Lisa Vanderpump rarely slows down—in life or in business. So getting 30 minutes with her over Zoom felt like a rare treat, especially when the restaurateur opened her makeup bag on camera. The only downside was not getting to meet the newest member of her canine crew, a Pomeranian named Donut, who was “out on a wee-wee” with her husband, Ken, during our conversation—but it was a loss I was willing to take in pursuit of her beauty secrets.
We caught up around the launch of her first cookbook, Home at Villa Rosa: Cooking and Living the Vanderpump Way ($35). Out now, the pink-covered book doubles as decor, just as you’d expect from the Bravo star known for glamorous restaurants and lavish tablescapes. Inside: gorgeous photography and years of family recipes.
Ahead, Vanderpump shares the beauty products she keeps close, the treatments she swears by and the little details that make a night at Villa Rosa feel special.
What does your beauty routine look like right now?
“I put on makeup every day. I really do. I love makeup. I’m a real girl’s girl. People say I’ve got this masculine energy, but I love makeup, I love flowers, I love beautiful things. Often I work in a man’s world, so to speak, with corporations and everything. But I love all the beautiful things.
I have a very simple beauty routine. I take my makeup off with the blue Neutrogena wipes so there’s not an ounce of makeup on me, and then I always put on Chanel face cream because I find it absorbs into my skin really well. I also use [Beverly Hills dermatologist] Simon Ourian’s products.”
What are some of the makeup favorites in your bag?
“I love this new lip pencil I’ve got from Beauty Creations. My makeup artist here, Priscilla, just gave it to me. I really like that.
I used to wear the Chanel [gloss], but they discontinued it. This Girlactik gloss ($19) has that slight iridescent thing in it, so it always looks shimmery. I don’t think it’s expensive at all, but it’s just really pretty.
I always carry one of these little glitter compacts from Estée Lauder. I have about 50 of them, all different. I’ve collected them over 30 years. I love that on my dressing table.”
You mentioned trusting Simon Ourian with your face. What treatments do you get?
“I do a little filler around the hairline that he does because I don’t want that in my face, so to speak. I do Botox like the rest of the world—not the rest of the world, but the rest of, you know—which is wearing off now because I’ve been away on location for two months in Austria on Vanderpump Villa.
And I’ll do lasers. Simon does lasers. You think, ‘Oh, is this going to work?’ And then three months later, you’re looking at your skin. People always tell me I have good skin, but I think that comes from maintenance, from using firm-and-fade creams and light lasers.
But [cosmetic] work? No, I haven’t. Andy [Cohen] was going through that yesterday and said, ‘Check for scars.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, come on, Andy, do it.’”
How has your approach to beauty changed as you’ve gotten older?
“It takes longer. It takes longer, definitely. We’ve got to iron out the creases a little bit more, I suppose.
Having been in hospitality, I think I’ve always been a best-foot-forward type of person. I don’t understand it when I’ve seen Housewives, for example, who can’t leave the room or the house without glam. My life’s not like that. I have to be best foot forward all the time.
When you’re in the restaurant business, you’re always forward-facing, so I’ve learned to do my own makeup. If I’m working on camera or doing special interviews, then I will have extra help or somebody looking through the camera.
I always wear lashes now. I didn’t used to wear lashes. Once you’re on the eyelash train, it’s very difficult to get off.”
You also do your own nails. What’s your routine?
“I haven’t had a manicure since before COVID because I’m away so long sometimes, and I’m in the middle of nowhere. I see these people with acrylic nails. They start off with 10, and then, as the weeks go by, they’re dropping like flies.
I use Nail Envy by OPI ($20), a base coat, a Chanel polish and a top coat. I’ll touch them up every couple of days. But I do my own nails, which everybody’s always surprised by.
[My daughter] Pandora was saying to me, ‘Yeah, but it takes time every day.’ I go, ‘But by the time I get in the car and drive to the nail salon and sit there for an hour and then drive back, if I amortize that over a week, I win.’
Sometimes, if I’m in a rush, I’ll color my own hair. I don’t even have an assistant. I’m not somebody who needs a lot of looking after. I do it myself.”
Let’s talk about the book. What inspired you to put it together?
“I had so many recipes here and there. My sister-in-law—my brother’s wife; my brother sadly passed—used to work for the royal family, so she had so many recipes she’d given me. Pandora had so many recipes in mixology, things we’ve done together and things we’ve cooked. It was about putting it all in one place.
There were even more recipes, to be honest. We narrowed it down. We had to say, ‘OK, that’s got to go, that’s got to go.’
But it’s just a very sexy book that should be on your counter and covered in flour and probably gravy. Thumb through it. I still have books I go back to and refer to. I like to have a recipe in front of me.
I just cooked my shrimp pasta live on television. I call this dish ‘better than sex,’ and they were like, ‘Why?’ I was like, ‘Oh, wait. You’ll taste it.’ Everybody had a taste. They didn’t say it was better than sex, but I knew they were thinking that.”
What does a normal weeknight dinner look like at Villa Rosa?
“Oh, my goodness. I’m so lucky if I’m in one place right now because I’m scattered between Vegas and Arizona. But I love to cook. I’ve never seen it as a chore.
Ken is very appreciative. That would be a note to people: If somebody’s cooking for you, it’s an act of love and caring. I remember my father used to say to my mother—and that’s in the book—‘I’ll tell you if I don’t like it.’ Ken’s never been like that. He was always very much like, ‘This is delicious.’ And because he can’t do it himself—he’s only got one dish!—it’s very encouraging.
There are two or three things I have as go-tos. A great chicken dinner with vegetables and roast potatoes. The way I do my roast potatoes, that is my gift to you. Once you’ve done these roast potatoes like this, very specifically, you’ll never do them another way. People will ask you to do them because they’re really crunchy.
I do a lot of vegetables. Ken’s pescatarian. He doesn’t eat our furry friends. I don’t eat much meat, really—a bit here and there—but he likes fish and vegetables a lot. So I’ll do my shrimp pasta, which is a given and so yummy.
And I’ll have a glass of wine. It’s normally a Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.”
After decades in hospitality, what makes a guest feel taken care of?
“I always think the lighting’s important. Try to remember, if you can, what somebody likes to drink. If you show up and somebody goes, ‘Lisa, I know you love a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, so here’s a nice chilled glass,’ or, ‘I know you like an Aperol spritz.’ I think that’s a really good thing.
I encourage my bar staff, if they see somebody coming in and they know what they drink, to say, ‘Hey, I remember.’ Even if they get it wrong, it’s nice to think, ‘I know you. I see you. You’re here.’
I always like music playing in the house, but I would go acoustic or without vocals because it’s easier to talk over. Great lighting, an appetizer—there are a lot of appetizers in this book that are super simple—a drink and a smile on your face.
And I’ve got seven dogs, so they always give a really good greeting.”
Are there any recipes for the dogs in the book?
“There’s a little one. We do cook for our dogs. There’s one, but I couldn’t go into detail.
I’m actually looking for the perfect dog food because I have my dog rescue. We’ve saved over 3,000 dogs just in Los Angeles and thousands more worldwide. We have a sanctuary in China. So I’m looking for the perfect dog food. We’re tracking it down.
By the way, I prefer dogs to humans. I worship dogs.”
Before guests arrive, how do you get yourself into the entertaining spirit?
“It depends who it is. If it’s a really great friend, it feels very different to business, and we do a lot of business and entertaining at Villa Rosa.
Making things beautiful always makes your guests feel that you cared about them. When I set a table, if I do it beautifully, I think the guest interprets that it’s for them. Like if you dress up nicely to go somewhere, the fact that you’ve made an effort really resonates.
I think malaise is the enemy. I’m not saying dress up every minute. You’ll catch me in jeans and a white shirt. But I think making that extra effort matters.
The funniest thing with makeup: My phone won’t recognize me on Face ID without makeup. I think that’s really rude. I try to open my bank account, and it’s like, ‘No, I have not a clue who you are.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ I put on my makeup, and then it’s ping!”
What’s your go-to hostess gift?
“I do love flowers, but I don’t think you should show up with flowers that need to be put in a vase. You feel bad if you leave them on the side. If it’s a bouquet that’s tied and you can just plop them in water, or if it’s in a vase already, that’s good. Flowers always mean, ‘I love you. Thank you.’
A candle, of course. I’ll often take something English to a house. Anything special. I think life should be about making moments special, and I’ve always been like that. If it’s a lace tablecloth, if it’s a nice napkin ring—when you make that effort, even a little effort goes a long way.
I’ve also been a big advocate, and my daughter is too, for collecting things along the way in your life. Trinkets. Whether you’re going to put flowers in a teacup at teatime, scatter rose petals or tie the napkins a certain way, there’s a lot in this book.
But I’m not precious. I’m in the restaurant business. I know how hard it is. I’ve cooked for my family for years. These recipes are some of the favorites from our restaurants. I’m boots on the ground. I think people know that about me. I work hard, but I do what I love, so that’s why it doesn’t feel so much like work.”
Does Villa Rosa have a signature scent?
“As you walk in, you’re going to see a huge amount of roses. It depends if it feels Christmassy or flowery. I have a lot of flowers around, for sure, because I always imagine, as you walk in, just that overwhelming feeling of flowers. But not one scent per se.
It’s funny because we were choosing the scents for the hotel [her Las Vegas property], and they were saying, ‘The scent of the casino has to be different to the scent of the bathroom because we don’t want somebody thinking the casino smells like the bathroom.’ And then the scent of the bedroom.
So I actually sat down and chose the scents for each place because your mind remembers it. You don’t want somebody going to the bedroom thinking, ‘This smells like the bathroom,’ or the other way around. Opening a hotel was an education for me as well.”
With so much going on, how do you wind down after a long day?
“Alcohol. No apologies for it.
There is something somebody showed me once, and it’s always stuck with me. [Demonstrates a breathing exercise.] If you breathe in and out, it makes you relax. I do that. You’ll often see me go like that, and Ken will know what I’m doing.
But do I drink? Yes. Have a glass of wine, my dogs on my lap. You know that tactile feeling of having your furry people around you? Not Ken—my dogs.
That’s where I relax. I’m not really stressed as a person. I think you could pull on me 24/7. But I am organized, and I am a perfectionist, which is probably easy to live with in one way and more difficult in the other because you’re organized, but you still want everything perfect.”
