“I don’t know if it’s me getting older or what,” Nicole Richie says, “but I’m realizing I never want to not look like myself.” The actor, creative director of House of Harlow 1960, and Nikki Fre$h rapper has always worn a signature look, even during her earliest days in the limelight while on the aughts reality show The Simple Life with her friend Paris Hilton. These days, she tells me during a phone call from Los Angeles, her approach to beauty is much more pared-down than the glittering going-out looks of her past. “Skincare is very, very important to me—that’s the beginning of every decision I make when it comes to my makeup,” she says.
Her focus on skincare is part of the reason why Richie signed on to be the face of the first cosmetics campaign for Nyakio Grieco’s clean beauty line, Relevant: Your Skin Seen. She and Grieco—cofounder of Thirteen Lune, an e-commerce beauty site with a flagship in West Hollywood—first met when their kids attended the same preschool. Through mutual friends—like the makeup artist Beau Nelson, who worked with Grieco on the formulations for Relevant—the two became more acquainted, eventually sitting down in the Thirteen Lune space for a meeting that turned into plans for a photo shoot. Richie admired Grieco’s inclusive business model for both Thirteen Lune and Relevant Cosmetics: the former spotlights lesser-known, Black-owned brands; the latter focuses on products that cater toward deeper skin tones. But “the best and coolest part about Relevant Cosmetics is that it is skin first,” the 42-year-old says. “It doesn’t feel like something that’s bad for you or that’s going to make you feel less like yourself.”
You’ve experimented with so many hair and beauty trends over the years. Tell me about the makeup look you wore to your sister Sofia Richie Grainge’s wedding in the South of France.
Sofia had a makeup artist and she was incredible. It was my first time working with her; I thought she did a great job of playing with something different—because it definitely felt like a different look for me. I felt like myself. I didn’t feel like I had a mask on. And it was really fun.
How much or how little were you involved in helping Sofia with her wedding day look?
I don’t think I was that involved. I was the maid of honor, so I was more like: You tell me what to do. I’m down to do whatever you want! I was there to cheer her on and be there for her, bring her water and all the snacks she wanted.
Is there a beauty look from The Simple Life that you would bring back today?
[Laughs] Oh my god, no. I remember, Paris and I had extensions when we were shooting. So I was flat-ironing my super curly hair to match my straight extensions. It was taking us, like, an hour and a half just to get through our hair every day. And you can really see, we were just frying our hair. If I could do it differently, I would.
This isn’t specifically from The Simple Life, but it was during The Simple Life days. There is a photo of Paris and me in these matching denim outfits—denim blazers and denim pants. I recently saw a picture of someone who did it for their Halloween costume. At the time, we both were drawing Twiggy-style bottom lashes on our eyes. We were 20, and we were just wearing that to go out, on a casual night! I wouldn’t repeat it now—I don’t think I could get away with it—but I do smile whenever I see that photo because I remember loving that look.
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie at a The Simple Life 2 event in Hollywood in 2004.
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
You’ve said before that you love alone time and having your own private space. Would you classify that as your approach to self-care?
Well, I say I love being alone because I’m never alone. I would very much put that in the category of self-care. Because I’m a working mom, once everyone gets up for school and I start getting into that process, I go straight into work afterward. So waking up at 5:30 AM is the time I really have to myself, to get myself centered. I don’t set an alarm, my body just wakes up—it’s a gift. And that is my reading time. Occasionally I will answer emails that I have avoided the day before.
Full disclosure, I do sometimes like to e-mail people at 5:30 in the morning because I know they won’t answer for a few hours. But that’s just the crazy, introverted side of me. Most of the time, I will stay off of my phone and get under the covers with my reading light and book. Getting up, jumping up, and just going does not feel natural to me.
Your children Sparrow and Harlow are teenagers now. Are they big beauty junkies? Have they tried Relevant?
My daughter is the queen of beauty and skincare. She’s tried everything. Yes, she’s tried Relevant, she loves all the colors. It’s much more her world than mine. I’m not so deep into makeup—I usually leave it up to Beau or whoever is doing my makeup. She’s the real expert in the family.
I am very lucky. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve called to my daughter in the other room: Do you have concealer?! What do I do with my eyebrows?! And she’s like, Okay, I’ve got you. She basically has a Sephora in her room, so it’s nice for me.
What is one piece of beauty advice that you would give your children?
I would say experiment and do all the things, but know that you are beautiful no matter what. Makeup should enhance the beauty you already have, and not be used to hide who you are.
Let’s get into the Beauty Notes questions. What is your ideal spa day and where?
You’re not going to like this answer, but I don’t do spa days. That is not relaxing to me. I haven’t even tried it. I don’t get massages. I’m too ticklish and scared that I’m going to laugh. Every time I have gotten a massage, the moment I lie down on the table, the first thing I think is, Do not laugh. Do not laugh, do not laugh. And then every funny thing that’s ever happened to me in my life comes flooding back to me. And I spend the entire time trying not to laugh—and then failing. So I don’t get them anymore. It’s not a good scene for me.
What is one skincare rule you abide by?
What I realized about my own skin is less is more. Especially living in L.A., you get a lot of “You’ve got to try this, and you’ve got to try this!” After doing all of that—seeing this facialist and that facialist—I decided my regimen is all about keeping my skin calm. The one skin [concern] that I deal with is rosacea. So the products I use are focused on that.
Is there a beauty trend you loved when you were younger that you look back on now and you’re like, What was I thinking?
So many. The colored extensions… I mean, I’ve really done it all when it comes to beauty trends. It’s so fun to do when you’re young, so I wouldn’t say I regret any of it. I’m watching my daughter go through different beauty trends now, experimenting with everything, and I think that’s the time to do it. Have a ball and know that you’re going to laugh at yourself later. That’s my approach to fashion as well. Lean into wherever you are now. Don’t think about how you’re going to feel in 10 years. Live in the moment and have fun.