Lily Collins' Favorite Lip Balm is Less Than $5 (2024)

Her Emily in Paris title character might be best known for her killer fashion sense, but with her bold brows, green eyes, and flawless milky complexion, model and actress Lily Collins is a total beauty icon. From the major contract she scored with Lancôme back in 2013 (and still has!) to her memorable red carpet hairstyles and makeup looks over the years, it’s safe to say Lily has made her mark on the world of beauty. One way she’s definitely like her on screen persona though? The laid-back, French girl aesthetic definitely jives with her own personal skincare and cosmetics philosophies (despite the fact that she’s actually a dual British — not French — citizen, having spent her summers in the UK, her father musician Phil Collins’ native country growing up). “The one thing I love about the je ne sais quoi vibe of no makeup-makeup is fresh clear skin,” the actress told Vogue. “I’ve always said, ‘the less you have on your face, the less there is to go wrong throughout the day.’”

If, like Lily, you’re looking to do more with less when it comes to your own skincare and makeup routines, then you’ve come to the right place. These tips — straight from the two-time Golden Globe nominee herself and her trusted hair and makeup team — will help you achieve her brand of understated glam in no time. Forget fancy treatments and overpriced products though. Lily truly is all about little indulgences and, on the whole, an au naturale take on all things beauty mixed with just a little bit of edge when it comes to her hair.

She’s serious about SPF.

Though a California girl through and through (she was born in Los Angeles and still lives there for most of the year), you won’t find Lily basking in the sun on her days off — that is, not without proper protection. Even though her skin could tan, she knows the key to anti-aging is consistency with SPF. “I want to embrace my ivory,” the star told The New York Times. “I’ve been using a Kiehl’s sunscreen, which is super-light and doesn’t have a fragrance.”

She loves a good grocery or drugstore staple.

Though she’s a face of Lancôme and certainly uses their skincare products and cosmetics, Lily can get behind budget beauty buys, too. This is particularly the case when it comes to matters of hydration, really from head to toe. A lip balm fiend, the actress' go-to is a $4 tube of Burt’s Bees. “Burt’s Bee has that really great hydration and it also makes [my lips] feel tingly because of the peppermint, which I love too," Lily told Byrdie at her cover shoot for the brand’s fall/winter 2020 digital issue. "I’m constantly putting this on all day."

For the rest of her body, she’s equally low-key. “If I’m feeling dry, I’ll also put liquid coconut oil on my body,” Lily told The New York Times. “I just get it at Whole Foods.”

She never goes to bed without taking her makeup off.

Whether she’s sporting a more natural, off duty look or is totally glammed up for a big event, the star is religious about washing her face at the end of the day, and that consistency is key to her clear complexion. “Obviously, at night, it’s always super important to take off your makeup,” Collins told The New Potato blog. “ I must. I can’t go to bed with anything on.”

That said, Collins keeps her nighttime routine fairly simple on the whole. “I’m a big fan of using the Lancôme Hydra Zen Anti-Stress Moisturizing Cream at night; it’s not too thick, but it really moisturizes,” she said in the same interview of her bedtime hero product.

Her signature brows are shockingly low maintenance.

You might think there’s some skilled brow shaper behind her famous Audrey Hepburn-style arches, but the truth is, she really was just born with them. According to her makeup artist Fiona Stiles, very little fussing and grooming goes on when she’s getting Lily's brows ready, even for a big magazine shoot. “I do always brush them through with a spoolie and I’ll often set them with a brow pomade or gel,” Stiles told L’Officiel. “Occasionally I’ll [fill in] a little here or there, but as I said, she just has naturally amazing brows.”

Lily herself told Vogue something similar, saying she brushes the hair up and over and finishes the look by swiping a little bit of highlighter on the brow bone. In the past, she’s also used Glossier’s Boy Brow in clear to set her high arches. Still, there’s no smoke and mirrors here: just natural bushy brows.

She likes to take risks with her mane.

According to her hairstylist Gregory Russell, who first worked with Lily for the 2013 Met Gala, hair is one place where his client likes to take risks. “Lily is so open to our vision and inspirations; she's so collaborative,” Russell told Byrdie. “What more can you ask for? She's stunning and she wants to push a look — she's such a muse to me.” From edgy top knots to loose curls for her many period pieces, she certainly never serves the same exact hair look twice, and that willingness to experiment is the best way to hone in on her best looks.