We spoke to actress Kristin Scott Thomas about her favorite things, including Heliocare Color sunscreen, Augustinus Bader tinted lip balm, Moleskine notebooks, and more.
I usually use a very famous French brand, and they’d run out in the chemist. And the girls behind the counter said, “Oh, you should try this one. Everybody loves this one.” And I said, “Well, I’ve never heard of it, and it’s Spanish.
” I didn’t know Spain was particularly famous for its cosmetics. But anyway, it’s completely brilliant stuff. And it’s tinted, so you can wear it like foundation. Now I’ve given it to all my friends.It’s very light, not sticky, not greasy, and just gives a bit of color. So you just feel a little bit more polished than you would if you weren’t wearing anything. It’s really nice and doesn’t dry out your lips at all. Do you know who gave it to me the first time? My friend Bella Freud. She gave it to me, and said, “Try this.” And I thought,If there’s an Hermès store on the street, I find it very, very difficult not to walk into it. Somewhere along the line, I’d been given some scent from them. I think my mother used to wear it. And I went in there one day, and there were these beautiful bottles. Oh, the packaging is so beautiful. It’s sort of an oblong bottle, very thick glass, with a lovely leather top. And that was the one that appealed. It’s a very pretty, sort of pale, iris-colored liquid in this beautiful bottle, and it smells delicious. My favorite flowers are lilac and iris and things that last for a really short period. I rush around the garden sniffing all these flowers because I know that I won’t be able to smell them for another year. It’s a very simple smell. I think describing smells is beyond my capabilities, but it’s very clean and obviously floral. It’s not sugary at all. It’s very sort of musky. I tend to change perfume quite a lot, depending on my mood, but I’ve always loved this one.A Handful of Dust , and we were all incredibly excited because Anjelica Huston had accepted a small role in it. I happened to be in the hotel lobby when she came in to register in the hotel, and she smelled so divine. The scent, just like,from Patou, but it was just amazing. And I thought that that is the epitome of glamor. It’s just smelling so gorgeous, and you could slightly hear the silk of her blouse and her bracelets’ rattle a little.I have a different one on me today because my bracelet’s broken on the other one, and it’s going to take them six weeks to find me another one. I’ve had it, I don’t know, 10, 15 years, the Baignoire. I love a pretty little watch. I like my Baignoire because it’s gold, but it’s also a bit dented. They said to me the other day when I took it in for its service — because you have to look after these things — “Oh, but it’s got scratches on it and dents.” And I said, “Yeah, it’s.” I said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, don’t worry. I’m very happy with the way it is. It’s lived with me for all this time.” I think I bought it for myself. The thing is that it’s a very precise width. And I’ve been to a number of watch strap places, and they say, “No, you have to go back to Cartier for that because they’re the only ones who make watch straps that will fit that.” That’s what makes Cartier special, really, is because everything is theirs. They don’t make anything that’s standard.is what I’m reading at the moment, which I absolutely love, and that you can dip into it because she talks about writing, about people, and she’s also a poet. So, it’s peppered with lines of her poetry and other people’s writing. She talks about freshly fallen snow. When you wake up in the morning and you look out of the window and it’s all white, she says that “It’s as if waiting to be told what to do.” I thought that was just such a brilliant description of freshly fallen snow. Anyway, I absolutely love everything she writes. She’s one of those writers where you can reread the sentence because it just brings you such pleasure reading it. This is my first , but it goes with me all the time because I keep going backwards and forwards over it.I really like those very basic Moleskine notebooks, but then when I’m feeling fancy, I like the Smythson ones with the really thin paper. It can be anything from shopping lists to ideas, or if I’m in a rage about something, I’ll write it down. Or measurements, sketches of tents. Just anything. I find that if you write something down, it’s easier to remember it. I have stacks and stacks and stacks of half-full notebooks. And people are always giving them to me because they know I like them. I was given some really nice ones with sort of Italian end papers, which are really quite thick paper. But I think I prefer it when it’s very thin paper. I love lines on the page — lines, please. I lived in France for 42 years, and I used to get very cross that all the paper was checked. I don’t like that at all. It’s too much like school.This one I’ve had for ages and ages and ages because my mum made it for me, and she made it really quickly. My mother was a jeweler, and I said, “Can you make me this?” And she said, “Oh, no, darling. You know, I’ll have to do this, and I’ll have to do that.” And I said, “No, just get a bit of wire and bend it round. That’ll do fine.” And so she did, and then she polished it for me, and took off the sharp edges and everything like that. And I love it. That’s my thing. I wear it all the time, never take it off. It’s like a wedding ring on my toe.There’s a place called Grevi in Rome, and they have brilliant hats. I think I got this one in Paris. I’ve had it for such a long time. It’s a sort of bucket hat made out of water repellent — I’m not sure it’s so repellent anymore — fabric that is like moleskin. It’s quite thick, it’s got a leather strap around the top, it’s really battered, and it’s got a bit of mud on the inside. I just love it. It’s just a hat, but it’s my favorite hat. I mean, I wouldn’t wear it in town. In town, I have more glamorous hats. Editor’s note: Scott Thomas’ original rain hat is no longer available, so we linked to the most similar version of it. Since Grevi lists all prices in euros, we’ve also made an approximate conversion to U.S. dollars.I’ve got to have dark glasses. At the moment, I’m using my Valentino great big black ones, which I love. And then I’ve got some cheap and cheerful ones. I tend to lose them a lot. Who doesn’t? I’ve got some very good Victoria Beckham ones, some very good Valentino ones. I don’t see very well in bright light, so I’m always doing that , which isn’t a good look. So I try and try to wear glasses to prevent myself from doing that. Can’t see the point in the little tiny ones. The bigger the better.I have a dog, and you learn very quickly, never leave the house without one. And they can be very useful for all sorts of other things as well. For instance, I was on a long journey, and somebody gave me an apple or something. And then what do you do with the core? In the bag, in the bin. I like the ones with prints on them. You have to have a roll, and it’s much easier to have a little carrier for them, because otherwise the roll will unroll in your handbag. You would be lost without it, because, literally, they unravel and unravel and unravel and it’s hell. The dog’s name is Pickle. Basically, I think he was made up with all the bits that other dogs didn’t like. He’s got incredibly short legs, poor little chap, a very long body, a very long, fluffy tail, and the sweetest face you could possibly imagine. Editor’s note: Scott Thomas doesn’t have a specific poop bag brand that she prefers, so we linked to a version that has paw prints on it — just as she likes it.is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read aboutWhat Kristin Scott Thomas Can’t Live WithoutYesterday at 12:00 p.m.You’re in!
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