TV stars are known for having no bad angles. But, while Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams has the best of the best glam teams at her fingertips, they’re not always the reason she looks so good.
“My little secret is that, a lot of the time, I actually do my own makeup,” Williams tells ESSENCE exclusively. “I always want to tailor my glam to my overall vibe for the day, which I might not know until right before I have to leave to shoot a scene.”
Her daily makeup look, which she describes as “glittery glam,” represents her personality the best. But, that doesn’t mean she won’t lean into something clean and elevated. Her go-to lip combo, for example, is the MAC Lip Pencil in the shade “Chestnut” but topped with the shimmering Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer.
Other than her everyday lip, deciding what to do with the rest of her look is entirely dependent on her hair. “When I wake up, I first decide which GoNaked Hair look I want to go with for the day,” she says about her human hair brand, which ranges from bobs to buss downs. “The hair helps determine the rest.”
While she still leaves her glam to the professionals when filming confessionals, on the days she’s shooting scenes, she preps her skin as if she’s going in the glam chair. Over the seasons, however, the reality TV star learned that beauty doesn’t start there. But, really, the night before.
“I start every morning with a fresh face and end every filming day with skincare,” she says, prioritizing her moisturizer both morning and night to achieve a glass skin base. Weekly face steaming has also turned into one of the star’s favorite beauty fads. “I’ve definitely become one of those people who steams their face 1-2 times per week.”
The real secret to staying hydrated, however, is always remembering her golden rule: “I never fall asleep in my makeup.” Using $14 dollar drugstore skincare, she says the Almay Moisturizing Makeup Remover and Cleanser feels like a “mini facial” before and after her scenes. That, and the Makeup Remover Towlettes are a no-skip step after a long day in front of the cameras.
“It’s super important to make sure the area around my eyes is clean before bed,” she says. “I always use a warm washcloth afterward to feel super fresh.”