When actress Naomi Watts went into early menopause at age 36, she discovered an inconvenient truth: “Where is the smart, sexy, liberated handbook for this?” she recalls wondering in the face of textbook-dry articles that left her feeling isolated and symptoms like dry itchy skin, hot flashes, and insomnia. “Women are half the population, so the fact that we’ve had to suck it up and cope is mind-boggling,” she says. Fast forward more than a decade and Watts is changing the conversation with Stripes, the holistic beauty line she founded last year to bring science, solutions, community, and a long overdue sense of normalcy to the major life transition.

In today's Season 2 premiere of "Makeup & Friends," she sits down with Gucci to chat all things beauty, including what she wishes she’d had on her sinkside back then: A daily menopause supplement—packed with ashwagandha, probiotics, and vitamins—to support bone health and brain fog; a cooling face mist to calm hot skin, a hydrating & brightening face cream, and a collection of makeup staples that makes life easier. 

In fact, there’s much to learn from Watts’s breezy, uncomplicated approach to “five-minute makeup.” She swears by a good brightening blush (placed high on cheekbones for a natural lift!), perfect brow pencil, and Lit Up highlight stick for that luminous golden X-factor. 

Watch the full makeup tutorial and chat—because fifty-five has never looked better.

NAOMI WEARS: