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eauty is my favorite word,” Dern says. “It’s what

I call the women I love, the ones who make the

room light up. My friends Reese Witherspoon

and Greta Gerwig have this quality. They

lead with light, and that’s what true beauty

is to me.” What enhances Dern’s light? “I turn to art,” she

says. “I look at the ferocity of Nan Golden’s work, lis-

ten to Patti Smith, read—and reread—books like Little

Women. It’s inspiring and incredibly healing to learn from

women who are their true selves. And that’s not easy. I care a lot

about what other people think.” She also spritzes Happiness

Abscissa Eau de Brooklyn ($42, happinessabscissa.com). “My

friend—a leading psychiatrist—created it to elevate your state

of well-being,” she says. “And I’ve learned to stop apologizing

so much and instead speak up as a consumer,” she says. “I was

so embarrassed to make waves as a kid. But my mom taught me

that when we buy something, we are investing in that company

and we should want it to succeed and live up to our val-

ues.” That’s one of the reasons why, when she fell in love

with an organic facial oil she used while filming Big

Little Lies, she wrote a love letter to its founder and

then signed on to be one of the company’s ambas-

sadors and Band of Activists. “The character I was

playing didn’t wear makeup, so I thought, I should

be transparent and not wear makeup in the scenes,”

she says. “I don’t do anything to my skin but apply

healthy products and get facials, and after six months

of using this oil, I thought, Wow, there’s something to this.”

She still works to keep her inner light from dimming.

“That’s why I love a gratitude list,” she says, explaining that

she and her daughter try to list five things they’re grate-

ful for and five things they did well each day. “It helps me

be kinder to myself,” she says. “There’s no greater beauty

trick in the world than that.”

LAURA DERN

Thanks to insightful friends, mindfulness, and a beloved face oil, the

actor has never looked or felt more radiant. By Kate Sandoval Box

what makes you pretty happy?

Inez & Vinoodh

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