As Brie Sheridan on Netflix’s Virgin River, Zibby Allen has become a fan favorite, especially as the series—now in its seventh season—continues to rank among the platform’s most-binged worldwide.
Off-screen, the actress has built a more grounded life in Scotland, where she channels her passion for wellness and nature into herbal tonics and teas, including alcohol-free blends that mirror the ritual of wine, with a product line on the horizon. She’s also co-producing the revival of Hollywood Rush, a one-night Los Angeles event supporting FosterMore and honoring her late brother through the Baby Dragon Fund later this month.
We recently caught up with Allen to talk about aging as a privilege, finding confidence through life’s highs and losses and why feeling at home in your body ultimately matters more than anything you can put on it.
Virgin River continues to be one of Netflix’s most-watched series. How has playing Brie influenced your approach to beauty and self-care both on and off set?
“Honestly, it’s less about Brie influencing my approach and more about the very bizarre, confrontational experience of seeing my own reflection on screen—and the journey that forced me to take. I’ve been through some real mental and emotional hurdles around it. I wasn’t naturally equipped to observe myself so unavoidably when the series first came out. Before Virgin River, I did a lot of comedy and character work where my appearance and physicality were treated very differently—there’s a freedom in that kind of work, a way the camera sees you that isn’t quite so…personal. Stepping into a romantic lead role, in a love triangle with very handsome men, no less, was a different experience entirely.
So I won’t lie: my knee-jerk reaction in the first few seasons was to seek ways to fix what I didn’t like about myself physically. But I quickly learned that very cliché—and very powerful—lesson: No matter what I do to my outward appearance, what matters more is how I relate to myself on the inside. A sense of beauty, ease in my own skin and peace with my unique features—none of that can be purchased or applied. It’s an inside job. And once I really accepted that, my entire relationship to beauty and self-care shifted. It stopped being about correcting and started being about nourishing.
That nourishment looks different every day, which is actually the point. I’ve spent years learning about herbalism and the extraordinary healing properties of plants, and I now have a massive loose herb cabinet that I pull from. Every morning I strain a tea infusion I’ve cold-brewed overnight, and the act of prepping those infusions is itself a ritual. It forces me to drop into my body and ask: what do I actually need today? More sleep? Deeper hydration? Tissue nourishment? Grounding? That daily check-in with myself, that moment of genuine self-inquiry, is as much a part of my self-care practice as anything I put on my skin. And because I’m never in one place for long, I’ve made sure this ritual travels with me; I bring my own tea blends on the road, because consistency in self-care is everything when your life is unpredictable.
Corinne Moffat
That same philosophy—slowing down, tuning in, being as consistent as I can be—carries through everything else I do. I meditate daily, or as close to daily as life allows, and I always find at least five minutes for qigong and stretching, even on the most demanding days on set. Right now I’m also loving my Omnilux red light mask, and I’ve become genuinely addicted to the Shani Darden Facial Sculpting Wand as part of a nightly wind-down face massage…small rituals that mark the end of the day and help me come back to myself.
And then there’s the skin itself, which has been its own education. I’ve learned, the hard way, that less is always more for me. My skin is very sensitive, and what it needs has shifted over the years with time, hormones, environment and stress. That’s where my relationship with Robbi O’Quinn, our makeup artist on Virgin River, has been truly invaluable. She’s the one who turns me into Brie every day—hers is the chair I begin and often end my day in—and over the years we’ve worked together carefully and intentionally to find products that genuinely support my skin rather than burden it.
What I love most about Robbi is that she doesn’t just have an incredible eye and immense technical talent; she understands that I am ever-evolving, and she honors that. She’s a brilliant collaborator. In a lot of ways, that relationship mirrors everything I’ve come to believe about beauty itself. It’s not about a fixed ideal, it’s about understanding what you need, adapting and showing up with care.”
You’ve spoken about entering a more ‘confident chapter’ as both a woman and an artist. How has that evolution changed your relationship with beauty and aging?
“There’s real complexity and tension in this question for me, and I want to own that rather than smooth it over with something easy. Because, yes, I am in a more confident chapter. But that confidence hasn’t come from anywhere glamorous. It comes from living; from accumulating the kind of life experience that is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking.
We recently lost someone very dear to our family—unexpectedly—and that loss did something to me. It was like an invitation, as brutal as it was, to come back to recalibrate to what actually matters. And when I’m sitting in that newly recalibrated awareness, I can tell you that my relationship to aging shifts entirely. It stops being about my reflection and becomes about something much larger…the preciousness of this life, the passing of time, the quality of my relationships, the depth of my connection to the people and experiences that make up my world. Suddenly, how loose my skin gets feels like exactly the wrong thing to be preoccupied with.
That said, I don’t want to pretend I’m above the dismay of it—because I’m not. Aging is…it’s dismaying sometimes. There’s no point in pretending otherwise, especially in a conversation about beauty. I notice things. I have feelings about them. But I’ve found I can hold that honestly alongside something else: the recognition that aging is a privilege. Not everyone gets it. And that realization—especially now, in the wake of loss—is a powerful motivator. It makes me want to love harder. To go bigger with my dreams. To stop waiting for some imaginary future version of myself to show up.
So I suppose that’s what this chapter really looks like for me. Less focused on fixing, more committed to feeling. Less about appearance, more about presence. The confidence I’ve found isn’t the kind that comes from looking a certain way—it’s the kind that comes from knowing, more and more, what my life is actually for.”
Corinne Moffat Living in Scotland sounds incredibly inspiring—has the landscape or local culture influenced your skincare, wellness rituals or overall beauty philosophy?
“Scotland is genuinely one of the most grounding places I’ve ever been, and for someone who spends a significant amount of time in the world of Los Angeles and the entertainment industry, that counterbalance is not just welcome—it’s necessary. Hollywood has a very particular culture around appearance, around ambition, around a certain kind of relentless forward momentum. Edinburgh (where we live part-time) just… isn’t that. History is literally in your face everywhere you look—in the architecture, the landscape, the lore woven into every corner of the city. And there’s something about being surrounded by that kind of deep, ancient time that puts everything into perspective. It slows you down in the best way.
And for me, that slowing down always, always translates into how I actually look. I’ve become really convinced that genuine radiance—the kind that makes strangers smile at you on the street, the kind that draws people in—has almost nothing to do with what you’re putting on your face. I’ve had great hair days where I felt completely invisible, and I’ve had totally undone days where something was just…on. When I’m grounded, when I’m in love with my environment and my life, when my anxiety is managed and I feel balanced, I notice it. Other people notice it. There’s an ease that comes through. Edinburgh gives me that ease in a way few places do. It inspires me to lean into a quality of being rather than a quality of appearing—and I think that distinction is really at the heart of everything I believe about beauty now.
Practically speaking, the cold air is actually really good to my skin, but the winters do force me to hydrate more intentionally, because inside it’s usually dry heat blasting and fireplaces going, and your skin just starts screaming at you if you’re not paying attention. So that’s been important to stay on top of—and it honestly just deepens my commitment to all the hydration rituals I already have going, the mineralized herbal teas, the water. Scotland didn’t create those habits, but it definitely keeps me accountable to them.”
What does that look like in your day-to-day beauty routine, and are there any rituals or ingredients you’ve fallen in love with?
My skin is genuinely one of my most honest barometers. It tells me where I’m at sometimes before I even know it. Which sounds poetic until you’re dealing with a rosacea flare on a filming day. I have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, an immune condition where mast cells overreact to triggers, and for me, that shows up as a tendency toward fungal acne and rosacea, especially if my skin heats up under the wrong foundation. So my routine isn’t about what’s exciting in beauty right now. It’s about finding what genuinely doesn’t betray me, and holding onto it.
Which is exactly how I found IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream and why I’m genuinely obsessed with it. I wear it on the show and in real life—it’s that good. It’s calming, the coverage is buildable without ever feeling heavy, it’s hydrating rather than mattifying and it sits beautifully through long filming days without my skin staging a revolt.
Underneath that, my non-negotiables are Hada Labo LO #1 as a pre-hydrator, followed by Avène Recovery Balm for extra skin barrier protection, because my barrier is the thing that will become compromised fastest and easiest if I’m not careful. I’m a sensitive being in every sense of the word, and protecting that barrier is really the foundation on which everything else is built.”
Corinne Moffat You’ve also become skilled at crafting herbal tonics and teas. Can you share a few of your go-to blends for glowing skin?
“Herbalism has been one of the most subtle but transformative things I’ve brought into my life. I love that it asks you to slow down, to pay attention, to treat the body as something worth understanding rather than just managing. These are two blends I return to constantly:
Skin Radiance: Burdock Root, Calendula, Nettle, Hibiscus: This is the one I’m most proud of and the one I’d press into everyone’s hands. Burdock root is the cornerstone. It’s a classic blood purifier that supports the liver in clearing the metabolic waste that so often shows up as dull, congested skin. Calendula brings anti-inflammatory and lymphatic-moving properties, helping skin stay clear and even-toned. Nettle is extraordinarily mineral-rich—silica, iron, vitamin C—and gently detoxifying, genuinely feeding the skin from within. And hibiscus contributes alphahydroxy acids, a hefty dose of antioxidants and supports collagen integrity, while giving the whole blend a gorgeous ruby color and a tart, almost cranberry-like flavor. It’s as beautiful to look at as it is to drink.
Nervous System Calm: Chamomile, Oat Straw, Licorice Root, Calendula: This is my come-down blend, the one I reach for when I’ve been on set for twelve hours or I can feel that frayed, overstimulated feeling creeping in. Chamomile works quickly to calm both the mind and a tension-held body. Oat straw is slower medicine but profoundly restorative. It nourishes the nervous system over time in a way that really accumulates. Licorice root softens the edges of burnout and adds a natural sweetness that makes the whole thing genuinely pleasant to drink. A little calendula rounds it out with gentle mood-lifting support.”
Corinne Moffat What are some non-negotiable habits that help you feel your best, inside and out?
“The through line in all of them is that they return me to myself. That’s the whole point.
My herbal teas are non-negotiable—that daily ritual of preparing a blend, checking in with my body, asking what I actually need, sets the tone for everything else. Meditation follows, even if it’s just five minutes. And movement…some qigong, some stretching, because my body needs to be spoken to kindly every day or it lets me know about it! Haha!
Face massage has also become a real staple, either with my Shani Darden Facial Sculpting Wand or just good old-fashioned facial fascia massage with my hands. Both give genuine, visible results and feel like self-care.
Nature is essential, and I’m genuinely fortunate that so much of my life puts me right in the middle of it. Filming Virgin River in British Columbia means I get to do what I love against one of the most breathtaking backdrops on earth—there’s something about running a scene next to an ancient tree or with a staggering view behind you that puts the whole thing in perspective. And then Edinburgh on the other side of it, which is its own kind of grounding. Being able to move between those two places and other parts of the world that continue to feed how I see things—I don’t take that lightly.
Hydration, always. Boring answer but a true one.
And then there’s my art, which right now looks like making tiny movies entirely on my own, just to explore, to expand my skills and my creative taste and to feed that part of me that genuinely needs to be making things all the time. Maybe no one will ever see them. That’s kind of the point. In an industry where everything is made for an audience, making something purely for yourself is its own kind of self-care, and I’ve come to think of it as just as important to my overall well-being as anything else on this list.”
Between filming, traveling and your wellness pursuits, how do you maintain balance—and what does your ideal self-care day look like right now?
“The honest answer to balance is that I’ve stopped trying to recreate the same routine everywhere and instead built a support system in every place I land. I move between three countries regularly, so ahead of any arrival, I’m already booking appointments—a reflexologist, a facialist, a massage, an infrared sauna session, a haircut if I need one. I find the quiet parks, the good nail salon, the places where I can exhale. So that by the time I touch down, there’s already a framework waiting for me. It means I can get back in my body and get grounded quickly, rather than spending the first few days just spinning.
An ideal self-care day starts slow. Qigong in the house, then sitting in the garden with my coffee in some genuine quiet. My red light mask, a face massage—in silence or with a good tune on—my daily tea brew strained and ready. I connect with my husband, snuggle my dog. And then, honestly? I go to set. Because I genuinely, deeply love working. I love being on set, I love collaborating, I love the creative exchange of it, I love getting to express myself in scenes that connect and land. A great day on set doesn’t deplete me. It fills me up. So the ideal day isn’t work versus self-care. It’s the morning rituals that get me grounded, followed by a full, creatively alive day doing what I love. And then, if I’m lucky, home early, into bed with a good book or a show and my love next to me. That’s the whole dream.”
