Say hello to Unfiltered, a 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, Vanessa Morgan. The Riverdale star is celebrating her partnership with Gold Bond which encourages people to embrace their scars and real skin. She also answered all of our rapid-fire beauty questions. Enjoy!
If you had to leave the house in five minutes, what are a few staple beauty products that you would apply or bring with you?
That’s a hard question! I guess for the face I really like the Tata Harper serum. I also like her Floral Essence Mist and Renée Rouleau face wash. I also really like the Sunday Riley face oils. I really like their clarifying oil for my face. I’d also say blush if I had to pick and I use 100% Pure. I’m really into natural products. I’d also grab some chapstick. But my hands do get dry because of all the hand sanitizer I’ve been using lately. I use the Gold Bond Healing Ointment on my hands and it’s really good for dry, cracked skin on your hands. I’m sure you know that with all the hand sanitizer everyone has been using lately.
What does the rest of your everyday makeup routine look like?
When it’s just me and I don’t have any interviews, I don’t usually wear any makeup. I definitely wear blush and under-eye concealer, but that’s about it. And I’ll do my eyebrows. I don’t ever really wear foundation. Even at work sometimes I don’t. I think it just depends on how my skin is and if I need to cover anything. But for the most part, my skin is pretty good. So yeah, I just blush, under-eye concealer, do my eyebrows, and then that’s good for the day.
Do you have any favorite brow products or concealers that you like to use?
I’ve been trying to find the perfect eyebrow [pencil]. I use one from a special company—it’s a Canadian brand that matches my eyebrow color perfectly so I’ve been ordering that, but it’s hard to get. My backup is like one of the Kiss eyebrow pencils like in like a brown color. It’s my backup, but it’s hard to find the right eyebrow shade!
Can you walk me through your morning and evening skincare routine?
I start by washing my face. if I had to pick a favorite face wash, it would be the Renée Rouleau one. Then from there, I put on my resurfacing serum from Tata Harper. I also like to spray rose water on my face or I’ll use a rose water-infused toner. I’m pretty easy. Then I just put on my face cream. For my body, I’ve been using the Gold Bond Healing Lotion because it’s paraben-free and it has vitamin A, C, and E, which are the key things I like using on my body to keep my skin and scar moisturized, and my new tattoo. I’m really easy when it comes to my skincare. It’s all about just keeping yourself moisturized. I don’t ever wear sunscreen—I know that’s bad. I only do it when I’m tanning in the sun so I should probably do that more, but I don’t [laughs]. I sometimes use sunscreen for babies. I use it on myself and my son if I’m going to be laying in the sun, but I think the sun gives me freckles, and I kind of like it! So I think I haven’t been wearing it on purpose [laughs].
Freckles are so cute! I wish I had them sometimes. Moving into my next question. I saw on your Instagram that you went to Zion recently and you’ve been doing a lot of really fun traveling. How do you keep your skin in good shape while you’re out on your adventures?
It’s key not to neglect your body. I always keep my face moist. The body moisturizer from Gold Bond is great for that because they have a lot of products that are good for dehydrated skin. So that’s key when you’re in the sun so even if I’m not the best with my sunscreen as long as my skin is moisturized, it doesn’t flake or peel and I find I look young.
What are your favorite face moisturizers that you like to use?
I just really love the Tata Harper serum and the Tata Harper Water-Lock Moisturizer!
She makes the best organic products. And are there any beauty staples that you discovered on the set of Riverdale that you can’t live without now?
I think the rosewater! I actually don’t know the name of it, but my makeup artist gets it. It’s just 100% rosewater. I think it’s a Lebanese brand but it’s really nice.
Do you have any other wellness practices, supplements, or other daily rituals that help give you a boost mentally and physically?
I like walking barefoot on either the grass or a beach, it’s really grounding. I feel so much better and always have so much more energy throughout the day. And if I can meditate in the morning—meditating has been a lot harder with my son, of course—but if I can, I try and breathe and get that 15 minutes to myself. I love getting those mindful minutes in every morning.
I’d also love to talk about your “My Scar, My Story” partnership with Gold Bond. I’d love to hear all about the tattoo you got, the story behind it, and why it’s so important to you.
I partnered with Gold Bond to share my scar story for their campaign, “My Scar, My Story,” which encourages people to embrace their real skin, and the fact that our skin is a canvas and it tells a story. We have such high beauty standards these days that are just so unrealistic. So, it’s just to promote, sharing the stories of our imperfections, our scars, and how those were beautiful and make us unique. With mine, I wanted to honor my C-section scar. I wanted to get a tattoo to show that I’m not embarrassed by my scar. Basically, it’s the word “kintsugi,” which is a form of Japanese pottery that repairs [broken] pieces with gold. It’s believed that the pottery is more beautiful for having been broken and put back together. That’s kind of how I felt about my surgery and my C-section. I became more beautiful for having that surgery and bringing my son into the world. And I just thought that was the most beautiful way to honor that.
And how do you think we can continue to break down those old kinds of beauty standards and really embrace real skin? How would you like to see that reflected in mainstream media?
I think Sports Illustrated did it really well when they recently featured a woman with a c-section scar. I know when I saw that, I was like, “Oh, my God, I love that!” It made me feel even better about my scar. I’m already in a good place with it, but it was great to see her owning it. I love that and it made me feel even more confident. So I feel like the more we show stuff like that, the more people will realize that these are beautiful marks on our skin that tell a story. I think if we as a collective, do that together and be more unfiltered, it would encourage that safe space. With Gold Bond, you can actually put the hashtag #MyScarStory and tag them to can join the community and share your real skin story.
And my last question is, what is your unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
Always wash your face, people!
Up Next: Tiffany Haddish’s Beauty Secrets Involve $2 Lashes and Baking Soda