Tiffany Haddish’s Beauty Secrets Involve $2 Lashes and Baking Soda

Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.

Up next, we’re getting to know actress, comedian, producer, and best-selling author Tiffany Haddish. With a new season of her hit Apple TV+ series The Afterparty in the works along with a new collection of essays called I Curse You With Joy, Haddish shares her unexpected beauty practices and how she stays grounded with such a demanding schedule. Check out her answers to all of our rapid-fire beauty questions below. Enjoy!

If you had to leave the house in five minutes, what are a few staple beauty products you’d quickly apply or bring with you?

My ChapStick! And if I know I’m going somewhere where they’re going to be taking pictures, I would be like, “Oh, let me glue on some lashes real fast.” That’ll take me like one minute. Then, I put a little eyeliner on, some Fenty lip gloss, and that’s it.

Which Fenty lip gloss is your favorite?

Gloss Bomb ($20)! It has different colors, but I like the nude one. It’s a peachy [color] with shimmer.

And do you have any favorite false lashes that you like to use?

I get all my lashes from AliExpress. I just buy a big box of them. And then I’m like, “Well, do I feel like going super long today, do I want to look like [Mr.] Snuffleupagus today, or do I want to look more natural?”

[Laughs] Perfect. That’s all you really need, right? And can you walk me through your morning and evening skincare routine?

In the morning, I wake up, drink a bunch of water, and take my Vitafusion Multi + Beauty Gummies ($11). Those are delicious even after you brush your teeth. Then, I make sure I get my vitamin D in there. I take a little extra. Then, I’ll wash my face. I mostly like to use coconut oil to wash my face, so I’ll put some on all over my face and then jump in the shower. This particular soap I use is pure spearmint gum, turpentine, and olive oil mixed together. I get it off Amazon. It’s super good for your skin and makes your elbows really soft. Then, I moisturize with some more coconut oil. It’s nice! It makes your skin feel really soft.

Then, I’m pretty much good to go. It also depends on where I’m going or what I’m doing. If I’m not going to have a bunch of makeup put on, I’ll use some skin moisturizer from Tacha, or I really like Lori Harvey’s line. Her moisturizer is really good. Then, I’ll go on about my day. If I’m going to be in the sun, I definitely use a sunscreen. I really like the one from Tatcha. At night, especially if I have makeup on, I like [using] the Tatcha Cleansing Oil ($48), and I like to mix it with a little of the Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Powder ($65). Then, I jump in the shower one more time and pretty much do the same thing.

Is there anything about your beauty or wellness routine that you think might surprise people?

I like to take baths with baking soda. One pound of it in my bath water! It keeps your pH right, you know? It gets rid of any impurities or funguses that might be growing on your feet or wherever. If I’m itching (because I’m prone to getting eczema around my ankles), I’ll take a bath with baking soda. Also, I like to talk to the water. I tell the water what it’s going to do for me!

I totally saw in another interview that you do that! I was so interested to hear more. Do you like to charge it with your intentions?

Even this water I’m drinking, I’ll say things like “success” to it, you know? It’s [always] listening to you. … When you just put the water in a bathtub and then let it be still for a minute, it isn’t moving at all. But when you start talking, it starts moving around, and it absorbs those words. So then I’m like, “Get this man out of my system, wash this [other thing] away.” I give it assignments, and then [later], I’ll be like, “Okay, you understood the assignment.”

I love that! How would you say your self-care philosophy has evolved over the years?

I’m definitely more into self-care, and I’m into trying new things that might make me feel better. For the most part, I pretty much feel good. And if I don’t feel good, I let [almost] everybody know, and I definitely express myself. I think feelings are so important, and that’s how I’ve changed. I definitely honor my feelings a lot more and don’t just put them to the side. Every single time I’ve doubted my feelings or tried to push them aside, bad things have happened. I don’t doubt them anymore. I address them, honor them, and I roll with them. Feelings are your friends. Even if it feels bad, there’s a reason it feels bad, and you need to address that. I’ve been grieving all year. I suffered big losses in January, so I honor that. I miss my grandma and would look at pictures of her, and I miss my dog. I miss them, I honor that, and then I feel a thousand times better.

It’s so true. I feel like that’s something a lot of us forget to do, and you’re not alone in that. I know many of us have been dealing with grief the past few years, and it’s not easy, so my heart really goes out to you. It’s important to really honor that!

Yeah! It’s also important to laugh. If you feel like laughing about something, laugh! That’s healing. One thing I’ve definitely learned is if you can’t laugh about something, you’ll never heal from it. Just expressing it and getting it out of your spirit [is so important]. After I say some negative things, I like to cancel them. Since cancel culture is so popping right now, we’re going to cancel these negative thoughts, then bring in some positive ones and go to bed [laughs]. But also, if you’re having these bad thoughts, that’s okay too. Crying is healthy. That’s the first thing you did when you were born. Now, I’m not saying you should cry every single day, but you have to find some time to laugh in between that crying. That’s why I try to laugh as much as possible. It releases better chemicals in your body when you laugh as opposed to crying. But you still need both.

Changing gears a bit here. I’d love to talk about your best-selling book Layla, the Last Black Unicorn. What experiences shaped the book for you, and how did you come up with the concept?

So many experiences. There’s a part in the book where the other unicorns are calling Layla “woodsy.” Growing up, they used to [say to me], “You’re so ghetto.” There’s nothing wrong with that—just like Layla being woodsy. She had skills they didn’t have, and she was able to save the day. People will try to make you feel bad for being who you are or what you are. It doesn’t matter because those skills that you have because of that [are] going to benefit you and others around you at some point in time. Honor that, be proud of it, and there’s nothing wrong with being unique because it’s going to come in handy. Trust and believe.

I hear you’re also working on some other really exciting projects, including season two of The Afterparty on Apple TV and a new collection of essays called I Curse You With Joy. What can you share about them both? I’m sure everybody’s going to be really excited to hear about them straight from the source!

What I can share about Afterparty season two is that there is a wedding. Oh—and somebody dies. That’s all I can say about that! As for I Curse You With Joy, they call it a series of essays, but I call it a memoir. They’re stories of my experience. You’re getting a lot more of not just the stories but also my thoughts and point of view on things. I’m hoping it brings joy and healing to others.

That’s definitely needed right now! You have so many projects going on. How do you make time in your busy schedule for things like self-care or for writing? Do you have any nonnegotiable beauty or self-care practices that you absolutely have to do every day to keep centered?

Well, every day, I have to say my little mantras, and I have to pray every day. Those are the main things that happen every day no matter what. Sometimes, I might not wash my face, I might not wash my body, but I have to do those two things every single day. I have to pray and say my mantras, and I have to drink water.

Do you have any favorite mantras that you can share with us?

“I believe children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children’s laughter remind us [of] how we used to be. Everybody’s searching for a hero. People need someone to look up to. I never found anyone who fulfills my need—a lonely place to be. And so I learned to depend on me. I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow. If I fail, if I succeed, at least I’ll live as I believe. No matter what they take from me, they can’t take away my dignity. I found the greatest love of all inside of me.” — Whitney Houston

It pretty much sums up everything in my life. That’s [why it’s] one of my favorites. I say that one every morning.

And what would you say is your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?

Take care of the inside, and [the] outside will be alright.