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Before I sit down to interview Pamela Anderson, I’m staring at myself in the mirror, about to swipe on mascara and dot concealer under my eyes like I always do. As my hand is hovering over my products, I decide to forgo it—because I know all too well that, on the other end of the screen, Anderson won’t be wearing any makeup. The 57-year-old, who has been publicly makeup-free since Paris Fashion Week in late 2023, doesn’t disappoint—she pops up on Zoom wearing thick-rimmed glasses (she tells me she bought them at a drugstore in Barcelona for a couple of dollars, because “it’s not an investment I want to make”) and not even a stitch of makeup.
Anderson’s makeup-free era has been making waves in the news. It’s refreshing to see a famous woman embrace her natural features, but it’s particularly inspiring to see someone who’s long been known for her iconic beauty looks pare down (though she does still occasionally opt for a bold lip on the red carpet). Though Anderson is known for her razor-thin eyebrows, ink-black smokey eyes, and chestnut-lined lips, she doesn’t like to revisit her famous beauty looks. In fact, she doesn’t want her past to define her at all.
“I don’t look back,” she says. “I’m only looking forward and interested in what I’m doing now. Your past doesn’t define you. Yes, I’ve had a really wonderful, exciting, messy life, and I get to draw from my life experience when I’m working. I’ve learned a lot of lessons. Of course, looking back, I can think, oh, maybe I would have done this or that differently, but I would never have known how to do that without the life experience I have now.”
Luckily, Anderson has no shortage of current projects to focus on. She just released a cookbook called I Love You: Recipes From the Heart, she’s starring in The Last Showgirl, a movie which is set to be widely released on January 10, and her skin care brand, Sonsie, is booming. The company, which Anderson co-founded, embodies her simplistic beauty routine—the current offering consists of a moisturizing mask, a serum, and a lip balm. Now, she is expanding Sonsie’s product range by adding a gently foaming, rosehip-infused cleansing mousse. “It was what was requested most for the next product that we make,” she says. Below, Anderson speaks more about the new cleanser, going makeup-free, and her upcoming projects.
Tell me about the new cleansing mousse.
I have sensitive skin, so I wanted to make sure it was a very gentle cleanser. It’s very velvety and nourishing, and your skin just feels moisturized, even after you use the cleanser. Then you put the serum and the mask on. Not everybody wears the mask every day, but I do. It’s my “makeup.” The cleanser was really important, and now people are really happy, because I think the skin care line is going to be well-rounded. You needed the cleanser to make the story complete. I added a little bit of a twist to it with the rose essence. When I’m home, I start my day in my rose garden, and then I go for a nice walk. I journal. I really wanted to bring that morning rose scent. That was my little signature.
I love that the brand helps people feel more connected to you.
It’s so much fun having a skin care line. This is what I wear on a red carpet or on a TV show [or] on the cover of a magazine. It’s really exciting that I’m able to do that, and share that message that you’re good enough, that we’re not in competition with each other. We raise each other up, flaws and all, and it makes us more interesting people. It’s more intimate, and kind, and vulnerable. I’ve been using myself as an experiment and I’m finding that it really works—it really brings you closer to people.
In that vein, I know it’s been about a year now since you opted to go makeup-free. Tell me what prompted that decision.
It was kind of a happy accident. I just went makeup-free to Paris Fashion Week—I didn’t even know anyone would notice, and people came up to me, [saying] “Thank you so much for doing that.” It wasn’t my intention; I did it authentically for myself. I feel like people are feeling [jaded by] social media and these unrealistic beauty expectations. I was thinking of my sons, my son’s girlfriends, and my nieces—I have two. I don’t want them to ever look at their Instagram photos and feel [pressure]. I love makeup, too, [but] I think that there’s a time and a place [for it]. As long as you know who you are, then all of that is obviously very fun and glamorous.
I have to say, I was considering putting on makeup this morning, and then I thought, “You know what? I’m not going to do that.”
People come up to me all the time and they go, “Look, I’m not wearing makeup!” I didn’t think that I would be this person at this point in my life, but it’s great. I’m really happy about it. When my documentary came out and I wrote my book, I felt like I really wanted to peel it all back and remember who I was, and not what other people thought of me. I didn’t want to be defined by what has happened to me in my life. I wanted to be defined by what I do in my life. I have a rebellious spirit, so I’m a little fearless. This was something I needed to do for myself, and then for [The Last Showgirl] to find me, and my documentary…I felt the same way with the character in [The Last Showgirl]. I didn’t look in a mirror when I got ready for the character. I turned away from the mirror. I love the movie. I’m not wearing makeup [in it], so that’s great. It all happened at the same time. It was just this synchronicity.
Tell me a little bit more about The Last Showgirl.
Obviously there are some parallels [between my character, Shelly, and me]. The love of glamour and nostalgia, but that was just a starting point. I created a character that’s actually completely different than I am—she put her work first. There’s no judgment in that. In my past, I put my kids first, I took a little bit of a break. But I completely relate to what a struggle it is for women to manage their careers and raise children. Also, Las Vegas is a character in itself, and everybody on the film was so wonderful, and it was a great support system, like a sisterhood.
Switching gears back to Sonsie, I know sustainability is really important to you. How do you think about it in terms of both the brand and your everyday life?
It’s important to me to remain cruelty-free. I am plant-based when it comes to my food. You’ve just got to do your little bit. I don’t expect anyone to be perfect. I don’t judge anyone’s lifestyles or eating habits or anything. When there are things that are available, the more we choose more compassionate options, the bigger the difference in the world. Our brand is involved with PACT [a non-profit that builds human development solutions in underserved communities] and tree planting, and we keep on working on more sustainable ideas. The beauty industry can be a big polluter in the world. Since I’ve come on, we’ve made huge strides, and we’re going to make more, but there’s always more to do.
Speaking of your cookbook, do you have a favorite recipe?
There is a natural beauty section that has a sugar scrub, a body scrub, and my rosehip oil, which is one of my favorites. I harvest my rosehips in my garden. You can either do it in the sunlight, oven, or stove top, and strain it, and then you have this beautiful rosehip oil. I have a glow green juice, of course. They’re all my favorite recipes. There’s a little bit of everything, a little bit of poetry kind of sprinkled throughout, and some of my little suggestions and things I’ve learned along the way. It was a labor of love. It started out as a recipe card box I was giving to my kids for a housewarming present. Being the business boys that they are, [they said], “This is a book.”
Do you have any other upcoming projects that you can tease to our readers?
When it rains, it pours. It wasn’t planned that everything would come out at once. My cookbook took two years to write and to produce and put together, and skin care is just going to keep on growing. We have other really cool things in the works, and they’re going to be out in the new year, and it’s all exciting and exactly my philosophy. That’s what’s really important: that I’m sticking to my path, which hopefully is just making the world a little bit of a better place.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Katie Berohn is ELLE’s beauty editor. Previously, she held the same title at Who What Wear, where she was promoted from associate beauty editor. She’s written for publications like The Cut, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Mashable. Her interests include fragrance, vintage shopping, hot yoga, food, travel, music, books, and attempting to make every NYT Cooking recipe. She’s on the endless hunt to find the perfect shade of red lipstick.