Simona Tabasco Swears This Korean Face Mask Will Hydrate Your Skin in Just One Minute

You'll learn a thing or two from the 'White Lotus' star's beauty tips.

Collage of Simona Tabasco with beauty products and swatches
(Image credit: Future)

Welcome to Beauty Around the Clock, Marie Claire's weekly peek into the daily lives of some of the most game-changing men and women in their industries. Ever wonder how they get it all done in a day? Here's your answer.

Let me guess: Lucia Greco was your favorite White Lotus season two character. You're not alone—Simona Tabasco's performance was so phenomenal that it landed her a Primetime Emmy nomination. The actress has long been a household name in her native Italy, but was catapulted into the American spotlight thanks to her role on MAX.

Since the season's wrap, Tabasco has starred in a SKIMS campaign (alongside her fellow White Lotus alum and real-life friend, Beatrice Grannò) and landed a leading role in Immaculate, a horror film starring Sydney Sweeney (another White Lotus favorite). Amidst so many major career moves, it's easy to wonder where Tabasco finds the time to maintain a beauty routine.

"I think a beauty routine is a good moment to take care of yourself," she exclusively tells Marie Claire, noting that self-care is more crucial than ever when it seems as though there's no time for it. Ahead, Tabasco explains how she makes time for a beauty regimen in spite of shifting jobs, locations, and time zones.

Morning skincare routine

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In the morning, I wash my face with Korean cleansing oil. I also like to apply cream to use the Nuface device. It gives the face a micro-current to wake up my skin.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco wears a nude lip and kohl-lined eyes at the photocall for the 53rd Giffoni Film Festival in 2023.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Define your signature look

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I love experimenting with makeup. Sometimes it works out okay, sometimes not, but it happens. I love putting a little makeup on my skin, and I like a natural base. I think the NARS Concealer is very good—there are two types, and I use the rounded one in the little pot. During the day I really love to just put on concealer, some mascara, and lip gloss or lip balm. I only use foundation for a big night out.

Self care ritual

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I really love to get massages and things like that. I think they are very useful. I love to do sports. I run. I'll sometimes go to pilates or a spa to get a bath, steam, and sauna, and release all the toxins.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco is all smiles at the Immaculate premiere at the Paramount Theatre at South by Southwest in March 2024.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

signature scent

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My signature scent is Bois D’Argent from Dior’s La Privee Collection. I’ve used this scent for about eight years and I can’t replace it with any other perfume. I know [scent] is one of the first things others perceive about us.

shower routine

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I travel often, so I like to use different products I pick up around the world. I always take Jo Malone Red Roses bath oil with me.

haircare routine

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I put on some oil in the morning and at night, before I go to bed. I use the Kérastase Ultimate Elixir Oil. For styling, I love to do funny hairstyles since I cut my hair. I don't use any specific hairspray or gel products, though.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco wears her hair down in shiny, side-parted waves at the 2024 Emmy Awards.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

skincare routine

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I wash my face with an oil and then I put on some serum. I use a moisturizer and an SPF, obviously, too. I don't have specific products, because I like to experiment.

expensive beauty item

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The Déesse PRO LED mask, probably. I use it at night and it's the most expensive device that I have.

drugstore beauty staple

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Just yesterday, I was talking about this incredible lip balm from Mario Badescu. I think it's a very good lip balm. I also like Carmex for my balm. I genuinely use it all the time.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco attends the Immaculate afterparty with her hair pulled back, showing off her bright pink blush.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

beauty treatment

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I really love to get a Hydrafacial. It's one of my favorite things to do. After the treatment, my skin feels smooth and hydrated, and my pores can breathe. It's a specific, special sensation.

one makeup product

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I think eyes, because I think the gaze is very important on a face. Sometimes when you put on too much makeup, you can lose the poetry of a facial expression. The eyes are very important to communicate something—more so than the mouth.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco attends the Monster red carpet premiere at the 76th annual Cannes film festival wearing her hair slicked back and subdued, soft pink makeup.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

beauty advice

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To drink water—it's very important! Drinking water, consuming vitamins— all of that is good for your skin.

craziest treatment

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I like to experiment, but I've never tried anything weird. Maybe one day.

biggest regret

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I don't use SPF if I'm in a rush. That is my biggest beauty regret. I notice a big difference when I use SPF for a week. My skin is very different. It's brighter.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco embraces the wet hair look at the closing ceremony during the 6th Canneseries International Festival in 2023.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

daily playlist

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I love music. I don't have a specific playlist, but at the moment I really love to listen to the Fenty Season Four playlist—from the Fenty Rihanna Fashion Show. And I really like the Cassie song 'Me and You.'

maekup application you have yet to master

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I don't know. I'm really confident with the makeup routine and my beauty routine.

beauty advice

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I really like to follow beauty advice from social media for makeup, because it's fun and not that serious. I think it's good to experiment. Obviously, for my skin, I follow my dermatologist's advice.

Simona Tabasco

Simona Tabasco out and about in Cannes in 2023 wearing effortless, fresh-faced glam.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

beauty trend

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The thin eyebrows trend. When I was younger, I hated my eyebrows. Hated them. So I took off all my eyebrows when I was younger. Luckily they grew back.

evening skincare

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I really love to use a night mask, serum, and cream. I also love to use face masks from Korea, such as hydrating rice masks. All you need to do is put them on, and it only takes one minute.

Shop Simona's Favorite Beauty Products

Gabrielle Ulubay
Beauty Writer

Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, politics, culture, and fashion at Marie Claire and at publications including The New York Times, HuffPost Personal, Bustle, Alma, Muskrat Magazine, O'Bheal, and elsewhere. Her personal essay in The New York Times' Modern Love column kickstarted her professional writing career in 2018, and that piece has since been printed in the 2019 revised edition of the Modern Love book. Having studied history, international relations, and film, she has made films on politics and gender equity in addition to writing about cinema for Film Ireland, University College Cork, and on her personal blog, gabrielleulubay.medium.com. Before working with Marie Claire, Gabrielle worked in local government, higher education, and sales, and has resided in four countries and counting. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, and spent two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy.

Deeply political, she believes that skincare, haircare, and sexual wellness are central tenets to one's overall health and fights for them to be taken seriously, especially for people of color. She also loves studying makeup as a means of artistic expression, drawing on her experience as an artist in her analysis of beauty trends. She's based in New York City, where she can be found watching movies or running her art business when she isn't writing. Find her on Twitter at @GabrielleUlubay or on Instagram at @gabrielle.ulubay, or follow her art at @suburban.graffiti.art