Jennifer Garner, 49, Wants to ‘Normalize Looking Normal’—Plus, Her Tips for Combatting Self-Criticism
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Jennifer Garner is fighting back against unrealistic beauty standards, one day at a time. In a new interview with Shop TODAY, the 49-year-old actress revealed how she’s hoping to set a realistic example for both her kids and the rest of the world.
“I want to look normal and I want to normalize looking normal. I always have felt really strongly about that,” Garner said. “We can almost all wear less [makeup] than we think.” And Garner is walking the walk, too. Her everyday beauty routine consists of just concealer, blush, mascara, and “a little something on my lips.”
There’s no denying the star looks gorgeous whether she’s on the red carpet or running errands—but these days she’s sending a clear message to her kids. “I don’t want my kids or people to only see the actor version of me that is perfectly made up by brilliant artists and think that’s how I look,” the Yes Day actress continued. “And then if I’m dressed up, I like that my kids are like, ‘Woo, look at my mom!’”
In fact, one of Garner’s biggest beauty regrets is related to wearing too much makeup. “When I was in college, and I’m sure after college, my idea of makeup was what I would wear if I was doing a ballet recital or The Nutcracker,” she said. “It’s really made any picture from college unusable because if I thought I needed to look nice, that’s what I did. I literally opened up my fishing tackle box of theater makeup and just went at it.”
These days, Garner has a much more “low-key” routine—and she also looks out for her own mental health: “I try to not see unflattering pictures of myself because I know I look better in real life than paparazzi pictures make me look, and if I don’t, I don’t want to know it,” she said.
“When you start getting super critical of yourself, turn around, pivot in that spot, and go do something nice for someone else,” Garner recommended. “Or go work out, or just take that and make it active instead of letting it just fester in you.”
This philosophy comes directly from her mother: “She said as you get older, the temptation is to stare into the mirror and focus on what’s changing, and here’s the secret: Don’t look!” Garner told Glamour in May. “Just care less, be grateful that you’re getting older, and use the time you have to be leaving the world a little bit better instead of staring at yourself in the mirror and worrying.”
She’s hoping to pass those same values to her own kids, Violet, 16; Seraphina, 12; and Samuel, 9. “I want them to have fun and to know what feels good, looks good,” the 13 Going on 30 actress continued. “Makeup is a great form of expression; they don’t wear a ton of makeup, but they’re also not afraid to play, and I think that’s really important.”
While we love some good beauty products, we’re inclined to agree with Garner. After all, there’s something just so badass about aging gracefully. Plus, what’s not to love about looking completely normal?
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