beauty secrets

Martha Stewart’s Beauty Routine Is Just Like Ours, But Not

Photo: Asadorian-Mejia/Splash/www.splashnews.com

Amid all the corporate bickering over Martha Stewart and her brand-name sheets and paints, someone finally thought to ask the lifestyle mogul about her beauty routine. Like everything else in Stewart’s universe, her beauty routine appears tastefully simple but is in fact elaborate and arduous. It favors the homemade over the store-bought. It’s a friend to animals. But the way in which Stewart’s regimen most embodies her lifestyle brand is that it is simultaneously just like ours and way, way better than ours. Blogging etiquette discourages us from reprinting it, line for line, from Allure, so we’ve chosen some highlights that are either refreshingly close to our own habits, or spectacularly, glamorously unfamiliar.

Just like us: Has five different soaps in shower.

“I use about five soaps, including my Orentreich Medical Group silicone soap bar, which I love, and Mario Badescu A.H.A. Botanical Body Soap. I use a loofah to really scrub my arms, thighs, and feet. Not my chest — that’s tender. I also love the Clarisonic, but I don’t like noise in the morning.”

Better than us: Uses La Mer on legs.

 “Some days my skin looks fabulous, and then some days, like if I’ve been horseback riding, my face is chapped. I use Crème La Mer or Clé de Peau Beauté La Crème. And I’m not averse to using face creams on my body. If you’re going to use it on your face, why not use it on your legs?”

Just like us: Pops zits.

 “I rarely get blemishes now, but if perchance I’m starting to get one, I extract it with my old-fashioned fingers, unless I’m getting a facial later that week. I don’t like metal on my face.”

Better than us: Gets spa treatments just for hands.

“I have a hand massage at least once a week, and it’s a serious massage. Oh my gosh, yes, it’s terribly important: I do not want my hands to get unnaturally bony-looking or wrinkly looking. And I do yoga hand exercises. They work. My hands are very strong.”

Just like us: Drinks tap water.

“I drink the juice of a whole lemon every single morning, and green juice. And lots of water. In New York City, I can drink tap water …

Better than us: Uses “crocks.”

“… but at my farm, [the tap water is] not so great. So I buy the giant bottles and have it dispensed through crocks all over the property. It’s not refrigerated.”

Just like us: Antipathy toward hair brush.

 “My hair is actually thicker now and grows faster than it did probably 25 years ago. On the weekend, I don’t even like to brush it. I get screamed at by my daughter.”

Better than us: Remembers to take out contacts.

“Before bed, I make sure to remove my contacts. I cleanse my face very, very well. A hot, steamy face cloth loosens any makeup, and then I wash it with silicone soap or a cleanser.”

Just like us: Sustains injuries playing with dog.

“I haven’t had facial surgery yet, but I did get Juvéderm filler after my dog bashed my lip and split it open. I tried Botox. It works for certain things, like for skin under the chin, but I don’t want a taut jawline and a quizzical look.”

Better than us: DIY beauty products actually work.

“I’ve made all kinds of things. For instance, I love salt. So I use sea salt, grated lemon peel and sesame seed oil (but not hot sesame oil). That’s s a very good scrub. Sesame oil is the best oil for your skin. It has no smell and dries like a powder.”

Martha’s Beauty Routine: Just Like Ours, But Not