Crazy Rich Asians ' Gemma Chan on Her Very British Beauty Routine

Before this summer, you may have seen British actor Gemma Chan front and center on the sci-fi series Humans, where her improbably symmetrical and pleasing-looking face portrays a synthetic human — all too well, I may add. Chan may soon be leaving such small-screen roles in other British television shows like Dr. Who and The IT Crowd, for much greener (or rather, higher definition) pastures after her turn playing Astrid Leong in the film Crazy Rich Asians. While the film centers around the relationship between stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding's characters, anyone who saw the film (or read the books) had the complete joy and pleasure of witnessing Gemma Chan bring to life with such ease and grace, a character that honestly, could carry a whole spin-off series. It was impossible to overlook how Chan stole every scene she was in, if for no other reason than she is an extremely beautiful person to look at — and that's before you get to really see the delicate vulnerability of her character, as well as the best clap-back of the entire film that she delivers. Her star may be rising at record speed now, but not before Chan opened up to Allure about Asian representation in Hollywood and the fashion industry and her very British beauty routine.

On the importance of Crazy Rich Asians

This is the movie I’ve been waiting for my whole life — not just as an Asian actor, but as a little girl growing up. I never saw faces like mine on the screen. I just hope this is the beginning of something rather than the end. It’s been 25 years since Joy Luck Club, the last film with an all-Asian cast, came out. I hope we don’t have to wait another 25 years for the next one.

The one beauty tip she's stealing from Astrid Leong

Astrid was my favorite character when I read the book, so I was thrilled to get offered the role. There’s a wonderful kind of pink, peach coral lip color that Astrid wears at the end of the movie, in the engagement party scene. It’s a Yves Saint Laurent color that I immediately had to buy. I’ve got it here somewhere. It’s the Tatouge Couture Liquid Matte Lip Stain in number 22.

On supporting Asian designers

On this press tour, I’ve been working with stylist Rebecca Corbin Murray. In the spirit of diversity and inclusivity, it was important to me to highlight Asian designers in particular. I’ve worn a lot of Prabal Gurung, who was a huge supporter of the movie, along with Jason Wu, Dodo Baror, and Kenzo.

On makeup artists who are inexperienced with Asian features

I do a lot of photo shoots and have done for quite a long time. Sometimes it’s great, especially if they’ve had a lot of experience making up Asian features, but I’ve also had really terrible ones where it’s like, ‘Are you trying to make me look like a geisha?’ Pale skin, really drawn-on brows, it’s horrible.

On the mascara hack that works wonders for straight, fine lashes

I’m lucky I have long lashes, but they’re straight and they’re very fine, so the most important thing to me is to use lash curlers and then find a mascara that holds the curl. I use Maybelline The Falsies Mascara, the one in the purple tube. I use the waterproof version, so it really holds the curl. Here’s my secret, though — I use the brush from an old Maybelline mascara, the define-a-lash formula. It works perfectly to separate and coat every single lash.

On her British pharmacy favorites

I swear by Boots No. 7 for their skin creams. I use their Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum as well as their Early Defence Day Cream. It has UPF [Editor’s note: UPF means Ultraviolet Protection Factor, how the Brits refer to what we call SPF], but is still a lighter formula. I use their Protect and Perfect Night Cream as well. It’s effective, super affordable. I also use the Simple Micellar Wipes. They’re great because they don’t leave an oily residue on my skin, which I can’t stand.

On styling her stubbornly straight hair

I have that very silky texture that’s a bit of a nightmare to style because there’s no texture. The ones that work for me at the moment are the Living Proof Dry Volume Blast with the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. They smell great and they’re absolutely amazing for my kind of hair texture. After I’ve blown my hair dry, use them at the end to get texture and hold. [My hair colorist's] name is Katie Allan. She’s fantastic with dark hair. She used to work for Charles Worthington, but she struck up her own salon called Mayfive on Devonshire Road.

— As told to Jessica Chia

More crazy rich content:

• Kevin Kwan Says Hollywood Tried to Whitewash "Crazy Rich Asians"

• Crazy Rich Asians Stylist Heike Merker Explains How to Get Rich-People Hair

• Constance Wu Opens Up About Stereotypes, Beauty Products, and Body Image

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