Kim Cattrall Swears By Good Lighting and a ‘Very Small’ Makeup Bag

The photos are gorgeous! How did you feel working on it?

It was glowing. I was glowing. I like what Charlotte does. In my toolbox, in my makeup box, I have her products. So as one independent woman to another, I thought, yeah, I can get behind women feeling confident enough to mix it up.

You’ve always exuded confidence. When it comes to beauty, and makeup in particular, what makes you feel most confident?

For me, especially as I get older, less is more. When I was younger, I felt a real need to, in some ways, put up a mask of who I was or what I wanted people to perceive me as. But the older I’ve gotten and the more comfortable I’ve gotten with myself, that’s been less of a priority. Meeting people without pretense, without hiding, it takes vulnerability, but it’s worth it.

There is a vulnerability in beauty, right?

There is. People think, Oh, you’re good-looking. What have you got to worry about? [Laughs.] Excuse me. We all are going through whatever crap in our lives and in our jobs.

What’s your personal approach to makeup?

It depends on what my day is, but on a regular basis, I just put a little bit of makeup on—lipstick, concealer for any little new friends that have appeared at night. But for my job, it’s completely different. Makeup plays such a big role in being an actress. And you literally can change who you are playing that character between takes. As an actress, to be able to access something like makeup to help me create a character is such an essential tool. Most of the parts, or a lot of the parts that I have played, are very sophisticated, smart women who know how to take care of themselves. And part of that has to do with—it’s almost like a preparation, putting the makeup on, creating that person. That is a big part of it.

What are the products you use every day?

My makeup bag in life is very small because most of the bags that I own are very small. So a lot of it’s lipstick, a lot of it’s powder. I have a pencil if I have a little red something popping up or whatever. And I have a little comb that folds up. It’s all easy maintenance.

Is there a beauty tip you’ve picked up on set that you’ve used ever since?

I wear a lot less makeup in real life. I remember as a young contract player at Universal Studios, I would sit in the makeup chair and I would just hate what was going on because the makeup, especially in the ’80s, was so much. And I would go back to my dressing room because I was a little bit nervous—I didn’t want to upset the makeup artist or the hairdresser—and I would tone down my makeup and I would come to set and I’d sort of avoid the hair and makeup people.