Tessa Thompson on Armani Beauty, Holy-Grail Favorites, More

Whether she's radiating on the silver screen or in a beauty campaign, there's no denying actress and BAZAAR cover star Tessa Thompson's star power.

Armani Beauty recognizes it, too: In 2022, the brand named Thompson one of its newest ambassadors, joining her with celebrities like Camila Mendes, Maude Apatow, and Sydney Sweeney. "I'm really excited to be the face of Armani Beauty. It's a brand that I have used throughout my career and in my own life," Thompson explains in her BAZAAR Getting Ready With video during last year's announcement event in Los Angeles, California. "It was one of the first lines I was introduced to that had a range of colors that made me feel that I mattered in the beauty space. It feels really special that now I can represent the brand, and hopefully there are folks who look at an image of me in Armani and it makes them feel like they're beautiful, and that they're important, and seen."

The star doesn't take her ambassador role lightly. Thompson is passionate about championing authenticity of self, which continues to ring true in the work she does and with Armani Beauty products (Luminous Silk happens to be one of her favorites). "I think this idea, which I feel like which is becoming more and more in vogue, is that who we are sort of naturally is what's beautiful," she tells BAZAAR.com. "And being able to accentuate that with makeup is a gift."

Ahead, the actress shares her vision behind this season's beauty approach for the Creed III press tour, which was inspired by Vivienne Westwood, and included lots of Armani Beauty. Plus, she reveals some of her all-time beauty muses, as well as a few thoughts on which of her co-stars smells the best.

What was the inspiration behind some of your beauty looks from the Creed III press tour?

This press tour, we played around a lot. We started the tour in London, and I wore a lot of Vivienne Westwood—she was so inspirational to me, so I wanted to wear a lot of vintage looks by her. I think my fashion decisions ended up influencing a lot of my beauty looks in a way: I cut bangs in the last year and have been playing with interesting shapes to make with my baby hairs and doing dramatic things with bangs. I also think we let all of the fabulous colors and prints of my suits really dictate a lot of the fun lip colors I wore. I really enjoyed getting to wear some bolder lip colors. I don't always wear lip color during the day, but it's very fun. So I got to play with a lot of Armani shades, which was lovely.

Tessa Thompson poses for a picture during a stop on the Creed III press tour.

In addition to wearing bolder lip colors, are there any other ways your approach to makeup has changed since partnering with Armani Beauty?

I think it's changed a lot actually—I like to experiment when I'm lucky enough to work with really incredible artists, but my approach to makeup and beauty has been relatively simple on my own. I've found through playing that I had always been a fan of Luminous Silk and Lip Maestro, which is really wearable. I wore it so long that people thought it was like my natural lip color. But my approach to my own beauty is pretty easy and not fussy.

Since joining Armani Beauty, I've discovered so many things that are user friendly for someone like me who hasn't necessarily perfected makeup. So, I think that I just frankly wear it more than I than I did before because the products are long-wearing, but also really easy and beautiful. Being a brand ambassador is really fun because I have so much more makeup around the house. My girlfriends and family members will end up coming over to my place and doing their makeup, and it's also inspiring to get to work with a company where so many women in my life that I love and care about a lot have now found a foundation or eyeshadow that they love. I even did my mom's makeup for my launch party—I've just gotten so much better at doing makeup!

Do you prefer wearing no makeup, no makeup-makeup, or bold makeup most days?

It sort of depends on what I'm doing. Luminous Silk I have such a relationship with because I've worn it for so long, and I find that I can do a look with that and their concealer, and it feels very sheer and very much like my skin, which is nice. But I think I also have just become so much more fond of wearing an overly pigmented lip, which is really, really nice. I've always been fond of lipstick and been a fan of it, but I think the context with which you can wear it and certain colors specifically has opened up for me. I think Lip Power particularly because it's pigmented but it's also moisturizing, so you feel like you can wear it during the day and wear it throughout a day. So, I feel that I definitely wear a lot more bolder lipstick choices in my actual life now and off of the red carpet than I used to, for sure.

Are there any beauty looks that you're excited to try this season or next that you haven't yet?

Something I've always been curious about that I haven't tried yet in my own life but I'd like to is bringing blush and pigment up around my eyes—just doing something more dramatic. I'm beginning to become a blush enthusiast, which is very new for me. But doing something that is a bit bolder with blush like that is something I'd really like to try a lot more. Actually, one of the makeup artists that I work with a lot, Alex Babsky, did something like that for me for an after party at one of the Met Galas and it was so beautiful. And then I did it a little bit again, at the last Met when I wore Carolina Herrera, and it's so pretty. I've only been bold enough to try it when I have a professional helping me, but I'd like to try it a little more.

Thompson on the red carpet at the 2022 Met Gala.

Who would you say is your all-time beauty muse?

There are so many, but I think Bianca Jagger is someone I always thought was really striking, and I would say Grace Jones, speaking of that very '80s blush look, but I think for Grace, it all really begins with skin. I think my approach to beauty when I was younger was always wearing my hair down, and it was just kind of fussy. And now, typically when I feel my most beautiful it's really when my hair's pulled back, my skin is glowing, and just a lip to feel bold and most like myself. I think this idea of beauty and approach to makeup as enhancing that which exists has been really impactful for me, so, all of my beauty icons tend to be women who have done that.

Bianca Jagger at an evening event in 1985.

Model and artist Grace Jones mid-performance.

If your friends or family members were tasked with describing your signature scent in one word, what do you think it would be?

That's so interesting, I'm really curious about what that would be. I hope fresh. I tend to gravitate toward notes that are just really clean, like cut grass. I used to be very earthy, but not so much anymore.

Fresh is a great descriptor. Is there a particular scent that makes you feel nostalgic?

Yes! I grew up part-time in Brooklyn, New York, and there were always vendors on the street selling essential oils and different ouds, along with incense, like Nag Champa. So, those scents make me feel nostalgic for those days and summers in Brooklyn.

If you had to bring only one perfume, body oil, or scented lotion with you to a desert island, what would you choose?

Funny you should ask, because my friend Zoë introduced me to this body butter that I use all the time by Simply Divine Botanicals—I'm wearing it now—and it's called How Now Brown Cacao. It's cacao-scented and also, I've never tried this, but it feels like you can eat it, but it's a really thick body butter, and it's delicious.

What kind of scents do you typically gravitate toward?

I was in a store with my friend the other day, and I tried on this little body oil. And I had a friend who knows me really well smell it and she goes, "Oh, that's so much more floral than you typically like." I always thought I really liked floral scents, but apparently not. But I think a note that I like most consistently is floral, and that would be rose. I will always like a simple rose scent. It's so feminine and classic, and somehow earthy in a way, even though it's floral.

Who would you say is the best smelling person you know?

The best smelling person I know is a really good friend of mine named Ryan. And I would say a close second would be Devonté Hynes, who's a very, very good smelling person who also really likes oud.

And who would you say smells better, Jonathan Majors or Michael B. Jordan?

Oh, that's unfair! Well, when we were making the movie neither of them smelled that great because they're doused in body oil and sweating a lot. But you know, I don't know, honestly. I think it's a tie. I'm going to see them this weekend, so I'll try to get a better read on who's better smelling. But, there's no top contender actually in my mind right now. It's a tough one, I need to research a little more.

OK, final question: What's something you've learned about beauty since joining the Marvel universe?

As I've mentioned, one thing that I love and felt really inspired by regarding being an ambassador for Armani Beauty is that it's a brand I've worn for a really long time—their foundations in particular. Not just in my actual life, but I can also look through my filmography and so many characters, including Valkyrie, wear that foundation because makeup artists also just love it so much. But—this is maybe not a sexy thing—I've gained more of an understanding of how makeup wears over a long day. And in particular with Marvel because you're sweating. So, even in application, it's just adding moisture, especially if you're wearing something with a heavier coverage. After setting your makeup, it's a good idea to spritz yourself—actually rose water is really great for that.

A scene from Marvel’s Thor Ragnarok.

And then another beauty hack that is very superhero-inspired is that, if you want a very lovely sheen on skin on the body, the best thing is sprayed sunscreen. And then if you're outside, it's also very good because obviously that gives you sun protection. But especially on film, spraying on sunscreen reads very beautifully. I actually learned that from Chris Hemsworth, so I have him to thank, but before takes they spray his muscles with sunscreen, even though we're inside.

Tiffany Dodson is currently the associate beauty commerce editor at Harper’s Bazaar, where she specializes in trend forecasting, building relationships with major and emerging brands, and crafting shopping stories—from holiday gift guides to product road tests. Tiffany's work has previously been featured in outlets like SELF, Bustle, and Teen Vogue, and she's been quoted as a commerce and beauty expert in publications and platforms like The Business of Fashion and NPR’s Life Kit podcast.

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