The Holy-Grail Face Mask Chinae Alexander Uses Before Every Photoshoot

You know those skin-care and beauty products that you use until the very last drop? The ones that you’ve spent entire brunches/text threads/email chains telling your friends about? They’re the best of the best…so amazing that you’d never risk putting them in a piece of checked luggage. At Well+Good, we call those our Beauty VIPs (you know, Very Important Products). In this series, we ask women in wellness and the public eye what beauty products they use every single day and why—with an entire Internet of options to choose from—these items stand out.

In a sea of perfect-looking, touched-up photos on social media, Chinae Alexander refreshingly isn't afraid to keep it real. Regularly, you'll find her posting a sweaty post-workout or makeup-free selfie—but don't be mistaken, she knows her way around a Sephora, too.

"Every time I’m on set, I always ask makeup artists their holy grail product," she tells me. And after a time or two in the makeup artist's chair, she's picked up her fair share of tips and tricks to make her complexion glow. Her number one takeaway? "I mask every day. And my thing is, look in the mirror and look at your skin and evaluate what your skin is doing." Once you know that, you can craft the perfect-skin recipe that caters to whatever your complexion's needs are at that given moment.

Keep reading to find out the items that Alexander stocks in her beauty cabinet.

Weleda Skin Food, $19

"I actually love to layer Weleda skin food during either my day or evening skin-care routine. So I put that on top of my moisturizer as almost like a highlighter and an extra glow," Alexander shares. "It's one of my favorite holy grail products that I learned about on set."

European Wax Center Brow Tamer, $19

"This is like a brow mascara," she says. "They have a clear one and one with color that builds your brows up. I like to use both: I'll start with the tinted one and then do a clear coat on top to add height a little more volume."

Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer + Liquid Strobe, $32

"I usually use a lot of stick products when I travel because that's one less thing that gets broken in my bag," she says.

Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil, $105

"One of my favorite products to use at the end of the night is the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil. It’s bright blue and it’s all natural," she says of the oil that contains a retinoid derivative. "It’s a nice hydrating oil so when I wake up, my face looks really fresh."

Hanacure Multi-Action Treatment Mask, $29

"I can’t live without this mask. You mix this glass ampule with this little pot and you shake it together and it makes a gel. It makes you look like an old, crazy zombie and all the celebrities do it," she says. "It’s expensive, but it’s the only mask that I’ve ever washed off and was immediately a new person, so I use it before every photoshoot."

Emma Roberts is one celeb who loves a good face mask, too. And Shay Mitchell's rotation of beauty products is on point.