Beauty

Shailene Woodley Got Her Sense of Style — and Drinking MO — From Paris

Woodley's wisdom? Reduce waste with hand-me-down beauty products; find inspiration — any time of day — with a sip of scotch.

By

Angelique Serrano

Updated on June 3, 2022 @ 04:48PM

Actress Shailene Woodley talks through her style evolution, and explains how her love for natural remedies all began. Ever heard of a product-swapping circle? It's her genius idea which ensures that she and her friends never let a single beauty product go to waste. If a virtual happy hour is more your socializing speed, the Big Little Lies star has some killer cocktails to recommend.

You've been developing some new skills during quarantine and sharing your progress on Instagram. Have you mastered Rollerblading yet?

Not yet! [laughs] I'm trying to figure out how to stop. That's my only issue; otherwise it's great! I'm attempting to slow down a bit. My form of self-care has been prioritizing what feels good in my life. In America it's easy to feel like if we're not working 24/7, then we're depriving ourselves of some type of purpose — when in reality it's the opposite.

You've also been hosting some virtual happy hours. What have you been toasting with every night?

Some nights, hopefully, it's just water. But when I do drink, it changes: Mezcal is the cure to make everything seem brighter, more lively. Red wine is my cozy-blanket buddy. Scotch is my forever muse. And if I need to detox and retox at the same time, my friends and I will be extra "Los Angeles"and make kombucha gin and tonics. Plus, as I learned when I was living in Paris, rosé is basically water, so she's my midday hang.

What else did you learn in Paris?

In my early 20s I was devoted to simplicity, and that's what brought me joy. I'd wear some mascara with the same clothes every week. But years later, living in Paris had a huge impact on me in terms of style. I'm from Los Angeles, where you can go to the grocery store in your pajamas and it's no big deal. But if you walk into a Parisian grocery store wearing sweats, you're looked down on. Paris really helped me redefine what I'd call the chic side of myself. It made me want to learn about fashion.

From the perspective of L.A. to Paris and back again, how would you define your style?

I feel like I'm regressing. I'm really comfortable in Chuck Taylors, Levi's, and a white T-shirt. But there is nothing sexier than a Parisian woman. I mean, French women know how to do life. [laughs]

You studied herbalism years ago. Do you still like mixing up tinctures and potions?

I do. It's been a while since I've been able to, but now I'm back in the witches' brew world. Ten years ago, when I started talking about this stuff, no one knew what Chaga mushrooms were. Now you can go to any grocery store and find natural supplements with amazing herbs.

You were also an early connoisseur of natural deodorants.

I know — I really missed out there, man. I could have made some money! I used to get made fun of when I spoke about these things in public, and now people are spending $50 a pop on a nicely packaged natural product. The reason I had so much passion [about natural alternatives] is because they work.

When it comes to beauty, are there certain essentials you always come back to?

I found a Juice Beauty cleanser at a health-food store, and I've been using it for about eight years now. I like a mix of things; right now it's Ben & Anna's unscented natural deodorant and the Omorovicza face oil and overnight cream. But I'm not attached to any one product. My friends and I will get things, and if they don't work for our own hair or skin, we'll ship them to another friend. That way we're not wasting anything.