Skin Deep: Laura Harrier’s Awards Season Beauty Secrets

The rising star Laura Harrier, 28, is in high demand. You’ll find her in one of the buzziest films of this awards season, Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” which vied for Best Motion Picture, Drama at the Golden Globes last weekend. And she will appear in two movies this year, including the sci-fi thriller “Warning” with Annabelle Wallis and Alice Eve. In the near term, there is the Screen Actors Guild awards, where Ms. Harrier and her “BlacKkKlansman” cohort are up for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Though awards season is exciting, it can also be a grind. See what beauty products Ms. Harrier, a native of Evanston, Ill., is using to survive the back-to-back red carpets.

Skin Care

In the shower, I use a face wash from my aesthetician Shani Darden. And she has this lactic peel that I do when I get out of the shower. I alternate between that and serums by iS Clinical. If I’m breaking out, I’ll go for the Active serum, and if my skin is dry, I do the Pro-Heal.

When I moved to L.A. from New York, almost exactly a year ago, I didn’t know anyone. The girl who does my eyebrows, Kim Nguyen, told me about Shani, and she kind of saved my face. I like that she’s straight up and tells you exactly what you need to do. For me, it’s dealing with breakouts. I didn’t struggle with it until late in my 20s. That has been really annoying. It’s all the travel, stress and whatever else.

For a long time, I was very into superclean, natural skin care. I’ll still do a manuka honey mask in the bath, but with all the breakout issues, I’ve had to amp it up. When my skin was perfect, the natural stuff was cool. But if I’m having issues, they don’t do enough.

Before I head out, I do an SPF 30 — the one by Control Corrective. It’s really lightweight and just feels like a moisturizer.

At night I use the Bioderma micellar water to remove makeup. I wash again with Shani’s cleanser, and then I use her retinol. I’m not using the retinol for wrinkles, but it helps a lot with my acne scarring. And my skin feels smoother.

Makeup

I love to watch the makeup artists at work. Now I can do my makeup for an event if I have to. Day to day, though, I keep it minimal. I do the Nars concealer — my color is Caramel. Then it’s Glossier Boy Brow every day in Black.

I have the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate palette that comes with the two colors. I throw on the highlighter for everyday and do the contour color if I’m going out. I like the Lash Slick by Glossier for day — it’s pretty and natural.

At night, I switch to the Marc Jacobs mascara. The makeup artist Hung Vanngo told me about it. I’ve learned the most from him and from Nina Park. Nina has taught me that if I have an early press day and look terrible, do a lip. She’ll look at my face and say, “Uhhh, O.K., let’s do a lip on you!” With an eye look, you can still look tired and droopy. A bright lip color is lifting, and honestly, it’s easy.

I have this YSL matte lip stain that I love so much, the bottom label has worn off. Now I don’t even know the color. Ruby Woo by M.A.C. is always good.

I really like the RMS Lip2Cheek colors. You can layer them so you can choose if you want to go lighter or darker. I also wear foundation if I have an event. I mix the Tom Ford one with the Tom Ford highlighting primer.

Hair

My hair is so dry, it’s like the desert. It’s like sand in the desert, it’s so rough. I do make an attempt to moisturize, but it’s really tough to get ahead of it when I’m working a lot. All the heat styling damages it, and I have really fine hair.

I do Olaplex a lot. I throw it on like a hair mask and go to SoulCycle. I feel like it heats up in there! I like the Shu Uemura shampoos and conditioners. I also use Oribe Gold Lust hair oil.

I usually get my hair cut by Teddi Cranford in New York, but I’m actually trying to grow it out, so I haven’t had it cut in ages. People always tell you that you have to cut your hair in order to grow it, but whatever, I don’t want to. And it doesn’t even make sense, as your hair is growing from your scalp!

Fragrance

I had the best smell ever: this tiny unmarked vial from Morocco that my friend got for me. It smells like orange blossom. I used to get so many compliments. I have saved literally one drop just so I can smell it. Now I do these roll-ons from Maison Louis Marie. In the winter I do No. 04, but more recently I’ve been doing the Antidris Cassis one.

Other Services

I get massages, but I don’t have one particular person I go to. It’s the same with mani-pedis. Kim plucks my brows, but really barely, and she also tints them. I love a brow tint. They make such a big difference on your face. Carrie Lindsey, who used to do my brows in New York, was the first one to tint my brows, but I had to talk her into it. That was maybe two years ago, and now I won’t go back.

Overall, though, I’m way more of a New York girl in every aspect of my life. People do so much in L.A. I’m not that girl. I’m not getting everything waxed every other week. I’d rather do the bare minimum.

Diet and Fitness

I’ve actually been lazier here in L.A. In New York, I would go to the Dogpound. My friend Kirk Myers founded it. Now, in L.A., I go to SoulCycle and barre class and hot yoga, but I bounce around. Also, I’ve been traveling so much that it’s hard to keep anything together. I downloaded the Nike app to work out while I travel, and I think I did it once.

For me, diet is about moderation. I work out, but I love cheese, pasta and wine. As I say that, I’m drinking a green smoothie that was a million dollars at Erewhon. The truth is, the timing of awards season, right after the holidays, is really cruel. I’m not at my peak right now. Honestly, I’m just trying to work out a lot, and I’ll go to Shani for a peel before a big awards show.

I do the infrared sauna, too. I feel it helps. There’s also this infrared sauna where they wrap you like a burrito. I haven’t tried that one yet, but it kind of seems like torture. You’re paying someone to wrap a hot blanket around you.