Jennifer Aniston's Advice to Her 20-Year-Old Self: "Don't Take Your Skin For Granted"

Thirty years ago, the internet was only just getting its start and social media was not yet a "thing." But Aniston was just like any other 20-something these days, learning a heap of beauty lessons along the way. Something she wished she could tell herself back then: "Don't take your gorgeous skin for granted," she said. "When we're young, no one teaches us. My mom did not slather me in sunscreen — in fact, she might've handed me baby oil and said, 'Bake it up. Tan is everything.' She'd get the cheeks really rosy red, which is not cute looking back, but that was their generation. Now I think all ages are aware of skin health. We sure weren't back in the '90s."

Aniston's character Rachel Green on Friends was the reason people flocked to the hair salon for "The Rachel" haircut, but her makeup was equally noteworthy. As for what she'd keep stashed in her bag if she had a choice? Easy, she said: "MAC Paramount, particularly that color of lipstick. And Aveeno, of course, because after all it was the '90s."

MAC Lipstick in Paramount ($19)

When it comes to characters, like we said, she's played a lot, but there's one as of late with a laid-back beauty routine she'd identify closely to her own: "Alex, who you can see on The Morning Show coming out. She can play it up for the big screen but has her offscreen look too."

One of her favorites to play? Her character from Dumplin'. "She puts a lot of time into that head of hair."

Remember the days of infomercials? (That was before the world of ad-free Netflix existed.) So does Aniston. "Those infomercials in the early '90s got me. I bought the Victoria Jackson The "No Makeup" Makeup Foundation Duo ($30). Isn't that weird? That's a product I still use today."

[Editor's note: she uses it as undereye concealer.]

Even before her Victoria Jackson concealer find, she used the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion ($11). "My mom first introduced me. It was in my bathroom and she said, 'You've got to put moisturizer on your body.' I totally fell in love. It was just one of those things, you used it just because it was there and your mom told you to use it. I'm a creature of habit, so then when I went out on my own, I went to the same exact store and bought it."

While Aniston appreciates Instagram for its ability to connect people, she's also privy to the damage it can do. "I've heard from people who research this sort of thing that the amount of depressions and mental illness has been on the rise, and the big culprit is social media," she said. "Unfortunately, because it's abused, it's done is the exact opposite of bring people together and has completely polarized people. And sadly so, the comparing and despair, and the trying to live up to an image that's Photoshopped. Photoshop has been in magazines, but those were supermodels and something fun for us to look up. Now, you are the person in the pictures."

She continued, "Kids are sort of growing up building their self-esteem and their confidence and their ability to connect with people through a cell phone and through these false channels, I just worry it's going to pay a price, and we'll see what that is."