You better believe we're still singing and playing the Wicked soundtrack on carpool. The masterpiece starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey captured the zeitgeist at the end of last year and is still one of the best movies we've seen, well, ever.
I fully adored how its leading women embraced their character's personas on the promo trail and red carpet appearances, by wearing green and black for Cynthia (aka Elphaba) and pink and pastels for Arianna (who plays Glinda) - see them all here - and equally I adore how much these two women clearly admire and love each other, having forged a beautiful friendship while filming the epic.
Another thing I adore? Cynthia's skin. It's stunning. Clear and glowing, I had to do my research to find out just what is giving her this incredible complexion. Genes? Possibly. But I unearthed a video of the British actress and singer sharing her beauty secrets with Vogue and I was stunned - and pleasantly surprised - to discover that among the luxury skincare she swears by was a surprisingly affordable beauty product that I use myself.
Nestled among the Skinceuticals Cleanser, $42 / £45 and Drunk Elephant serum, $50 / £46 was a French pharmacy fave, the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water. If Cynthia is anything like me, she probably has this micellar water on standby, as it's a brilliant cult buy that is suitable for all skin types and saves your skin when you need to take all your makeup off in a hurry.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water
The Tony and Grammy Award winner, who says she has "combination skin and it really depends on the time of the month, to be honest" uses the micellar water as an extra step post face wash, to ensure all dirt and bacteria has been removed. She told Vogue: "It's like an old school toner that a lot of people use, but I love it because it you can use it after makeup as well, but you can use it after washing your face and it cleans anything extra. You don't need very much, just a little bit."
For me, it's the cleanser I rely on when I (hate to admit it) have no time to remove my makeup with a hot cloth and cleanser. This is the thing I use with a cotton pad to remove every single trace of makeup, and not once has it ever dried my skin out. It leaves my complexion bouncy and hydrated, and squeaky clean in the best possible way. Cynthia uses the Shiseido Facial Cotton Pads, applying the micellar water straight to a pad and swiping across the face. My tip is to swipe upwards, to lift the skin.
Cynthia isn't alone in loving this simple yet cult beauty product. She joins a long list of famous faces who use it religiously, including Drew Barrymore, Victoria Beckham, Khloe Kardashian and Selena Gomez.
© InstagramFans of Wicked are also low key obsessed with Cynthia's nail art, created using the OPI x Wicked Nail Polish collection. She showcased a series of incredible designs based on Wicked and Elphaba during the promo trail and awards season. How cool are they?!
