Emmy Rossum Plays 20-ish Beauty Questions With Us

If anyone knows the value of makeup that works, it's celebrities. And who can blame them? With a million cameras going off every time they step foot on a red carpet, it's no surprise that stars (and their makeup artists) have to find the products that really deliver. Just check Gigi Hadid's trick for just-right lipstick, the highlighter that Selena Gomez walks nearly every carpet in, or the lash brand that's behind every stars' fluttery eyelashes. The bar is high, so when Emmy Rossum partnered up with Burt's Bees for its I Am Not Synthetic campaign, it only reinforced what we knew to be true: the all-natural beauty line is a must.

We caught up with the Shameless star over a lightning round of our Big Beauty Questions to talk more about sustainable beauty, the nail polish she swears by, and, fittingly, the shameless beauty habits she just can't let go.

What's your favorite thing about natural beauty?

That I can be as safe with what I’m putting on my body as what I’m putting in my body. We have such a focus on health in our society. In terms of longevity and exercise, and gluten free, paleo, sugar free, dairy free, almond milk—I can’t even keep up. But when it comes to beauty products and what we put on our body, oftentimes we’re trying to achieve a natural look with products that aren’t natural. That's what I love about this line—it works because it’s natural, not despite it.

What's one beauty trend you love, but would never try?

Black lipstick. I like it on Pinterest all the time, but then I’ll never do it.

What’s one beauty trend you wish you had never tried?

Putting Swarovski crystals on my face for a red carpet event. It just looked terrible. It was a fun idea, where it was like, 'Oh, what if we—?' And then, no.

What's one beauty rule you think is bullshit?

That face oil makes you break out. I love it, especially as we’re transitioning into colder months. I'll use it everywhere: cuticles, elbows, even sometimes over my makeup a little bit, to add a dewy look, or to refresh my makeup as the afternoon goes on.

What is one beauty rule you swear by?

Always using a towelette to remove my makeup before I go to sleep. Or sometimes even at lunch between scenes if I have a lot of time. Or if I’ve put makeup on in the morning and then I’m going to go out in the evening. I’ll take it fully off and redo it, I’m not going to keep putting more stuff on top.

What's your shameless bad beauty habit?

I pick at my nails, I've peeled a bunch of gel manicures off. I stopped getting gels because of it.

What’s your favorite color to wear on your nails right now?

I’m very into Essie Marshmallow, which is a white-white. And I like the traditional red A-List and dark red Wicked. Just standard, keep it simple.

What’s one thing you wish you could steal from your Shameless character Fiona Gallagher?

Her ease with her own body. I feel that in our society, everywhere you look, at social media, most advertising, there’s this kind of homogenized idea of what beauty is. It looks a certain way, it’s a certain size, it sounds a certain way, everything is filtered and Snapchatted, and there are little hearts and butterflies around our heads. It's hard to see anything that’s real. I think she, Fiona as a character, is very comfortable in her own skin. She’s comfortable with herself, who she is, and her body. And I think she’s much more comfortable with herself than I am even with myself.

Love that. Which actually brings us to this: What is one thing you wish you could change about Hollywood beauty perceptions?

Everything. But definitely the idea [of that homogeny]...I think we’re starting to break that mold. We’re seeing more diversity, we’re seeing women in different shapes and sizes get larger roles. And it's really important to break that ceiling in that way, and broaden the definition of what beautiful is and lean into that.

What's your favorite emoji?

My favorite emoji? I don’t use emojis that much, if I’m being perfectly honest. I’m more into the Marco Polo app, and sending videos back and forth to my friends. I do them a lot with my co-stars, so I would say I’m more into apps than I am into emojis.

Fill in the blank: "I love my hair..."

...on vacation. Usually when I come out of the salt water, it’s the craziest and the biggest. I’ve never struggled with volume, because I have a lot of hair, but it took me many, many years to embrace my curls.

What's your best curly hair advice?

Mousse! Mousse, I love mousse. I like to dry it with a microfiber towel, I’m big into them. I don’t know if they work, but I’ve convinced myself that they do. And then scrunching with mousse and letting air dry.

What's your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?

I have a breathing app called Breath Pacer. When I’m stressed out, I actually find myself forgetting to breathe. So almost like in yoga, where you all breathe together, this just helps you take deeper breaths for a minute. Afterwards you feel more oxygen in your head, you feel a little bit more centered.

And do you just pull it out whenever you’re having a moment where you need a time-out?

Yeah, if I feel frustrated with anything then I just gave myself a little time-out, a little oxygen, and then I re-approach the situation with a clearer head.

You have $20 and free roam of a drugstore. What do you buy?

Ooh. Candy, a magazine—am I on a desert island?

Sure, you’re on a desert island.

A razor, and lipstick, because I can do a lot with lipstick. A glossy lipstick like Burt's Bees: I can use it as kind of a blush, I can use it as an eyeshadow, I could write signs to ask for people to come rescue me if I’m on a desert island.

That’s exactly what you need. What color is your favorite right now?

I like to mix lipsticks, so I make my own little special color. I’m wearing a mix of Peony and Nude Rain.

So pretty. Do you watch the lipstick smashing videos on Instagram ever? They're weirdly soothing.

Oh, interesting. No, I’m more into pimple popping videos. Those are really disgusting. It’s really gnarly.

What's your favorite getting ready song?

It’s usually either old Frank Sinatra or Rihanna and Jay-Z. It’s one or the other. And now it starts to segue into old ‘50s Christmas music. As it’s starting to get cold, I’ll transition into Ella Fitzgerald Christmas music.

What’s your quick solution for when you feel a zit coming on?

Pray [laughs]. Call lots of people and complain about it, and freak out about it, and try to sleep on a clean pillow case. And sleep with your hair in a soft scrunchie. Keeping your hair away from your face is key.

Screw, marry, kill: mascara, lipstick, highlighter?

Marry lipstick, screw mascara, and kill highlighter. I could do without it. I could use an oil.

What's your favorite place for beauty inspiration?

Probably Pinterest. Sometimes on Pinterest I’ll just put in, 'Marion Cotillard looking good in Cannes,' and just look at it for a few minutes, and then I’ll feel happier.

When do you end up looking at Pinterest?

Usually if I have something coming up that I’m going to, I’m looking at how other people looked in a yellow dress, or how other people looking in a such-and-such dress, and how they did their makeup with it. I’m just making sure I’m not going to make a horrible mistake [laughs].

Who are the women who inspire you the most right now?

Women who are working in tech and startups. My friend, Whitney [Wolfe Herd], who works for Bumble. Katie Couric, Chelsea Handler, who just left her show to become an activist. Hillary Clinton, Solange, Pamela Adlon, who writes and directs Better Things. Lots of different women.

How much time do you spend getting ready?

For a normal day? About 15 minutes. For a thing-thing, or a date night, could be 45 to an hour. Hair can take a good 35 minutes to dry it and style it. And then I like to take my time with makeup. Sometimes I’ll watch a show at the same time as I’m doing it, and have a glass of wine, and get ready to go out.

Do you have a favorite getting ready show you’ve been watching lately?

Anything that I’m binge watching at the time. I just watched Mindhunter, which was really good. I’m watching Better Things, I’m watching Survivor—I’m still watching Survivor. I love reality shows.

What's the biggest beauty mistake you’ve ever made?

Popping pimples. Don’t ever do it, it’ll just leave a scar. Do not do it. I just remember the night before I started shooting The Day After Tomorrow, I had a huge pimple right between my eyebrows. I put a warm cloth on it, I did everything right. I used two little Q-tips to pop it, and then the next day I woke up and there was a huge scab between my eyes. It looked like I had a third eye! It probably would have been better if I had just left it alone. Such is the case. It’s very tempting, you’ve gotta sit on your hands and leave it alone.

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