There's no doubt MJ Rodriguez is a star. From the second she appeared onscreen in FX's Pose—a Ryan Murphy–directed series centered on New York's ballroom scene in the 1980s and ’90s—it became clear she was one to watch. In her role as Blanca, the strong-willed founder of the House of Evangelista, her every word demands your attention and pulls at your heart strings. Since the first season, she's starred in a production of Little Shop of Horrors, and though I've seen only short clips of the performance, once again, I was captivated by her every move.
As Pose comes to a close—the series' final episode aired June 6—Rodriguez isn't slowing down anytime soon. She'll be making the switch from drama to comedy for Apple's recently announced show with the working title Loot, starring alongside Maya Rudolph.
Though she may be busy with filming, the 30-year-old always takes the time for her skin-care routine. “It's important for me to do it every single day,” she tells Glamour. “I don't think it's something that I have to do, but it's just a little added plus to make me feel good that my skin is healthy and taken care of.”
“It's definitely something I've always been into,” she says. “I've always taken care of my skin. I just didn't have, you know, the right product to use. But now I do—thank God!” Rodriguez credits her makeup artist on Pose, Nicky Illum, for helping her get settled on a routine that works for her.
“My biggest concern is not developing abscesses like I did when I was younger,” she says. “I did not want big mountains on my face anymore—that is too scary! Right now, though, my skin is extremely healthy; it's moisturized and hydrated. And it's finally clear as it should be. And I'm really happy with it.”
After last night's emotional finale, Rodriguez shared her go-to routine with us. From the purifying scrub to the sheet mask that “gets me all the way together,” read on for the products she can't live without.
My Scrub
I first start off with a purifying facial scrub with tea tree, by Dr. Organic. It's deep-cleansing, and it's good for waking up in the morning and making sure you got all the oils off your face, or any of the bacteria from the day before, or from when you were sleeping—because you gather bacteria while you sleep. And it just has a slew of things inside of it: not only tree tea tree oil but grapefruit and botanical extracts; it also has coconut oil in it. So it's good. It's also just hydrating and really cleans your face. And it feels so good—my face is so smooth afterward.
I use it at night too. When I go through my day and I've had all these products on, I go back and I use my tea tree scrub to make sure I clean my face and get off all the impurities that build up throughout the day.
My Moisturizer
The next thing I use is Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, along with a mixture of coconut oil, just to hydrate my skin. So it's a 24-hour daily lightweight hydrating formula, and it just makes sure that your skin is filled with hydration, and sets your skin up for the day. I love when my skin looks hydrated and dewy. I use this one at night too.
My Eye Cream
I put on this amazing eye cream by Kiehl's as well as called the Creamy Eye Treatment With Avocado—it is everything. The thing for me is that the avocado is a super-fruit, so it absorbs into your under your eyes. But it leaves under your eyes looking completely unpuffy, and it just feeds your undereyes. I love that, because under my eyes is one of my most insecure places on my face, so it feels good. It's so rich, and I also love that it's green—I don't know why I do, but I do.
My Eye Masks
So after I've done my creams, I make sure that it sets in. I just let it soak in for a while. After I'm done with that, I'll go in with my 24-karat-gold undereye gels by Masqueology. The Kiehl's is to moisturize, but those really tighten, so I like to use them together. I use them almost every single day, just to keep up with the regimen that I have and to keep my skin in the same place. I just love that they tighten the skin under your eyes; they make it look so clean. It's a real glowy look after you're done.
My Mist
So, after I'm done with all of my face applications and everything, I put on a little bit of Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. Honey, I need to be dewed up! It's important. I have to have my skin looking dewy and clean. I know it's a makeup product, but after I put my treatments on, it doesn't hurt to put a little Tatcha on just to make sure I'm glowing.
My Lip Balm
When I'm about to head out for my day, I put on ChapStick. My favorite one is this new pink one. It's moisturizing; it has this beautiful smell to it—I don't know if it's floral or if it's fruity, but it smells great. My lips feel so hydrated, and I do a scrub before I put it on and my lips feel so plump and plush.
My Serum
Before I go to sleep, I put on Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. It has so many great ingredients in it. My favorite is the essential oils; the lavender essential oils set me up for going to sleep. But it's great for restoration, and it gives you a glow when you wake up in the morning.
My Mask
I use a couple of masks, but I've been using the Knesko Skin skin face mask, and girl, that thing gets me all the way together! It just gets every part of your face together, takes out all the blackheads you have in your face; it's really good. I use that, like, every week or every two weeks.
Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.
