When Kristen Bell decided she wanted to enter the CBD space two years ago, she could never have imagined how necessary the products would be in 2020. “This pandemic was when I needed CBD in my life the most,” says the actor, entrepreneur, and producer via Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. “The goal was to put you in a good mood.”
Enter Happy Dance, Bell’s newly launched minimalist CBD line with hemp extract that is clean, vegan, and cruelty-free. “CBD improved my life and helped my body relax,” she says, recalling the time her hairstylist rubbed it on her shoulders after a long, stressful day. “I loved it.”
Never one to sit on an idea for long, Bell contacted the Internet-beloved CBD brand Lord Jones (“I felt they were doing it the best”) to collaborate on a premium line of her own at an affordable price. But that wasn’t all. “I also said, ‘I want to give 1% of the company away to charity.’ And they said OK.” Bell’s charity of choice? A New Way of Life ReEntry Project, a Black-owned organization that provides housing, pro bono legal services, and advocacy for women rebuilding their lives after prison.
She also wanted the packaging to reflect her upbeat personality, rather than “playing on the stoner trope” or looking sterile and dull on shelves. “My color palette is bright colors,” she says. “Happy Dance is a state of mind.”
The key, she says, was landing on something her husband, Dax Shepherd, would want to use as well, which meant staying away from fruity scents: “I wanted to make it as simple as possible, so it wouldn’t challenge other scents if I want to put on something after.”
The result is three products perfect for everyone. There’s the Head-to-Toe Coconut Melt ($25), which can serve as a makeup remover, post-shave moisturizer, hair mask, or skin moisturizer; the Body Butter ($30), which contains 200mg of CBD to soothe dry skin; and the Stress Away Bath Bomb ($15), which Bell uses every night. “It’s the only time I can actually legally lock the bathroom door,” she says. “Having that 10 minutes where I can relax feels so good to me.”
Happy Dance CBD Coconut Melt
$25.00, Happy Dance
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Happy Dance CBD Body Butter
$30.00, Happy Dance
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Happy Dance CBD Bath Bomb
$15.00, Happy Dance
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So what else does Bell swear by to get her through the day? From cheek stains to $5 fragrances, she literally poured out her purse to show—and tell—us everything. Take notes.
What’s one beauty trend you’re obsessed with right now?
Not wearing makeup. It’s not a trend, and yet it is. I think during the pandemic, not wearing makeup is a beauty trend, and I love it.
Is there one product you’d use no matter what though?
Hyaluronic acid. I have eczema, so I can’t use oils on my face, but hyaluronic acid gives me the moisture that I need. Right now I’m using Éminence Organics Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum.
I also swear by the Tata Harper pots. I have one called Very Popular that is a great terracotta neutral. You can lighten it in the summer and it feels flush-y, or you can darken it in the fall, and it feels like a fall palette. Very Popular is always in my purse and I swipe it on my cheeks, lips, and eyes because it looks good on everything. If I could only ever use one makeup product, it would be that for sure.
Éminence Organics Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum
$52.00, Éminence Organics
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Tata Harper Cheek Tint
$39.00, Amazon
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Fill in the blank: I love my hair…
When it’s short because it’s easy. You can get away with a much messier mop with short hair, although right now I’m growing it out a little. My hair is thin, so I like to use products that give me volume.
Which ones in particular?
Sam McKnight’s products are amazing. I have his Cool Girl Barely There Texture Mist in my hair right now, which makes it beachy, but not too dry, because my hair will split and break off. His Easy Up-Do Texture Spray is also great for making your hair a bit messy when you pull it back, but don’t want it to look too slick. Modern Hairspray Multi-Tasking Styling Mist is really light and like the newer version of L’Oréal Elnett that you can layer. My hairstylist, Jenny Cho, turned me on to them, and I love them.
Sam McKnight Cool Girl Barely There Texture Mist
$30.00, Net-a-Porter
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Sam McKnight Easy Up-Do Texture Spray
$36.00, Sam McKnight
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Sam McKnight Modern Hairspray Multi-Tasking Styling Mist
$32.00, Sam McKnight
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What what city or country gives you the biggest fashion and beauty inspiration?
Amsterdam! Because the Nordic simplistic design, which is fun and poppy, really appeals to me. There’s also a lot of biking in Amsterdam, which I love. I love the image of a vintage bike with a basket. It’s not that I don’t love Paris, it’s just that I feel like I can’t keep up. It’s intimidating. Amsterdam just speaks to me.
What colors are you loving on your nails right now?
I have a dark tone now that I’m wearing to match my skirt. I’ve been loving muted, fall color palettes. I saw someone wearing a cross between pea green and neon green, which I never thought I would love for a nail color, but I do. I also love a dark royal blue color.
How much time do you spend getting ready?
Usually it’s about five minutes because that’s what I’m allotted. On days where I have more time—perhaps my husband takes my children on a bike ride—I have no shame saying I want to do something fun and paint my face.
What’s your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?
I have a bit of a problem with the way self-care is currently defined. Two hours for yourself to get your manicure this month is not self-care to me. Self-care for me is calling my mom friends to vent. It’s taking 10 minutes for myself and locking the bedroom door and putting an audio book in and not feeling guilty about that. It’s all those things.
Would you rather get a facial or massage?
Massage. Because I have sensitive skin and have to be careful of what kind of facials I do. I can’t do salicylic acid, I can’t use glycolic, I can’t use retinol—it kills my skin. And I can’t do a peel. What I do like in the facial departments are the red light, the blue light, the white light…I just did the Morpheus, which is like a micro-needling, ultrasonic wave-like treatment, which I will do probably once a year. Those things I can handle. But anyway, I love a good massage because I hold so much stress in my body. Massages are my greatest indulgence.
If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions, what would that be?
Beauty is not one thing. Beauty can be represented by every different color, every different shape and size, almost every different attitude. I’m grateful that the industry has made some progress in that department. It’s about time that there wasn’t one visual representation of beauty.
What’s your favorite perfume?
I wear a perfume oil called Nemat, that is sold at Whole Foods for like $5 a bottle. It’s a tiny bottle. Right now I’m wearing White Musk, but usually I wear Amber. When we were doing Couples Retreat, my makeup artist Simone and I were in Bora Bora and it was so hot and sweaty, and everybody stank. Nobody’s deodorant was working, so she gave me this amber oil, which smells different on everyone because it really works with your pheromones. It’s a super simple oil, and I became addicted to it. I have worn it since 2009, and I keep it in my purse all the time.
But recently I went to a White Musk scent because my mom wore Jovan White Musk when I was growing up, and I haven’t been able to see her in a while, so I was like, maybe I’ll try that white musk and smell a bit like my mama. I give this oil to my friends, and they all wear it.
What’s in your bag right now?
Let me show you… [She empties her purse.] If you were wondering whether I had stick on earrings, I do! My kids are very creative, and I originally found these in the sticker bin, and my girls wanted me to keep them in my purse since we have a pod family and go to another house sometimes with their little girls. Otherwise, I’ve got matcha, a nail file, Band-Aids, pens. Oh, Legos! And a flashlight.
Last question: Screw, marry, kill beauty edition. Highlighter, mascara, lipstick?
Kill mascara. It’s too hard to take off, and I don’t need it. My eyes are the size my eyes are, you can’t get around it. Then screw highlighter, and love me some lipsticks. Right now I’m wearing Charlotte Tilbury’s Everlasting Kiss, which is a really nice neutral, moisturizing one. Her neutral colors are just dope. And I also love Ilia.
When I first got pregnant, I was working on House of Lies. I accidentally got pregnant twice on that show. But anyway, I was a business consultant on the show, and had to wear a full face of makeup. I had read an article about how many pounds of lipstick you eat each year, and I was like, I want to make sure I’m wearing a clean, organic lipstick since I wear so much, and I’m always licking it off. So we found Ilia, and the colors are so vibrant. Plus, they stayed on without being dry. I’ve loved them ever since.
Charlotte Tilbury Superstar Lips Lipstick
$34.00, Charlotte Tilbury
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Ilia Color Block High Impact Lipstick
$28.00, Ilia
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Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram at @jessicaradloff14. This interview has been edited and condensed.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
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