Emmy Rossum, As Real As It Gets

Out of all of the celebs I get to meet and interview for BeautySweetSpot, Emmy Rossum was one of my favorite.  She called last Friday for a scheduled interview and I don't know about her, but I could have talked to her for hours (and I'm not a phone person).  She's hysterical and so real.  I'm intrigued by the way she uses fragrance, believe we should be BFF because we like the same beauty products and know you'll love her Jake Gyllenhaal story. Enjoy the interview!

What was your favorite part of the Elle Women in TV event?

It was sponsored by Hearts on Fire jewelry and the flower arrangements in the middle of the table had jewelry draped from them.  Being the diamond obsessed girl that I am, I started draping myself in it.  I sat with Joe Zee and Emma Roberts, who  also found it fun so we wondered if anyone notice if we left with draped in diamonds.  Turns out, some of the jewelry did go missing!  Imagine? Party favors for all sponsored by Hearts on Fire!

What are your absolute favorite beauty products and why?  

I love the whole Restorsea line, because the technology is really good.  It eats away at the dead skin on top with out harming other layers of my skin.  Their eye cream is always in carry on when I travel since I'm always dehydrated.  I also use the Clarisonic after I remove my makeup to clean out my pores and right now for my hair I'm loving the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray.  It can turn any hair day into a va-va-voom hair day. I wear a vanilla perfume from Italy that's sold at Barneys regularly.  (This is it - Profumi Di Firenze Vaniglia Del Madagascar.)

Would you say vanilla is your signature scent?

It is now.  I used to wear Viktor and Wolf Flowerbomb until I realized that every guy’s mom and sister wore it too.  You never want to smell like someone's mom.  I’m a very smell conscious person and change the scent that I wear with every character that I play, because it affects my mood and how people respond to me.  

What scent do you wear when you play Fiona on Shameless and why?

When I play Fiona on Scandal I wear patchouli oil, because it makes me feel like her, more earthy, like a girl who showers every other day.  She doesn't smell bad, but she certainly doesn't smell glamorous.   If I were playing a chic character, I'd wear Miss Dior Cherie.

You recently Instagramed a pic of yourself getting a facial and compared it to "a Hannibal Lector costume."  What kind of facial was that?  

I get it all the time at Face Place in LA.  I love it there, because they don’t have a huge spa menu where you can’t figure out what the treatment does and they're all a bizzilion dollars.  They only offer one facial and really specialize in keep you skin clean with extractions, but they do this mask before the extractions that makes them come out painlessly.  In that pic there are also red wires, which give off an electrical pulse to stimulate blood flow.

How do your LA beauty must haves differ from your NYC must haves?

In NY, I go for a red lip and strong brow with lots of nudes.  I feel more encouraged to do fun nail art.  It feels chicer.  In LA, I'm much more casual with softer, beachier hair and a more apricot color palette.

Which look do you prefer?

NY always feels more natural to me, because I’m from here, but I can def embrace the more relaxed “be yourself” attitude LA has to offer.  However, I wont go anywhere wearing a track suit!

What was your most embarrassing beauty moment?

The day before I began filming my first big movie, The Day After Tomorrow, I got a huge pimple right between eyebrows and didn’t practice what I preach, which is don't pick.  Of course I took a needle out of sewing kit and was left with a huge scab on my face.   Jake Gyllenhaal called me third eye.  It was red, puffy, bruised and scabbed!  Ironically, that scene in the movie was cut, but I don't think it's because of my pimple.  Now, I never ever pick pimples.