Hollywood Facialist, Adeela Crown, Reveals Her Beauty Secrets, Skincare Hacks & Life In Beauty
A master of her craft, Adeela is otherwise known as The Skin Engineer, for good reason. Her signature SkinDance facial massage technique and knowledge of skincare ingredients has made her a sought-after global skin expert and Hollywood facialist. While her warm charm and sunny disposition add to her appeal. Here, Adeela shares her life in beauty and the secrets behind her own skin radiance.
Tell us about your first beauty memory?
Stealing (let’s call it borrowing) my mother’s Estee Lauder ANR serum in my teens. The bottle looked so precious and I saw her nightly ritual that I really wanted to emulate. This is long before I delved into the world of beauty and understood the skinhealth benefits of a nighttime routine. My future skin has always been thankful to my teen-thieving fingers!
Your skin is always glowing. How do you prep your skin before a big event?
I always create a clean canvas first. That’s how the skincare that follows has a chance of working well. It’s something I learnt whilst working on-set. I always do a red-carpet peel at least 48hrs beforehand. The kind that doesn’t make you peel like a snake but allows deeper absorption of the products that follow. We all want that flawless complexion with pore-perfect finish so prep work is key!
The night before I apply a sleeping mask on juiced-up (translation; serum-layered) skin to lock in moisture and on the day apply another deep cleansing mask 10-15mins before I jump in the shower before getting ready. Result is a skin that’s healthy even with foundation coverage that bounces off light for that zero-filter required glow.
Where, what or who is your inspiration?
‘Where’ has to be Borgo Santo Pietro. Their slow living mantra is infectious. Placed in the heart of Tuscan hills this 350-acre hotel & farm has its own vineyard, spa, lake, chocolate factory cooking school and a Fiat 500 from 1950s with optional brakes around the Tuscan hills’ hairpin bends, that I fell in love with!
‘What’ has to be cooking books. I collect them not as coffee table books but because I am forever inspired by the balance of ingredients and technique. The culinary art speaks very much to my inner (rather mad) skin engineer as my products are my ingredients and I am forever tinkering, blending, layering, cocktailing, and having fun with skincare to create my own skin-recipes.
‘Who’ has to be Sophia Loren. I have been in love with her since seeing her in her 1958 film ‘Houseboat’ with Cary Grant. Her bone structure alone is breathtaking, but she has aged so well. Legend had it that she applied olive oil on her skin daily. Well, the fatty acids, Vitamin E, omegas, and antioxidants in olive oil sure did the job well because this 90-year-old nonagenarian is the epitome of womanhood and old Hollywood glamour to me!
What beauty advice would you give your twenty-year old self?
Apply 10-15% Vitamin C daily and always follow it up with SPF 50. What I didn’t know then that I know now is that Vitamin C’s super antioxidant qualities are amplified with SPF which then becomes an indomitable shield against photodamage. Vitamin C and SPF are to skin what Jay Z and Beyonce are to music. The ultimate power couple!
What products do you buy on repeat?
Both Vitamin C and SPF, for the reasons mentioned above. Estee Lauder’s ANR – because my curious teenage-self taught me the benefits of night care. Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir, because their travel mini is a perfect handbag companion. Dr Hauschka lip balm stick (I carry one in each bag) Swiss Perfection RS-28 Cellular Eye Contour patches. Sisley Black Rose and Velvet Sleeping masks (my in-flight essentials).
Where do you shop for special and unique beauty finds?
My shopping mostly takes place at the World Duty Free (not Heathrow as its not duty free anymore). That’s where I find my usual beauty repeat buys and I have more time to browse, play and shade match as I am not rushing for meeting to meeting or events.
I am a serial-browser at French and German apothecaries for the best no-nonsense brands like Bioderma, Nuxe, Caudalie, Dr Hauschka, Anne Marie Borlind, La Roche Posay and more.
Santa Maria Novella in Florence has a special place in my heart for its old-world charm. And I never have the heart to throw away any packaging from Officine Universelle Buly in Paris. The products almost feel as though they have been plucked from a regency period lady’s powder room. I can stare at the illustrations and text on each product for ages as they transport you to a different time.
CVS in US for the Listerine Freshburst PocketPaks – small rectangular dissolvable breath strips. I can’t find them in UK. I always fill up my basket and get stares at checkout. They must think I have serious bad breath issues. But there so handy so I drop one in each bag!
Name your biggest skin saviour.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) in serum form, though I welcome any product with this wonder hydration magnet formulated into it, be it a mask or cream, even my eye drops contain HA. My secret hack during winter times is to apply a drop or two of HA on my lips, wait for 30 secs before sealing with lip balm for the most hydrated, juicy plump lips.
What are your makeup bag heroes?
Sisley Phyto lip Twist in shade 15. Chantecaile Future Skin Foundation (comes in a handy pot) Chanel Baume Essentiel in Transparent to pick up light on the cheekbones and high points. Blink Brow Bar Ultra Slim Brow definer in Indian Chocolate to fill and fluff up the brows on the go. YSL Lash Clash Extreme (the best results a couple of weeks after opening once the formula thickens and dries a little)
With your hectic and busy lifestyle, how do you ever switch off?
I try and schedule some me-time a couple of nights a week. My multitasking brain is loving the new Theraface LED mask as it also has the eye and head massage function. It’s the ultimate skin and mind reset with an in-built 9mins timer. Presto the headache is gone and that new spot brewing on the chin is stopped in its tracks!
I have an impressive collection of scented candles that I light when the energetic pre-schooler is in bed, and I have a face mask on. I am currently obsessed with Log Fires by Jo Loves. The comforting smoky wood laced with Lapsang Souchong Tea reminds me of the (pre-baby) time spent with my husband in British Columbia by the lake.
Do you have a signature scent?
Pregnancy altered my sense of smell, as in, made me hypersensitive to strong scents. I was never into heady aromas of Oud, leather, wood, or florals. My androgenous self (I steal my husband’s shirts and ties) loves the citrus Aqua di Parma Colonia and the closest I have come to embracing feminine scents has been Thé Cachemire from Dior’s La Collection Privée is the olfactory interpretation of sipping green tea whilst wrapped in a warm cashmere sweater.
What are your beauty golden rules?
Never go to bed with make-up on. And don’t ever cut corners with make-up wipes. They belong in the bin. Terrible for your face and the environment. I have timed myself on how long it takes me to cleanse on several occasion. Takes me 2mins 30 secs. That’s including makeup remover on cotton pads first followed by a wet cleanse. Helps reason with my tired end-of-the day brain that it’ll take me less than the time it takes to make a cup of tea to have makeup free skin ready to receive my nighttime skincare.
I am also a self-confessed SPF militant. I placed my SPF on top of my daily moisturiser a long time ago in my bathroom cabinet. Initially I kept moving it away to get to my day cream until the lesson I was subliminally trying to drill into my brain finally took hold. That’s when I started blending both. Its not a lesson in laziness to blend SPF with day cream. I helps me ensure I have full UV protection come day or shine. It has since become a yearlong habit, so I never go without my SPF
Can you please share your best skincare hacks?
Blend a few drops of low to mid-strength acid to your sleep mask once a week to wake up with resurfaced skin. Its like getting a facial whilst you sleep. Dry skins will benefit from glycolic acid, lactic acid if you are sensitive. Mandelic for pigmented complexions and salicylic acid for blemish prone skins. Blend mask and acid in either your palm or whip a mixture in a bowl with brush and apply as a leave-in overnight mask.
Are peptides in skincare really worth the hype?
If we have learnt anything from the internet giant Google, it’s that information is power. Think of peptides as skin’s little information communication messengers, triggering skin cells to perform specific functions such as collagen and elastin building. In skincare products they can deliver faster youth enhancing results than say retinol as there’s less irritation and appeals to all skin types.
You’re a frequent traveller, can you reveal what’s in your in-flight toiletrie bag?
Minimal makeup, only a brow pencil and a tinted lip oil. Mostly skincare that I pre-pack in the order of appearance. Always 2 Serums Hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C. Eye patches (the juicier the better) SPF, loving the Evidens Total Shield SPF 50 as it comes in a slim handy tube. Love the mini La Prairie Pure Gold Radiance Nocturnal Balm that locks in the hydration. Silk blackout sleep masks by Drowsy Sleep co. Fluffy long socks. Individually wrapped Oshibori towels that I use to wipe to freshen up face, hands that I buy from Japan Centre or Amazon. They’re usually soaked in green tea and water blend unlike the preservative-rich face wipes.
You have treated the faces of many A-listers; can you tell us more?
MY NDAs and personal relationships don’t allow me to comment in depth, but I love working on Cate Blanchett’s skin. She has a very delicate complexion and superb bone structure and the politest even after jumping off a long-haul flight. Keira Knightley always comes in with a smile and funny stories and Demi Moore is beautiful inside and out.
What top skincare tip do you share with your celebrity clients?
Serum cocktailing. It’s my treatment and on-set hack for time-release hydration with muti-level concentrates to target various skin issues at once. On average I use 5-6 serums in treatments and encourage to blend at least 3 in one go, of which Hyaluronic acid is the base and other water-based serums to cocktail and apply at once.
Important to remember to not mix AHAs with retinol-based serums. Like in cooking remember that not all ingredients blend well. Cocktailing requires you to know your ingredients first.
Lastly, if you only had just five minutes to dedicate to your skincare, what would your routine look like for the morning and the evening?
I actually only ever have five minutes or less. I am either jumping on a plane or off one or at home prepping my son’s lunchbox so that’s when I put my multitasking serum cocktailing and day cream + SPF blending hacks to use. Et Voila!
I love my nighttime showers and afterwards spend a few mins massaging a blend of serums (I cycle through them as I am usually testing some newness at most times). I try and incorporate a face oil massage to my routine a few nights a week. Not only does it boost my microcirculation and helps drain away the day’s built up of fluids under eye and toxins. It also helps bring the products applied underneath to life.
The products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however, The Handbook may make a small commission on some products purchased through affiliate links.
