I met Brad Pitt for lunch to discuss skincare, rosé and advice from his exes

Skincare is seemingly new territory for Pitt, both personally and professionally, as he refreshingly admits he’s been pretty basic when it came to skincare in the past. “Truthfully I’ve been a tourist [in skincare ] at best. It’s been pretty lax.” His philosophy he describes as “when in Rome,”’ so if that’s body wash doubling as face wash when it’s the only option, he’s happy to go there. Asked what he previously used for skincare he reveals, “Usually whatever my female partner had and they were pretty good about it. Usually it’s offered, ‘You should try this,” or ‘You really need some of this’.”

So did he learn any beauty or wellness secrets from partners past or present? “Aniston keeps sending me stuff. I haven’t tried [her haircare], but she sent it. She’s all over it, I trust her. Paltrow is all over it too. I’ll call her up, ‘I need a tip’, [then it’s] approved or not approved.” Yes, that is of course wife number one Jennifer and 90’s girlfriend, Gwyneth with their respective LolaVie hair range and, of course, Goop empire.

He describes his own wellness routine as simple, “Trying to stay physical, try to eat healthy a little bit, try to stay creative.” And what about a glass of his own wine? ” I stopped for a while, I’m taking a hiatus, self-induced,” he reveals. And as for the most radical thing he’s done in the name of wellness? “It would be a spiritual retreat, you know in LA, we’re the pioneers of the spirituality industry,” he says with a knowing grin. 

However, when it comes to work and filming, he credits his makeup artist for keeping his skin in shape. “I have a makeup artist friend of 30 years [Jean Black] who’ll always bring new stuff for healthy skin, with more of a skin care rather than a beauty focus, like [LED] masks with red lights. I’ll try but I can’t commit, it’s too much work. During films she’ll keep me relatively healthy, she’ll do a regiment. I want it simple, I think it’s true of most guys.” With regards to ageing he goes on to say, “I don’t know about running from ageing, but this idea of being more health minded is something I’m interested in.”

As such a famous face, you might have expected he’d have fronted an established brand during his career but he says, “One I didn’t see the point of being a face for something else and it wasn’t my forte. Being a film guy I’ve been sent every new brand for decades and quite frankly I couldn’t tell the difference. I need something glaring to see the difference. We were doing the [clinical] testing while I was using the products this last year, and to my surprise I really saw a difference. We truthfully wouldn’t have bought this to the market unless we saw something.” 

The results that impressed Brad, are in part thanks to the 10+ years of scientific research by Professor of Oenology, Pierre-Louis Teissedre, a specialist in wine and human health who researched the most potent antioxidant properties of the wine varieties on the Perrin family’s own wine estate. This work led to the creation of GSM10, an exclusive molecule made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grape extracts, which works to combat oxidative stress that in turn speeds skin’s ageing processes and effects. The potency is upgraded further with ProGr3, a compound derived from chamomile, green tea and grapevine extracts and developed by scientist Dr Nicolas Levy, an ageing specialist. Together these exclusive compounds sit at the heart of the range, blended with a host of other natural and reliable skincare ingredients. The Serum features two weights of hyaluronic acid and  The Cream is blended with Miraval Olive Oil and Shea Butter. With all three products netting out being 96 to 99% naturally derived.