Jennifer Lopez's [1] seemingly lit-from-within glow [2] has been the stuff of legend since we watched in awe as she danced on the beach for the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" video. And the unicorn status of her skin [3] has only intensified as she's gotten older, especially since J Lo has long claimed [4] that she hasn't had any Botox or injectables. Instead, she says that her secret to flawless skin [5] comes down to wearing SPF, hydrating, regular exercise and healthy eating, and using olive oil in her skin care — something that was passed down to her from her mother. Her namesake beauty brand [6] even uses olive oil as its star ingredient.
Olive oil for beauty certainly isn't new; the ancient Egyptians were known to slather themselves in the stuff, and Sophia Loren said she added EVOO to her baths for antiageing benefits. While it's not a great idea to put straight-up olive oil directly on your skin (you'll probably break out, and olive oil isn't recommended for people with acne-prone skin [7]), when it's added to other products, it can have myriad benefits for your skin [8]. We're talking moisturising [9], reducing inflammation, protecting from environmental damage, and even wound healing. Not to mention, it does a bang-up job of removing stubborn makeup [10], like waterproof mascara and eyeliner.
Case in point: Wonder Valley's Oil Cleanser [11], which uses olive oil as its baseline ingredient. The California-based company is best known for its luxury olive oils (they're quickly becoming a kitchen-counter status symbol for those who care about that kind of thing), but the skin-care line can stand alone both in efficacy and gorgeous packageing.