Rebel Wilson Is 41, Crushing It, and Finally "Stepping Into Her Own Power"

Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh, new beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy. 

Up next, we’re getting to know Olly’s newest brand ambassador and Pitch Perfect actress Rebel Wilson. As a fellow product junkie and beauty enthusiast, she’s answering all of our rapid-fire questions and sharing her best-kept beauty secrets below. Enjoy!

If you had to leave the house in five minutes, what are a few staple beauty products you’d apply?

I definitely have my little essentials that I use if I have to quickly look presentable: Dior Addict Lip Glow ($35)—it’s a lipstick, but also kind of a gloss as well. It’s really easy, and you don’t even need a mirror to put it on. I always use Givenchy’s Noir Couture Waterproof Mascara ($33) because when I smile, my eyes crinkle quite a bit, so I always use waterproof so mascara doesn't get all over my lids. Then, I grab Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz ($23) to do a bit of a brow when I’m stopped at a traffic light, and to finish, probably Charlotte Tilbury’s Eye Shadow Pencil in Amethyst Aphrodisiac ($27). 

On days when you’re not working or you’re just staying in, what does your skin routine look like both morning and night?

You know, I used to do more steps, but normally in the morning, I just cleanse with something simple, like Dermalogica’s UltraCalming Cleanser ($39). I also love the SK-II products because I’m in London, and it’s a bit dry. I love their Eye Cream ($139), Serum ($245), and Moisturizer ($235). And then I’ll always apply Dermalogica's Sunscreen With SPF 50 ($75) because I’m so fair, but I love being out in the sun. Wearing sunscreen every single day is something that's kind of been ingrained in me as an Australian. At night, it’s pretty much the same stuff except if it’s been a long day and I have to get a lot of makeup off from work, I'll use Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliiant Exfoliator ($59) in the shower. 

Your skin is amazing! If you had to choose one thing that’s made the biggest difference, what would it be?

I do like an IPL Laser. It’s a laser that gets rid of sun damage. I love it. I think my skin responds really well to lasers, so I do, once a year or so, get a little bit of maintenance done, mostly to remove any sun damage. I feel like it’s a good investment because sun damage later in life can potentially lead to skin cancer, so I think it’s almost preventative in a way.

What’s one thing about your beauty routine that would surprise people?

Honestly, I don’t think I do anything too wacky! It’s kind of cool being asked beauty questions because I was always the girl who was essentially from the bush in Australia, so I really grew up having zero beauty routine and zero beauty knowledge. Except for formal, I don’t think I even got my nails done until I was 25! I went to an all-girls high school, so I really didn’t care how I looked or presented myself in any kind of way. So, I’m trying to think… Oh God, what would be surprising? Maybe if people just saw the number of products I have. My bathroom is just overflowing. I do really like trying new things, so there are just piles and piles of beauty products everywhere.

I know you mentioned lasers, but do you have any other beauty indulgences or guilty pleasures that you love? 

Everything from SK-II is pretty indulgent. Their masks, at least in Australia, are $35 each for one-time usage. Oftentimes, for Christmas, my grandma, who is just the cutest, she’d get me two SK-II masks, which I knew she’d had to pay $70 for, and I was like, that is just the most thoughtful present because she knows how much I love them and that I use them on airplanes. But yeah, for most people, I think those masks are a very indulgent expense!

Health and beauty are so intertwined—do you have any self-care practices that help give you a boost both mentally and physically?

Definitely my supplements from Olly—it’s just so easy to incorporate them into my routine. They have all of the vitamins and minerals that I need, and I like to have them in the afternoon, almost like a little afternoon pick-me-up. If I can, I also really like to exercise in the morning, it just kind of gets me going, and stretching is also great. I’m always worried about getting injuries since I do quite a lot of physical stuff for my job, so I’m all about injury prevention—stretching out my legs and my back and just kind of making sure everything is feeling good before work. I also really want to try pilates—I haven’t yet, but I want to get into that because I feel like it could help me with my posture. Oh! Another thing I’ve been trying to do is to drink two bottles of water before I do anything else each morning. It can take me a while, but I do think it helps.

Okay, I have to rewind back to Olly because they have so many amazing options. I’m addicted, actually. What are your favorites?

Literally, all of them are so yummy! But I definitely have a few I really gravitate to. I’m taking The Essential Prenatal ($17) which I think is a good one for a lot of women in their 30s and 40s. My other everyday ones are the Undeniable Beauty ($11) ones because they have biotin and keratin for skin, hair, and nail health. Being an actress, my skin, hair, and nails go through a lot of damage, so I try to minimize that as much as possible with help from supplements. And then, if I’ve had a stressful day, I’ll take two of the Goodbye Stress ($12) gummies to just have a calmer, more peaceful state of mind. And then every night—I’ve got them over here because I bring them everywhere I go—I take the Sleep Melatonin ($11) gummies. I’ve gotten so many people onto these, and I personally ship them out to Australia because you can’t buy them there yet. Everyone loves them! They’re like a yummy treat before bed.

Staying on the health and wellness track, last year on Instagram you declared 2020 “The Year of Health.” What kinds of changes did you implement and how are you feeling now?

You know, I had never really taken a whole lifestyle approach to getting healthier. I was learning about fertility and looking at options I might have in the future for starting a family, and the doctor said that being as healthy as possible was really the best way. So I was like, “Okay, it’s not just about losing weight, it’s also about your overall health.” I always loved going to the gym and being active, so I was already pretty consistent with working out about six days a week. But the eating, [laughs] I had terrible eating habits. I basically only ate carbs, and so I saw a nutritionist and learned to prioritize protein and other important food groups I’d been missing out on, which actually helped reduce a lot of the cravings.

But the biggest difference, and the reason why these other changes really started to work for me last year, was tackling emotional eating—it’s my biggest vice. Before this transformation, I would come home and maybe eat a whole pizza or a whole pint of Ben & Jerry’s, and I just really used food to comfort myself after a long day. There were some behavioral patterns that I really had to change and analyze. I haven’t completely solved the issue, it’s still there, it’s just something that I can manage a lot better now. I think everyone has vices and it’s really hard—you can’t exactly cure yourself of them, but you can try your best to manage them. I’ve been working with a doctor to understand that more, and it’s an interesting process. You learn a lot about yourself, and it’s emotional, but I think that’s hopefully going to be the key to my long-term success.

Consistency can be so challenging. What are your secrets for staying motivated?

Something my trainer Gunnar Peterson always says is that you have to have a schedule. Because if you don’t have a schedule and you don’t have that consistency, it can be brutal and it can start to feel too difficult. For me, that’s especially helpful when it comes to planning meals. One of my favorite healthy things to make is beef tacos—you have the beef for protein, cheese which has good calcium and some good protein as well, and then I’ll add some lettuce, tomato, avocado, and some grated carrots. I know that last bit isn’t very traditional, but I’m weird, and I like putting the carrots on! I’ll make that on a Sunday night, and then I’ll have it Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and freeze what’s left for Wednesday and Thursday. I like the consistency of just eating the same things for the majority of the week, I don’t know, it really helps me. 

If 2020 was “The Year of Health,” what are you going to call 2021? Do you have any exciting plans or new goals?

I’m pretty much just looking to kind of maintain this year. I think I lost about 60 pounds last year, so if I can just try to maintain that, it will feel like a success to me. In the past, I would maybe lose five or ten pounds, but then I would just gain it back. So, hopefully, with my new whole lifestyle approach, it will work. I do have some other goals that I’m kind of keeping a bit secret now. I’m not sure whether I’m ready to talk about them yet, but yeah, I have a lot of goals for this year that aren’t health-related. So, we’ll see! Although everything is a bit health-related, isn’t it? Because if you don’t have your health, you don’t really have much.

Let’s talk a little bit about aging because it’s something our society is a little bit obsessed with. You’ve recently entered your 40s. How do you approach aging, and what about this decade is most exciting to you?

It’s weird because I would always hear people like Oprah say that in your 40s you really come into your own power, but it’s true. Like, I’m not going to put up with bullshit anymore, and I’ve had enough experience in life now to know if someone is treating me right. I know what that looks like compared to someone who’s not treating me right and if I need to set them free from my life. And it’s like that with everything, my career included. You step into your own power. You’re experienced enough, but you’re still young enough to crush it, but now you know how to take the right steps after going through all the struggles of your 20s and 30s. And so, it’s kind of really cool being in my 40s. I just feel like I know myself way more—what I deserve and what I am worthy of—I don’t settle for the bullshit if that makes sense. Sorry to swear! [laughs].

Haha, swearing is allowed! Okay, so we’re already to the final question. What’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?

So, I thought about this for a while. “To love yourself” is an obvious one because, for me, beauty is found in all shapes and sizes. There is something so beautiful about someone who loves and accepts their body in all forms. I know it’s such a cliché thing to say, and it kind of makes me want to pull a face and say “Blah,” but it’s so true. As part of my journey in the past year, I’ve realized that for so much of my life I just wasn’t loving myself. I was feeding myself thousands of calories that I didn’t need, and even though I thought I was comforting myself at the time, I’ve now realized it wasn’t actually loving myself or being kind to myself.

But the other thing I want to say is beauty fades, but your personality is forever. I know I’m a bit proud of myself now, and I try to put hot pics up on Instagram [laughs], but I’m someone who has never traded on my looks. In fact, I’ve turned things people didn’t think were beautiful or saw as a disadvantage—like being overweight—into a positive for myself and for my career. Like playing characters like Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect movies, a character who is so close to my heart. Beauty can come and go—it's a fickle, superficial thing. If you saw what I looked like in my 20s, oh my God. I had no knowledge about fashion or beauty. I had a snaggle tooth, and I was really overweight, but I did have a unique personality and unique talents. I didn’t care about all that other stuff, I cared about trying to be the best unique version of myself. So, try not to worry about it too much. Worry about developing your skills and your personality.