Jodie Turner-Smith Says Breastmilk Has Transformed Her Skin

With her gleaming hair and radiant complexion Jodie Turner-Smith seems like the kind of celebrity who spends hours (and probably drops a lot of £££) on her skincare routine. But the actress, who just became a mum in April, says that carving out time for self care is a challenge — and one she's actively trying to honour in 2020. "I've been trying to take the time out to love my body and reset," she tells me over the phone. "None of that would be possible if I didn't have people around to support me."

Turner-Smith's elegant balancing act is even more impressive when you consider the long list of projects demanding her attention. The actress recently stunned in a campaign for Skim's Solutionwear, and now stars in a new campaign for Gucci's Bloom Profumo Di Fiori fragrance by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. For Turner-Smith, who is a self-proclaimed flower-enthusiast, the partnership was a natural fit. "I like to think that flowers are nature's perfume," she says, describing the fragrance as a vivid woody-floral. "But more than that, I thought that Alessandro's vision was stunning and powerful. It spoke to my style."

That bold and vibrant style stems from the confidence Turner-Smith largely credits to her Jamaican heritage. "I only valued and realised how so much of my culture had shaped my views on beauty as I've become an adult," Turner-Smith says. "There's a sense of pride and passion that many Jamaicans have."

Turner-Smith says that passion, along with seeing people that looked like her on TV, largely inspired her to chase after her dreams. "Seeing people of Jamaican and Caribbean heritage like me in fashion and media influenced and inspired me," she says, adding that supermodel Naomi Campbell was one of her biggest inspirations growing up. "To see a darker-skinned Black woman doing her thing for so long was so stunning. I felt connected to that."

Now, Turner-Smith has the chance to pass that confidence on to the next generation, starting with her daughter Janie Jackson, who she welcomed with her husband Joshua Jackson earlier this year. According to the actress, motherhood has been the most prominent teacher of her life thus far. "Becoming a mother has changed my view of beauty in so many ways," she says. "So much is expected of women — especially mothers — and it's just so unrealistic."

While Turner-Smith's new life chapter has revealed a new strength, it has also changed her routine significantly. "It's almost like having a little boss who runs on no one's schedule besides her own," she says laughing. "Everything has to happen a lot quicker, and the luxury of basking in the moment doesn't happen as much."

For the actress, self-care has consisted of lots of aromatic baths and tea time by herself. Turner-Smith says she has doubled down on taking probiotic supplements, which she credits for keeping her skin healthy. "Throughout my life, and even after having the baby, I've struggled with skin issues like acne, and the best advice I've gotten was to take probiotics," she says.

Turner-Smith has also tested the benefits of her own breastmilk in her beauty routine — a step that she says is working wonders. "Something that has helped me is using some of my breastmilk on my face," she says. "Who knows exactly how much it really is helping me, but when I do it, my skin looks pretty good."

Turner-Smith says that, ultimately, becoming a mum has opened up a whole new world of beauty and identity for her. "Before [giving birth], I knew we were amazing, but after becoming a mum I feel like women are really fucking amazing and do not get the respect they deserve," she says. "My eyes are way more opened to the beauty of womanhood."