Grace O'Neill's most repurchased beauty product is $5

Plus, her fave lo-fi makeup base for a post-holiday glow

Dec 06, 2024

Welcome to the very first instalment of The Vanity’s On Reflection series, where we delve into the beauty routines and daily rhythms of cool, stylish people. As such, first up is one of the coolest and most stylish people I know –Grace O’Neill.

Grace and I first met within the walls of 54 Park Street, where we worked together on Harper’s BAZAAR and ELLE. I was instantly drawn to her for the same reasons that everyone else seems to be – she’s warm, funny, chic and extremely clever.

More than six years later, she’s not only one of my closest friends, but also my business partner. Together we co-founded our creative consulting business Dollface Agency in 2022, and as of last month, we record the weekly podcast ‘Goodbye Kyle’ together. In the coming months, she’ll also be welcoming her first bébé.

If you’re privy to her personal style, you’ll be unsurprised to discover that G’s beauty routine follows suit: simple and uncontrived, yet endlessly sophisticated. Here I asked her to share her daily rituals, favourite treatments and current obsessions with us.

Enjoy, and let me know who you’d like to see next!

KL x

The Vanity On Reflection Questionnaire: Grace O’Neill

My name is…

Grace O’Neill

I live in…

Hampstead, North-West London

I work in…

Journalism

As a…

Writer, Editor, and Podcaster

Which means my days look like…

Very different every day! At the moment I am in a bit of a transition phase having just finished up as Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Australia, and gearing up to have my first baby in February. Pretty much every day is spent writing. As a freelance journalist I contribute to places like The Guardian, British Vogue, T Magazine etc., and I do commercial copywriting and consulting work through the agency I co-founded, Dollface. In the past I’ve done commercial screenwriting and editorial strategy projects for brands like Cartier, Hennessey, Prada, and Mugler.

I’ve just launched a weekly Substack, So Darling, where I publish one 2,000 word essay every week. I also host the cultural commentary podcast ‘After Work Drinks’ with fellow journalist Isabelle Truman, and the Housewives recap podcast ‘Goodbye Kyle’ with The Vanity’s editor Kate Lancaster! I’m also always working on creative projects, short stories, screenplays. I’m currently working on my first novel.

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The best thing about my job is…

Getting paid to write is a blessing.

Growing up, I felt beauty was…

I feel very privileged to have grown up in a house where beauty was rarely discussed and not particularly valued. My mum is incredibly beautiful but made a real effort to never tie my value or worth to how I looked, so I always grew up aspiring to be smart, funny, well-read, interesting - but never beautiful. I think this has given me a (relatively) measured relationship with my own reflection.

Now my beauty philosophy is…

I see beauty as fairly functional. I prefer how I look when I’m using skincare, getting treatments, looking after myself etc. so it definitely has a value in my life, but I try to follow that Zadie Smith rule of never spending more than 10 minutes looking in a mirror.

My daily non-negotiable for creating a positive headspace is…

Writing three pages in my diary, by hand. This is a practice I picked up from Julia Cameron’s ‘The Artist’s Way’, which is a creative bible that is much loved by actors, musicians, writers etc. I started with the 12-week programme designed to unlock your creative potential, and the famous ‘morning pages’ have stuck. I find on the days I haven’t written them, I’m less focused, and more anxious.

I like to start the day by…

I like to spend the morning doing a walk around Hampstead Heath. I’m very lucky that it’s a stone’s throw from my house.

My movement or workout of choice is…

I like to walk everywhere, otherwise (reluctantly) Reformer Pilates.

The most impactful daily action I’ve taken to cultivate a positive mindset is…

Deleting Instagram off my phone. I need to delete X next.

On days where I’m feeling stressed, overwhelmed or just generally sh*t, I feel better by…

Calling my mom.

My current AM skincare routine is…

As I’m currently pregnant I’ve pulled my skincare routine right back. In the morning I put on The Serum by Augustinus Bader followed by the Face Cream by Dr Barbara Sturm. Then sunscreen, of course! Always by Ultra Violette.

My relationship with my skin is…

I got married in May and was in a really good routine with facials, laser treatments, microneedling, and a pretty hardcore skincare regimen. When you’re pregnant you can’t do any of that stuff and my skin is less glowy as a result, but I’m kind of enjoying the low maintenance approach—it’s far cheaper.

My typical everyday makeup routine includes…

Very little! I am not a makeup person. Most days I just curl my lashes with a Kevin Aucoin lash curler, brush my brows with clear brow gel (honestly just any run of the mill pharmacy brand is great, Ardell’s is really good), and wear tinted lip balm.

I love the Sofia Coppola x Augustinus Bader collab, all three colours are great, or VioletteFR’s Bisou Balm in Amour Fou, and good old fashioned Glossier Balm Dot Com in Strawberry. I don’t wear foundation unless I’m getting my makeup done but I love Chanel Beauty’s Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint, you just need a couple of squeezes and it’s like you’ve been on holiday. For blush, I like those Westman Atelier sticks.

But if I’m going out, it’s more like…

Honestly, the same.

My signature scent is…

It was the Dries Van Noten x Frederic Malle collab but they’ve discontinued it. I recently interviewed Francis Kurkdjian in Paris about his new fragrance for Dior Beauty. I am under a strict NDA until it comes out next year, but I can say that it’s fantastic. I was very lucky to be gifted a bottle and have been wearing it every day since.

The fragrance that always gets me compliments is…

I like to wear my husband Zach’s fragrances, he has really good taste. When I wear his Comme des Garcons scents like Blackpepper or Wonderwood, I always get compliments.

My body care routine involves…

In the shower I use Chanel Beauty’s Chanel No. 5 body wash. Once a week I’ll exfoliate my whole body with The Ordinary Glycolic Solution 7% Toning Solution. And every day I lather on a thick layer of Nivea Créme. I have to stand there like a moron while it absorbs, but nothing is more effective for battling off the dryness of a London winter.

My weekly hair routine looks like…

I wash my hair every day. I know, everyone yells at me about it, but I don’t care. My hair gets oily every day, I don’t feel like myself if it isn’t washed. For shampoo and conditioner use either Philip B’s Weightless Volumising Shampoo and Weightless Volumising Conditioner (I have giant bottles and then mid-sized bottles for traveling) or Davines OI Shampoo and Conditioner.

Once a week I’ll use Christophe Robin’s Sea Salt Scrub (I went through a very toxic period where I used this every day - do not recommend!), and once a week I’ll also use the Christophe Robin Baby Blond Shade Variation hair mask. I’m also quite hardcore about brushes. I use an Yves Durif Vented Brush on wet hair, then always leave it to air dry. Once it’s dry, I’ll brush it out again with a Mason Pearson or La Bonne Brosse. No styling products!

When I go to the salon, I ask for…

I go to Louis and Remy in Paris, they are literal geniuses at colour. I always want that natural ‘French blonde’ look, like Lolita Jacobs or Suzanne Koller (coincidentally they also do both of their hair)

My biggest beauty regret is…

I got an unfortunate bob in 2015 - most evidence has been wiped from the internet.

A beauty product I buy on repeat is…

Brow gel.

My most controversial beauty opinion is…

I think most women look more beautiful without makeup.

I wind down at the end of the day by…

Making dinner with my husband. It’s a good day if I can finish it by watching a movie and then reading.

My current PM skincare routine is…

I double cleanse using the Victoria Beckham Beauty Daily Cleansing Protocol, then I’ll put on Augustinus Bader’s The Retinol Serum, Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Face Cream, and Augustinus Bader’s The Eye Cream. Before I was pregnant I would follow this with Tretinoin and I used the Omnilux LED mask 3-5 times a week.

My pre-sleep routine looks like…

No technology! I’ll read before bed. I also like to spray Venustus’ Crown Chakra perfume on my scalp, apparently it stops you from overthinking. Unsexy beauty tip: I have recurring sinus issues and my sister-in-law bought me these nasal strips from Amazon. They are literally amazing, I wear them every night and I sleep far better.

My biggest beauty investment is worth it because…

I think there is a limitation to what topical skincare is able to do, so I like to splurge on treatments. I see Simona at Skinglow Clinic and she does bespoke treatments that include microneedling, LED, and Profhilo, and you really see the results.

I scent my space with…

Loewe’s Juniper Berry candles.

And finally, my favourite thing about my reflection is…

I just turned 31, and I love that I feel better about my reflection now than I ever did in my 20s. To younger women reading this, everyone has been lying to you. You get more beautiful, sexier, more confident, more interesting, and far cooler as you get older.

Subscribe to Grace’s Substack So Darling, and find her on After Work Drinks and Goodbye Kyle every week.