Our obsession with Nicole Kidman — just like her beauty game — has stayed very strong over the years.
We love her in the second season of Nine Perfect Strangers, just as much as we loved her performance in Moulin Rouge in 2001. She’s just as — if not more — radiant, gorgeous and skin-spirational now, as she was then.
She rocks a smooth blowout a little more often than her natural curls on red carpets these days, that we know, and her makeup looks are the pinnacle of soft glam (read: she always wears just enough, and never too much).
But what’s the secret to her flawless porcelain skin? Because it’s crystal clear that Nicole really knows how to take care of herself — her face is a literal glowing endorsement for her beauty routine.
Luckily, she has shared quite a few pearls of low-maintenance beauty wisdom over the years, and there are some real winners we think you ought to know about too. From product recommendations to gems of genius advice, keep scrolling to discover Nicole’s beauty secrets.
1/ She likes to keep things simple
“Simplicity is key. I always say less is more,” Nicole told Forbes.
“I wouldn’t say I have a typical skincare routine as my routine definitely changes based on where I am, what I’m doing, and the weather,” she went on to say. “Over the years I’ve added more oils and serums to my routine, but my constant is a simple cleanser — and I’m always wearing sunscreen.”
“I try not to do anything too different as my skin can be very sensitive,” she explained.
“I like anything that is low maintenance and quick, yet can still give me results,” the actress explained to People. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I can’t need 100 things, just a small number of products I really love.”
2/ She always wears SPF
“As someone with very fair skin, I’m very serious about sun protection and have been since I was a kid,” she told Forbes.
“I’m so grateful my parents were serious about sun protection when I was a child,” she went on to say. “Growing up in Australia, we spent so much time at the beach, my parents were always very serious about keeping my skin safe from the sun.”
“I get asked how I’ve kept [my skin looking so good], and it’s sunscreen,” Nicole told Vogue. “I never, ever, ever forget sunscreen. I thank my mum for that because she started me on the regime.”
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Lotion Sunscreen SPF 50 ($10.99 from Chemist Warehouse) on my face everyday,” she said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. But she’s also a fan of Australian-made Invisible Zinc SPF 50 Face and Body ($17.99 from Chemist Warehouse) during the summer, or if she’s working outdoors.
3/ She never forgets to take her makeup off
“At night I always take off my makeup. I got that from my mum,” Nicole explained to Vogue. “I use Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes ($4.49 from Chemist Warehouse) because it’s easy. I’m not a high-maintenance person.”
“I was taught to take off all of my makeup every night, but if I’ve been working all day I’ll use a cleansing wipe to make it quick and easy. They’re great for travelling because you can get them through security,” she went on to say to Harper’s Bazaar.
However, if she’s been wearing prosthetics on set she makes time to incorporate a mask into her routine to keep her skin feeling hydrated and healthy.
“Prosthetics [can] take hours and you have to use harsh alcohol to take them off. They’re really tough on your skin,” she told Glamour. “That’s why I’ll go home and use a mask, like Neutrogena’s HydroBoost ($3.49 from Chemist Warehouse), because when you put straight alcohol on your skin, it trashes it.”
4/ She loves anything that’s really moisturising
While some celebrities might be particular about which products they’ll put on their face, Nicole prefers a practical approach.
If her makeup artist has packed Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream ($480 from Augustinus Bader) to prep her skin prior to the red carpet, she’ll use it, but she’s not shy to sample more affordable options too.
“La Mer Crème is my go-to, but I also love Aquaphor,” she joked with Allure. It costs nothing and it’s amazing for dry skin, which I have. I put it on my face and it’s very, very good.”
She also really rates Neutrogena’s Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ Night Cream ($32.49 from Chemist Warehouse).
“I have really sensitive skin, but when I put on that cream, I’m like, ‘Okay!’ because it doesn’t cause dryness or redness, which can sometimes happen with retinol products,” she told People.
5/ She applies the bulk of her skin care at night
“If at night time you do most of the work, you can wake up and you can be pretty quick because let’s face it, I mean most of us are rushing in the morning,” she told Vogue Australia.
“I don’t know that many people that have an enormous amount — if you want to get a workout in, plus take care of your kids, plus get them to school, plus get to work — all of those things, there’s very little time to be doing some half hour skin care routine,” she explained.
After taking her makeup off, she usually incorporates a retinol night cream, a face oil and an eye serum or cream into her PM routine, so she can simply wake up, wash her face, and pop on some SPF before she heads out the door.
6/ She takes care of her skin so she doesn’t have to wear makeup
“My big thing is that if my skin is taken care of, I can just wear a light blush, and as long as I’ve got a glossy lip and curled eyelashes, I’m okay,” Nicole joked with Vogue.
“I don’t like a lot of make up because I just don’t like feeling like I’ve got a mask on, I like actually just like being able to feel that my skin can be seen, and also I don’t like wearing huge amounts of eye make-up, and I’m very much about the quickest way to do things,” she admitted to Vogue Australia.
“I get [my brows and lashes] tinted, but since my lashes are long, but straight, I have to curl them,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “There’s always a lip gloss in my bag. If I swipe on some gloss and curl my lashes in the morning, I look pulled together (or good enough for school drop-off).”
I’m a mum, so I don’t have a lot of room in my bag, but I always try to have an all-in-one product,” she shared with Allure. “I use Benefit Benetint on my lips and cheeks.”
She also loves Neutrogena Hydro Boost ($19.16 from Amazon Australia) for adding a bit of colour back into her complexion when she needs it.
“I can just rub it into my cheeks and my lips,” Nicole told Vogue Australia. “They have this really beautiful deep red, which I love, but when you smear it on your cheeks it really, it’s just easy.”
7/ She’s a big believer in cryotherapy and massage
“When I wake up in the morning, I love splashing cold water on my face or sometimes taking a super cold shower,” she told Vogue.
“I think I do that because when I was young, I would swim in the ocean in Australia, so there’s something connected to starting the day with cold water,” she explained. “There’s something about the ocean — the salt — that feels so good for you.”
“I love the cold ocean. On Big Little Lies, Meryl thought I was nuts; she would see me in the ocean at 6:00 a.m. every day,” she joked to Allure.
“I’m a huge believer in the medicinal effects of massage,” Nicole shared with Allure. I just feel like that’s a huge part of my relaxation and it helps me to sleep, which is not my strong suit.”
“I learned massage and became licensed when I was 18 to help my mum through breast cancer treatments,” she revealed in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “It was my way of helping her and being by her side.”
8/ She treats her skin from the inside out
She starts her day right with a breakfast of champions: “I start the day with a cup of matcha tea, and then I move on to coffee, a bowl of rice puffs with blueberries, raspberries, and almond milk,” Nicole told Harper’s Bazaar.
“I really believe in taking vitamins and supporting my skin with inside health,” she shared with Allure.
“My nails are probably the worst part of me — they’re always breaking — so I use this amazing skin, hair, and nails vitamin from Swisse Wellness ($19.49 from Chemist Warehouse), and it’s really changed them.”
9/ She swears by cardio
“I grew up with a marathon-running father, and my sister does mini triathlons. I do none of that, but I love running—at a very slow pace,” Nicole joked with Harper’s Bazaar. “I’m not fast or pretty when I run, but I like being outdoors. It lifts my spirits and gives me gratitude for the world. It’s peace for me.”
She also likes spin class, which she equates to a ‘morning nightclub’.
“It’s dark with really great music, and you go in there and get completely revved up for the day,” she admitted.
Main image credit: Getty Images
What’s your favourite of Nicole’s beauty secrets?
She has such a sensible and easy routine
I like running too, but not cold water
Cold water is a no for me too !!
10: Genetics.
Keeping it simple makes sense but not using all the products while you sleep, your skin needs to breath. But I agree with cleansing it is amazing how much dirt we collect on our faces each day.
I also wash my face in cold water, it was because it took so long for the hot water to arrive. I have since found out that washing your face in cold water is good for our vagus nerve, so I wash my face in cold water but with the purpose of helping my vagus nerve.
Same here. By the time the hot water kicks in, I’m finished.
She is ageing so well but she works at it. Good for her! She’s a great role model. This reads a bit like a Neutrogena ad though.
She has such great skin, a good example of keeping out of the sun.
Yes stunning !
Nicole has always looked beautiful.
She is maintaining her skin really well.
She is both very gorgeous and very sensible.