Ashley Park Always Has Dried Mango and This $9 Contour Wand in Her Bag

Plus, the moisturizer that saves her skin after a long flight.

The One Thing

Our series The One Thing is a Sparknotes version of the products, rituals, and moments your favorite celebrities and influencers swear by—their go-tos, must-haves, and can’t-live-withouts. So go ahead—take a brief, intimate peek into the lives of your favorites through the things (and people, and moments) they hold dear.

Actor and musician Ashley Park is racking up the passport stamps these days. Her thriving career has her traveling constantly, hopping from shoots to set and back again. When we chat via Zoom, the Joy Ride and Emily in Paris star has just landed in London, so I had to know: How does she find balance amidst such a busy schedule, and how does she keep her beauty game on point through it all?

Luckily for us, Park is eager to share the many lessons she’s learned backstage on Broadway, on the Parisian cabaret set of Emily in Paris and at home in Los Angeles. In her signature unfiltered, effervescent manner, Park shared the beauty products she can’t live without, the wellness tip that keeps her centered in the chaos and her number-one, never-travel-without-it packing hack, not to mention the surprising beauty product she’s currently obsessed with. Want more recos from Park? Check out her hilarious Vanity Table Talk GRWM video, made in partnership with e.l.f. Cosmetics, for all her biggest beauty secrets.

The interview for the below story took place before the SAG strike.

The One Thing She Does First Thing Each Morning

"I thought until recently that the rule was you wake up, you brush your teeth and you wash your face. But there are some people who are like, ‘Why would you brush your teeth before you eat something?’ I definitely always brush my teeth and wash my face. I’ve been trying to do more gua sha and lymphatic massages, taking advantage of feeling fresh in the morning. I’ve been using the e.l.f. Skin Holy Hydration! Face Cream ($13). I’ve found with how much I travel, [hydration] is the first thing to go."

The One Thing She Always Packs in Her Carry-On

"I go in phases, but I always have a bag of dried mangoes in my bag. I need a snack all the time, and it’s not messy, there’s no liquid in it so you can travel with it. My makeup and hair people love that it doesn’t get on me.

"But in general, chapstick. I’m extremely addicted to chapstick—literally any and all kinds. I have at least three in every single bag. Also, I don’t know if this is too TMI, but after many an accident, I always have a tampon in every single bag."

The One Beauty Tip She Learned On Set

"I’ve learned a lot on set. For me, the big thing I’ve learned is contouring, what different kinds of contouring can do for your face and how to contour correctly. You have to know what’s right for you, and for me, I’ve really loved finding makeup and contour that enhances what my face already is rather than hide it, learning the angles of my face. The thing I have been carrying around is the e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Contour Beauty Wand ($9). It’s the size of a chapstick so I use it for eyeshadow and contouring my face."

The One Wellness Tip She Wants Everyone to Know

"I want to give a shoutout to my L.A. wellness doctor Dr. Byun. I’ve learned so much about wellness from her. I’ve really started to need my lymphatic system to be treated. Lymphatic massages get this rap of, ‘Oh it’s to be skinny, to contour your body.’ I had blood cancer when I was in high school, and I’m like, ‘Oh I’m just reacting to whatever, not getting enough sleep, eating too much, traveling too much.’ I’ve learned so much about the cooling and heating systems of the body. Our blood is stagnant when we’re stressed, our body holds onto stuff so we have to take care of our lymphatic system.

"What I would like people to know is that it’s much easier than you think. I was intimidated by that holistic language before, but my tip is that it’s really empowering to know what’s going on in different systems of your body and not just what it looks like."

The One Thing That Keeps Her Calm

"I love Pilates. I’m forced to really breathe, which sounds silly, but as a singer, when you choke or get nervous, it’s because you don’t have breath. I did a lot of breath work as a singer. I love Pilates and starting my day with that because you have to [breathe] or the machine will snap on you. Engaging breath is what I try to do."

The One Part Of Her Beauty Routine That's Changed Over Her Career

"I never really took care of my hair. As I worked more and more, we put heat on it every day, I wore pin curls, a wig and two mics on my hair for seven years on Broadway. There’s constant heat on my hair, so finding hair serums, deep conditioners… as much as I’ve learned about beauty and skin, I also need to take care of my hair.

"The results come months later, but Nutrafol and Vegamour have these whole systems of serums and scalp [products]. I don’t even know what the brand is, but those deep conditioner mask packets with keratin… I’m obsessed with hair masks now."

The Best Beauty Advice She's Ever Gotten

"I was just talking to my mom about this. It’s funny because all the things we were told to do when we were younger, we were like 'I Don’t wanna do that! I don’t wanna wear SPF, wash my face every day!' The best piece of advice is we only have one skin, and everything you see, whether it’s a stress zit, puffiness, sun damage… every single thing has a cause. You can help it. I think skincare and beauty is very long-term."

The One Thing She Always Does Before Bed

"When was the last time I slept? [laughs] Recently, I’ve been falling down a recipe rabbit hole on TikTok, which is not what I should be doing. When I wake up and when I go to sleep, I’ve been trying to take 10 deep breaths. I have a really hard time turning off my brain, so if I have my phone and I’m looking at it, my brain will stay stimulated. So taking 10 deep breaths, and if I’m still not tired, I can keep doing work, but trying to lay in bed in the dark for a second."

The Reason She's Always Loved e.l.f.

"They were the first pack of brushes I bought. On Broadway, you do your own makeup. They make clean and vegan products, I believe in the stuff they put into it and they really listen to their consumers: things that are easy to travel with, easy to put on. I like to forget that I have makeup on, and I like how they implement hydration and infuse a lot of good materials for skin into makeup. As someone who has to wear makeup for long days, that’s something [I appreciate.] They make it accessible to people. When I didn’t have the funds when I was first starting out in New York, that was the makeup I could afford."

The One Packing Tip That Makes Travel Easier

"I always have a disaster happen to me, so I always pack what I might need, even if it’s for a day, in my carry-on. I really do pack skincare products, especially for long flights: face cream, different serums. I always travel with that because I never know what’s on the other side of the flight. And wear something with pockets!"

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