Beauty Interview

Olivia Wilde has an addiction . . . to changing her hair color. From jet black to bright blond, she has just about tried it all, which makes her the ideal fit as a Revlon hair color spokeswoman. Her experimentation actually started as a preteen when she embraced punk style to its fullest. "When I was 12, I started working my way through the Manic Panic line. I went through purple, green, and I really liked blue," she says. "I remember at one point I wanted to do a sunset. So, I wanted orange into red, which is hard to do crouching over your sink."

While Olivia has stayed away from the primary colors as of late, she hasn't lost her love of experimentation. Even her fiancé, Jason Sudeikis, takes note of her sporadic changes. "I really don't go more than a month with the same hair color," she says. "So he'll tease me and say, 'Honey, it's been a week, are you sure you don't want to change your hair?'"

However, Olivia admits that one of the perks of her color updates is the makeup. "One of the fun things about changing your hair is getting to try out all these different colors. I think if you're a darker brunette, learning to contour is really helpful, and with eye makeup you can be a little bit more bold. And with really blond hair I think [it's best to] use way less makeup."

No matter the hair color, though, Olivia always leans on her makeup staples: a winged cat eye and a handy brow pencil. "I plucked off all my eyebrows because I wanted to be Kate Moss. She had the perfect wisps of eyebrows," Olivia explains. "But what you forget when you're looking at your beauty icon is that they have a completely different face than you."

Her time with the tweezers may be counted among her beauty blunders, but all in all Olivia embraces the trial and errors of life. "If I ever had a daughter I would tell her to make every mistake; go for it," Olivia says.

As an ambassador for Neutrogena, actress Gabrielle Union knows that the foundation of any beauty look is a solid skin care regimen. "There is only so much you can hide with cosmetics, so it is important to use them to accentuate your features and not hide behind it," she says. "That's why I'm so adamant about taking care of my skin with a daily routine."

She counts on a few staples to keep her skin in tip-top shape, including the brand's Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub ($7-8) and Cream Cleanser ($6).

This less-is-more outlook on beauty rings true in the rest of her life, too. Now 40, Gabrielle knows about the ups and downs that come with growing into your own skin. "You definitely reach a place in your life where you feel really present and can focus on things which are truly important," she says. "When you are much younger, there seem to be so many distractions; whether it be with your emotions or situationally."

Her advice for navigating the sometimes treacherous terrain of your 20s? "Not to worry so much about the small things, and just enjoy the ride as it all leads you to where you are supposed to be." A good cleanser doesn't hurt, either.

When it comes to creating a festive mood for the holidays, Giada De Laurentiis knows a little something about spicing things up. And that's not just in the kitchen, but in the beauty department, too. Giada, a spokesperson for Clairol Natural Instincts, recently switched her hair color to the brand's Navajo Bronze shade. "It's a little redder than normal," Giada said of her new color. "Last time I did Toasted Almond, but I thought in the Winter it's kind of nice to have darker hair."

The Food Network chef also shared a clever way to lighten up a delicious chocolate mousse. Taking out the dairy and replacing it with avocado, Giada made a decadent chocolate dessert far better for you than its traditional counterpart. And this smart, healthy-thinking attitude marks what Giada is all about. "Natural Instincts wants to empower women through their hair color," she said, "and I want to empower women in the kitchen."

In terms of making wise food choices a constant during this festive time, Giada has even more helpful advice: "When you go to a holiday party, make sure you eat a little something before you go. Never go hungry, or else you are going to be eating everything in front of you." And one thing she does recommend indulging in is a little bubbly. "Champagne is alcohol, but it has very low calories and low sugar, so it's actually a really great one to have during the holidays," she says. "But add a spoonful of puréed raspberries to it and all of a sudden you've added accents to your drink." Want the easy recipe? Watch Giada show us how to create the perfect holiday cocktail.

And in case you're the host of a holiday soiree, Giada has another tip for keeping it all together. "When I have a party at my house, I have a drawer in my kitchen where I keep a little mascara, a little powder, and a little lip gloss in case I need a quick touch-up." The chef also prefers "lots of shimmer eye shadow" and her hair pulled up in a bun with a sparkling elastic. Quips Giada, "My daughter loves it, so we both wear our hair the same way, and then we pull our bangs down."

Kate Hudson is the ultimate California girl with a beauty routine to match: simple and easy. "That's why Almay and I are a good fit," says Kate, who is a spokeswoman for the beauty brand. "I don't like fussy makeup on a day-to-day basis. The reality is I've got five to 10 minutes to get myself ready for the day, to take Ryder [her son] to school, or to start my workday. So for me it's a quick base, a cheek, mascara, and a lip gloss."

Her new favorite product is the line's Intense I-Color Liquid Shadow + Color Primer ($8, available next month at drugstores nationwide). "I wear these all the time," Kate says. "I like easy makeup — anything that goes on easy that you can continue to apply throughout the day and anything you can put it your purse and it's not too fussy."

For Kate, the most beautiful women she's known are the ones "who are focused on their mental and physical health, their joy center, and understanding and balancing their lives." She explains, "I think that's when you see most women at their most beautiful, especially when women are emanating happiness."

And happiness will be all about the family's holiday traditions this month. "Ryder loves the Advent calendars," she says. "And I have this little log cabin Advent calendar that opens and there are all these little animals." With that anticipation and all the cookie-baking and hot chocolate she has planned, it sounds like there's lots of joy ahead for the Hudson-Bellamy household this season.

As the face of Revlon, Emma Stone already possesses a keen interest in makeup. But the experience of getting into character on the set of one of her latest movies, Gangster Squad, took it to a whole new level. "The craziest part was Christien Tinsley [the film's head makeup artist] trying to make my skin one solid shade, because I have freckles," Emma says. "So they literally had to do concealer, then foundation, then concealer, then foundation again. I felt like Queen Elizabeth I."

The strong brows and bold lipstick shades her character wears in the film, however, are now among some of her favorite palettes. Emma even started playing around with these midcentury-inspired looks in her every day life, which is a pretty big departure from her typical day-to-day makeup. She shares her beauty philosophies when you read on.