Golden Brooks gets by with a little help from her “Girlfriends.”
The actress, 49, says that much of her beauty routine was conceived on the set of the CW show, which premiered in 2000 and ran for eight seasons.
“I learned about really good makeup during ‘Girlfriends.’ I think that was my introduction to good-quality makeup. I still use beauty secrets that I’ve learned from ‘Girlfriends’ to this day,” Brooks told Page Six Style.
“I use a Chanel powder that they used on me 20 years ago. I love my Chanel, I’m not gonna lie — I know it’s bougie. And I still to this day use my YSL mascara ($29). I also use all of the Peter Thomas Roth serums and face wash, as well as the glycolic serum,” she said.
Other products in Brooks’ rotation two decades later include Lerosett’s clay mask ($26.95) and a Laura Mercier foundation ($48).
It helps that the show’s makeup artist, Rea Ann Silva, went on to create the Beautyblender, a popular makeup sponge that revolutionized the industry in 2003.
“I don’t do anything without my Beautyblender,” Brooks said. “[Rea] created a multi-million dollar company just from using tools on set that were not quite doing the job.”
Admitting that many fans says she still looks just like her character, Maya Wilkes, the actress says she also receives negative comments from haters criticizing her appearance.
“People are like, ‘Oh, you still look the same,’ and I’m like, ‘No, I don’t. Or, ‘Oh, you look different,’ but I should look different — it was 20 years ago,” she said. “But I think all four of us have preserved very well. You’re not gonna look like you did 20 years ago.”
Besides her beauty-industry education on set, Brooks says her mother taught her to honor her skincare routine and never miss a nighttime face wash.
“My mom has always told me the skin you have in your 20s is the skin you are going to have in your 50s,” she said. “So take care of your skin in your 20s, because by the time you get to 50, you still want to have that supple skin.”