Michelle Monaghan’s Secret to Aging Like a Fine Wine: The Unseen Power Moves Behind Her Timeless Glow
Ever wonder how someone juggles being a devoted mom, a scene-stealing actress, and a skincare warrior all at once? Actress Michelle Monaghan is that rare find who’s nailed each role with a fierce kind of grace that’s both inspiring and downright relatable. From lighting up screens as one of the captivating “toxic besties” on The White Lotus to becoming the first-ever spokesperson for the celeb-backed skincare brand U Beauty, Michelle’s journey is a testament to embracing every chapter of life—with wrinkles, wisdom, and wicked beauty hacks in tow. As a skin cancer survivor and outspoken advocate for skin health, her partnership with U Beauty isn’t just a contract; it’s a real-life love story that started with a simple question: Can one product really do it all? Spoiler alert: For Michelle, it did. Ready to dive into her no-nonsense routine, plus the insider secrets that keep her glowing—inside and out? Let’s unpack her holistic approach to aging like a champ and why, for her, getting older is the ultimate power move. LEARN MORE
Actress Michelle Monaghan has held several prominent roles throughout her life—from dedicated wife and mother to one of the three toxic besties in The White Lotus—and now, she’s taken on another as ambassador of the Bazaar-loved brand, U Beauty. “I am so thrilled with my partnership with U Beauty; it felt like it was very kismet,” Monaghan tells me over Zoom. After sharing some skin issues, like dark spots from sun damage, with a makeup artist on the set of one of her films, the star tried U Beauty’s Resurfacing Compound and never looked back.
Around three months after incorporating more of the brand’s best-sellers into her regular routine, Monaghan was approached to be its first-ever spokesperson. Partnering with U Beauty is especially personal for Monaghan as a skin cancer survivor and advocate for skin health education. “I was like, ‘Well, you’re on my bathroom sink, so let’s talk,’ she adds. “It’s just been a wonderful collaboration with them because I feel like they reflect the way I move through my life and really honor and embrace age and all walks of life. That’s something that I’m doing, and I think that I’m doing gracefully. It feels good to partner with a beauty brand that’s meeting me in my moment wherever I am.”
Bazaar caught up with the actress for the insider beauty hacks she always uses on set, what she loves most about maturing, and the one essential she never leaves home without. Read on for more of the product favorites and life learnings that continue to shape Monaghan’s views on growing older and even better with age.
If you don’t mind sharing, how old are you?
I’m 49—I’m grown.
What age do you feel you are in your head?
Oh my gosh, I kind of feel forever 32. And I say this because that was the age we had our first child, our daughter. I really look at my life sort of as pre-children and post-children, because since I’ve had children, life has kind of been a blur, because we’re constantly in motion. Becoming a parent is this beautiful whirlwind of a time warp, and so, I often look back at the pictures that pop up of my children and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, that was just yesterday, right?’ and it’s 15 or 16 years ago. But my life has never been the same, and I’m so glad for it.
Do you have a beloved beauty product that you’ve worn for most of your life?
Well, I will say that I’ve probably worn Clé de Peau Beauté concealer SPF 27—I want to say for 20 years it has been in my makeup case. It has built-in SPF, which, for me, is such a big win because it conceals and protects. I don’t leave home without it, and actually, I freak out if I leave it behind because that’s what I use for everything. I’m a real minimalist when it comes to makeup, so the concealer is my number one beauty product.
What aspects of your physical appearance do you love more now, as you’ve gotten older?
I absolutely value my skin more than I ever have—I honestly didn’t put much emphasis on my skin health in my 20s and 30s. Part of me is okay with that, because I was really focused on career and falling in love and other things, and I wasn’t obsessing about my appearance, which in hindsight isn’t a bad thing. But I wish I were more informed, specifically about wearing SPF daily. Once I was diagnosed with melanoma, my entire perspective changed in regards to my skin health and finding a routine and habits that support it from the inside out, as well as topically. I’m all about the skin now. It’s working out, it’s all of those things, but it’s also dry brushing, moisturizing, detoxifying, all of those things to support skin health, because I really do believe everything starts from the inside out.
Which beauty products would you say have aged well?
I have a little hack for puffy eyes, which is using witch hazel. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory. I start my mornings very early when I’m shooting; sometimes I’m up at 4:30 in the morning, and by 5 am, I’m in the makeup trailer. And I actually learned this probably 20 years ago from a makeup artist: I’ll dump a tiny bit of ice-cold water into a bowl of ice with witch hazel, add a couple of eye cotton pads in, and then let them soak up the witch hazel. I just add them over my eyes while they’re fixing my hair, and it de-puffs my eyes before I go to the makeup chair.
And also, when I’m in the makeup chair, I don’t know if this is a beauty product that’s aged well, but I feel like it’s more holistic, is lymphatic drainage. The facialist Joanna Czech showed me this: There are so many nerve endings in our ears that are connected to our faces. If you just massage your ears for three minutes, and then the vagus nerve, through the neck and collarbone, and the eyes, I feel that it helps. It definitely wakes up my face, along with Gua sha—I mean, that’s aged well, hasn’t it? That’s been around forever. I try to use all those little tricks, and they’re important to me because I use my face throughout the day; it’s my bread and butter. So, it’s important to wake up my face, whether it’s with cold therapy or a mask, or with massage techniques, that’s just critical from day to day because of what I do.
Please give us a quick breakdown of your current beauty routine.
As I was saying, I like a minimal routine with maximal results. I told you, I’m a very busy gal most mornings. The first thing I do is wake up and meditate—I consider that part of my beauty routine, it really grounds and calms me energetically.
Next, I jump in the shower and use a toner, generally a rosewater or something with a fresh scent, then I use the Resurfacing Compound from U Beauty, which is part of my holy grail of products. I feel like I’m getting five steps in one—I use it twice a day. After that and before my moisturizer, I apply the new Smooth Serum, which I am obsessed with. I love this product so much—it’s U Beauty’s latest technology that targets existing wrinkles, along with past and future damage and fine lines. As someone who is a multi-tasking gal, I love that, and it has a beautiful texture that layers nicely over the Resurfacing Compound. I use it around my eyes, my forehead, and specifically around my nasal labial folds, and a little goes a long way. And typically from there, I go to my SPF.
I sometimes skip the moisturizer because I’ll do that maybe later throughout the day or at the end of my day, but the Multimodal Sheer Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 25 I love because that’s kind of like a three-in-one as well. It’s a broad-spectrum, non-nano sunscreen, so it gives me all the protection I need, but it’s also like a primer and has this blurring effect. I always apply it generously, probably more than I need to, and I let it sort of blend down for a couple of minutes and brush my teeth, add deodorant, and put on my Super Body Hydrator during that time. I’ve said this a thousand times, but I feel that it’s their sleeper hit of a product—it’s the most incredible moisturizer I’ve ever used. I use it every morning, and I actually use it on set when we’re applying body makeup or if there’s a scene where we need a bit more coverage. It works perfectly because it gives you a glow instead of the matte finish that body makeup typically does—just a little hack for those who want that out there.
And if I’m going out during the day, I love using the makeup brand Ciele that’s SPF-infused. Their Blush and Protect SPF 50+ liquid blush comes in all these different tones, and I’m obsessed with the shade Kirsty, which is a bright pink. So, I use concealer after applying the Multimodal Sheer, do a little Boy Brow, dot on Charlotte Tilbury eyeliner, and then use the Lip Plasma from U Beauty, typically in the universal shade, but I use them all. My goal is just to have beautiful, glowy skin. For hair, I like using Olaplex No. 6 and No. 7, so I’ll do a dab of both, mix it together, and smooth it through—sometimes I don’t even brush it. But I love that combination, and my hair never feels greasy. If I just smooth the ends, that looks nice.
A lot of conversations around aging seem to lead to injectables and plastic surgery. Tell us, what are your thoughts on the topic?
I feel that we’re so lucky that we live in a time where there are so many options. Every time I’m scrolling, I’m hearing everything about facelifts and things like that, or injectables or techniques, and so, if that’s something that you want to pursue, I mean, I’m all about you do you. I’m just grateful that people have the ability to get medical advice and find the best doctors for themselves. As I was saying, this is my bread and butter, so I don’t, I don’t like messing with it, but plump skin is really important to me.
One of the things I started doing, probably about two years ago, is PRFM, which I swear by. There’s a place I go to called The Things We Do, I’m going to give them a shoutout because the ladies there are fantastic; they’re based in LA. I do PRFM a few times a year, and it’s so nice because it takes your own blood, spins it, takes out your plasma, and it’s injected into your skin. As we age, we get hollowing under the eyes, and so the experts inject it there and into my nasal labial folds. And that’s something I’m comfortable with because it’s using something of mine and putting it back into my body. Whenever I have girlfriends saying, “What do you do?” I tell them PRFM, I’ve noticed wonderful effects from it. I’m not gonna lie, the first two or three days, you look a little crazy. You have puffy eyes, but that’s why the universe has sunglasses, but I love the after effects of it.
What keeps you feeling vibrant and youthful?
Oh gosh, my children! I love my kids so much, and I really treasure my time with them—they really amaze me. We have a really outdoorsy family and love to spend a lot of time outside surfing, hiking, diving—they’re always up for an adventure, and that’s kind of my love language, having and sharing experiences with them. I think seeing their zest and curiosity for life completely reinvigorates mine. My daughter and I just started doing workouts together, and so that’s super cool because, you know, she’s a teenager! Any opportunity for her to share some time with me is like double the endorphins. I’m getting the love endorphins, and then we’re working out together. Just getting to share time with them is really special to me; it sparks joy. We do Pilates and CoreYoga—she likes to weight train too, so we both have our 10-pound weights and we’re doing our squats and all the things, it’s great.
Many people fear growing older. In your opinion, what is the best part about it?
I’ve embraced every age I’ve always been because it’s the only one I’ve ever known. And I think that every decade for me has just felt like a natural progression, because at every age you’re dealt different challenges, but I’ve also been dealt amazing opportunities, and so, I’ve grown from both of those things. The older I’ve gotten, I’ve been able to really appreciate that life is about ebb and flow, right? Because I know that there is ebb and flow, I know there will always be challenges and an upside to that—I have a lot of gratitude because I have more knowing the older I get. And so, I don’t sweat the small stuff. I kind of joke that I don’t ever really use the word aging in real life. I feel like I’m always growing and always learning, and therefore, it doesn’t feel that bad! Like getting older is the upside, right? If that’s the upside of getting older, I get to know myself better, and I get to have these meaningful relationships and more time on the planet with the people I love the most, which are my children and my husband, I’m like, bring it on!
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