Since the early aughts, Sienna Miller has been the go-to inspiration for boho beach waves, milky skin, and pinch-me cheeks. Two decades later Miller is still inspiring us, whether it’s her confident red carpets or her less-is-more approach to beauty.
At 44, Miller is expecting her third child any day now and celebrating being the star of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty’s new Pillow Talk in Bloom campaign. It’s appropriate that the two are debuting at roughly the same time, given that the British-born Miller has known Tilbury for over a third of her life and has been instrumental in her most iconic looks.
“Charlotte and I have known each other for 16 years, maybe longer,” Miller tells Glamour over Zoom. “Our moms are friends. She did my makeup for a shoot in 2010, and then we did Vogue covers together. I was there at the inception of her deciding to [launch Charlotte Tilbury Beauty]. I was even among a few who sent a lipstick kiss on a tissue to her, and she put it on the first wash bag.”
It was only appropriate that when Tilbury wanted to launch a new campaign, she reached out to Miller herself. “She kind of wanted to do a version of makeup that was less made up, and more in line with my approach. I want to look like I’m not wearing makeup, but look great.”
And look great she does. The launch of the new Pillow Talk Blush Balm Lip Tint, plus the return of Pillow Talk Beauty Soulmates palette, captures the essence of the new season, which Miller has been looking forward to all year long. “By the time spring hits, it’s so euphoric that it’s like the best vibe. You just have to get through the dreary months first.”
Shot on location in the English countryside, the campaign is all about soft, natural beauty in time for spring.
Courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury
But even with all the talk of rebirth, Miller is all about owning what you have and celebrating the age and wisdom that comes with being a woman in her 40s. She credits her mother, Josephine, for providing a perspective on what it means to live fully and without inhibition. And no matter what anyone does to look younger, Miller wants women to stop with the negative self-talk about aging that’s often couched in seemingly harmless jokes.
For Glamour’s latest edition of Big Beauty Questions, Miller refreshingly opened up about what she does to look good, why being pregnant in her 40s has been so refreshing, and more.
Glamour: The photos for the new campaign are downright dreamy. Where is your favorite place to visit in the English countryside?
Sienna Miller: I love Somerset and Dorset, which is like Thomas Hardy country. And I love Wales. But the Cotswolds are stunning. And by the time spring hits, it’s so euphoric that it’s like the best vibe. It’s just you have to get through the Winter months, which is so hard.
Since your mom and Charlotte Tilbury are really good friends, what’s the best beauty advice your mom ever shared with you?
My mother was really glamorous and gorgeous, and quite irreverent. I mean, it was the ’90s when I was watching her as a young child—lots of friends, wine, and cigarettes. It was all just quite cool. They’re rock chicks, really, from the ’60s. They can drink us under the table still. They’ll go on holiday and stay up all night chatting and dancing around the kitchen table. They have this kind of energy. I think it was more inspirational in the spirit than practical tips. My mom also didn’t wear a huge amount of makeup.
I feel like you’re the same way…it’s this kind of effortless beauty that glows from within.
I love looking like I’m not really wearing a lot of makeup. I love looking like I have great skin. I know how to put makeup on because I’ve worked with some of the best makeup artists in the world for years. But on the whole, I want to look dewy, and fresh, and rosy. Charlotte taught me about putting freckles back on where I used to get them. The definition of little freckles makes you look fresh and younger, and whatever.
What product do you use to put the freckles on?
I use the Foxy Brown lip liner. For me, that’s the right shade.
Do you have a certain lip and cheek shade that you swear by?
Lip Cheat, but there’s a really pinky one. I prefer the kind of brownier one right now. It’s Pillow Talk Medium. I love. And I quite like this one too: Talk Fair. And Talk Deep is quite good for a freckle.
Do you contour?
Not really, but I’m 44 and pregnant. I need that contouring.
Well, you give me hope. I froze my eggs at 34, and am in my 40s now, so I appreciate you being open about that.
Yes. [Being pregnant in your 40s] is the best.
How so?
Having had a baby at 29, and then having a baby at 42, and now 44, it’s so much easier when you don’t have the conflict of feeling scattered and like you want to be doing X, Y, Z. If I’m in bed at 9 p.m. with a book, I’m so happy now. And now I’ve got the excuse to do it. Life is in a more grounded space. I think the 30s are chaos. You’re like, “I want to settle down. I want kids.”
But by the time you hit 40, you’re like, “I kind of know who I am. I don’t really give a shit about what anyone else thinks.” I’m a much more grounded human. We don’t judge men who are having kids in their 80s. Why on earth is there any sort of narrative?
Exactly.
And I froze eggs. That was really revealing. I didn’t use them. I was really fortunately able just to get pregnant, but it was an existential relief having done that in my late 30s.
I love that. Also, whenever I hear anybody in their 30s or even 40s saying, ‘I’m so old,’ or whatever, I’m like, ‘Stop that!’ We don’t need to say that. We’ve got to get this narrative out of our head.
When we’re 60, we’ll be like, “God, at 40 and when I was old.” It’s such a narrative that’s so subscribed, and it’s a way of monetizing our insecurity, and we have to stop it.
I agree.
It’s also good luck. You’re lucky if you get to get older. And getting pregnant and being older, I think is a biohack. You get all those hormones, you get all that blood. It’s great. I’m here for it.
Is there anything you swear by health-wise now that you’re in your 40s that’s made a real difference for you?
If I have a bath with some magnesium salts in it, I’m high-fiving myself because who’s got the time? I did this thing called the Tixel laser. It was amazing. I was told there was going to be some downtime and I’d be a bit flaky, but I wasn’t at all. I just looked better and it continued to work. It’s a laser that I did with Defan Bartov. That was the last thing that I thought was great. I think the Morpheus is great for me.
Did it hurt like hell?
No. I think if you can do that, you can avoid [over-doing] filler. It just doesn’t age well. I’ve got the LYMA laser. I’ll sit there holding that on my face. But my other advice is, don’t take yourself too seriously. I honestly think there are a million beautiful faces and women with great skin. If there’s nothing underneath that, it’s totally boring. It’s a one minute of, ‘Oh, you’re so pretty,’ and then I’m so bored. Cultivate your essence, read the books, listen to the music, look at the arka, absorb and radiate culture, especially in a moment where we’re just so encouraged to only look at ourselves. Look out, for fuck’s sake. Because all the coolest people read all the books, listened to the music, danced, had the fun.
So true.
You’ll talk to me in a year and I’ll be frozen in time. [Laughs] But no, you’re just advertising your insecurity if you look too young. I saw Hamnet, Jessie Buckley’s face. She’s young. She’s in her 30s. But it’s so beautiful to see women looking like human beings. I think my generation of actresses are doing really well with the not looking crazy.
Before we go, I have some rapid fire beauty questions for you. Fill in the blank: I love my hair when…
It’s been in the sea. Meet me in Italy and we’ll swim in that.
What is a hair tool you can’t live without?
I don’t really have hair tools. I mean, I for a long time didn’t even have a hairbrush because the less I do to my hair, the better it is. I love the Sam McKnight Cool Girl Spray. It’s like a texturizing spray that when your hair is a little limp or having a bad day, you just spray it in and you just look better.
Well, I’ll be buying that now. Meanwhile, what do you keep in your purse when you’re running errands?
The Lip Cheat, the Foxy Brown, the Blush Balm, Pillow Talk range always. Also the white Airbrush powder. Because no one needs a big greasy nose. And then emergency snacks for my kid, often shriveled up raisins all over the bottom of the bag.
Charlotte has the best makeup travel bag that looks like an accordion when you open it up. It has her signature embroidered lip on the front and I’m obsessed with it.
So birçok, I know. The whole world is luxurious, and aspirational, and beautiful and old school.
Just like you.
God, I wish you could see me from the waist down. No pants on. I look like a house. I just pee all night. I’m so tired. [Laughs]
