Poppy Montgomery Shares Her Retinol Routine, Favorite Australian Beauty Products and Her Very Competitive Ugly-Sweater Contest

Hulu’s Christmas on the Farm is a story about a New York socialite who fakes her identity to get her book published—only to have to rush back to her deceased mother’s farm when the publisher and her son come to visit their “Australian” author. While the storyline might sound a bit “out there,” for Poppy Montgomery, it borders on biographical. “This movie is based on my real life…my mother passed away unexpectedly in 2019, leaving me and my siblings her beloved farm in Australia,” she recently shared with us. “So, this movie is about real events that happened in my life. All the characters are based on real people that I know and love—even the animals are based on real animals on my mum’s farm! I wanted to make a movie about our farm that she loved so much.”

Why is this project so important to you?

This movie is especially important to me because it honors my mom and keeps her memory alive. In the flashback sequences that show my characters mother, much of the dialogue she speaks is taken from words my mother actually said and texts she sent me. Christmas on the Farm is a love letter to my mom and her farm and also to Australia, where I’m from, and to what an Australian Christmas is really like.

What is your beauty routine like?

I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful dermatologist in Los Angeles, Karyn Grossman, who helps me out with my skin. She has all sorts of amazing lasers and magical skin-care tools. Whatever she tells me to do I try to do it—no questions asked!

My actual daily self-care routine is fairly simple. In the morning, I moisturize. In the evening, I wash my face and moisturize again! I use a Retin-A cream every other day and I try to remember to use sunscreen.

For my daily morning and evening routine I love all Karyn Grossman’s products from her skincare line KARYNG; I use her Replenishing cleanser and I love the ProVerte Anti-Aging Oil.

What about on-set?

“On set, we always use La Mer under my makeup as skin prep and the Vintners Daughter face oils are incredible for maintaining and refreshing my makeup throughout the day. With long days and filming outdoors, my makeup would start to get cakey and dull. Rather than constantly reapplying foundation, I’ve found the best mid-day makeup refresh is to spritz my face with Evian water mist and then pat a few drops of Vintners Daughter face oil into my skin over the makeup. It instantly revives everything, and the makeup looks glowy, dewy and fully refreshed again.”

 Veronique Vial What are some Australian beauty products you still love?

The Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser is unbelievable, and smells like a dream. Also, it’s cruelty free!

I love BONDI SANDS self-tanner in Ultra Dark. Nobody makes self-tanners like the Australians!

The By/Rosie Jane deodorant is amazing. It’s all-natural, aluminum- and baking-soda free, and it actually works! In the past, I’ve found that some of the organic deodorants don’t work that well, but this one does. It smells like a spa—lavender and chamomile—yum!

What are you excited about as the holidays approach?

We have five kids and lots of cousins, so I always get excited about all of us getting together for the very competitive holiday games we play. My favorite is our annual Ugly Holiday Sweater competition! Everyone has to make their own ugly holiday sweaters, then a big group of us get together in our sweaters and the fun—and sometimes yelling, crying and tantrums—begins!

There is a kid competition, hence the tantrums, and a parent competition, hence the yelling and crying, and trophies for various categories that include: Best Ugly, but Classy, Sweater; Funniest Ugly Sweater; Cutest Ugly Sweater; Ugliest Ugly Sweater; Best Ugly Sweater Family. If I don’t win at least one trophy, I tend to cry and drink a whole bottle of vodka. I’m kidding…sort of.

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