Girl Talk With Sydney Sweeney Reveals Her Top Beauty Secrets And More

Forbes

04-04-2025

Photo byIn person, 27-year-old actress Sydney Sweeney is every bit as sweet as her doe-eyed smile and wavy blonde hair suggest. She has been acting since before she was a teen, but her hit roles in projects like Euphoria and White Lotus sent her career onto a meteoric trajectory. At the end of the day, she has been catapulted into super-stardom before the age of 30.
'I'm Sydney,' she tells me warmly. My first impression is that she is friendly and quick-to-smile in her wide-leg, blue denim and a bubblegum pink jacket and heels. In spite of the fanfare that surrounds her, Sweeney is calm, soft-spoken and friendly, instantly putting me at ease.
In a world of heavy glam, she is the very picture of the natural aesthetic. The American dream incarnate—a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl next door with a fresh-faced glow. It is no wonder that she has been tapped as the celebrity brand partner for high-profile, global beauty brands like Armani Beauty and LANEIGE.
Photo byfor LANEIGE
As such, my line of questioning jumps right into her beauty practices. Sweeney recounts an early childhood memory of her mother using a face lotion to 'slug'—the beauty trend that uses a thick balm or occlusive layer as a final step in the beauty regimen to lock-in moisture and prevent transepidermal water loss (T.E.W.L.) overnight. But these days, her high-profile complexion is tended to by a whole team of experts.
'I have an amazing facialist. Her name is Joomee and I try to see her whenever I can,' Sweeney tells me of celebrity facialist Joomee Song, who is famous for her A-list beloved KAIKA™ facial massage method that sculpts the faces of more celebrities than you can count on your fingers. 'I love it because she doesn't use tools or anything invasive, it's really just her hands. I like to try and stay as natural and clean as possible.'
In a perfect world, Sweeney tells me that she would see Song weekly, if she could. But realistically, she aims for a monthly facial as her schedule is jam-packed with travel as she traverses between film sets, photoshoots and planned appearances like the one we are meeting before today.
Photo byfor LANEIGE
Outside, there is already a line forming in anticipation of her arrival at the LANEIGE pop-up beside La La Land Cafe at The Grove. The brand first achieved viral status over their beloved Lip Sleeping Mask (which popstar Gracie Abrams recently told me she is a mega-fan of) and Sweeney has been a celebrity partner of theirs for three years now.
'Of course, I love the Lip Sleeping Mask. It's my go-to. The Vanilla flavor is my favorite, and I just got Pink Vanilla—which is in a swirl design—and I'm excited about it,' Sweeney tells me of their cult-favorite product. 'But I will tell you what [else] I use religiously that are definitely my favorites [from the line].'
Sweeney goes on to describe how the toner, Cream Skin, is her top pick for travel—which aside from optimizing the skin's pH, works well to prep and set the skin before and after makeup. Because it comes in mini sizes, she can easily toss it into her travel beauty kit. She also names the Water Bank Cream Eye Serum, Water Bank Cream Moisturizer and the brand's new launch, the Bouncy & Firm Serum, which has just launched at Sephora, as products she reaches for on the regular.
'Those are like my holy grail products—forever and ever.'
Photo byfor LANEIGE
I am curious what else makes up the bulk of the star-on-the-rise's beauty repertoire. Sweeney names two additional beauty practices of which she loves to practice. First, she loves a good red light therapy mask—the ultra-popular technology that, at specific wavelengths, has been shown to promote the efficiency of skin cells in their functions by essentially charging up their mitochondria with cellular energy, or ATP.
'I have a lot of light therapy masks that I try to use whenever I can. I typically reach for whatever I have on hand, because I throw them in different suitcases,' Sweeney explains.
She also has another beauty hack that is affordable and accessible to us all: ice! Every morning she uses ice to de-puff, calm and sculpt the contours of her face with a little DIY cryo-therapy. The practice is known to reduce inflammation, promote circulation and experts have explained that the contrasting applications of cold and heat (i.e. contrast therapy) can support lymphatic drainage.
'I try to do it every morning. If I don't have my ice roller, then I'll literally just take ice and start rubbing it all over my face,' Sweeney explains. 'If I'm at a hotel, I'll ask for an ice bucket. So every morning, I start my day with a nice facial massage.'
Photo byfor LANEIGE
It's obvious how busy her schedule is—in mere minutes, she has already mentioned travel, suitcases and hotels. She tells me that finding time for self-care is itself a challenge, but moments in her beauty regimen—like setting aside ten or fifteen minutes to sit beneath her red light mask, or finding a quiet moment to pick up a book—are the moments when she is able to ground and find her center on a daily basis.
It's a reminder of the A-list lifestyle with which few can relate; I certainly cannot. The moment a star's career takes off into otherworldly fame, it is also said to be incredibly isolating as celebrities are surrounded by those whose motivations and intentions can never be fully trusted. What even is 'alone time' when you barely have a free day to yourself?
Stars of a certain caliber travel with a whole team that plays a supportive and directive role in her career. Time and time again, celebrities that have successfully navigated the trials of being public figures cite being surrounded by close friends, family and support systems they have been able to rely on.
Photo byfor Armani Beauty
In Sweeney's case, several of them are in the room with us. This includes members of her glam team—celebrity makeup artist Melissa Hernandez and celebrity hair stylist Glen Coco Oropeza. They are also two of the most-talented and in-demand celebrity makeup artists and hair stylists in the industry.
'Melissa been my makeup artist for almost eight years now. I've learned so much from her. She's actually the one that first introduced me to Armani Beauty,' Sweeney tells me about Hernandez, offering some backstory to her ambassadorship with the luxury cosmetics line and their beloved foundation.
'She first showed me their Luminous Silk Foundation and ever since then, I've just been using everything—their bronzer, lipstick, blush, everything.'
As someone that often interviews celebrities, a star's closeness and friendship with their glam team is one of my biggest tells—akin to checking whether your date is polite to a waiter or waitress. But it is precisely because actors and actresses are experts at portraying roles that hints at their true personalities can be gleaned from their rapports with their celebrity makeup artists, hair stylists, facialists and more.
On this note, Sweeney passes the test with flying colors.
'Oh yeah, I mean, they're my everything. They're my therapists, even if they don't want to be,' Sweeney says of Hernandez and Oropeza with a laugh, calling Oropeza her 'vault.' And let's be real—considering Oropeza's close proximity to some of the world's most famous celebrities, the secrets he keeps are some of the most-coveted.
Photo byfor LANEIGE
But in all honesty, this is also one of the moments that speaks to Sweeney's vulnerability as a young woman that has achieved global fame and success. Everyone goes through phases of discerning who can and cannot be trusted; but for the ultra-famous, knowing who to trust and having the right people around you can literally make-or-break your career.
Fame is certainly not for the faint-hearted, either, and even though Sweeney has it all—including mobs of adoring fans—we all know that jealousy and gossip-mongers plagues celebrities on a proportionally massive scale. It cannot be easy to be a figure of such hotly-debated public scrutiny.
So at the end of the interview, stepping away from this beautiful young star that by all outward accounts has it all, I am both convinced of her sweetness and in awe of her strength as I am reminded of what a vulnerable thing it is to be a twenty-something woman.