Exclusive: Whitney Port on the Products She Wishes She Knew About on "The Hills"

I knew interviewing Whitney Port about her beauty favorites, secrets, and habits would be fun when she logged on to Zoom from her palatial bathroom "for easy access to the products," she laughed. As any longtime MTV disciple can tell you, Port is a girl's girl who radiates good vibes. From her debut as the work bestie you wish sat across from you on The Hills and The City to her fashion lines, With Whit podcast, YouTube channel, and Instagram full of swoon-worthy home items and outfits, Port's entrepreneurial empire is in large part thanks to her playful, easy openness.

That extended to our extremely fun interview, in which Port literally cracked open her makeup bag and medicine cabinet to show me the products and tools she uses for her signature fresh-faced looks, even demoing several for me. By the end of our call, I was ready to add the entire list of Port-approved products to my cart. If she ever fancied a career change, Port could be running Sephora Corporate by the end of the week. Read on for Whitney Port's top beauty picks for winter and well beyond:

What are five things bringing you joy right now? 

One is this new product I have, this Eminence Organic Neroli Hydrating Mist ($38). Throughout the day, I spray myself with this and it's so moisturizing and hydrating. I designed a candle collection with a company called In Favor Of so my candles ($60/ each) is something that's been bringing me a lot of joy. The Bachelorette has bringing me a lot of joy, too! [Laughs] The Bioeffect EGF Serum ($165) is like my favorite thing right now, it's so amazing for skin and the best thing I've tried in a long time. It's the most hydrating, amazing thing I found during quarantine. And then RJ’s Licorice. RJ's is this Australian licorice—it's so addictive! 

Bioeffect EGF Serum $165.00

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How do you adjust your skincare for winter? 

Even though Los Angeles is pretty mild, it still gets a little bit dry here in the winter. For me, it's so important to stay hydrated. Luckily, I haven't had to wear too much makeup and I can just put moisturizer on and let that sit on my skin all day. Like I said, the hydrating mists throughout the day are so good just to keep that moisture in your skin. Drinking water…I don't know, staying hydrated is just something I'm not normally good at but I've been trying to get into tea a lot more. I found this company, Art of Tea, based out of Los Angeles. Their teas are really delicious and they're packaged so cute. I think staying hydrated is easier when there's a little flavor to it and it's still healthy. Exfoliating once a week is huge, at least for my face. Sometimes I'll put exfoliator on my hands too. We're all washing and sanitizing our hands so much and our hands are getting so dry, so exfoliate the back of your hands and continually apply hand cream. I have next to me right now the Ouai Hand Lotion ($32) at my sink. I use their wash and then just slather it all over. And it's cute so I don't have to worry about putting it in something, you know?

Ouai hand wash, Bioeffects EGF Serum (limited edition bottle), Eminence Neroli Mist

If you could give 22-year-old Whitney any items in your makeup bag or medicine cabinet and say "trust me, you want these," what would those be?

My It Cosmetics CC+ Cream ($40). I feel like my whole teenage years and early 20s self could never find the right foundation with the right coverage that had SPF in it but didn't look too cakey. I feel like I found that later on in life so I wish I could have given that to myself. And these hair clips! When I was younger—and funnily enough I talk about this a lot actually on my YouTube channel—but I used to hate how my hair parted, how it would make like, arches. And now I found these little Harry Josh clips ($14) that I can pin down on my head. In order to get my hair more forward, which is what I like, I use these pins to train it down when it's wet. The Harry Josh ones are good and then there's another kind from For Every Muse ($20) and those are really good too. 

Harry Josh Pro Tools Pro Makeup & Wave Setting Clips (6-Piece) $18.00

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Any products you've been a longtime, multiyear fan of?

My Embryolisse Moisturizer ($16), I've been a fan forever. I remember makeup artists using it on me in my early 20s and it being so clean-smelling and moisturizing. There's also an Aveeno Clear Complexion Moisturizer ($14) but it's not really a moisturizer, it's not going to thoroughly moisturize your skin. It has a little bit of salicylic acid and I use it more as a spot treatment because it does have a little bit of moisture along with the salicylic acid so it gets rid of the zit easily without making it super dry. That's something I've used forever. And my Anatsasia Beverley Hills Brow Definer ($23) brush and pencil, the slanted one. I remember my mom took us to Anatasia when we were teenagers because we grew up in Los Angeles and ever since going to her as a young girl, I've always used her eyebrow stuff. 

Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer $19.00

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How has your beauty philosophy changed over the years?

I feel like when I was a little bit younger, I was into more statement makeup. You know, black eyeliner and really contrasting things with like, a hot pink lip and I always wanted to be creative with makeup. And now, I just feel like as you get a little bit older that natural is always better in terms of highlighting youth but it's also just easier. It’s one less thing to think about. It's about highlighting my features as opposed to hiding anything. 

Whit's Art Of Tea bags

What makeup look—if any—makes you feel most like yourself? 

Tinted moisturizer—the It Cosmetics one can be a little heavier than I like on a daily basis so I just found this amazing product, the Tula Face Filter ($34). It's a blurring and moisturizing primer and it makes your skin tone extremely even. You have to put a good amount of moisturizer underneath it because it doesn't have a ton of moisture but it's a really, really light skin-correcting primer. That and some berry cream blush, I've been loving this one: Onomie Boosting Lip and Cheek Stick in Caria ($30). It's a really pretty, mauve-y color for cheeks and lips, and I feel like this color would look good on a lot of different skin tones. And then my favorite mascara right now is actually just the Covergirl Lash Blast Volume ($6) but I use it in brown. For my coloring, because I feel a little on the pale side with ashy blonde hair, I think the brown gives a softer touch and really highlights separation more where the black looks more makeup-y. Brown gives it that definition without looking like you have mascara on. I always put this Hourglass Concealer ($34) on my eyelids because I kind of have reddish skin there. I think putting a little concealer on my eyelids and under my eyes opens them up a bit more. I always brush up my eyebrows with the Anastasia Brow Definer, and then just a little bit of gloss. I got this VENeffect Anti-Aging Lip Treatment ($85). My lips have been so chapped, but this stuff is so amazing. You put it around the lips and on them and it's extremely moisturizing. That's good over the berry color you blot on your lips. And that's it! It's the whole cliché thing: natural glow, adding a little more life into your face, and defining your features. 

Is there anything people would be surprised to see in your medicine cabinet? 

I kind of talk about it sometimes but it's the Tinkle Razor ($5). I feel like there has to be something better out there, but this exfoliates all the peach fuzz and takes a lot of dead skin off your face. I don't know if people would find it surprising but it's a little bit controversial—people are like, "You’re shaving your face?!" It can be a slippery slope because the more you do it, the more you become dependent on it but at the same time, I feel like products infiltrate my skin better when I use this. 

Who are your beauty icons these days?

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I love her hair color. Not that I look like her, but I have similar coloring. I get so into videos by her makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes. They're just mesmerizing. You start watching and don't realize time has gone by. I wish I could do my makeup like that, it looks really fun. So dewy.