Skin care is basically in Ally Maki's blood. The Home Sweet Home Alone actor and founder of Asian American Girl Club—an apparel brand and platform for Asian American women—grew up learning the importance of beauty rituals from her family. And she's been obsessed ever since. “Skin care is something that feels special to me because it was something that my mom and I did together when I was young,” she tells Glamour. “It was a way we were able to bond as mother and daughter.”
Maki's grandmother was also integral to her understanding of skin care. Even today she's obsessive about sun protection because of her grandma's advice. “It's something that I always think about, because the women in my family are very prone to hyperpigmentation,” she says. “My grandma actually grew up on this little tiny farm that they were sharecroppers on, back in the 30s. Her job was to sit in the sun for hours and hours and pick strawberries in the direct sunlight. She had a lot of sun damage on her face and especially on her hands, and I remember growing up, she would always tell us to make sure to shield our faces from the sun, but also to use sunscreen.”
Family isn't the only place where Maki picks up skin-care tips, though. She says she and her friends constantly swap product recommendations, and anytime she's on set, she takes pictures of what her makeup artist uses to prep her skin. Prepandemic, she was also a huge fan of facials and treatments.
“The last facial that I had before the pandemic was in Seoul, and it just literally changed everything about the way I thought about skin,” she says. “It was the first time I learned about the 12 steps of skin care and really fully immersed myself in it. I think before then I was more just like, ‘Cool, I've heard about different products,’ but after that trip, I really was like, ‘Wow, there's like a whole process to this,’ and got way into it.”
“With skin care, I love to experiment and I'm learning as I go. I make mistakes,” she continues. “I'm very imperfect with it. But I feel like that's all part of the process, it's trial and error.” So, what's part of the current process? Read on for Maki's routine.
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My makeup removers
I usually start by removing all my makeup. I discovered this new product that's really awesome; it's called the Face Halo. It's so good. It's this reusable makeup remover. It looks like a little puff, and I love it because it's nontoxic, it's sustainable, and it actually can replace up to 500 single-use wipes, which is awesome. You just put a little bit of water on it and then you rub it on your face and the makeup just magically comes off. It's so great as a first step.
And then sometimes I'll dive into the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm by Charlotte Cho. I just love that, it smells so yummy, and the packaging is just gorgeous. I love to leave that on my countertop because it looks so chic. It feels very luxurious, and it almost looks and feels like orange sherbet. I feel like it's magic: You just rub it a bit, it turns into this great oil, it smells so good.
My cleanser
For cleanser, I am loving the Tatcha Rice Wash for morning and night. I absolutely love Vicky Tsai, who's the founder of Tatcha and Daniel Martin [Tatcha's Global Director of Artistry & Education]. They're just such amazing people and she's a delight. I love supporting brands that have founders who really inspire me, and they're also Asian American.
This is one of my favorite cleansers because it doesn't have that tight feeling after you wash; it doesn't strip the skin. It's based off this Japanese concept called Kiyomi, which is basically like an active purification or cleansing. So, for generations now, Japanese women would do this thing called the first wash of rice, which is basically after you wash the rice, they use the milky water from the grains. This water has amazing things in there, like vitamin E, B2, B12. And it just creates this very luminous feeling from inside and out. So I just love that act behind it.
My toner
My mom would say this is the most important step. I started using toner as young as elementary school because of her. I really am loving the Indie Lee COQ-10 Toner. Anything that has hyaluronic acid in it, I'm just like, “Please just soak it all into my skin.” And the COQ-10 is just giving all those nutrients and antioxidants. Also, I have to say, I'm kind of lazy, but I like this toner because it has the spray bottle. I feel like as that first step, it gets me going, as opposed to finding a cotton round or whatever I'm getting. It just feels like, “All right, all you have to do, Ally, is just spray,” and then that gets me going into the next few steps.
My essence
I am obsessed with the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence; this stuff is insane. I actually never knew what an essence was, but then a couple of my girlfriends were like, “You have to try this product, it totally changed the game for me.” So I did, and I'm hooked. I started to learn about Pitera—the SK-II is basically 90% Pitera—and I guess the thing about it is that it resembles your skin. So instead of blocking it out, your skin really welcomes it. It's like, “Hello, hi, please come in, please—give me that goodness.” So I love that stuff. It's so good.
My moisturizer
I have to go back to the Tatcha Water Cream. I have tried so many different moisturizers, but for some reason I always, always go back to this one. I think it's perfect for summer because it's oil-free. It feels so light, the texture feels so, so, so yummy. They really nailed the formulation on this one: It's not too heavy, not too greasy, it's such a knockout product. I use it day and night. Sometimes I'll switch it up in wintertime, and go for something a bit heavier, but for right now it's just so, so, so perfect.
My eye cream
I would say of all the categories, this is the one where I allow myself to splurge a little bit. I love the La Mer The Eye Concentrate; it's so good. I just ran out, so I have to go get some more because I'm already missing it. It has that miracle broth in it, which I think really works wonders. And this is the one area where I splurge, because I do feel like it's that most delicate part of the face, that really thin skin, right under your eye. It has this lime tea concentrate in it, which I feel really helps with the damage before it occurs. And I really like the little applicator it comes with. I'll just apply it and just get lost in applying it on my eyes.
My eye masks
I love the Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Hydra-Gel Eye Patches by Peter Thomas Roth. I first got introduced to these on set, and for some reason they've just always stuck with me. I bring them in my bag when I travel or to any set; it just become a sort of ritual for me. I like to pop them on in the morning, right before we start hair and makeup or even if I'm just at home before I start meetings. And it just feels like these cold little clouds that just bring me to life. And it does have caffeine in it, so I feel like with my coffee it just kicks my day off right.
My mask
I love carrying some of the Egg Cream Masks from Too Cool for School around. They just feel so creamy on your skin. They have egg yolk and egg white extracts in them that help to boost cell turnover.
My SPF
Sunscreen is absolutely the most important step of the whole process. If I could just choose one step, it would be this. I love the Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen, I think it's incredible because it's completely invisible and scentless.
I used this when we shot in Fiji. When I shot Wrecked, we lived on and off in Fiji for three years, and that's where I learned to make sure to reapply every three hours. I think in here in L.A. sometimes we're like, “Oh, I'll just, I'll put it on in the beginning of the day and then it's good all day.” But what I really learned in Fiji, where it's just so hot and it's tropical you have to reapply. You don't forget the ears and wear it inside. All good lessons, which I learned the hard way.
My lip balm
I have to stick with the Laneige Lip Mask. It truly saved my lips, literally overnight. I feel like it's the one product you can put on at night and the next day it's a whole new game. It's packed with vitamin C and antioxidants, and it smells so good. But I also love Paw Paw. I think it's just so magical; it works wonders too. So I love those two.
My tools
For devices, I'm still getting into this world, but I really love my Aira Ionic Facial Steamer. It's so nice; it just makes you feel like you're at a spa, but you're at home. You can just turn it on for 10 minutes and after you just feel so rejuvenated—mentally too, because it feels like you're just in a nice little sauna. It also comes with little oils, so you can have a more therapeutic essential oil experience. It's great for your skin, but it's also good for your mind and your soul too. I use that, like, once or twice a week, maybe on a Friday evening when you're winding down, and your last Zoom of the day is done. It just transports you away, so I love that.
Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.
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