Admit it, when you think of sustainability, the last thing that crosses your mind is sexy. That is until you see Olivia Wilde’s new campaign for the all-natural, sustainably sourced True Botanicals.
“People tend to equate indulgence with something naughty,” Wilde tells Vogue.
“If it’s environmentally responsible, if it is better for your health, it can’t be indulgent. I think we need to dig deep to reconstruct the cliché surrounding sustainability in beauty and allow people to understand that they can indulge in skin care and feel like they are treating themselves, even if it’s something that’s actually very good for the environment.”
In addition to wanting to redefine the way we see sustainability, Wilde also spoke to Vogue about dealing with body stigma, her wellness hacks as well as dealing with the evils of social media.
Olivia Wilde: Sustainability, Beauty, and Wellness
Sustainability is sexy and important
For the new campaign coming out of the True Botanicals range, the writer shared that she wanted to address how we interact with the environment as well as how we see sustainability,
“Within the beauty industry, I really wanted to draw attention to celebrating what’s indulgent, luxurious, enjoyable, and sexy about clean beauty.”
Love the body you’re in
Wilde has addressed the censorship that the female body faces, especially on social media, and she used the new campaign to tackle the taboos around the female body and in doing so, advocated for body positivity.
“We want to celebrate the idea of loving one’s own body and feeling confident because you feel beautiful and the idea that the rituals we practice for ourselves are opportunities to celebrate ourselves.”
The 37-year-old added that beauty is a chance for us to interact with ourselves and celebrate ourselves and that True Botanicals products are particularly powerful in that way.
Wilde also reminisces about a book that she read by Eve Ensler and how there was a particular story where a woman spent every night thanking her body at the end of the day,
“It really moved me. I felt like, Why don’t we spend more time just thanking our body? And it’s actually something I do with my children. Now we spend time thanking our bodies for helping us live our lives. I think that if we could take the opportunity to turn beauty and skin-care rituals into that kind of interaction with ourselves, into a celebration of being alive and taking care of our health, that will redefine beauty for many of us.”
Mummy self-care time
They say motherhood changes you, and that’s definitely true, especially when it comes to your self-care routine. The Booksmart director shared that since having kids, she has cleaned it up and simplified the way she sees beauty,
“I wanted to be smarter about taking care of myself so that I could be around longer for my kids. I didn’t want to slather on a bunch of carcinogens onto my skin every day. And then also wanting to be kinder to the environment because that’s just something you think a lot more about when you have kids.”
The mother-of-two shared that when she was pregnant, she wanted to find clean products that were safe. Once she gave birth, her perspective remained the same, and she wanted to avoid exposing them to any kind of toxic chemicals on her skin.
It wasn’t long before she noticed that her actions were making her look and feel better,
“So from a superficial perspective, it actually was effective.”
Pure beauty is the way forward
When asked about her beauty routine, The O.C. actress revealed that while she does use True Botanical products, the COVID pandemic has definitely changed the way we see beauty, making us realize that we all don’t need as much makeup as we were wearing before.
She also admits that while she tries to only use clean beauty products, it can be a bit of a struggle,
“It’s all about baby steps as well. I really feel like it’s overwhelming for people when you suggest they should completely rid their skin care and makeup and hair care and everything about anything toxic. I admire those who do and am working toward that. But I think it’s also about baby steps and moderation. Just try to eliminate what you can.”
The good news is that, as Wilde notes, many companies are doing their part to create more sustainable products, “The idea of indulging in beauty without sacrificing our safety is now an expectation as opposed to an aspiration, and that’s really exciting.”
Spend your time (wisely) on your health
The past year has definitely taught us that nothing is certain and that life is short. With time being such a valuable commodity, Wilde asks that we spend it the way we want to and with the people we want to, especially because it can affect our health.
Wilde shares that she chooses to spend her time exercising and drinking more water and in doing so, she feels better than she ever has.
Set social media boundaries
“I know it’s hard when you work in an industry that relies heavily on it. But on a personal level, I really have found that to be something that has brought a lot of peace into my life…I think that mental health is something we have to focus more on, especially coming out of this wild year”
So how does she unplug?
Granted, it was hard at first, but the actress shares that like any detox, it does get easier with time, especially as the benefits become more obvious. As such, she recommends that we try not to make everything so accessible and distance ourselves from apps that promote unhealthy behavior,
“Recognize what you have control over and understand that everything you bring into your life is a choice. We have choices in the way we spend our money, our votes, and the ways that we fill our lives with media is a choice in how we want to feel.
Rituals that allow you to regain some sense of balance and connection to your inner voice—it really has a lot to do with our health.”
Want to know more?
When you think of the word supermodel, what names spring to mind? Naomi Campbell? Iman? Beverly Johnson? What about a former Calvin Klein model? With a 35-year modeling career and an amazing physique to boot, there’s clearly a lot that we can learn about beauty from Cindy Crawford.