Eve Hewson Swears By This $15 Clarifying Mask for ‘Bad Blackheads’

“You’re so scary” is not the typical compliment one hopes to receive, but for Eve Hewson, the sentiment is more than welcome. Ever since Netflix debuted its immensely popular psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes in February, Hewson—who stars as Adele Ferguson, the wife of a psychiatrist who’s having an affair with his colleague—has relished the reactions of her friends and family. 

“I was excited for it to be unleashed to the world because I kept telling everyone how much fun I was having playing the character,” she says from her temporary home base in London. “Once they did, they kept texting me to say, ‘You’re so scary!’ Even my agent had a hard time watching it because she was so terrified. But I really love how out of the box it is. My best friend was telling me that it’s all the buzz where I’m from in Ireland, so it just makes me very proud to be part of something people really enjoy.”

It’s not just Ireland, either. A week before our interview, Hailey Bieber told Glamour that she just binged the show and found it so interesting that she’s recommending it to all her friends. Famous fans or not, Hewson is taking the newfound attention in stride. What with her wearing a baseball cap and us discussing topics like fish ’n’ chips and cats, talking to the 29-year-old feels more like catching up with your BFF than a Hollywood star. “I love makeup, I love skin care, but on a daily basis I pretty much dress like a nine-year-old boy,” she says. “It’s only when I go out that I really want to put in effort and dress up.”

So whether she’s headed to the red carpet or the local grocery store, Eve Hewson has plenty of going-out tricks that she’s learned over the years, from the perfect DIY home facial to the best illuminating highlighter. Read on for all her answers to Glamour’s Big Beauty Questions.

Glamour: What’s one beauty trend you’re obsessed with right now?

Eve Hewson: Highlighter. There’s a Chanel primer that gives you a great illuminating glow. I put it on first and follow it with a SPF tinted moisturizer. It just gives you a really good glow, and both products gel together quite nicely. It makes it look like you have really nice skin, which is great for me because I don’t like wearing a lot of makeup during the day. 

What’s one beauty rule you think is B.S.?

Everyone always says, “Do an eye or a lip.” But I think if you’re careful, you can do both. You just don’t want to go too heavy on your eyes if you’re going to do a lip, but I think there is a way to accentuate your eyes with a red lip or even a purple. People may think that’s crazy and very goth, but I’m so into it. I’ve watched so many talented makeup artists do it, so it looks classy and like you’re not wearing too much makeup. 

What's the best beauty advice your mom ever gave you?

My mum’s all about sunscreen and being really healthy with what she eats. She’s obsessed with green tea. She taught me that what you eat really does affect your skin. There’s this green juice that I make by Dr. Steven Gundry. He wrote this book called The Plant Paradox, and it’s about eating foods that can help heal your body. So I drink this green juice with avocado, spinach, lettuce, lemon, and mint. That’s all it is. If I’m on set or if I have to do photo shoots, I will drink one of those every day. I swear, it makes your skin look great. My mum was right, because what you put into your body is going to show on the outside. I gave up coffee and sugar a year ago and my skin completely changed.

Fill in the blank: I love my hair...

When it’s blow-dried. I have really thick, kind of frizzy, curly Irish hair, and if I let it dry on its own, it’ll sort of become like this massive mushroom poof on my head. So I like to really take the time to blow-dry it or straighten it. I use a little bit of coconut oil during the week, which helps keep it moisturized and a bit more put-together.

What city or country gives you the best beauty inspiration?

Los Angeles—even though it slightly makes me insecure, it also sort of inspires me to drink lots of healthy juices and stuff. I’m usually only there for work, but when I am, I’m like, Okay, I’ve got to keep drinking green juices and doing my own hair before I leave the house. 

You can only use three products the rest of your life. What are they?

Drunk Elephant’s SPF. That’s such a treat. And then coconut oil because that kind of does everything. Also, I have this one beauty hack that I discovered in lockdown since no one could go get facials. I was getting really bad blackheads, and my skin can get really congested, which drove me crazy. I googled everything under the sun, and I found that this is my concoction: Aztec clay in a powder form that you can get on Amazon. Put it into a bowl with a bit of apple cider vinegar, some water, and mix it up into a paste. Then I get into the bath and sweat out all of the toxins. At the end of the bath, put the mask on and leave it on for 15 minutes. It exfoliates and extracts all of the blackheads and stuff, and then you wash it off. I couldn’t believe I discovered this magic trick. I told anyone who would listen, “This is the best. I’m never getting a facial again.” That only came from pure desperation in lockdown.

What music do you listen to either around the house or in the bath?

I love the dance remix version of Dua Lipa’s new album. I’ve been listening to Kids See Ghosts, which is like an old album, but that’s an upper that I really like. And then me and my friends were recently listening to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” song. It’s like the number-one song in the world. It’s very emotional, like a teenage-angst kind of song. My roommate and I will have a few drinks, and he’ll go, “Put on the song about the girl in the car!” So have a glass of wine and sing it at the top of your lungs because it brings you back to when you were 16 and you were heartbroken, and you just sort of want to jam out the pain.

Aside from a bath and a do-it-yourself face mask, what’s your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?

If I really need to wind down, I light a lot of candles. I’m obsessed with Diptyque candles, especially the Baies scent. I’ll light one of those and watch Netflix on my iPad or do a face mask in the bath. Self-pampering always makes me feel good. 

What’s your go-to perfume?

Diptyque’s Do Son. I once smelled Rihanna walking down the hallway during Fashion Week, and I couldn’t get over how good she smelled. I was blown away. For years I was looking in every perfume shop, every Sephora, everywhere, going, “Is this her scent? Is that her scent?” And so Do Son is the closest I could get to it. I just wanted to try and smell a little bit like her. Cause damn, that woman smells good.

What’s the last Instagram rabbit hole you went down?

Emma Corrin and Harry Styles’s stylist, Harry Lambert. He’s incredible and his Instagram is beautiful. What Emma recently wore to the Critics’ Choice Awards was so cool. She’s so artistic and such a good actor. She’s really putting a lot of thought into what she’s wearing, which I think is really cool.

If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions, what would it be?

Everything? I think people are attractive in their own way, so I don’t like when people are trying to copy each other to make their facial features look the same with plastic surgery. I genuinely think people are beautiful for their own qualities, and they should just accentuate those and not try to morph into someone else. I find it so upsetting to see on Instagram or when I walk into a nightclub and everyone looks the same. There’s just so many different ways of expressing yourself, and I just hate that people often put themselves in this box because they think that’s what's going to make them accepted. It’s not. But I don’t really think it's people’s fault either. It’s just…we’ve been brainwashed to feel like this is the attractive thing to do. 

Who are the women inspiring you the most right now?

I love Frances McDormand and her recent Vogue cover. She’s just someone who is just completely herself, and I’ve always looked up to her. I worked with her when I was younger, and I’ve always just admired that she is completely herself. I also love Alisyn Camerota on CNN’s New Day. I wake up and watch her every single day. 

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram.