Kim Cattrall, Actress

“A character like Samantha was a long time coming.

I think that [kind of] sexuality had a bad name through the 1980s and [SATC] was sort of coming out of that. It was like a reawakening. Her brashness was delectable, it was contagious almost, and we needed this character to come into our unconscious to rattle us up a little bit. It was permission to say ‘Yes I like having sex, and I don’t have to be serious about a guy. I can do this on my own terms, I don’t have to look at society and say I’m going to work within what you deem acceptable. I’m going to write my own rules’.

Less is more, I don’t put foundation underneath my eyes, just concealer.

I stay clear away from powders, and just use very soft colours [with makeup] as well. I like Christian Dior Airflash Spray Foundation. I like to spray it on a brush and use it on my face. I find that when I use less makeup, look less made-up, I look healthy and fresh. But one of the big clues of me getting older; I prefer softer, less harsh, lipstick. I’d rather do a lip stain.

I have sensitive skin…

…which is so extraordinary because my new series is called Sensitive Skin. But that’s a different kind of sensitive skin… I need to hydrate a lot. I need to drink a lot of water and I don’t go outside without [sun] protection. I was never a real sun worshipper in my youth, thank god – a lot of my girlfriends now, when they were younger, were going out and putting on baby oil and frying all day. That was never something I enjoyed. I spent a lot of time in theatres acting or on sound stages, some dark rooms. So maybe that turned out [to be] in my favour.

I mostly work with and use Murad products…

…which are made by a dermatologist. I just want to calm the redness down and drink lots of fluid especially when I’m traveling. Throughout the day I tend to use a [face] spray, just a light mist of water to keep skin hydrated and clear.

They say you should never tell who your colourist is…

…or you’ll never get an appointment. So, I’ll just say, I go to this fantastic gal in New York, who I’ve been going for a long while. If you’re going to dye your hair, go to a colourist if you can afford it. Men and women tend to dye their hair one colour, but nobody’s hair is one colour.  My advice would be to literally lighten up [hair colour].

I very much like Thermage – it’s not invasive and there’s no downtime.

It tightens and stimulates the collagens, not just in your face, but throughout your body. I’ve had it on different parts of my body, it’s not painful at all. And throughout the year, it just gets better. They’re stimulating the muscle and the collagen and that’s kind of letting the body do what it should do naturally as suppose to imposing chemicals. I wish it was less expensive, but that will come with time. Hopefully that will get price-wise a little more comfortable for a lot of women to try.

I’ve really developed a passion for swimming…

I don’t ever really hurt myself and I feel that I’m getting every muscle exercised. I like what it does with my breath, slows me down. I have small flippers, which I really like in the pool. A friend of my friend in New York City has a saltwater pool, so no red eye. It’s lovely and very calming. I try to go everyday if I can. I [also] do PhysiYoga (Physiotherapy and yoga fusion), but more just yoga now.

Glasses now are so much a part of fashion…

I think that what you decide to put on your face is should be very personal and reflect. Not just what your prescription is and the fact that you need them, but also your mood and style and part of your personality. It was like the last part of the outfit that made it complete, and of course playing Samantha Jones it was a lot of choice, very loud and fun. I have many styles that I like and many colours, I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old, I didn’t have anywhere near the selection that’s out there right now.”

Story by Rikki Hodge-Smith; Interview by Sigourney Cantelo; Images from Instagram