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Jenna Lyons has learned a thing or two about beauty through successfully helming the creative end of J.Crew for the past six years, while rising to become the face of the brand within the industry. In a recent profile with Into The Gloss, Lyons opened up about everything from the sad state of affairs on the red carpet to how J.Crew defines sexy. Plus, she gave a step-by-step breakdown of her personal beauty routine.
"Sexy for J.Crew is something more natural, not when everything is firing on all cylinders," she told ITG. "There has to be something that's a bit undone." As it turns out, Anna Wintour agrees. "I was talking to Anna Wintour about this when we were discussing the red carpets last year, both of us wanted to go and just mess people up a bit," Lyons said. "Everyone was so perfect! Everyone's tan and primped and coifed and there's no ease."
When it came to her beauty routine, Lyons is dedicated to a natural dewy look. She recommends a slew of products, but there was only one that she couldn't live without. "The most important beauty product of all is my Blistex Medicated Lip Balm," Lyons said. "It's the only lip balm that doesn't burn my lips—I know I'm not the only one with that problem."
On her approach to makeup: "I feel like looking powdery or matte looks old. There's no reflection on your skin; you just look super made-up. I don't love it."
And when it comes to aging, Lyons recommends to just embrace it already. "Society is so tough and expectations are so unrealistic," she said. "Could I take better care of myself? Absolutely. I joke all the time that I'm old and I'm getting older and I feel it, so I guess I would rather talk about it with a smile and say, 'Oh God, I'm old!' than spend all my time at the dermatologist. I approach aging with ice cream and a martini."
· Jenna Lyons [ITG]
· J.Crew September Style Guide Stays the Course [Racked]
· J.Crew's First Fragrances Sound So Schmancy [Racked]