AM to PM with Aimee Agresti

Aimee Agresti and I have much in common. We’re both writers, native Washingtonians and more importantly, we like to carry no less than three lip glosses in our handbags at any given time. Which is why it’s only fitting that I dubbed this profile on her AM to PM, because I have to know exactly what she does to maintain such gorgeous skin!

Here, Aimee spills her beauty secrets, her love  for Kate Middleton and how tracking down Reese Witherspoon‘s bang stylist led her to get one amazing skin care product.  We can’t blame her though. The things we do for Chanel…

Aimee: I’m a pretty low-maintenance girl. I use Kiehl’s ultra-facial cleanser, Bumble and Bumble Coco de Crème shampoo and conditioner, Moroccanoil frizz control, all sorts of yummy Bath and Body Works scented lotions. My one major, major splurge item is my face cream: Chanel Sublimage. It’s amazing, more on that later!

As for my makeup, I keep it simple. I have a 7-month-old son who keeps me on my toes, so I pretty much need to be able to do my makeup in five minutes and/or while holding a baby! My staples are Nars Black Moon eyeliner, assorted MAC eye shadows (faves: Naked, Cork, and Satin Taupe), Dior mascara, and a whole smorgasbord of lip glosses. I have a weakness for lip glosses! My current fave is MAC’s Partial to Pink, a perfect sheer pink. My perfume is Michael Kors. And my secret weapon for my hair is my HAI flatiron—mine is actually beginning to die, it gets a workout taming my tresses!

My skin dries out like crazy in the winter so I need to have a bunch of yummy lotions around to keep from becoming some kind of scaly, sandpapery creature. I buy vats of lotions from Bath and Body Works, they have amazing flavors!

The major, major splurge item in my arsenal is my Chanel Sublimage face cream. It’s totally incongruous with my whole low-maintenance beauty persona, but I love this stuff! Funny story, I got turned on to it by a beauty editor at Us Weekly a couple years ago when I was writing for the magazine. I had managed to score a great scoop and tracked down the stylist who was responsible for giving Reese Witherspoon her fabulous bangs—everyone was trying to find out who it was, it was a big deal. So, anyway, the beauty editor was so appreciative, she rewarded me with this amazing face cream. It costs a bazillion dollars, so I use it sparingly and make it last a ridiculously long time. I never thought I’d be someone who went for those crazy-expensive face creams, but now I’m addicted, it makes my skin so happy! I don’t know what they put in there, but it’s magical!

MAC Pigment Colour Powder in Naked: This stuff is great because it does double duty: I love it as a shimmery every day eye shadow and I can also mix it with moisturizer for all-over sparkle on nights out. It lasts forever unless you’re clumsy like me and manage to knock the whole thing over onto the bathroom floor, which I did recently. So now my floor has a lovely all-over sparkle.

Diorshow Mascara: The brush is HUGE so it coats your lashes really well. Love!

My must-haves are eyeliner, mascara, an array of lip glosses (I tend to have at least three glosses with me at any given time!), hair bands, and travel-size Michael Kors perfume.

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize, from my mom.

If you’re pressed for time, a little lip gloss and some mascara can go a long way. And, also, never underestimate the rejuvenating powers of a manicure and a good hair blowout.

Aimee Agresti is a writer and published author of her first young adult novel, Illuminate (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), which tells the story of a 16-year-old angel who’s forced to battle a pack of devils and, of course, falls in love with one of them. Before making the leap into fiction, Agresti was an entertainment magazine writer, most recently working as a staff writer for Us Weekly.