Diane Lane has been acting since she was a teenager, first in films like A Little Romance and The Outsiders, and later in ones like Unfaithful and Under the Tuscan Sun. This fall, you can see her in the final season of House of Cards and in the debut season of The Romanoffs.

With all that, Lane, 53, is no stranger to the make-up chair, the facialist’s office and the judgemental beauty gantlet that can be Hollywood. The experience has given her opinions (and solid recommendations) on beauty. Raised in New York, Lane now lives in Los Angeles.

Skincare

I get exposed to so much product — swag bags at a soiree, make-up artists on a shoot, on set. And if I’m travelling, I’m supposed to pop up like a Pop-Tart and look fabulous somewhere. I would probably spend more time on other things if I could, but then, I make a living on my face, so there are different criteria when it comes to a beauty regimen.

I don’t use the “A” word, as in anti-ageing. I just remove myself from those associations. I’m so fed up with the marketing of fear. What I do now, I create a mantle when I go to sleep. When I wake up, all I do is spray some Lavender Hydrasol by Arcona and go with my own natural facial oils that I generate through the night.

When it comes to choosing which skincare products I use, I keep going back to the women I actually have a whole lot of respect for. They are facialists who have their own product lines. I throw in some other stuff, too, but in general they are my tried and true.

One of them was Arcona (Devan). I used to go to her before she passed away. She was based in Los Angeles, and she came to me at the Roosevelt Hotel for the day of my Oscar nomination. She was that person in my life who was very kind and generous — a large soul. Now I go to Chanel Jenae there.

I love the idea of using bars of soap instead of plastic bottles. How many more bottles of plastic do we put in the ocean?

And there is my beloved Verabella on the West Coast. She is Russian and the real deal. She has many products I swear by. I won’t go into all of them because people will realise I have a cosmetics problem, and I don’t want to out myself just yet.

Make-up

I really enjoy loving my naked face, because if I fall more in love with the mask, that’s depressing. I want to see me and not feel like I have to apologise by making changes. Also, I want some days off. When you’re constantly required to have a quota of glamour, you just want to put on your blue jeans, no make-up and feel cute. Then you can appreciate the miracle of mascara when you have to be on again.

I’m also into big hats — I bring my own shade. I don’t care if I look like a gardener. Right now I probably have eight sun hats mashed up with reusable grocery bags in the back of my car.

Fragrance

I probably need an intervention in this department as well. I keep all of my old perfumes. If I smell one, it’ll take me directly to what it reminds me of. Sometimes it’s a genie in a bottle that should definitely stay in the bottle. I once worked with a very famous actress who used perfume to give each character a reference.

I suppose if there’s one constant for me, it’s any version of vetiver. I’ve always loved the men’s fragrances of the ’80s and ’90s, like Perry Ellis for Men and L’Homme. Back then, I smelt like I had a boyfriend and got all the olfactive endorphins but didn’t actually have to deal with one.

Hair care

I have great hair. But I also baby my hair. I don’t blow-dry it, and I’ve always cared more about how my hair felt — soft and inviting. I didn’t want it dried out and smelling like products. I never put alcohol on it if I can help it.

Diet and fitness

The white flag went up a long time ago: I’m going to eat the bread. I’ll have bacon once in a while, although it tortures me that animals are being tortured. I do believe in eating fewer and fewer animal products. I also believe that skincare truly starts from within. I probably drink olive oil — that’s how much I consume. I also take a daily dose of MSM (miracle supplement). I’ve found it really helps my skin, hair, nails.

I’m getting to a quarter century of yoga. It has served me well. I don’t like cardio. I always feel like I’m running from a lion. The endorphins afterward are great, so obviously I’m just in denial about not wanting to get my heart rate up.

I do love hiking. I can go up hills forever.

(The New York Times News Service )