6 min read
Heads up, marshmallows: Kristen Bell will have a busy fall. The actress and producer is reprising her roles of Princess Anna in Frozen 3 and Joanne in Nobody Wants This, plus, she has a new job as the global ambassador of L’Oréal Paris. Bell says the brand’s “You’re Worth It” tagline was a perfect fit. “I’ve done brand deals before, but this feels like so much more because it feels like a shared values partnership,” Bell says. “I’ve always loved what they’ve stood for—it isn’t about being made to feel valuable, it’s about a brand that handed women the mic before anyone else thought to.”
Below, ELLE talked to Bell about beauty products that are worth the investment, what’s to come for Noah (Adam Brody) and Joanne in season 3, and about why there is nothing funny about perfection.
There is a trend on TikTok where people are asked to list five things that are worth the money. What do you feel like is “worth it”?
To me, things that are worth it don’t just fall into the category of being expensive. It’s also what is the return on investment? How often am I going to wear this? I’ve tried pretty much every lip color that L’Oréal Paris has. At the shoot, I was like, “This is the best lip color that’s ever been created,” and they then told me that the shade was called “I’m Worth It.” It’s the Hyaluron Tint Lip Stain Serum in the shade 601. The Lumi Glotion is also the best bang for my buck; I tend to lean a little bit more natural on a day-to-day basis with makeup and have a quicker routine probably than I’d like, but it’s multipurpose and can be a primer, bronzer, and a full face of foundation if you need it to be.
I don’t have a lot of super high-end things. The other non-negotiable for me is a really good hairbrush. I love the Sheila Stotts Untangle hairbrush. I have long, fine hair which tangles like crazy. I bought probably 10 of these hairbrushes because I have two middle school girls. These brushes disappear. You would think we have a ferret.
I also started sleeping in a bonnet. It has changed my hair texture. I order them from a brand called Blissy. I wear these silk hair bonnets, paired with my sleep mask. When I put that system on at night, I can be knocked out in five minutes. Those are like my absolute non-negotiables with accessible price points. I would be really bummed if I didn’t have those things in my bag if I were traveling.
What can you tell us about your character arc for Nobody Wants This season 3?
Season 1 and even a bit of season 2 were a, “will they, won’t they” kind of show. In season 3, Noah and Joanne have already made the commitment to each other. Erin Foster, our creator, did a really great job of pulling from her real life from when she married her husband—and the families didn’t have the same traditions or upbringing—and using those for comedic intersections of the show. Noah and Joanne are really trying to figure out what the rest of their life looks like together. It is some of the best comedy to mine from.
People can be prepared to see the world of the show in a much bigger and totally different way. The other characters are uplifted in that they’re all main characters now. It’s no longer just about Noah and Joanne. It’s about their whole family organism and how they’re operating together. Tim Simons, Justine Lupe, and Jackie Tohn all have great storylines.
How does Joanne think about beauty products and wellness?
She’s very similar to how I am. I have always viewed makeup in that it’s not about concealment; it’s about creativity. There are days when you’re going for a totally natural look, and others when you’re feeling really sassy—like Joanne is feeling often—and you go for a winged eyeliner, lashes, or a bold lip.
I think Erin Foster and I are slightly similar in that respect, but also, let’s be honest, it’s because Joanne and Kristen have the same face, right? You have all the tools in your toolbox, but sometimes you just go, “What looks best on me?” That’s why I’m excited to partner with L’Oréal because it’s very much about individuality and all the parts that make you, you, and not trying to fit into like any particular mold.
Do you feel like Princess Anna has a take on beauty?
I don’t think she’s ever thought about it. If I’m being honest, she’s so codependent and lives for everyone else. I think when she catches herself in a mirror, she’s almost startled that a person exists.
But her hair, it’s done all the time!
Well, that’s because there are many people that do her hair. Disney has different departments for everything, including animation. There’s a water department. There’s a hair department. There are incredible artists that are just doing her hair. But it is that suspension of disbelief a little bit, like when you watch Game of Thrones and you wonder how they get all those braids every morning when the world is crumbling. Who did your hair for two and a half hours this morning?
It’s magic and animation magic. Your characters, whether it be Eleanor from The Good Place or Veronica Mars or even Joanne, often struggle with this idea of what they think is “right.” Is that something you’ve noticed in the characters you pick to play?
I’d always wanted to work for Mike Schur, the creator of The Good Place. When he called me, he said, “I wrote a show. I think it’s for you. Let’s sit down and meet.” He pitched me the whole show, and within that pitch, we both discovered that we were both semi-preoccupied with right and wrong, not in a black-and-white sense, but more in a goodness versus suffering sense. Perhaps you just tapped into something subconscious that is a reason that I choose certain characters.
I do feel like whether or not you’re living for the I or the we, it will have consequences in your life, and sometimes they can be really funny or dramatic moments in a show. But what to do for yourself versus for the greater good is kind of the question we all ask ourselves at some point during the day, right? Like I know I should help this person, but I really just want to lie on the couch. All those tiny little decisions are what make humans human and interesting. But I’ve never thought about it in the context of what you just asked me before.
Your characters are not extremely virtuous. They mess up. Is that something you’re drawn to?
It is very important to me as a creator, as a person with my values system, to show people messing up for two reasons. Number one, there’s nothing funny about perfection, and I would like to be funny. Laughing is like the best thing you can do on planet Earth. Number two, I think vulnerability and mistakes bring people together. If you’re just showing a person who has it all together, and their world is unfolding for them, you’re going to turn the television off. It’s not interesting, and you’re not relating to it. So I do gravitate towards characters that are a little bit messier, that are struggling, that maybe have a backstory that doesn’t match up perfectly with where their life is going, and have to reckon with that.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Shop Kristen Bell’s L’Oréal Paris Favorites
L’Oréal Paris Hyaluron Tint Lip Stain Serum
Now 22% Off
L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Glotion
Now 17% Off