How Mindy Kaling Uses Beauty to Relax From Her Stressful Job
The Beauty Ritual That Takes Mindy Kaling From "Tense" to Zen
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Mindy Kaling wants to you know she's not a naturally "chill" person. In fact, she's quite the opposite: "I'm even tense when I sleep," Kaling tells POPSUGAR. Which makes sense, given that she's juggling acting, writing, producing, directing, and parenting two kids under the age of 5. Luckily, she has a self-care routine that helps her find some moments of zen.
"At the end of a long day, especially when it's dark out and my children are asleep, I love to take a bubble bath to unwind," she says. "I like baths to feel like a holiday when you can't take a holiday — it just feels personal and decadent." Of course, no bubble bath is complete without the right products, making her partnership with Find Your Happy Place a perfect fit. The brand's latest bath and body-care collection, which launches on June 6, is all about encourageing people to unwind, relax, and find moments of stillness in the bathtub this summer.
"What's so exciting to me about this product line is that it's about de-stressing," says Kaling. "The scents are so summery and sweet; honestly, they smell like my favourite cocktails, and they just remind me of all the things that I kind of love the most" — which, aside from her children, of course, is summer. "I [have] a June birthday and my schedule is so busy, so for me, it's going to the beach, hanging out with my family, and going up to Malibu. That's what's so nice about the products: they all are so evocative of that, and it's so personal for me. It just feels like it resonates [with] my happiest summer memories."
Aside from regular bubble baths, Kaling has also started two new beauty rituals that have been transformative, both physically and mentally. "I'm someone who always used to care about my skin and makeup, because I always had oily skin and pimples, and I sort of neglected my hair," she says. "That was something I never paid that much attention to." Then recently, she's started using hair masks and coconut oil treatments to hydrate the lengths of her hair.
Kaling has also upped her body-care routine. "I never used to pay that much attention to body exfoliation," she says, adding that that all changed when she turned 40. Now, she uses the Just Wanna Have Sun! Exfoliating Body Scrub Citrus & Mango ($7) regularly. "[It's] really great in the summer when I spend so much time barefoot and outside."
In general, her relationship with beauty has evolved a lot over the years, which is a result of not only self-love, but a clear, visible shift in the culture. "[The industry] has changed so much, even in the last five years," Kaling says. "It's everything, from magazine covers [and] who they feature now versus who was on magazine covers when I was growing up."
The uptick in representation and diverse examples of beauty is a huge inspiration to her, especially because she didn't see that growing up. "That is really exciting to me about culture now: it's changed a lot since I was a kid."
