Angela Bassett Shares Her Ageless Beauty Secrets

START EARLY

"Even though my mother was a woman of little means, she would take me to a dermatologist every six weeks when I was a teenager. And after college when I was a young actress living in New York, I would go to an aesthetician when I could afford to."

FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

"I believe in caring for your skin so you don't have to cover it with makeup. At one point I was so overrun with products and wanted a less-is-more approach. When I met dermatologist Dr. Barbara Sturm [with whom Bassett co-created and co-owns a skin-care line], our philosophies meshed: Products should be effective and the process simple."

Buy It! Dr. Barbara Sturm & Angela Bassett Skin of Color Foam Cleanser, $70, and Skin of Color Hyaluronic Serum, $300; dr-barbara-sturm.com

MAKE TIME FOR FITNESS

"Even though people tell me I'm impervious to aging, I'm not. The scale isn't going down the way it used to. But if I can work out for 30 minutes, I feel good. My philosophy is do the best you can and do something that you enjoy. For me, I like free weights."

PRIORITIZE SLEEP

"As you get older, the things you could get away with not doing in your 20s or 30s can begin to catch up, so you have to be a bit selfish in terms of giving to yourself so that you have more to offer. I try to get away with seven hours [of sleep], but if it's six hours, I feel it immediately. There's less bounce-back! You have to take care of yourself."

FLAUNT YOUR ASSETS

"I know people have things that they like about themselves and things that they want to hide about themselves. I'll say to my glam team, 'I have great arms, you might want to show that!' I believe we all have something—great legs, beautiful hair—so find your something, be proud of it, and accentuate it."

LEARN A MAKEUP TRICK

"I really like how my makeup artist does a smoky eye. He makes them stand out. But I'm not good at shading; I leave that to the professionals. And I just don't have the patience! I want to get up and go—not spend an hour doing my makeup. So I'll just use lots of mascara and a nude eye shadow to make my eyes look bigger."

Buy It! Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara in Black Extase, $29.50; dior.com and Nars Bali Matte Eyeshadow, $25; narscosmetics.com