Besides being a reality show fan favorite, The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania is definitely that friend you can call or text any time of the day for advice. She’s also like that about beauty—a completely open book on everything from skin care to plastic surgery.
“I’m a bit of a beauty-product addict—I just can’t get enough of it,” the 53-year-old recently shared us over a Friday afternoon Zoom. Catania is also a partner with the invite-only BeautyPass, crediting it to the reason she looks better for less.
“At this age, I’ve learned so much about skin care; I want to reach out to the younger girls and let them know what I wish I knew. And there’s so much to learn! Every day there’s more stuff coming out. That’s why I love BeautyPass. It gives us the newest products that we can try without breaking our bank account.” Here’s what’s on Catania’s already-tested, must-have list for summer.
Brow Wow
“The eyebrow stuff that everybody goes crazy over—the GrandeBROW serum ($73)—is amazing. My girlfriend stole it from me last night out of my beauty box!”
Dream Creams
“I really like the No7 creams. I like a heavier cream at night before I go to bed, and then I also love the No7 Day Cream. It’s SPF 25 and has a great consistency to it. My house is a very dry house, so if I want to have a good day, I need a good day cream. When I was younger, I used to work at a hair salon as a shampoo girl. I’ll never forget…we had one woman who always said: ‘Honey, use good cream on your skin!’ She was right.”
Super Scrub
“When I wake up, the first thing I do is exfoliate. I love the OSEA Seaglow Resurfacing Scrub ($58). I really like the product’s ingredients. It’s the perfect thing for my skin. I really feel like, unless you exfoliate, nothing good you apply after will get into the skin.”
Wipe Out
“I have a lot of different cleansers…that’s one thing that I switch up a lot. I have so many. What I use on any given day depends on the way my skin is. When I have tons of makeup on for filming, then I usually have to really exfoliate. But you know what my biggest go-to is? My Neutrogena face wipes. Such a classic.”
Pimple Power
“I also like to have those stubborn acne patches from Neutrogena on me. I have to have backups in case I break out from nerves during filming. I’m kidding, but everyone should have them. If you feel a breakout coming on, you hit it with one of these before it comes out.”
Mask On
“I like my Dr. Gross products. My latest obsession is his LED mask. Dr. Mark Karolak, my facial plastic surgeon, had suggested it to to me. There’s something to be said about that. Now, I have to use it every night. I love it. I really do.”
Makeup Musts
“Glo is a big go-to brand for me. I really like Glo for makeup. It doesn’t make you break out. I also love a good tinted SPF moisturizer and they have a great one. It is as good as it gets. I cannot be without it.”
Lip Service
“You always need EOS for your lips. There’s nothing worse than dry lips. I swear to God, I get into fights with my daughter when she’s not moisturizing her lips and exfoliating.”
On-Camera Confession
“By the way, I don’t even know how to put on mascara correctly. I’m a scrappy girl. I never wear a lot of makeup; I don’t like the feel of heavy makeup on my skin. But, when you’re on TV, you have no choice. You have to have that HD look. There have been times I’ve tried to do my makeup on the show—and it shows. I recently saw an old episode when we were in Jamaica and, for some reason, I put this blue-frosted eyeshadow on. It did not look great!”
