Scarlett Johansson On Her Revolutionary Skincare Brand And The Make-Up Trailer Moment She Can’t Forget

Scarlett Johansson knows good skin. That much is clear when she logs on to our Zoom call. Hers is glowing and, if she swapped her black blazer for a lab coat, she would fit LA’s ‘expensive dermatologist’ mould: slicked-back bun, gold-rimmed aviators and barely a hint of make-up. As movie-worthy as it may be, Johansson’s style could never be called contrived. As the co-founder of skincare brand The Outset, which she launched with Kate Foster Lengyel in 2022, there’s no need to act her part. ‘I’ve spent six years working on this project,’ she says. ‘It’s a labour of love.’

Image: @theoutset

Johansson’s desire to be part of the skincare space stems not from a round table with a giant beauty conglomerate and a throng of agents – ‘I never wanted to license my name to a brand, this was something I had to do independently’ – but from a journey that spans her lengthy career.

‘My earliest skincare memory dates back to when I was filming The Horse Whisperer,’ the actor recalls. She was 13 when she starred in the 1998 hit, alongside Robert Redford and Kristin Scott Thomas. ‘I had just gotten my first real breakout and a make-up artist on set spotted it and said, “Whoa, you have Mount Vesuvius on your forehead!” I was so embarrassed, it was awful. I hated him in that moment and, actually, I still hate him.’

Johansson laughs but there’s a steeliness in her tone. The make-up artist handed Johansson a potent solution made with sulphur and zinc to zap breakouts and shrivel them into submission. ‘It paved the way for how I’d treat my skin in the coming years. I went through this cycle of drying it out with products, reeling from the irritation they caused, breaking out. It was a vicious circle.’

As roles in 2003’s Lost In Translation and Girl With A Pearl Earring brought her global levels of fame, tech developments in Hollywood were conspiring against her. ‘The industry switched to digital film,’ she says. ‘That was a terrifying move for actors who were self-conscious about their skin.’

The high-definition era was in session. All of a sudden the world and his wife had supersized TV screens in their sitting rooms and every shot was thrown into sharp relief. ‘Everything looked very harsh,’ recalls Johansson, ‘and this was all happening during a time when criticism that centred on appearance was rife – the media was sexist and ready to shout about any flaw they saw and this took a real toll on young women in the spotlight.’

Johansson, for one, was struggling. ‘I remember being perpetually mortified about the conversations I’d hear on set between directors, the lighting department and my make-up artists about how they were going to hide my acne,’ she says. ‘It’s such a tough thing to go through as a young woman who’s still figuring things out.’

Scarlett Johansson with The Outset Purifying Blue Clay Mask. Image: @theoutset

Now a seasoned Hollywood A-lister and a key player in Marvel’s billion-dollar film franchise (Black Widow earned Johansson ardent acclaim from devoted fans and Comic-Con attendees the world over), has she noticed any change in the last decade?

‘I’d like to think there’s more sensitivity in the industry now,’ she says. ‘People are more open about their skin struggles, which makes others feel less isolated.’

For Johansson, the real shift came when she was pregnant with her daughter, Rose, now nine, who she shares with ex-husband Romain Dauriac. (She also has a two-year- old son, Cosmo, with SNL star Colin Jost, who she married in 2020.) ‘I was in my late-twenties and was told I couldn’t use the harsh products I was so used to subjecting my skin to,’ says Johansson. ‘I switched to gentle ones, formulae designed to moisturise and comfort sensitive skin and, within a week, my skin felt and looked better than it had done in a long time.’

The Outset bears all the hallmarks of Johansson’s inherent Scandinavian minimalism – her father, Karsten Olaf Johansson, is a Danish architect. The frosted bottles and plain blue typeface speak of fuss-free formulas. There’s a Smoothing Vitamin C Eye + Expression Lines Cream, £42, for example, and a Nourishing Squalane Daily Moisturiser, £44. ‘Kate and I started by making the products we wanted to use ourselves,’ says Johansson, ‘and the rest is history.’

Life as a mother also brought Johansson a newfound sense of self-worth. ‘I turn 40 this year and a lot of the confidence I have today I credit to having kids,’ she says. ‘I have always liked to feel in control, but being a mother teaches you to let go. You can’t sweat the small stuff.’

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