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Naomi Watts is expanding her Stripes Beauty collection with a luxurious body butterThe Rich & Tight Ultra Hydrating & Firming Body Butter has become the actress’s go-to for firm, smooth skinThe All’s Fair star also talks fostering community through her brand
Naomi Watts asked herself a few hard questions before leaping into the beauty space in 2022.
Among them: “Is this a good idea?” and, “How dare I?”
But the Oscar-nominated actress, 57, saw a deficit — that people experiencing symptoms of perimenopause and menopause did not have products or resources to meet their needs — and forged ahead.
The result was the launch of Stripes Beauty and the creation of a community for those who often felt forgotten.
For the All’s Fair star, who also questioned whether she’d “kill” her acting career by announcing herself an “aging woman” — the risk was worth it.
“Women responded exactly how we wanted them to, really. And that was [by saying], “Let’s own our stories. Let’s get rid of the shame and the stigma, and lean into getting the greatest support through advocacy — and a lot of hydration.”
Naomi Watts for Stripes Beauty.
Three years later, Watts has a new hydrator for her product assortment, which includes solutions from “scalp to vag,” as she puts it: the Rich & Tight Ultra Hydrating & Firming Body Butter.
The creation was inspired by her audience. “Our body oil is our best-selling product at the moment,” Watts says of the vitamin C-infused formula, which evens and brightens skin, adding, “But people were saying, ‘What about a cream?’”
“There are many on the market,” Watts admits. But Stripes’ formula hits different.
As the name would suggest, Rich & Tight, $68, is not just a luxurious body butter with beautiful packaging, an lush texture and a light but indulgent scent (comprised of notes of iris, rose and sandalwood) it targets skin firmness on another level.
Stripes Beauty Rich & Tight Body Butter.
The formula features ectoine and squalane, two ingredients that power most of the formulas in Watts’ collection.
Ectoine is a molecule that helps natural organisms survive in extreme environments, by helping them retain water, and has been proven to do the same in skin. Meanwhile, squalane mimics the skin’s natural oil to lock moisture in the skin.
“When you lose the estrogen, your skin becomes thinner, crepier, and it lacks that elasticity,” Watts explains. “So, our biotech company created this pairing that was specifically for that kind of skin.”
“Ectoine targets the places that need the water the most and squalene targets the surface of the skin, and together, it just gives you that ultra-hydrated finish that you need on your skin to get rid of those fine lines and the crepiness.”
Naomi Watts for Stripes Beauty.
But Watts’ team didn’t stop there. They added peptides to stimulate collagen, ceramides to support the skin’s barrier, as well as cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin B5 to soften the heck out of skin.
The formula took Watts’ team 18 months to develop. But it only took Watts one application to weave it into her routine.
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“I use it fresh out of the shower,” she says. “On its own it’s really great, but I have definitely layered it (with The Full Monty oil) as well.”
She continues, “The cream lasts — all day — and you feel snatched.”
Naomi Watts for Stripes Beauty.
Once you have your products down pat, Watts says there are a few other ways you can feel like your best self amid midlife changes.
The first is by getting educated, she says. “Women were going to their doctors with frustrating stories and a list of symptoms that were not identified as menopausal,” the actress explains, adding that she’s witnessed more and more doctors “joining the movement” since the launch of Stripes Beauty.
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The second, she says, is by finding your support system. “Share your story, see your story reflected in someone else’s, come together, own it.”
Shop Watts’ latest launch on stripesbeauty.com.
