Tessa Thompson Swears By This Cult-Loved Foundation and $8 Face Mist

If I ever hear the words “Tessa Thompson” and “interview opportunity” in the same sentence, my response will always be an enthusiastic yes. Thompson has always been a favorite of mine for her effortless confidence and simple approach to beauty. Her love of organic skincare products doesn’t hurt either. Although the actress and Armani Beauty ambassador hasn’t revealed a whole lot about her routine, I jumped at the chance to hear a few of her secrets firsthand. Thompson’s been extra busy working on films such as Creed III, and she revealed a few key skincare products, makeup items, and gadgets that help keep her skin glowing when she’s crunched for time. Keep reading below—she shared everything from her DIY fix for dark circles and favorite skincare tool to the $8 refreshing spray that she uses on repeat.

What are a few beauty products you always use in the morning or bring with you?

It’s funny you should ask this question. … I was traveling for the Creed III press tour, and before that, I was in Japan, so I’ve been traveling in one suitcase for about a month and some change. I was thinking that I really need to get better at bringing less toiletries and less makeup!

I think that’s a problem we can all relate to. I’m a notorious overpacker.

It’s so bad! It’s really an issue for me, so it’s a good thing that you’re asking me this because I need to get better at this. Okay, if I can only bring a couple things, I would bring a rose-water spray. I would also bring Jao hand sanitizer ($10) because you can also use it to freshen up and as deodorant. I would take one bottle of Armani Luminous Silk [Foundation] and one concealer. I would take some lip balm, like a natural sort of lip shade. I also should bring some sunscreen.

Now, let’s talk skin prep! What are your favorite skincare products at the moment?

It really depends on just how much time I have and how tired I am. Sometimes, I don’t wake up early enough. I’m definitely way more into gadgets and different things like using a gua sha tool. I feel like I’ve learned a lot more from different folks that properly use things, and particularly because I travel a lot, I think it’s nice just being able to de-puff. I’ve gotten better, and I’ve gotten savvier because I don’t spend a lot of time on beauty, but I’ve gotten savvier in multitasking with those things. Sometimes, … I’ll set an alarm a little earlier than I need to, and then I’ll just pop up, rinse my face with water, put a little oil, and then lay back in bed and use the gua sha and do lymphatic drainage while I’m still in bed [laughs]. So I’m still half asleep, basically, or I’ll put on an episode of Emily in Paris and pop on an LED light mask.

I’ve gotten way better at fitting in all of those things while I’m doing other things because who has 30 minutes to give yourself a facial every day? But I think something that has really changed my skin, too, is just making sure it’s properly cleaned, especially in periods where I’m busy and I’m wearing a lot of makeup. I never really understood the double-cleansing thing [until now]. I have started to do that, and it makes such a big difference. Okay, I’m giving a little secret of mine. There is this beauty line that is all-natural, and it feels like you can eat the products. This one I feel like I accidentally have eaten a little! It’s Simply Divine Botanicals.

Simply Divine Botanicals is amazing. They make my favorite body butter, which is called How Now Brown Cacao ($35)—they all have really funny names. There’s also this mask that you can use daily, and it’s called Honey, I Shrunk the Pores ($34). It’s so cute, and it’s safe to use daily, and you could spread it on toast. It looks sort of like a marmalade or something, but it’s really great, and everything’s natural. They also make a really lovely foot cream, but everything’s super natural, and it reminds me of the beauty products I would see in my mom’s bathroom growing up—just things that are super natural and that your skin just really, really loves. I definitely think being intentional—like doing a lot of exfoliating, especially when I’m wearing makeup—has really changed my complexion and made it a lot brighter.

What would you say your everyday makeup routine looks like?

It’s pretty simple but has also become slightly more complicated because I’ve gotten into gadgets and tools and stuff. On a perfect day, I would have a minute to do some of that stuff like skin prep. It would be a toner, some moisturizer depending on what the weather’s like and what my skin needs. I have gotten really into primer, and Armani Beauty makes a lovely primer that I use now if I’m going to do makeup. Typically, an everyday thing for me is a no-makeup makeup [look]. [I like] just a little bit of foundation. Sometimes, I’ll even mix it with my moisturizer, serum, or a little bit of oil. I like to use corrector under my eyes, so a little bit of orange, then a little bit of concealer, and then not that much powder—maybe just in the middle of my face. Then I use some rose water, and off I go. For every day probably, I would wear Armani’s Lip Power Lipstick because it’s really moisturizing, and if I’m not doing a color color, I would do something closer to my natural lip color and work it out almost like a stain, and that would be a good five-minute makeup look.

Something that’s really good is using a liquid highlighter too! Sometimes, I will mix that with a little bit of foundation, a little bit of oil, and then it’ll give sort of a sheen. Remember when BB balm was so big? Kind of like that!

Yes! It’ll give you a really natural, dewy glow.

Exactly. You mix a little bit of Armani’s Fluid Sheer Glow Enhancer ($33) with a little bit of foundation, a little bit of oil, and even a little bit of moisturizer. I just take a blush brush and just lightly brush that across my face. That’s an easy no-makeup makeup look and creates a healthy glow.

I know you already mentioned a few, but what are your all-time favorite Armani Beauty products?

I have so many! The Luminous Silk Foundation is why I’m really happy to get to represent this brand and this product because I’ve been using it for so long and, at the time—I know this sounds silly to say about makeup—it really was life changing when I discovered it because I had been working mostly in television and on some indie films. I was a young actor, and I would sit in chairs, and artists would have such a hard time shade-matching my skin. At the time, there weren’t a ton of brands that had a wide range of shades. And typically, they would put stuff on me, and I would look either orange, or I would look ashy. Then, I had my first big red carpet, and an artist used Luminous Silk on me, and he actually mixed two shades—one that was way too light for me and way too dark for me—and made his own special thing. Then he said, “You should look into this brand,” and I did. I remember going to a department store and finding something. It was the first time there was a shade that was right for me and came out of a bottle.

Not just for me, but for friends and family, it’s been so easy for me to color-match for people in my life because there’s such a wide range of shades. Their foundation really did help me feel and look like myself when I was at work. As I mentioned, their primer’s really good. Another thing that I have discovered more recently in the last couple of years is the Fluid Sheer, which is so beautiful. You can use it, as I said, mixed with your foundation, and so many of their products are so user-friendly. I’ll be done with a full face of makeup and set it, then I can use Fluid Sheer and put it right on top, and it doesn’t do anything weird or funky to the makeup. It sits perfectly and just makes you look really dewy. I also love to use it on my shoulders or my clavicle if I have skin showing, and it just gives you this very healthy, dewy look. I find that with some highlighters, you can sort of see the glitter a little too much. My approach is usually to do pretty easy makeup, so I like it to be a little more invisible. This one can be, but it’s also buildable, so if you want it to be a bit more dramatic, you just use a little more when applying.

Luminous Silk is one of my all-time favorite foundations too! It’s great for acne-prone skin, and the highlighter is great as well.

Yes! Their cream blushes are also really nice. You can also use them on your lips or use them on your eyelids too.

Do you happen to have a favorite Armani fragrance?

What’s funny is that I actually like some of the masculine scents too! They’re really good. I got into it again because my friend [Regé-Jean Page] became the face, and I was like, “What’s this about?” And then I tried it, and I really loved the way it smelled on me too [laughs]. Even some of my favorite pieces of clothing from Armani are a man’s suit or a blazer. I also love that there are beautiful accessories, too, that are technically for men, but they also feel really fluid, and they’re just beautifully made. I kind of feel the same way about the fragrances.

Is there anything about your beauty routine that might surprise people?

Yes! This is a hack I discovered that I really like, but it requires time and, in some cases, a trip to the market, but it’s really great. I have discoloration under my eyes. It’s just something that, regardless of how much I sleep, exists, but certainly, if I’m really not well-slept, my eyes can get quite dark under there. Because I also like to [keep things] really simple in terms of my own beauty routine, sometimes concealer can just make it worse, you know? I love to correct, but also, if I have the time and I can get to a market, I just take pure buttermilk (you can also do it with goat’s milk yogurt) or any kind of nice yogurt and just mix it with turmeric. Then, you take a little paintbrush or makeup brush (because the turmeric can stain your fingers), and you just apply it under your eyes and leave it on for like 15 minutes. Then you have to wash your face pretty vigorously underneath there, obviously being careful because it’s a sensitive area. But it really helps with under-eye circles. I have found it very helpful when I have the time.

I will definitely try that because I love a DIY moment! You’ve also talked about your love for Japan on Instagram. Did you pick up any good skincare products or beauty secrets while you were there?

They have the most amazing beauty products. They have a lot of really great skincare. The only trouble was that there was too much of it. [A lot of products are] also labeled in Japanese, so it’s hard to know exactly what you’re getting. I definitely spent a lot of time at a store called Tokyu Hands that is impossible to even describe it. They have basically everything you could ever want, from stickers to fabric. I definitely went makeup shopping and looked at things in Japan, but something I think they have that we haven’t quite cornered the market on is really, really thin eyeliner—like superfine. I think there are also a couple of eyeliners that are similar and Korean. They’re really nice, and I’m trying to get better at doing eyeliner.

When you take [your eyeliner] really straight up, it just brings your eyes up. That’s something I was definitely inspired by in Japan. I would see a lot of women there that would wear eye shadow during the day and in really beautiful peach colors—almost blush, but just a really pigmented wash of color. I also saw a lot of girls that would wear very fine glitter during the day. I definitely found myself inspired to wear a lot more eye makeup during the day, and Armani actually makes a bunch of these very pigmented eye shadows that are sort of creamy in texture. It’s easy to take your fingers and create a quick wash of color, and a lot of them are actually metallic. When I came back from Japan, I found myself taking some of those out, especially the iridescent gold and silver because that seems to be very popular now. It was such an inspiring trip.

What’s your ultimate beauty motto?

Do whatever you want!