What I Put on My Face
All skin is good skin, which is why good skincare is more of a journey than a destination. We all love a one-off tip—but, at Byrdie, we’re more interested in how our skin evolves over time. The product we've used for a decade, the ingredient cocktail that made us glow, the step we never skip, and all the advice in between. This is the stuff that makes a real difference. With What I Put on My Face, we’re bringing you the rituals, recommendations, and failed experiments (we’ve all had them) straight from celebrities, founders, and influencers who’ve gone through it themselves.
If you were a kid in the early 2000s, then Emma Roberts holds a special place in your heart. Roberts, who is niece to the Julia Roberts, joined the family business as a child star in the show Unfabulous, which led her to countless tween-friendly roles in movies like Nancy Drew and Aquamarine. Of course, as time went on, her roles became more mature and complex, and she’s now known for tapping into her sinister side with American Horror Story.
Aside from acting (she's starred in a string of stellar rom-coms as of late) and being a mom to her 2-year-old son Rhodes Robert Hedlund, the Holidate lead runs a popular book club called Belletrist. Most recently, she joins the beauty brand Flawless, which sells a suite of hair removal tools, skincare devices, and even nail machines, as an ambassador.
When asked what attracted her to the brand, Roberts revealed, “I have always been obsessed with beauty, whether it's beauty tools, makeup, skincare facials. I fell in love with Flawless’s tools, and I love that they're all approved by dermatologists," adding that they're easy to travel with, even as a mom. "To be partners with a brand that makes my life easier and makes it so that I can just do [my beauty routine] at home—that is a game changer.”
Specifically, she’s “obsessed with” Flawless’s Ice Roller, and loves the brand's brow products. “As someone who probably obsesses too much about their eyebrows," she says, "The Flawless Finishing Touch Brows is one of my favorite tools.”
Of course, we wanted to dig even deeper to see which skincare products are currently on Roberts’s roster. Ahead, everything that Emma Roberts puts on her face.
About Her Skin
"Since I had my son, I noticed I get melasma. During my pregnancy, it was happening a lot, and then during the summer, it started coming out a lot again. So that’s the one thing that I have to manage. I do that with products and also with being really diligent about my sunscreen.
"I always have it with me, and I cannot go out without sunscreen and a hat. Other than that, though, I am all about just having a glow. And I think that that comes from a face routine and from the inside as well. I mean, let's be honest: I feel like the most glowing people are the happiest. So, I like that self-care has become more than surface now—it’s a 360 category."
The Moment Skincare Clicked for her
"My earliest [beauty] memories are of my mom getting ready in the bathroom and me watching her and pretending to get ready. I was always digging into her makeup bags, wanting to see what she was using. There's actually a photo of me with lipstick literally all over my face like I'm a Picasso painting because I got into her makeup bag. And luckily, she had a camera nearby. So it's always been something that I feel like I've been into."
Her Morning Versus Night Routine
"They definitely differ. My night routine is the one that is probably the longest because, in the morning, I'm just scrambling to get ready to either wake up with my son or go to work, or both. So, in the morning, I'll use micellar water and slap on sunscreen.
"At night is when I really take the time to wash my face. I use Biologique Recherche and Tata Harper cleansers. I rotate them because one doesn't have exfoliation, and the other does. And then, as I told you, I started getting melasma when I was pregnant, and it's kind of been flaring up this summer. So, I've started using Dr. Diamond's Metacine. It's a two-step thing that is plasma and emulsion, which sounds intense, but it's really light. I've noticed a big difference after using it for about a month."
"I love having rosewater nearby just to do a spray. I don't know if it does anything, but it makes me happy. And as we said, happiness matters as part of your self-care routine. So, I have rosewater nearby always. And then for my cream, I use Biologique, as well. And I use the La Mer Eye Cream—now that I've entered my 30s, I'm in my La Mer eye cream era.
"If I'm doing a mask, I'm really into the SK-II Sheet Masks. But I have to do them at night before bed because I did one in the morning once, and my son was so scared seeing me in the mask. So that's a solo, after-the-baby-goes-to-bed activity."
The Skincare Step She Never Skips
"Sunscreen is big for me. I actually just got a new one by Dermabasics, and it's chemical-free, mineral-based, and water-resistant. I needed to really do my research for this summer because I realized I needed to wear so much more sunscreen than normal. I really liked this one—I just started using it, and it's been my daily staple.
"And I love my rosewater. I've been using the Chantecaille one, and it comes in a really pretty bottle and just makes me happy—I even bring it to the beach."
How Her Routine Has Evolved Over Time
"I’ve made so many mistakes. Actually, I got my I got my [driver's] license renewed, and so I'm now at the age where I have three licenses to look at to compare the one when I was 15, the one when I was 21, and now the new one. It's hilarious to see how different my eyebrows look in every photo. We've all done weird beauty trends. At least most people don't have so much photo evidence on the Internet of their beauty flops like all of mine—some from when I was twelve are online, so it's a little embarrassing. But it's also kind of funny. I feel like any photo of a beauty faux pas will just make a funny birthday invite one day."
The Product That’s Made the Biggest Difference
"Aside from melasma, my skincare routine is about hydration. Barbara Sturm actually got me into the Hyaluronic Acid Serum. And I really love that because I feel like it's not something you have to use either day or night—you can use it whenever and however you want. And I like using that after the New and Improved Finishing Touch Flawless Face. I'll use the Finishing Touch Flawless Face first to get all the peach fuzz off my face, and then I'll do the hyaluronic acid serum. I feel like it really locks in stronger if I do it in that order."
Her Best Skincare Advice
"Obviously, products can be amazing, tools are amazing, and makeup can be super fun. But, at the end of the day, I think for good skin, it's sleep and water for better or for worse. And so, I've definitely tried to be more mindful of my sleep and my water these days."
Her Most-Used Product
"I think anything that has to do with lips. I feel like with work, where I'm wearing lipstick all day or traveling on a plane, my lips get really dry. So, I've been liking the U Beauty Lip Plasma, which is really hydrating and intense. And then, when I'm just on the go, I have the little Dr. Barbara Sturm Lip Balm pot in my bag, and that's always really good, too."
The Product She’s Used the Longest
"I've been using the Osea Body Oil for a long time—I never really switch it out. Like, I always just buy a new one because it's clean, it's easy, it is really hydrating. And I really love the brand."
Her Latest Skincare Obsession
"I really love Kora Organics—Miranda Kerr's line. I knew it a long time ago, but lately, I've been discovering some of their new products and I think that they're all so good. I also love the packaging—sometimes, it's okay to love the packaging!"