Marisa Tomei’s Age-Defying Beauty Strategy Includes Infrared Saunas and This Cult Concealer

This image may contain Human Person Karen Bethzabe Drink Beverage Clothing Apparel Drinking and Sleeve
Photographed by Matthew Frost

We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.

Marisa Tomei’s hair is the longest it’s been since she was 10 years old, when she was just a kid living in Brooklyn. “I sometimes wonder, Why did I ever even cut it?” says the 52-year-old actress with the same infectious laugh that has made audiences fall for her since her early days in My Cousin Vinny and A Different World. Now the Spider-Man: Homecoming star laughs again at the notion that her current thick mane—no matter if thrown in a high ponytail or tied tight in a topknot or left alone to fall in easy waves below her chest—is the look that’s trending on runways and among 20-something It girls.

“You know what happened?” she explains. “I wasn’t able to get a cut before I left for New York to do [the play] How to Transcend a Happy Marriage at Lincoln Center. And because the show required me to have a ponytail for five months, I just waited until I got back to L.A. to get it cut. I turned around, and suddenly, it was really, really long.”

Tomei and her glam team, hairstylist Cervando Maldonado and makeup artist James Kaliardos, left her long hair for her role as the younger, cooler Aunt May in the Marvel reboot, which, after almost a month at the box office, has spawned nearly $600 million in revenue along with a new generation of Tomei admirers (Google #SexyAuntMay—or don’t). The thing is, she admits, “I could have gotten into the silver hair. I think it’s chic and sexy in its own way.” Here, all the other things that Tomei thinks are chic and sexy, which include, but are not limited to, her “inside out” approach to beauty, wellness, and playing characters who are both maternal and sensual.

Photo: Getty Images

Certainly you’ve seen photos and drawings of earlier iterations of Aunt May—they don’t look like the version in theaters currently. Can you talk about your approach to playing a younger, cooler, never-before-seen take on the character?I tried hard to understand the cultural split: how to be very maternal but also very desirable. On the one hand, it was kind of the mandate of the character and the way it was being preconceived [by Marvel]. But there was what I thought the fans expected from the character, which was a strong maternal presence tending to home fires. In combining those things, I became a little flummoxed. As for the look, I tried on a lot of wigs, but ultimately we went with the long hair.

As for toeing the line between desirable and maternal, in a way, isn’t that what you always do with your characters?Well, I’ve always been very interested in and drawn to either illuminating or playing with this knitting together of both the innocent and the wild, the maternal and the sexual, and not having them be a cultural paradox. And I wanted to figure out how to have something that was still a signature for her, because I consider May a real-life hero. She’s the one giving [Peter Parker] his values, and she’s also very involved in the community.

What did you do to prepare for this role, physically, and what do you do to stay fit and look great on the regular?On the regular! [Laughs] Mostly, it’s an inside-out thing. By that, I mean what you put into you body is even more crucial than what you’re doing in terms of your exterior. What I eat and how I connect with my body feed my external. Right before the press tour, I went to Greece for a few weeks because I was at a stressful point in my personal life. I got really relaxed, which really helped [me]! In terms of brass tacks, I try to eat seasonal, local, and organic foods as much as possible, almost all the time. Moving meditation, like dance meditation, makes me feel at home in my skin; it helps me on a spiritual, mental, and, ultimately, physical level. I still hike and do calisthenics and yoga from time to time, but the cornerstone of it all is the inner stuff.

It all sounds so . . . easy. There has got to be some trick up your sleeve!Lately, I have been going to the infrared sauna for detoxes, which I absolutely love. It heats up the body from the inside out, so I get a lot of energy afterward and I feel so light. It gets rid of any poisons, especially if I had to take medicine or had a lot of sugar or alcohol. It’s a great place to be in and do meditation, too. Multitasking! I don’t believe in tricks or even a routine; I listen to what my body wants me to do and follow suit. I’m just trying to keep it together like everybody else!

Your skin also looks incredible. What do you use, and what do you steer clear of?I love Persephenie, out of Los Angeles, so much that I actually want to one day work with her on a line. She works with organics and is very intimately involved with her small batches. I use her moisturizer and her serum. And then I use Cetaphil. Infrared saunas are really good for your skin, too. I also use a dry round brush before I shower. I brush my skin really lightly in the direction of my heart—it’s an ancient Ayurvedic thing that keeps your lymph glands moving and makes your skin smooth on your body. I try to let my look be all about the skin.

But if you had to use beauty products . . . ?I keep it pretty simple. I think I look better with less, personally. For certain red spots, I’ll use Clé de Peau Beauté. I call it liquid gold. [Laughs] And I like Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara in Black and Brow Food, which doesn’t have any parabens or sulfates in it, for my eyebrows. A good way to know what’s good or not is by checking the Environmental Working Group, because it tells you which cosmetics and which sunscreens are better for you. When it comes to beauty, you just have to do your own research.