Ariana Madix’s Relatable Beauty Routine Includes an $18 Body Oil and the Mental Stamina to Ignore Her Cowlick

Beauty routines are integral to getting In The Mood—not for any other person, but for you. Here, get a glimpse into the products, habits, and mantras that help powerhouse women slip into the sexiest version of themselves.

Chances are, you know Ariana Madix. Maybe you’ve been a Super Fan like me since 2013, when she made her bartending-slash-reality-tv debut on Vanderpump Rules. It’s possible you caught on during her Broadway stint, where she played the one and only Roxie Hart in Chicago. If you missed both those boats, then you most definitely caught her as host on Love Island USA. That all being said, I fully expected her beauty routine to be incredibly extra. No judgment at all, but I envisioned Madix’s bathroom and shower to be stocked with gadgets and gizmos galore.

But! After spending 20 minutes with the reality star to discuss Bio-Oil's Scar Stories campaign, I stand corrected. Her approach to beauty, wellness, and aesthetics is incredibly relatable for the average girl. She requires fear tactics to get her butt out of bed (does anyone really just rise and shine?), finds her most effective body care at the drugstore (Bio-Oil for the win), and is still skeptical about the dry brushing craze (although, she’s going to engage in the lymphatic drainage technique anyway).

To learn more about the rituals, products, and habits responsible for helping her step into the sexiest version of herself, read ahead.

I'm whatever the opposite of a morning person is. When I wake up, I snooze the alarm a few times. So honestly, my mantra is just: get out of bed. I remind myself of all of the things that I need to do in order to scare myself into getting up. It’s all about fear tactics.

I am a night shower [person] for sure, but sometimes it's both. If I have to have cute hair in the morning, I need to shower when I wake up and do a blowout. I hate my bathroom, though and I plan on redoing it as soon as I can. Then it will be very sensual and gorgeous. I also don’t know if this even works—I kind of think it’s fake—but I do dry brush. I don’t actually think it’s doing anything, but I am committed to the bit. I love to shower, and then when I get out, I’ll use oil on my body and put a red light mask on it to feel extra luxurious.

Probably Bio-Oil. When you say Bio-Oil, people aren’t like, oh yea, so sensual. But it smells nice and makes my skin so nourished and hydrated. For me, what’s made me feel the most sexy, which may not be inherently sexy, is consistency in my routine. I make sure that I’m doing All The Things for myself even when I don’t feel sexy or I don’t want to. That makes me feel the most confident the next morning when I’m using my fear tactics to get myself out of bed. It makes me think of loving myself not as a concept but as a verb.

I like to layer fragrances. The combination of the moment is a vanilla sandalwood. I’ll start with the Hong Kong scent from Le Labo, which is a neroli and bergamot. It starts floral, but then it leans more citrus and it has a woody cedar in there. Then I’ll use Sol de Janiero Chieriosa 59—the purple one—because it kills it with vanilla.

I'm getting better at doing my own makeup. I have one look, and I know it’s probably dated, and maybe it's very millennial of me, but it's that shadow in the inner corner. I have hooded eyes, and it makes me look awake. I know that Gen Z-ers love to skip shadow, but people ask me if I'm tired or okay when I don't have an eyeshadow. I love a juicy cheek moment. I'm not the greatest at creating it, but I’ll try to do a contour, a blush, and a highlight.

I’m also so into a cool-toned nude lip, which is very difficult because everything turns orange. I’m still looking for that perfect gray.

I like my hair down sometimes, but honestly, I feel hottest in a slicked-back bun because I'm not worried about my hair. If it's down, I'm worried about whether my cowlick showing, right? Then I'm distracted, and then I'm not feeling sexy because I'm thinking about my cowlick.

I don’t own any nail polish. I can't, for the life of me, paint my own nails. I might to some quick press-ons, though. They have some really cool looks. Basically, I’m a nail girl that sucks at nail maintainance.

In the past, I may have just crawled into bed with a makeup wipe and fallen asleep. But I’ve grown. Now, even when it’s late, I force myself to do most of my routine. I’m still going to go to the sink and cleanse. I’m going to apply my Bio-Oil. And, I’m still going to do my sleep mask—even if it means carrying it to my bed. I’ve lived the crusty morning life and I can’t do it anymore.

In the past, I may have been a little bit scared of what aging would look like. Am I going to quote-unquote age well? But I’ve realized there are many things you can’t control. The effects of loving myself are going to make me feel good about going into these bigger ages. I feel privileged that I've made it this far, and hopefully I'll get another 40 or another 60 years. I wanna hit a hundred.

Wash your face before bed. I’m almost 40—and I’m finally listening.

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