Jennifer Garner, 53, on Skincare Favorites and the Beauty of Aging

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Much like her character, Jenna Rink, in the cult-favorite film 13 Going on 30 , actress Jennifer Garner seems to be aging backward. Along with a dedicated workout routine that keeps her on her toes, the star also has a consistent skincare regimen to thank for her ethereal glow. Garner has worked as an ambassador for Neutrogena for over 17 years but has been a fan of the brand since childhood.

“I used Neutrogena as a little girl,” Garner tells Bazaar . “I have two sisters, and we used the beauty bar exclusively in our house. We’d go on vacation, have a little soap box, and we would all use it. Once a year, we’d get Neutrogena’s shampoo and conditioner in our stockings, so it was a really big deal. It was a big fancy brand for us."

Here, the actress, producer, and Once Upon a Farm cofounder shares her perspective on the beauty of growing older, explains why sunscreen is underrated, and offers her thoughts on injectables and plastic surgery. Read on for a closer look at some of the ways Garner continues to get better with age.

If you don’t mind sharing, how old are you?

I just turned 53!

What age do you feel you are in your head?

I don’t know! Part of me is, like, really 53 because I’ve really earned every minute of every day of every year. I don’t want to be younger. I’m very grateful to be exactly this age. I’m trying to soak it up. I feel like I’m living in my power. I’m living in my wisdom. I’m living in my joy and my capacity to do and get things done. So I’m just very aware of my luck and the grace that’s been shown to me.

Do you have a beloved beauty product that you’ve worn for most of your life?

I’ve definitely worn Neutrogena products most of my life. But things in the last few years that I’ve loved? Makeup artist Gucci Westman —I haven’t worked with her in a long time; we know each other because we worked together when I was younger—but her line, Westman Atelier, is great. I love her Vital Skin foundation stick because you can easily control the amount of coverage. So if you just need a little touch-up around your nose, under your eyes, that’s one thing. And then if you need more foundation, you can add that, but it’s like the one makeup product I have sought out and bought over and over again. Usually it’s like, whatever some makeup artist has left at my house.

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What aspects of your physical appearance do you love more now, as you’ve gotten older?

Part of the gift of being my mother’s daughter is that I haven’t spent a lot of time stressing about my physical appearance. I don’t spend a lot of time in the mirror. Sometimes I could spend more time in the mirror; I’m sure I’ve had things in my teeth or a bump in my hair. So there are pluses and minuses to it. If you look through, like, the last 20-plus years of paparazzi pictures of me, you would see images and say, “You would be best served by spending more time thinking about what you look like.”

But the flip side of that is that I’m not really that stressed about aging or things changing. I have my moments, of course, where I’ll look in the monitor at work and be like, “Who is that? Ah, that’s me!” But I think less is more, as far as focusing on yourself too much in that way. What are you going to do? I want to age. I want to live to be 100. I don’t expect to look at 100 like I look today. I want to wear every single bit of those 100 years and feel great about them. But what do I like better about myself? Well, I don’t know that I used to think about it at all, but I’m more friendly to myself in general.

Which beauty products would you say have aged well?

Well, you know, sunscreen ages well. My dermatologist friend Doris Day says nothing looks better in your 50s than sunscreen in your 20s. And as someone who was not a sunbather in my 20s—I just didn’t have that patience—I luckily did wear sunscreen. I can tell you, the products have only gotten better, every single iteration, every single year, and I’m grateful for them now that I’m in my 50s.

Please give us a quick breakdown of your current beauty routine.

Oh, this just would horrify most of the teenagers in my life. So, my routine at night is to set myself up for the morning; it’s all about preparation. I set up my coffee, my workout, and my workout clothes to make it easy, so I don’t have an excuse. I also always wash my face. If I have a lot of makeup on from work, I’ll use the Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes . The brand has compostable ones now that I love. They’re the OG. They’re the best ones. But I’ll still wash my face, because if I have that much makeup on, I want to give it a couple of goes.

Then I switch back and forth between—are you ready for this, Tiffany? I’m going to drop knowledge. I switch back and forth between Rapid Wrinkle Repair , which is our retinol system, and our Hydro Boost hyaluronic-acid system. Also, you would probably not trust a retinol so close to your eyes, but I use Neutrogena’s Rapid Wrinkle Repair eye cream almost every night, and it just freshens the skin around my eyes. It has never made my eyes tear up once. I don’t know how they do it; it’s such a magical product. And in the morning, I work out, shower, and then put on Ultra Sheer face liquid mineral sunscreen SPF 70 and spray some SPF on my body.

I’m also a big Virtue believer when it comes to my hair. I’m going through a shed right now; you know how sometimes that happens, when you’re just kind of like, “Ah!” every time you shower? So, I’m switching back to Flourish , which is its hair-regrowth collection that kind of sets your scalp up to succeed. I also don’t typically use a lot of products in my hair, but if I do, it’s the 6-in-1 styler and the Healing oil . It’s kind of the hair version of a lot of what Neutrogena does for your skin. It just fills in the cracks.

A lot of conversations around aging seem to lead to injectables and plastic surgery. Tell us, what are your thoughts on the topic?

Well, I don’t judge whatever makes anyone look or feel their best. I haven’t needed it yet, but I can’t say that I haven’t said to doctors before, “Do I need to do this?” And I’ve had really nice doctors who have just been like, “No.” So, God only knows 10 years from now what the conversation will be. I’m not there yet. But as far as injectables go, I think just find somebody fantastic and proceed with caution. I don’t do a ton, and Botox doesn’t work very well for me; that’s why I wear bangs a lot. I like to be able to move my forehead, and it’s such a big part of my face. I have, like, a five-head.

What keeps you feeling vibrant and youthful?

Working out with people who are younger and more fit than I am.

Many people fear growing older. In your opinion, what is the best part about it?

Growing older is the best! It’s like you’re more confident and you worry less. I had no idea how much I was going to love having teenagers. They’re just so smart and funny. They make me laugh, and they’re so sweet.