FX’s The Bear is back and with Season 2 comes some very interesting skin-care revelations from one of its stars, Abby Elliott, who plays opposite Jeremy Allen White, as Carmy’s estranged sister, Sugar. Without giving away any spoilers, it’s safe to say Elliott’s arc is central this season—and she did it all while being very pregnant. We caught up with the SNL alum at the beginning of the month, as she shared her skin-care go-tos (and pregnancy-safe tweaks) and what was on tap as she prepped for the birth of her second child.
Word on the street is that you’re very into beauty and wellness. How did you edit your routine with this pregnancy?
“Well, the obvious: No retinol! There are amazing products on the market right now for pregnant women. Actually, I think it’s safe to say there’s better pregnancy-safe products out there than there were two years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I used a lot of the HATCH stuff. I have this facial glow oil they make and I also use their belly oil. Loved both of those products. I kept up with some of the same stuff that I was using like hyaluronic and vitamin C serums.
iS Clinical makes a really good serum. I’ll try and get the name. It’s in a blue bottle. It tingles a little and it feels like it’s doing something. I’ve been pretty dry this pregnancy, so I’ve been moisturizing a lot. Plus, we shot in Chicago while I was at the beginning of the third trimester. It was really cold at the beginning and we were freezing, so we were inside a lot. That recycled air is never good for your skin. I got an industrial-strength humidifier and was just slathering on the moisturizer. I had the same thing last pregnancy where I was really dry, but this time there were some environmental factors as well.”
Everyone loves that Active Serum.
“That’s the one! Love it! It just feels so luxurious. On set, the makeup person, Ignacia Aguilar, used this Shani Darden vibrating wand on me to depuff and get rid of extra water that I was holding on to. That thing was a game-changer; I ended up buying one. I use it all the time! It’s basically a vibrator for your face. Her stuff is great.”
Her retinol is amazing.
“Yes! I have to be honest: I am excited to use retinol again.”
Is there anything you always have on-set?
“I use the Shani Darden thing. That’s every day. I actually don’t know what this other thing I use is called…it’s like this wand and it has electrical currents or something. It’s not a specific brand, but Ignacia uses it to zap zits when I have them. I don’t know what it does exactly, but I think it’s anti-inflammatory. It’s like this wand that just zaps things away immediately. That’s the best way I can describe it. [laughs] It’s so good. I have no idea what it’s called, but it works wonders.”
When you were on SNL, was there anything you relied on to get your skin clean? I know there’s a lot of makeup on makeup when you do the show.
“With SNL, we had quick changes that were just 30 seconds of going into Kardashian makeup or taking off an Angelina Jolie prosthetic lip. The makeup artist really had it down—they knew exactly what to use that wouldn’t completely destroy my skin, but I still had a lot of irritation when I was working there. I think a lot of it was my age, too. I was in my early 20s, I wasn’t eating great, I was probably dehydrated. My skin took a beating there for sure.
I used Vanicream a lot to take my makeup off. Just the least aggressive stuff, the most super gentle stuff, because they have to rip off eyelash strips in the middle of taping. I had a couple Sunday mornings where my eyes were very angry, and then it would be time for the Benadryl. I found that HD makeup—which is what everyone was using at the time—also wasn’t great for my skin. It looks amazing on camera, but it’s just so heavy.”
As far as The Bear goes, I know you have a big arc this June. Without sharing any spoilers, what are you excited to for fans to see?
“I’m just excited for fans to get to know my character a little more. I’m also excited for them to just learn more about our relationship, and where we come from. It was stuff that they responded to in the first season and there’s definitely more of that. I think people will be very excited.”
