The Beauty & Wellness Routine Kate Hudson Has Been Loving As Of Late

Kate Hudson is arguably one the most influential beauty icons in the game. Case in point? Her buttercream ensemble and elegant updo in How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days remains a legendary party look to this day—now beloved by the TikTok crowd—and her airy, diffused waves as Penny Lane in Almost Famous provides the ultimate washday inspiration. 

In her recent role as model-turned-fashion-designer Birdie Jay in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Hudson's bold hair and makeup are practically a lesson in vibrant vacation dressing—of course, she also has the luminous skin to go with the glamorous resort wardrobe. 

On the subject of her signature glow: Like other celebs with access to the best treatments, derms, estheticians, and makeup artists, Hudson is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to skin care. During a recent Zoom call, she is quick to rattle off the benefits of vitamin C for collagen synthesis1 and ponder the future of biome-friendly skin care. She thoughtfully marries the true basics of beauty (like the power of a good night's sleep) with budding technologies and innovative tools.

Hudson has always been one of my top beauty inspirations—her fresh, sun-kissed visage is nothing short of sublime—but I left our chat fully understanding just how critically she thinks about the industry at large. For days, I kept thinking that Hudson, truly, is the epitome of mindbodygreen. 

"I've said this in 5,000 interviews, but Egyptian Magic. I don't ever travel without it. I put it in my hair, I put it on my eyes, I put it on my lips, I put it on my kids' tushies with diaper changes… I use it for everything. 

"I have to say the surprise hit for me is in tools. I didn't think you could get a tool at home that would actually have a really strong effect on your skin. Then I started with NuFACE…I swear by them now. When I do the NuFACE every day, I feel a huge difference in my skin. I was not expecting that because I always think those things feel gimmicky, but they really work. 

The founder of NuFACE is a friend of one of my best friends, and my best friend was like, 'I have this friend, and she wants to give you a NuFace facial and show you her products.' And I was like, 'OK, cool, I'll take any facial.' She came over and showed me the product, and I was like, whoa.

"It's like every time you say it, eyes roll, [but] the daunting task of eating well—that is the secret. The better you eat, the more hydrated and healthy you are. The less alcohol you drink, the better sleep you get, the more you have a healthy lifestyle and stress less—that is the secret. Everything else is like the cherry on top. 

"Anytime anyone asks me, 'What's your No. 1 secret?' I'm always like, 'It's food, water, and sleep.' When you're doing those things, you're just going to feel and look different. You'll have more energy, more blood circulation, and everything speaks to each other better internally. It's why I started INBLOOM. They're my beauty products, you know? It's inside out. 

"Our Beauty Aura is so good… It feels like you're drinking something sweet and fruity. I love just drinking it plain, but at the same time the Beauty Aura in a coconut-water-based smoothie is so good.

"There's a bunch of different blends for our products that are really yummy. The Beauty Aura with one scoop of protein and one scoop of Essential Elements, which is [filled with] vitamins… That's really good with coconut [and] berries. I also sometimes put my Beauty Aura in my oatmeal.

"I have a friend who created a skin care product called Symbiome. He is a microbiome researcher, and I believe that all things start in the microbiome and your gut, but nobody's really talked about how the skin organ also has its own microbiome, and it's so complex. 

"This is the largest organ on our bodies, our skin. And just like we're looking at our gut microbiome, we also need to be looking at how our skin microbiome is supported. And that's a very different approach to skin care.

"I've been using his product now for like a couple months. It's pretty new, and the way my skin has changed is wild. I think that this scientist is really onto something. He only uses six ingredients and the way he does it is really interesting: He's basically researched an Indigenous tribe for 35 years and [found] the things that a fully formed microbiome has—this particular Indigenous tribe has a fully formed microbiome—so he basically takes those things that come from the environment that we're missing and puts them into his product.

"I love lasers—and they're not cheap. I think that one of the greatest noninvasive things you can do for your skin and for collagen production is all of the different lasers they have out there. 

"I'm one of those people that still gets pimples. I'm just waiting for that time in my life where I don't get them anymore. Everyone's like, 'When you get older, they go away.' Nope, not for some of us! But they help with that; they help with collagen production, tightening. 

"[They're] the best maintenance for skin and a great splurge. Another good splurge is a really, intensely good water filter system. It's good for our hair and skin when we shower. It's good for when we drink our water… A really great, solid filtration system in your house, to me, is a great beauty splurge." 

"I got my first [acting] job at 16. When you're working with a ton of different makeup artists, they have so much advice, and it's all good. But one of my favorites was when my makeup artist on Almost Famous told me about how [actor] Paul Newman used to dunk his face in ice before he worked to just get rid of any puffiness. So I started using ice on my face, and this was before everybody had little tools in their freezer. I would just dunk my head in ice, and I'd say that was one of the best tips. 

"Now, I just cold plunge all the time. I do it to my whole body, [and] I love ice on my eyes in the morning. 

"My mom's routine was super quick, so I grew up with more of a no-fuss, very low-maintenance [routine]. Getting into facials and things like that, I really learned from my girlfriends. I have one girlfriend, Sara Foster, who I grew up with and was really the first one to show me a routine because she was so into it.

"I love to play and experiment with makeup, but I would think my go-to is really nice sun-kissed skin, bronzy eyes, and a natural lip. A more '70s sun-kissed thing—that's my go-to. I don't know if people see me that way, but that's what I like. Give me a good bronzer, some lip gloss, and a little mascara, and I'm happy.

"I love liquid bronzer, so I use the By Terry Liquid Bronzer. I put it all over my face. Sometimes I even do it before I put makeup on. I like to warm my face up and then put makeup on around it. I love Gucci Westman's Biscuit Contour. I think it's really good, because it's just very matte, so you can add shine around it.