It’s no wonder then that the face of the brand, Jessica Biel, is a huge fan of the formula, which actually conditions your lashes and helps them grow. She’s the star of its new commercial—alongside the very sexy Pharell—which was directed by Black Swan’s Darren Aronofsky. We asked Jessica about filming the new ad campaign, as well as about her essential beauty products and all-time favorite beauty icons.

How did the shoot go? It seems so glamorous, almost like an editorial!

It was quite glamorous and it really did feel like a film. Our director, Darren Aronofsky, is amazing. He helped create characters and this little vignette of “what is the larger story?” He would say things to me like, “OK, now when you look over your shoulder, this is an ex-lover who’s back,” or, “This is your husband who you haven’t seen in a while.” It just creates a look. I had people throwing different things out at me and it changed the feel completely each time. We got to play around with that and it was quite a creative experience. Also, Pharell is a doll—cool, generous, lovely to work with. No drama.

What are your top five beauty essentials that you’d never travel without?

1. Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara. It can be plumping or natural, light lashes. Whatever you want.
2. Dermafoliant by Eminence which is also a powder so you can travel with it.
3. Burt’s Bees Chapstick
4. Dry Shampoo so if you get a little oily, you can easily fix it. Dry shampoo is pretty great!
5. Eminence powder sunscreen so there is no situation with liquids while traveling. It’s so sad we can’t travel with anything, but it’s important to always have sunscreen with you!

Do you have any beauty icons?

I have always thought Brigitte Bardot looked beautiful. Super va-va-voom glam queen but always simple—just a cat-eye and lip and maybe a bit of mascara. Right now, I really love Cate Blanchett. She’s just so stunning, beautiful and fair skinned. She’s not trying to do anything or be anything she’s not—she’s a classy, chic to the nth degree, confident women.

To Jessica, working on the set of a commercial is very different from working on the set of a movie or TV show. “To me, I feel like there isn’t as much pressure, but we still use so much character,” Biel tells InStyle. The shoot for the commercial was quick: “Although the shoot was only one day, we were still allowed be incredibly creative, and I had a lot of fun doing it,” Biel says.What was her motivation behind the camera? “Darren made a really fun back story for the shoot,” Biel explains of her character’s development. “We actually got to create these little vignettes of people, and we talked about their story.” The addition of Pharrell was an unexpected plus for the commercial. “To incorporate a man who people love definitely brings a different audience to the people watching the commercial,” says Biel.

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