An actress, singer, author, dancer, brand ambassador (she works with Clear Eyes) and mother of four, 52-year-old Vanessa Williams is a very busy woman. And, somehow she manages to do it all while still finding time to work out, enjoy her family and keep herself looking beautiful. Here, we caught up with the star to get the inside scoop on her anti-aging go-tos, fitness routine and so much more.
NewBeauty: What is the first product you reach for in the morning?
Vanessa Williams: I like to start each morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. I hate waking up with dry eyes, so my current morning must-have is Clear Eyes Pure Relief Multi-Symptom (available in April) eye drops. They’re great for moisturizing my eyes and getting rid of irritation right away.
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NB: Do you follow any wellness practices?
VW: I’m a big believer in finding a wellness routine that works for your lifestyle. For example, eye health is very important to me. When my dad died, he was an organ donor and we donated his eyes (corneas) to the Eye-Bank of New York. Because of that, representing eye health is a special cause to me. I’m often under bright lights, flying on planes, reading scripts, or answering emails on my phone—activities that can cause a lot of dryness. As we get older our eyes produce fewer tears, so incorporating eye drops into my routine has really helped relieve irritation.
NB: What are your primary anti-aging concerns at this point in your life?
VW: My main focus is on skin tightening and collagen boosting. I’ve found that a combination of microcurrent therapy, Ultherapy and Botox has been most effective for me.
NB: What is your one can’t-live-without beauty product right now?
VW: I’m obsessed with this yummy skin moisturizer from the Dead Sea that I discovered when I got a mud wrap in Israel two years ago.
NB: What is something your fans would be surprised to know about you?
VW: My fans might be surprised to know that I used to sell Avon door to door when I was a teenager. My favorite thing was collecting the lipstick samples.
NB: What one beauty mistake have you made during your career that you’ll never live down?
VW: For me, getting dermabrasion on my neck and chest was a mistake. The results didn’t last and the treatment was just too harsh for my skin.
NB: How do you keep your body in such good shape?
VW: I’m all about variety! I weight train with Sal Gaglio, my trainer, and love to mix in other activities like MMA cardio kickboxing and heavy-bag fitness classes, tennis and yoga.
NB: What are your guilty pleasures?
VW: I don’t have any. At 52, I don’t feel guilty about any of the things I enjoy. That’s the great thing about getting older—you worry less about what others think. I just try to live my life in a healthy way and take care of myself the best I can.
NB: You act, you sing, you’ve written a book. What is one thing you haven’t done that you want to do?
VW: There are still plenty of things I would like to achieve in my career. I would love to host SNL one of these years. I’ve sung on the show twice, but never hosted. I’ve been a huge fan since the ’70s when I started watching in high school.
