What Susan Kelechi Watson of ‘This Is Us’ Can’t Live Without

I noticed a friend who had this bag, and as a New Yorker, I love a big bag. Something about the tote was so stylish because it didn’t have all these compartments, meaning you could see everything without digging around. It was a fly bag! I asked her about it, expecting it to be some $300 thing, and when she told me she got it at Urban Outfitters, I was like, “Oh, whaaat Urban Outfitters?” So for my birthday that year, I asked my mom to get it for me, and I now get so many compliments on that bag. I’ve had it for so many years, and I still get compliments.

Obviously, I got settled with my routine when I was on a budget, but this stuff works. I actually started using Palmer’s in college when I was breaking out, and this helped even out my skin tone. People get so shocked when I say I use it on my face because “It’s too heavy,” but it works for me. I like to put a bit on under makeup just to keep the skin moisturized and protected.

The truth is that I really wanted the Rihanna Fenty furry slides, but I was too late on them, and these were the closest thing I could find. Now, it’s actually hard to take them off because they’re just so comfortable and so cute. I don’t wear them out, though. I’m all about slides and slippers just within the house. The “wearing it out” phenomenon is not for me.

I discovered this in my friend’s medicine cabinet, which you really shouldn’t be digging around in, but I was staying at her place last year, and when I saw it, I dabbed a bit around my eyes because on the bottle it actually said that it’s good for wrinkles around there. I promise you, I went to an appointment afterward and they actually asked me, “Are you on a break from school?” And I was like, “You know who is using this vitamin E now.” What I’ll do is mix some into my Palmer’s and press it onto my skin at night to wake up looking fresh and well-conditioned.

Ah, I was on such a budget! I got hooked on these when I was going to Trader Joe’s all the time back in the day because no other vitamins have ever worked for me, whether it’s a women’s health or bone health or whatever. I started eating these and noticed that I just felt good, which is how vitamins should make you feel! If you want to buy them at Trader Joe’s instead of online, you shouldn’t have any problem with sold-out stock. Nobody really buys them for some reason.

I’m all about simple products (if you can’t tell), and this actually came to my agency as a gift. Apparently vitamin C is brightening for your complexion, and I promise that it actually works. Ever since I started using it, I’ve gotten compliments on how bright and healthy my skin looks. It does what it says! I’ll put one squirt on my face, a bit of cocoa butter, and I’m good to go.

I actually was at the Oliver Peoples store on Sunset and treated myself to these because I’d booked the pilot to This Is Us. This was my pilot present to myself — an expensive pair of sunglasses. Welcome to L.A.! They’re the sunglasses I wear the most because they’re kind of funky and classic at the same time, and I liked that it’s not something everyone is wearing.

The thing everyone teases me about. It’s the only thing that works on my lips, honest to God. It has to be the Walgreens store brand of lip balm. I can’t do ChapStick for some reason. It has to be Walgreens. People try to upgrade my lip balm, and it doesn’t work. There was a time when I was in L.A. when my lips would be peeling, and I’d use high brands and low brands, and nothing kept my lips good. I don’t know how I came across the store brand for Walgreens, but I picked it up out of desperation, and once I used it, all my chapped-lip issues went away. Now, I have to have at least five on standby. On set, they call it my special sauce. My makeup artist will say, “You need your stuff.”