Actress Anna Sawai, known for her roles in Shōgun and Pachinko, is a firm believer in a gentle, skin-soothing approach to beauty. Her morning routine starts with a mindful face-drying technique: “Never drag the towel around your face; you don’t want friction,” she instructs. After cleansing, Sawai applies a moisturizing mask and lets it sit while she tackles de-puffing. She uses a large face roller to gently massage the lymph nodes on her neck and work it across her face in swift, upward strokes. She then uses the tool for a quick scalp massage, believing that it can help lift the face.
For a clinically tested boost, Sawai reaches for a vitamin C serum and follows it with a careful application of Tatcha’s Water Cream. The New Zealand native emphasizes the importance of a consistent skincare routine: “I am very good with my skin,” she says. “I will not sleep with my makeup on, no matter how sleep-deprived I will be.” She also religiously applies sunscreen as the final step in her skincare routine, finishing with a “cute little pink tint” from Tatcha’s lip mask.
Sawai’s makeup routine is just as thoughtful and deliberate. She starts with an Hourglass skin tint and then uses a Merit concealer to brighten the under-eye area. Contouring along the cheekbones helps to “keep it lifted,” she explains. For her eyebrows, she uses a powder slightly lighter than her natural brow color, brushing it onto her arches with a Tokyo Addiction pressed powder.
When it comes to blush, Sawai prefers a sheer wash of color. She applies Merit’s balmy formulation and then adds a touch of Charlotte Tilbury’s Cheek To Chic Blush. “I’m also going to put some on my eyes,” she says, coloring her lids with the candy-pink powder to achieve a “fresh, sweet look.” A creamy highlighter adds a natural, luminous finish to her cheeks, and then it’s time for lashes.
A few pumps of Tokyo Addiction’s eyelash curler “makes a really big difference,” Sawai says, batting her newly curled lashes before applying Shiseido’s inky eyeliner. She creates sharp flicks with an angled brush and then swipes on an eyelash primer. “If I don’t put any primer, my lashes are literally gonna touch the floor,” she quips. Black mascara provides the finishing, lash-lifting touch.
To complete her look, Sawai adds a sheer wash of color to her lips and finishes with a touch of contour above and below her lips. But Sawai’s biggest beauty secret isn’t a product, it’s a sleep habit: “When I sleep, I sleep on my back. I do not sleep on my side,” she says. She recalls waking up with a giant crease in her skin after sleeping on her side and vows to never repeat the experience. Instead, she rolls up a soft towel and places it behind her neck to help her maintain a supine position while sleeping. “That’s my best beauty secret,” she says.
With her fresh face intact and her beauty secrets revealed, Sawai is ready to celebrate her Emmy nomination, her career flourishing alongside her radiant, natural beauty.
