Why Ashley Greene Is ‘Genuinely Excited About Getting Older’

You may know Ashley Greene from that not-so-tiny role as vampire Alice Cullen in The Twilight Saga franchise (the five films broke box-office records with a cool $3.3 billion worldwide), and now the actress is stepping into the world of streaming movies with Netflix’s Aftermath, a inspired-by-true-events thriller that debuted last week to a whole bunch of “what to watch this weekend” lists. In between delivering some jump scares, the 34-year-old recently chatted with us about prepping for the heavy role, why skin care is so important to her, and the best beauty advice her mom gave her.

What did you do to prepare for your role in Aftermath?

I am a big believer in lots of preparation prior to shooting, so that process was the same for Aftermath as anything else. The biggest difference in the work that I did for Aftermath, versus other films, was that I had to allow myself to continuously be flooded by nefarious thoughts or scenarios and feed into my exhaustion. Instead of the generally positive outlook I have on life, I was constantly allowing the opposite to flood my brain. I try not to take work home with me, but this one was different, I needed to remind myself of what constant, true fear felt like in order to be on Natalie’s level. There were lots of dark circle– combating eye patches during the filming of Aftermath (thanks, Peter Thomas Roth).

It seems like you are into beauty—what are some of your all-time favorite products?

I am indeed. Once I hit my 30s, I began to immediately see a difference in my skin if I neglected to hydrate it internally and externally, so there is a lot more focus on that. My beauty regime has certainly taken center stage. I love clean beauty brands that have limited but impactful ingredients. OSEA Hyaluronic Acid and Sea Cleanser, Beautycounter Vitamin C and #3 Balancing Oil are daily go-tos. Beautycounter also has a great overnight resurfacing peel I swear by. Ilia is my favorite clean beauty brand, their Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 is my favorite way to get daily SPF defense and a beautiful natural glow. Their cheek and lip products give a wonderful glow as well. Alastin Skincare isn’t a clean brand, but their restorative eye cream is worth it. Hourglass is another that is not a clean brand, but their concealer does incredible things for me. 

You grew up in Florida and now you live in LA. Are you good about sunscreen?

I was horrible in Florida, but am very mindful now. I’m very good about SPF for my face. A lot of my skin-care and beauty routine has built in non-toxic SPF. For the body, I love COOLA. 

Are there any beauty moves you cannot master?

My beauty routine is pretty natural, so I’m not a master of things like liquid eyeliner or anything that involves dimensional/dramatic eyes. 

Any beauty regrets?

I should have been kinder to my eyes! The skin is so delicate around our eyes and I treated it like any other area. 

What are you most excited about next?

My mother always told me I’d love my 30s, and I finally understand what she meant. I feel like I am finally coming into my own, and I’ve got so much to accomplish in the years to come. I’m genuinely excited about getting a bit older and wiser.