Kate Winslet's Beauty Journey Has Come Full Circle

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Just in case you needed a reminder, I'm here to share that actress and L'Oréal Paris' newest spokesperson Kate Winslet is one hell of a good time.

While audiences may know her best for her more dramatic, serious roles in Titanic and Mare of Easttown, behind the scenes, and even while working through Zoom technical difficulties, the Academy Award-winning star knows how to put a lighthearted, hilarious spin on even the most inconvenient situations.

"Don't worry," she tells me as I'm working through some initial audio glitches. "Imagine, otherwise we'd be in a hotel room, wearing uncomfortable shoes, feeling hot and hungry, you know?"

I couldn't help but laugh (and agree).

Once I got my recorder set up and finally took a look at my screen, the first thing I noticed was Winslet's insane glow — something she credits to both L'Oréal's Age Perfect Cell Renewal Midnight Serum and Mother Nature.

"My skin's doing nice things right now," she laughs. "I don't know, I think I'm probably in a good place in my cycle right now or something."

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While celebrity partnerships with beauty brands are nothing new, the 45-year-old's latest project as a L'Oréal spokesperson is kismet, seeing as some of her earliest memories include a bottle of the brand's Elnett Hairspray. A product she says she still uses to this day.

"When I was a child, my mother would have one of those handbag-sized ones because she could never afford to buy a proper, big, full can of it," the actress shares. "So she would have this little can and she would hide it. But I would always find it, and she would always smell it. So she would be like, 'Kate! Kate! Put my Elnett back in the underwear drawer.'"

Ironically, her 20-year-old daughter Mia Honey Threapleton, who has followed in her mom's acting footsteps, does the same.

"It's history repeating itself, literally," Winslet laughs. "I'll go reach for it and be like — Mia! Can I have my Elnett back please, darling?"

With hair products being the mother of three's introduction to L'Oréal, it makes sense for her first campaign to be for the brand's Superior Preference Hair Color line. But beyond her memories of hairspray and a little friendly mother-daughter theft, the Finding Neverland star doesn't think her partnership with the iconic beauty giant could have come at a better time.

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To shop: $9; walmart.com

Like many of us, Winslet has noticed the rise of the feminism over the past decade, and notes that this is a period where women are truly coming together to support one another, something L'Oréal has promoted for half a century.

"Their tagline, 'Because you're worth it;' these are words we owe to ourselves and each other to be saying this," she says. "We all count for something — we matter."

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This shift in society has also changed the way in which she approaches beauty.

While Winslet admits that during her 20s, she would often put makeup on to attract attention from a man she was interested in, now when she's getting ready, her only intention is to look good for herself. And she's noticing that Millennials and Gen Z are following the same lead.

"Also, the less is more thing," she adds. "I'm noticing that imperfections and a more natural look are a lot more embraced than perhaps they were 20 years ago."

Speaking of changing beauty ideals, Winslet has learned to give herself a break when it comes to her natural figure, something she says she didn't do during her early days on the Hollywood scene.

"I didn't used to like my curves as much as I love them now," she admits. "That sort of comes hand-in-hand with being in your late teens and early 20s and scrutinizing your body in ways that are just quite sad. I definitely had moments where I'd wish I wasn't so curvy, and now I'm like, 'Oh my God, thank God!' [laughs]."

With that said, I then ask Winslet about the advice she would give to her 22-year-old self. What would she say to the young woman who rose to a new level of superstardom overnight for her performance in Titanic? Especially during a time when the average person had very little compassion for anyone in the spotlight, and tabloids were especially cruel.

Winslet pauses for a moment before she responds.

"That's an interesting one, because when I look back I don't know that I would have handled it really any differently. I just wish I had a bit more support," she shares, adding that she was very fortunate to have been surrounded by her loving family at that time. "It's really hard for people to understand what [fame] can feel like. Suddenly I was achieving success so everything should be great, right? But there's a big difference between being a successful actor and being a celebrity in the public eye. They are two completely different things. So I think I wish I had a bit more support and felt that I could share more about what I didn't like about those moments, because it wasn't all easy."

VIDEO: Kate Winslet Reveals Her Most Special Memory From The Set of 'Titanic'

"I always felt like I had to just be grateful and brave and just get through it," she continues. "It was such a strange time. [So I would tell myself,] just speak up more, it's okay. Share those tricky moments with people."

Now that her daughter is making her own way in Hollywood, and has already starred in the 2020 flick Shadows, you'd think that Winslet would have a bag of advice for her daughter —both when it comes to navigating the industry and about loving the skin she's in.

However, Winslet prefers to keep things simple.

"All I want her to take [along] is what I've always said to her: Just be yourself — you're fabulous. Whatever you feel, no matter how you might think you look, just be yourself."

"And always tell the truth," she adds. "It's the easiest thing to remember."