Rashida Jones On Why Diversity In Beauty Is More Important Than Ever

First came Harvard. Then came The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Claws. Now, Rashida Jones is wearing an entirely new hat for her next phase of world domination — and it comes by way of beauty. More specifically: a refreshingly honest, witty Almay campaign about inclusivity in these trying times, which (no surprise here) she wrote and co-created.

Why now? Well, let's set the scene: The daughter of a famous interracial couple (back when, by her account, that was "new for Hollywood"), Jones didn't grow up seeing a lot of people like her. "Representation changes things," she tells R29 exclusively. "Being a woman of color today, there's an opportunity to show the spectrum of what that means. Whether you're silly, smart, serious, bad, good, flawed — the more representation there is, the less likely that anybody can associate something specific with one race. There is power behind diversity."

Representation, of course, extends to makeup, too. But Jones learned that finding it on the market was harder than timing a joke: "I was always in-between shades, and because I'm biracial, I have a green tone under my skin as well," she says. "In my early days of acting, I would look in the mirror when the makeup artist was done and be horrified, because my color was so off." Now she's helping change the narrative: Starting today, Jones will serve as the face of Almay; her campaign launches in a few weeks. The brand will also be rolling out a wider shade range through 2018.

Beauty, at its best, is supposed to reflect the times — which, right now, should be all about choice, inclusivity, and enough comedic relief to fill Louis C.K.'s $2.5 million West Village apartment. That (plus all her favorite beauty products, ahead) is what's really going to make America great.