Paradise ’s Nicole Brydon Bloom Has the Best Trick for the Perfect Spray Tan

All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by Glamour editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission.

After starring in period pieces like The Gilded Age and We Were the Lucky Ones, Nicole Brydon Bloom is used to spending a lot of time in the hair-and-makeup chair. But now, in Hulu’s captivating political thriller Paradise, Bloom is getting to inhabit a character more in line with her laid-back approach to glam.

“It’s definitely very minimal makeup, which I am kind of used to, but normally my hair is kind of down and loose,” the actor tells me over Zoom while vacationing in Mexico. “But it helped with the structure of the character as a secret service agent since Jane has to be very polished. If she’s got to run after anybody, she doesn’t want her hair flying into her face.”

If you’re all caught up on Paradise (the season-one finale drops on Tuesday, March 4, followed by a broadcast run on ABC starting April 7), then you know Jane has plenty of secrets up her sleeve, and her look becomes a little less structured as the season progresses. “Jane is out of her work clothes, and it’s fun,” Bloom says. “I wear a low bun a little bit more, which I enjoy.”

It’s also a look that the 30-year-old might turn to when she walks down the aisle with her fiancé, Justin Theroux (date, TBD). “It probably depends on the dress, since lots of different components have to come together, but updos are really lovely,” she says.

One thing she knows for certain, though, is that she wants her skin to glow, her eyes to pop, and her lips to be hydrated with a pinch of color. So, for Glamour’s latest edition of Big Beauty Questions, Bloom reveals the secrets to her super-natural tan, the volumizing mascara she swears by, and what else she’s thinking for her upcoming wedding.

Glamour: Is there a skin care or makeup trick you picked up from starring on Paradise that you’ve started doing in your daily life?

Nicole Brydon Bloom: My makeup artist would always put eye patches on me in the morning because sometimes we had really early calls or really late calls, so I’ve started using those more. Barbara Sturm has a new eye patch that I have been trying out, which has been going well.

Dr. Barbara Sturm Everything Eye Patches

$125.00, Dr. Barbara Sturm

You also starred on The Gilded Age as Maude. What was it like to play in that time period?

The Gilded Age is great. They use my natural hair, which is really fun because it’s so long—they can kind of do all the updos with it. And on that show, my skin care routine is still fresh and natural, but ther’’s a little more blush. I sweet-talked them into putting a touch of the eyeliner on me because I think sometimes that helps accentuate the eyes a little bit. And then on Hulu’s We Were the Lucky Ones, that was really fun because 1940’s makeup was so different, with the hair and big curls and darker lips. It really informs the character.

Tell me a little bit about your approach to beauty and skin care when you’re not working.

My skin care routine is pretty simple. Sunscreen is the number one thing for me. I use Elta M.D. Broad Spectrum SPF because I had a scar from an injury and my doctor was like, “This is the best thing that you can do for your scar, for your skin.” So I wear that everyday.

Elta M.D. UV Sheer Broad-Spectrum SPF 50+

$37.00, Elta M.D.

And if I do wear any kind of foundation, it’s always a tinted moisturizer as opposed to anything too heavy. I also use Cetaphil face wash and face lotion because it works. I also use the app Yuka. They rate different products and food, and it’s helpful to check in on what you’re putting on your skin to see if it’s healthy and good for you or if there’s anything in it you really want to avoid.

Cetaphil Face Wash

$15.00, Amazon

Cetaphil Daily Hydrating Lotion for Face

$15.00, Amazon

How are you at doing your own makeup? Or do you like having a makeup artist on hand for events?

I am very bad at doing my own makeup. I love doing my own mascara, eyebrows, and simple little blush. Milk Makeup has a great little kind of all-purpose blush and lip color that sometimes I’ll throw on before I leave. But whenever I go to events, it is fun to get my makeup done. They’re just so good. It’s a work of art.

Lip + Cheek Cream Blush + Lip Color

$24.00, Amazon

What’s your favorite mascara?

Ilia Fullest Volumizing Mascara, which is really good, and one of the cleaner brands that I like. I have very small eyelashes, so it’s helpful. Any help I can get is good.

Ilia Fullest Volumizing Mascara

$28.00, Amazon

Congratulations on your engagement, by the way. How’s wedding planning?

We’re just enjoying being engaged and I’m sure the planning will come at some point.

Have you thought about your makeup look for the big day?

Just kind of more natural. I’ve been seeing a lot of brides go that route lately, and I think definitely letting your skin show through is important to me. So probably a soft, sort of natural look.

And now that you’re embracing the low bun, have you thought about a particular hairstyle?

I haven’t thought about it. I guess it probably depends on the dress. Lots of different components have to come together all at once, but either way, updos are really lovely and down is much more natural, so we’ll see.

What hair products do you swear by?

I’ve used Prose. You list where you live, if your hair’s thick or thin, and it creates a formula just for you. That’s been really helpful because your hair changes as you grow. It was really long and thick when I was younger, and then I sort of went through a period in my early 20s where it thinned out a bit and wouldn’t grow as much. I was trying anything and everything, both natural and supplements. Prose was one of the things I went to and I think it ended up really helping.

Do you use dry shampoo at all?

Yes, Living Proof is my go-to. My hair does get greasy, but I try not to wash it too much. I’ll shampoo it every two or three days unless I’ve had a big workout or sweaty session.

Living Proof Perfect hair Day Dry Shampoo

$30.00, Sephora

You’re in Mexico right now on vacation, so which city or country gives you the greatest beauty inspiration?

I actually lived for a year in Le Marais in Paris a few years ago. I just feel like the French are doing something right. Their makeup is very minimal, they really embrace natural skin and the natural aging process. Every once in a while, I love a good lip. But I definitely love it in Mexico too. It’s very beachy. You have the lightest little kiss of a tan and that’s kind of nice as well.

Are there any products you stock up on when you’re in Paris that you can’t get in the States?

I really like Caudalie, but you can get that in the States. Their toners are really nice. But no, I haven’t found a niche brand that’s only there. Although sometimes in the pharmacies you find really random, good little unique products.

Caudalie Vinopure Natural Salicylic Acid Pore Minimizing Toner

$30.00, Sephora

Is there a beauty trend you don’t think you could ever get on board with?

I feel like I would look really bad with bleached eyebrows. I think it looks amazing on some people, but I am not one of those people.

What about a beauty trend that you were reluctant to get on board with but now you actually love?

Well, I haven’t done it myself, but I have a lot of friends who’ve opted for the lob and it’s so chic. If I go for a change, I would probably give that a try.

Have you ever had short hair or has it always been long?

I have had short hair. We actually chopped it for We Were the Lucky Ones and I was sad when I had to cut it, but it made sense for the character. I didn’t realize I would care so much. But then once it’s done you’re like, “Okay, this is great. And now I do feel more in character.”

What is the best beauty advice your mom ever gave you?

My mom always, always said less is more. And then she’s like, “Emphasize your eyes a little bit so they don’t disappear.” But yeah, very natural, very, very simple makeup was kind of her advice when we started playing around with it. Although I did go through a phase in high school of wearing blue sparkly eye shadow and she just kind let it ride. She was like, “You’ll figure this out on your own.”

When do you feel most beautiful?

I never lay out, so I go to Sugared + Bronzed for spray tans. But if I put on sunscreen and I’m wearing a hat, I go for a beach walk and let the sun hit me and I feel prettier when I’m not so pale. And I feel happier when I very carefully spend time in the sun. And I like when my hair’s wavy and salty. That’s probably when I feel the most myself.

I’m a Sugared + Bronzed girl, too, but I always make myself crazy deciding between which level spray tan to ask for, like option two or three. Which one do you do?

One. And I shower way sooner than they tell me to, like an hour and a half later instead of three. I just naturally am so pale that any darker than that just really looks strange on me. I have friends who go over three and sleep in it overnight, and then shower and they look stunning. But I’m just cautious with my spray tan.

I do go sugaring there quite a bit, but in terms of tanning, I feel like I really only do it maybe before a big event or a vacation and I don’t want to tan from the sun.

What do you always carry with you in your bag?

I have ChapStick on me always, or usually like an Aquaphor or something. I have them everywhere. And Chanel has this little cocoa balm in a coral shade, so when I want a little extra color, I’ll swipe that on and it’s really hydrating. I also carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere. Purell is my go-to.

ChapStick Classic, 3 Pack

$4.00, Walmart

Aquaphor Lip Protectant + SPF Lip Balm

$5.00, Amazon

You live in New York City. In the winter months, especially, do you have a hand lotion that you like?

My twin sister always gifts these little L’Occitane mini hand creams. Or if she has an extra one on hand, she says, “You just keep that,” which I appreciate.

L'Occitane Hand Cream Favorites Collection

$33.00, Ulta

Jessica Radloff is the senior West Coast editor at Glamour.

Originally Appeared on Glamour