What Vivica A. Fox Can’t Live Without

I love this lip balm because it’s really moisturizing and on my natural days when I’m just letting that face breathe, it adds a bit of color. I love the way it feels and looks. I used to use the regular clear Burt’s Bees, but then I found this one with the peony shade, and I just knew I needed it. I don’t usually like to do too much. I do a lot of water aerobics, so it doesn’t make sense for me to have a full face all the time. Even in my everyday look, which is a warm-up suit and baseball cap, I’ll put this on and instantly feel done up.

I was converted to Jo Malone when I was working in Toronto years ago. I used to be a big Bulgari fan because I loved things that smelled fresh, but one day while shopping, I sampled some of the Jo Malone moisturizers and got hooked. I just love when someone walks by you and smells you like you’re a beautiful flower. I used to actually think Jo was a man, but she’s a woman! Then this Red Roses came out, and now it’s my favorite. Every time I see Jamie Foxx, he says, “Damn, Vivica, you smell good.”

I’ve been using this mascara since back in the day! When I do wear my makeup, it sets the brows just perfectly. I’ll use it to keep them in place and have been since I first started acting — what, 20 or 25 years ago? I like the clear and the black mascara. It’s the perfect drugstore buy that never disappoints.

This lemon squeezer is the main reason I can drink more water than I ever have in my entire life. When you get older, you discover that water is a good thing for you. I’m from the Midwest, so all I used to drink was soda. Do you drink enough water? Try to do anything you can to force yourself to, whether it’s squeezing some lemon or cucumbers. Your skin and your organs will thank you, I’m telling you.

That wakes me up so well in the morning. I don’t actually put my lemongrass oil in a diffuser, but what I’ll do is put some drops on the floor of the bathtub before a shower, and then as I’m showering, it heats up and the whole bathroom starts smelling like lemongrass (I’ll use tea-tree or eucalyptus oil, too, but lemongrass is my favorite). Whenever I need that extra boost, that’s what I’ll do. It leaves such a fresh scent in the home, too. People will come over and be like, “What’s that smell?”

I’m not a big sleeper because I have so many great things going on in my life right now. I’m always off somewhere, so I have a tendency not to be able to simply fall asleep. If I’m on a red eye, I’ll pop one of these, and it helps with my aches and inflammation from running around or working out too much, too.

My makeup artist Rea Ann Silva, who invented the Beautyblender, also introduced me to this hand sanitizer. Being on set means you’re shaking a lot of hands, and this is an excellent one because it has a lot of moisture, unlike some others that we don’t need to name. It doesn’t smell like alcohol either — it smells like lavender. [Editor’s note: Aidy Bryant and Logan Browning love Jao, too.]

An excellent moisturizer for hands and face that I learned about from Rea Ann, too. It’s not too heavy, so it won’t make you break out. It smells nice, too. I think Rea Ann is big on smells just because she’s around actors all day and knows how to make them feel good.

Takes the best pictures ever! Everyone who says I need to get an iPhone, I do not! Everyone says the iPhone does this, that, and the third, but no, I am telling you. I will be with friends, and everyone takes a picture on their iPhone, and then they say, “Give me that Samsung, it takes the best pictures.” They’re sharper; they’re brighter. I will never give up my Samsung.