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mbg Beauty Director

By Alexandra Engler

mbg Beauty Director

Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she’s held beauty roles at Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com.

Image by mbg Creative / courtesy of source

June 13, 2023

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Beauty routines are never truly stagnant—practices evolve and change like we do. In As of Late, we chat with influential folks about their current products and rituals. Here, we get a snapshot of what they’re doing right now: the formulas they use until the last drop, the fresh launches they’ve got their eyes on, and of course, the why behind it all.

This series was built around the idea that our routines change as our lives do. Perhaps one of the greatest life changes someone can go through is giving birth and becoming a parent. It’s no wonder that the experience of pregnancy and postpartum reshapes many women’s relationship with beauty. 

That’s exactly what I chatted with Rumer Willis about recently. The actress gave birth to her daughter at home in late April, making her a first-time mom and her parents—Bruce Willis and Demi Moore—first-time grandparents.

For Willis, this new phase of life brought a return to the basics. “I always went for the more ‘healthy’ stuff, but I never really looked at the labels of the products I used. Once I got pregnant, I just wanted to make sure I was using things I knew,” she says. “Plus, my histamine response was super high—so all of a sudden everything was making me so itchy. Even the stuff I’d used for years. I really just had to scale back to the bare minimum.” 

Here, what sustained Willis through her pregnancy and journey to becoming a new mom. 

“Taking a bath has always been something that I’ve loved. I did most of my labor in the water. It’s a space I feel so safe. It also becomes something that I can share with my daughter and integrate her into that practice. It’s definitely one of my staples.

“But then there’s also all the accoutrement that comes with it, whether it’s simple Epsom salts, body oil, or various different things to create the experience of the bath. You can do something very simple, or create a date night with yourself. It’s a space that’s so malleable depending on the environment you want to create. The bath soaks that they have at Surya are next level.”

“I love using olive oil. I went to Greece a few summers ago, and they just use olive oil for everything. I use it on my body and my hair, and it’s just glorious. Plus, you smell delicious.

“My little secret hack that I give to everyone is to put it in a travel bottle or an amber glass one—if you want to make it fancy—and add a few drops of lemon essential oil. Then you have the most gorgeous body oil that makes the perfect little gifts for people. 

“I, especially during my pregnancy, prioritize taking time to go to the spa—like at Surya Spa. I’d go and get treatments or just spend a few hours relaxing when I was really tired. I hate the word ‘self-care’ because it’s overused in a lot of ways, but I really wanted to take time to nourish myself and care for my body because it was my daughter’s house. 

“Growing up I used to go all the time with my mom to a Korean spot where we’d get all the scrubs and treatments. I think there’s something so sacred and important about taking that time with your body to express gratitude to it.”

“My friend Sarah Wright Olsen‘s company Baeo makes this product called Bare Face, and it’s just a little stick, but I always have it in my purse. Whether your lips are dry or you have a little chapped area, it’s just the perfect thing to moisturize the skin. 

“It looks like a flatter ChapStick, but it’s basically for your face, body, use it on your baby’s skin, use it for everything. It’s also one of those products where you can read all of the ingredients, which I love.”