Nicole Kidman Confirms That Every Beauty Look Matters On Big Little Lies

Nicole Kidman may live in a 111-acre farmhouse in Australia, call Keith Urban her husband (and Tom Cruise her ex), and have four Golden Globe awards under her belt, but she's more relatable than you think. In fact, some of her daily habits might even be called mundane — like being a stickler for wearing sunscreen.

Just like most of us, Kidman has only her mother to thank for her vigilant attitude about wearing sunscreen. "I'm the biggest advocate for it just because of my nature and how I grew up in Australia," the Neutrogena brand ambassador tells Refiner29. "If my mama hadn't put sunscreen on me when I was little, I wouldn't have the skin I have today."

To be clear, Kidman never goes without sunscreen — even when filming, including for her current role as Celeste in Big Little Lies. Considering the fact that a vast majority of her scenes were shot outside, Kidman confirms that she took every sun-safe precaution there is, like wearing a sun hat and reapplying her sunscreen whenever necessary. Her go-to? Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock. "It's a really good sunscreen underneath makeup," she says.

Needless to say, Kidman is something of an authority on taking care of your skin. But ask her about her newest co-star and onscreen mother-in-law Meryl Streep's complexion, and she'll tell you that it's just as good — if not better. "She has the most beautiful skin," she says. "It's so soft." Even so, the co-stars have never really swapped beauty tips (something we think they should rectify soon). "I think she's just naturally blessed," Kidman says. "She's always pretty healthy. She's very disciplined, which is what I think contributes to her overall way of living. I think also the greatest thing is being happy. And Meryl is happy."

Something that we'd bet made Streep happy this year? The fact that the fake teeth she pitched to play Mary Louise on Big Little Lies' season 2 made it into the canon. Streep suggested that the character's teeth should match her late son's, a set of prosthetic teeth were created, and Mary Louise was born. As much as the teeth in question became a topic of social-media buzz, Kidman says they didn't take on quite the same infamy while filming.

"I didn't notice them," Kidman admits of her scenes with Streep on BLL, adding that she prefers not to focus on the "accoutrements" of the show. "Initially [they] stand out, but I hope the work has been done so it vibrates emotionally. We're only as good as what we bring in terms of our hearts and our souls. Hopefully that bleeds through."

Celeste's physical appearance in season 2, however, bears a certain weight. "When you meet Celeste, she's not as coiffed as she was when Perry was alive [in season 1]. There's a reason," Kidman says. Turns out, the actress — who's also an executive producer on the show — seriously considered changing her character's hair for the follow-up season in dramatic fashion. She imagined that the trauma of losing her husband and their physically abusive relationship would manifest itself in Celeste's look, but Kidman eventually ditched the idea after realizing that Celeste just wasn't emotionally ready.

Celeste may not have gotten a bob for season 2, but Kidman agrees that any seemingly minor tweaks you catch on the show are intentional, like Jane's (Shailene Woodley) new bangs. "We're trying to give these women enormous complexities and depth because that is the truth of our lives — what we're going through, how we're going through it, and how we're presenting ourselves to the world, whether that's through haircuts or what type of makeup we're using," she explains. "There's always an emotional reason behind that."

But Kidman herself doesn't put too much thought into vanity — on or offscreen. Well, except when it comes to avoiding retinol (it dries out her skin) and brown lipstick ("Reese [Witherspoon] and I do not like brown lipstick. We don't think it's flattering for our skin tones," she says) like it's a criminal inquiry into the Monterey Five. Like we said: totally relatable.