize it doesn't matter as much as you thought it did.
28. Would you advise your daughters to follow in your footsteps when it comes to modeling and acting?
RR: Not really. I mean, I wouldn't tell them to steer clear of it. Our rule is that no one's allowed to be professional until they finish school. That's number one. Not until they're 18. They can do whatever they want once they turn 18, because ultimately I don't have anything to say about it legally anyway. But they're not allowed to start working for a paycheck until they've finished school. I think if they want to embarrass themselves they should do it on a small stage at school, and not for the world to see. They'll thank me down the road!
29. At 18 you up and moved to Paris. Would you be opposed to your daughters doing the same?
RR: I would be very, very nervous for them, but again, I don't think there's anything I could do about it. I also have two very willful children and they're gonna do what they're gonna do. But to a certain extent, its kind of like how I was as well. I mean, I know how I was so that's probably how they'll be and I don't want to be the one to dash their dreams, but they've gotta finish school first. The thought makes me very nervous!
30. What's one piece of dating advice that you'll pass on to your daughters?
RR: Oh God, that scares me. You're torturing me! That they feel like they can confide anything in me. Because I'm not sure that they're going to be able to tell their dad a lot about their dating life. He's not going to stand for it. But I want them to be able to be open with me.
31. What's the most meaningful piece of jewelry you own?
RR: Oh, definitely my wedding ring.
32. Cats or dogs?
RR: Both!
33. Do you work out or are you just #blessed?
RR: Ideally I would like to work out every day, but that never happens. I do Pilates four or five times a week. I try to get on treadmill for a half hour, I do Pilates, I hike, I ride bikes if I can. But for the most part it's a lot of cardio and Pilates.
34. Describe your typical Friday night.
RR: Boy, how times have changed! These days it's with my kids most of the time. I pick them up from school and we usually go out to a nice little dinner. If it's summertime, we have a nice little evening swim in the pool. Watch a movie! We saw two this weekend. Flashdance and Footloose! And then downloaded the soundtrack to Flashdance and watched my girls do that all weekend long.
35. What do you like most about being a mom?
RR: Getting to introduce my kids to the things that got us here. They're gonna listen to the stuff that's on the radio with their friends and there's nothing I can do about that, but I get to introduce them to the music that came before. Same thing with books, same thing with movies. Showing them important movies, getting them to read important books, and getting them familiar with great artists.
36. Last question of the day. When is Rebecca Romijn the happiest?
RR: That's easy! When I am surrounded by my kids, my husband, my dogs, and my cats.
