Stress makes Emilia Clarke's skin freak. Here's how she handles it
She may have played the Mother of Dragons in Game of Thrones, but Emilia Clarke takes a decidedly more timid approach with her skincare regimen. “I’m a minimalist for sure,” she tells Women’s Health. “I’ve been working for eighteen months without a break, so my skin has really taken a beating.”
And when that happens, she has a stealth wellness secret to getting her complexion back into shape: Meditation. “I do yoga, I meditate, and I journal,” says Clarke, who will be starring in the upcoming Marvel streaming series Secret Invasion this summer and has been open about suffering from two life-threatening brain aneurysms while filming her hit HBO series. “It’s so simple, but it really makes a difference. I set a timer, I become conscious of my breath, and I just watch the thoughts disappear.”
That’s key because, in addition to the Marvel series, which she hasn’t even seen yet (“I hate watching myself, but I know I have to because I'm going to do a press tour for it and I need to know what happens,” she jokes), Clarke also worked on a “beautiful little indie” that opened Sundance called the The Pod Generation. It will also debut this summer.
With so much going on, it’s no surprise she needs her skincare habits to be streamlined, and they include a tight mix of smart, well-chosen products. Here’s how Clarke gets her skin so good.
Clarke is a big fan of the three-step routine
As a Clinique global ambassador, Clarke relies upon the three-step cleanse-tone-moisturise routine that the brand’s founding dermatologist Dr. Norman Orentreich created in the 1960s. “I went to my dermatologist when my skin started freaking out and she told me to cut it back,” Clarke says. “So now I’m just cleansing, toning, and moisturising and that’s it.”
With such a pared-down regimen, Clarke needs those individual products to work double, sometimes triple, duty. That’s why she’s been using the new Clinique Moisture Surge Broad Spectrum SPF 25 Sheer Hydrator. Shielding skin from UV damage is a must, she knows, and this moisturiser provides broad spectrum protection along with a soothing aloe bioferment and the brand’s proprietary hyaluronic acid hydration complex. It’s the perfect final step.
She knows when to turn to the pros
Clarke’s complexion is subjected to a lot—new day, new set, new makeup artist putting a whole host of products onto her skin. “There’s a kind of relentlessness to it that can be kind of tough,” she admits.
So when she’s on her own time, she turns to her dermatologist to set things straight. “At one point recently, my skin was having a reaction and my dermatologist gave me a list of skincare ingredients that could be causing it,” Clarke explains. “We went through it and took all of those ingredients out of my routine and that’s what I’ve stuck to.”
Stress sends her skin into a tizzy
“Whenever I'm anxious or stressed, my skin immediately starts telling me that I'm anxious and stressed,” Clarke says. “It’s actually quite annoying.” To help manage that stress, the actor turns to her mindfulness meditation and affirmations. And though she’s yet to find a good facialist who can help whisk away some of that tension (“Especially when I’m working, I don’t want anything else near my skin,” she says), Clarke finds other ways to relax. “Recently, after I finished all of my work, I went to Cornwall and was by the sea and I just really prefer that,” she says.
She pampers her skin the cool way
Not all luxuries have to come with an impossibly high price tag. Clarke is a big fan of skin rollers, which you can pick up for under £25 and are a great way to “pimp the skincare you already have.” Clarke recommends storing the roller in your fridge along with your moisturizer, sheet masks, and other skincare goodies for a soothing pick-me-up that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
One small tip that makes a huge difference
PSA from Emilia Clarke to you: Clean. Your Damn. Makeup Brushes. Wash 'em every week,” she says. “I have a whole routine where I take a little baby shampoo and some oil and work it into all of my makeup brushes before rinsing them under the tap.” That’s because inflammation- and breakout-causing bacteria can collect in bristles and do a number on your complexion.
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