Ella Rubin on Cystic Acne, Playing Annie in Sterling Point, and Cutting Her Own Split Ends
Vogue
In this Vogue Beauty Secrets episode, actor Ella Rubin goes through an everyday skincare routine, an "everyday plus" makeup look, and a quick hair refresh. Along the way, Rubin describes healing from a severe bout of cystic acne, explains how the character Annie in Sterling Point was built, and compares the actor to the role, noting where the two overlap and where they differ.
Cleansing, and the Breakout That Changed Rubin's Skin
The routine starts with Vanicream, which Rubin calls a "tried and true" cleanser, a "holy grail," and a product their grandmother also uses. The cleanser goes down onto the neck. Rubin rubs it off rather than patting because the skin reddens easily, and points out some acne scars.
Rubin had never had real skin problems until about two years ago, when "the craziest breakout" of their life arrived: deep, painful cystic acne. It has since healed. Rubin credits micro-needling and red light therapy with helping a lot, and uses an LED mask on camera, waiting until it finishes before moving on.
Rubin thinks the breakout happened during the strike. That timing meant there was room to heal, but Rubin stresses that it was painful "in many ways" and "really, really sucked" at the time. Looking back, Rubin tried to use the period to detach from their physical appearance. The idea was that this might be the one time in life they would have acne, and so it could be practice in "accepting where your face is at." Rubin says that in the long run the experience helped, while acknowledging that it's easier to talk about it this way now.
Serums, Moisturizer, and a Wish
The first serum is one Rubin stays "loyal to" because it was one of the only serums that didn't aggravate a stretch of perioral dermatitis. Next comes SIV's biome balancing serum, which Rubin also puts on the arms to deal with "bumpy red arms." After that come eye cream and a gel moisturizer. Rubin used to rely on thick, heavy moisturizers and still sometimes does, but realized they aren't really necessary.
When a stray eyelash turns up, Rubin makes a wish on it and jokingly calls that another step in the routine. A short face massage follows.
New York, and Annie's "Excessive" Routine
Rubin grew up in New York City, still lives there, and calls themself "a loyal New Yorker." Annie, the character Rubin plays in Sterling Point, is also a New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, and has a "very excessive" skincare routine. In the first episode, Annie goes "full-on" at it.
What Rubin enjoyed about that scene is that Annie does the steps incorrectly and treats her face and body aggressively. Rubin says this wasn't planned. It came from Rubin's reading of the character: Annie is intense and always operating at an intense level, and when someone is "white-knuckle gripping life" that way, it made sense that she'd treat her face the same way. Rubin says it has "meant everything" that people find Annie relatable, and that many people have said they get her, are her, or know her.
Iron, Sunscreen, and Barely-There Makeup on Set
Rubin is in LA for the shoot and shows off a product they have only because of that, admitting to being "kind of ashamed" of enjoying the perks of LA. While filming Sterling Point, Rubin found out they have extremely low iron, so they now take an iron supplement along with vitamin C, which it's supposed to be taken with.
Sunscreen is next. Rubin admits to not being good about it, which is why some marks are "sticking around," and also says they like having a little color and seeing their freckles come out.
That connects to something Rubin loved about the show. The director, Megan, barely wanted anything on the actors' skin, and makeup artist Skye focused on caring for their skin, keeping the looks minimal and making sure the actors didn't look "done." Rubin says they had never worn less makeup on a job. It felt "really freeing" and led Rubin to wear less makeup in everyday life too. Aquaphor on the lips follows.
Where Rubin and Annie Overlap, and Where They Don't
Rubin says that as a teenager they were quite different from Annie, being "really type B." One thing they did share was the belief that trying hard enough would lead to perfection. Rubin acknowledges that nobody is perfect and that it's fine, but at the time the thinking was "if I just try hard enough I actually will be," which Rubin says "only results in pain and suffering."
While applying a CC cream ("a little bit really goes a long way," and even the amount used here is "a bit much"), Rubin shares a set detail. The cast often used Mario Badescu's drying pimple cream, and sometimes Rubin simply kept it on in a scene. Because Annie struggles with her skin, whenever Rubin had a pimple the thinking was "Annie's struggling with her skin today, I guess." Rubin describes this as keeping things as real as possible. The CC cream also goes down the neck to even out the color.
Getting the Age Right
Rubin curls the lashes after concealer, which means redoing the concealer that transfers. Meanwhile, Rubin talks about how both they and Megan were committed to making the characters feel authentically their age, with language that sounds right. Rubin credits a lot of this to the writing and also to remembering being that age, which "wasn't so long ago."
Rubin says the key to Annie is that she is "fronting as an adult." Rubin understood her intuitively as a teenager filtered through an attempt at adulthood. Over the series, Annie becomes a kid again: she turns into a normal teenage girl who no longer has to do a thousand-step skincare routine, be perfect, or look after her father. Rubin sees that arc as part of the beauty of the series.
Rubin relates to a lot about Annie and helped build the character, and says it's understandable that people assume the two are the same. The team kept much of Rubin's natural physicality and "loosey-gooseyness," so Rubin walks like Annie but insists, "I am not her." As a fun fact, Rubin was voted on set as the cast member least like their character.
The Closet Scene and the Episode Six Monologue
While blending two concealer shades, Rubin explains that the closet scene was partly inspired by their childhood. It wasn't the scene itself but the concept. The monologue in episode six was partly improvised and partly the result of Megan's collaborative approach. While they discussed that episode, which Rubin calls the "pinnacle" of the series, Megan asked whether anything about Annie was missing that people needed to know. Annie is thinking a lot about her girlhood and what she missed. Rubin felt there should be a monologue about how she doesn't remember getting her period. Megan's response was, "Hell yeah, let's do it." Rubin says they can't believe they got to collaborate that way.
The childhood link is this: Rubin's mother had a closet Rubin would sit in often while growing up. Calling themself "a stressed-out kid," Rubin remembers lighting a little fake candle in there and meditating, pretending to have everything together at six years old. Rubin then jokes, "Maybe I am Annie."
Contour, and a Mispronounced Rihanna
Rubin applies a bronzer contour, goes back in with concealer, and uses a lighter contour shade on the nose. At one point Rubin says "sha" instead of "shade," realizes the product is from Rihanna's brand, and apologizes to Rihanna, explaining they've owned it for years and the slip "was bound to happen." Rubin says the shade mimics a shadow and brings it slightly into the eyebrow to connect everything. A darker Benetint, which Rubin also used on set, goes on the cheeks and over the nose.
A Two-Day First Job
Rubin's first film role was "the tiniest part" in The Rewrite, at age 11. Marisa Tomei played Rubin's mother, and about eight years later she played Rubin's mother again in a play Rubin did, which Rubin calls "really wild." Hugh Grant was also in the film, and Rubin remembers him coming by, shaking hands, and saying, "I heard you're a troublemaker." Rubin felt so grown up that the thought was: "I'm a woman and I'm respected in my industry." The job lasted about two days. Rubin remembers overhearing the crew discuss the wrap party and asking what they were wearing because Rubin "might go too."
Screen Dads and Lookalikes
Rubin applies a product used on Sterling Point and talks about the show's "amazing screen dads." Jay Duplass plays Annie's professor. Rubin calls him a mentor, a friend, and a hero in many ways, and describes reuniting with him as "real wish fulfillment." With a spoiler warning, Rubin notes that his character is Ramona's biological father, not Annie's, "and yet I think I look exactly like him."
Rubin uses Chanel balms as a highlighter and a little as eyeshadow. Rubin has noticed many online posts claiming they look like various other people. When someone asked whether that was frustrating, Rubin said no, it's "awesome." The women they're compared to are beautiful and talented, and Rubin says, "I'll take it all day."
Lip Liners and a Family Resemblance
Rubin uses several lip liners. The Rhode one adds a shadowy effect, and then Rubin lines more precisely, overlining only in a few spots, which Rubin says "does the trick." Another liner is a color Rubin's mother has worn for as long as Rubin can remember. That prompts Rubin's own answer to the lookalike question: "I look just like my mom," and like their grandmother. Rubin describes the grandmother as very glamorous, always a bit put together but still pared back, and "the most stunning, luminous woman." Rubin believes, while noting it's from memory, that she competed in beauty pageants at around Rubin's age and met Rubin's grandfather that way.
Finishing the Face
For the eyes, Rubin shows off the ability to close one eye at a time while working on the other, and then "just go[es] for it." Sometimes Rubin adds a few freckles and does so today, then adds a light shade and calls the result "everyday plus." Mascara gets onto the eyelid, so Rubin waits for it to dry before cleaning it up. In the meantime Rubin uses a throat spray, describing it as a major help because they travel a lot for work and get sick easily. The makeup brush is missing, so the powder goes on with fingers.
Scalp Massage and the Split-End Trim
Rubin says people have asked about the hair routine. It starts with a scalp massage, which Rubin believes helps hair grow by getting things "flowing," and which also just feels nice.
Then Rubin trims split ends on camera, acknowledging it "seems insane" but advising, "You can't think too hard. You just got to do it." On set, Rubin and co-star Amalie picked each other's split ends, which Rubin jokingly calls a "toxic relationship." Rubin now cuts the split ends off instead of picking them.
After putting the scissors down, Rubin applies a hair milk serum. For rough ends, especially right after a trim, Rubin adds a bond smoother, sometimes mixing the two. The last step is body oil, based on Rubin's grandmother's rule to always be moisturized, every day, "non-negotiable."
Rubin presents the final look before heading to dinner with friends, joking that it's time to stop before cutting or fussing with the hair any more.
Hey Vogue, I'm Ella Rubin and I'm going to walk you through my everyday skincare routine, my kind of everyday makeup, and then a little bit of a hair refresh.
My first step is I'm going to cleanse my face with this Vanicream, which is kind of my like tried and true. My grandma uses this, the holy grail for me. You got to go down to the neck. And now I'm going to wash it off.
And I always try to rub and not pat because as you can see if I anything on my face at all it gets very red. I have some like acne scars. Two years ago I got really bad acne for like the first time in my life and then now we've healed it, thankfully. And micro-needling has helped a lot and so has red light.
And then I just wait. Okay, she's done. I'm free.
So I start with this serum. I had some perioral dermatitis for a while and felt like this was one of the only serums that wasn't kind of enraging it more, so I'm loyal to her. And then I do this biome balancing serum by SIV.
I never really had like an issue with my skin until I just had the kind of craziest breakout of my life. It was like deep, really painful cystic acne. And I think it was over the strike, so luckily like I had time to kind of heal it, but it was it's painful in many ways, but I I kind of tried to use it as a time to like detach from, you know, the way I look and just like myself physically and like try to kind of I mean it obviously really really sucked and then like I can talk about it in this way now. It sucked at the time, but like I just tried to think of it like, you know, if I'm healing this and hopefully this is the time in my life that I will have acne. Like maybe it's a good practice in just accepting like where your face is at. And I actually I it kind of it it me in the long run, obviously.
And then I also kind of put this serum on my arms cuz I have bumpy red arms. And then my next step is eye cream.
My moisturizer, which is this like lovely gel. I used to use really thick heavy moisturizers, which I still do sometimes, but I actually realized I don't need them.
Oh, an eyelash. I'm going to make a wish. This is another step in the routine is making a wish on an eyelash. There we go. And then I guess my next step is I give myself a little bit of a face massage.
I grew up in New York City, which I am very proud of and I still live there and I'm a loyal New Yorker, which I also play Annie in Sterling Point, who is a New Yorker, too. She was born and raised in Brooklyn and she has an ex- very excessive skin care routine. Mine is like I got a good one going, but Annie is is in the first episode she's like full-on going for it.
And kind of the thing that I enjoyed about that was she's not really doing the steps correctly and she's sort of being very aggressive with her face and her body. And it wasn't really planned that way. It kind of just like how it just made sense to me like Annie, you know, she's this intense person who's at all moments like operating at just an intense level and when you're kind of like white-knuckle gripping life like that, like you'll be I just I just it came it just made sense that she would do that, do her face as well.
Annie being a relatable character is like meant everything to me and I've gotten a lot of people just like kind of telling me that they like get her and are her and know her.
I am currently in LA, which is why I have this. And I'm kind I'm kind of ashamed of it, like the the way I enjoy the perks of LA, but it is what it is. I also have extremely low iron, which I discovered while filming Sterling Point. So, now I take my I take my iron. And you're supposed to take it with vitamin C.
My next step is sunscreen. I've not been good about my sunscreen, which is why these are sticking around, but I also I like having a little color. I like when my freckles come out. Like that's actually something I really loved about Sterling Point is we like Megan really barely wanted us to put anything on our skin and our makeup artist Skye was really intent on taking care of our skin, keeping it minimal, making sure that they didn't look done. And I really like never had less makeup on my face on a job and it was like really freeing and honestly made me wear less makeup in my real life.
Then I use Aquaphor. As a teenager, I was pretty different to Annie in the sense that like I'm just really type type B, but I would do relate to her in a lot of ways. One being like that I thought like if I just tried hard enough like I could also achieve perfection. Like nobody's perfect and it's fine, but if I just try hard enough I actually will be. And that obviously only results in pain and suffering.
And then I use a CC cream. A little bit really goes a long way with this, so this is actually even a bit a bit much.
Fun fact, we used the Mario Badescu or that like drying pimple cream on set a lot and then sometimes we just kept it in the scene. Like I would just wear it as Annie cuz she's, you know, struggling with her skin. Every time I had a pimple I was like Annie's struggling with her skin today, I guess. Trying to keep it as real as possible in every way. And then I kind of like to take it down to the neck a little bit just to like match the color.
I'm just going to take my hair down. I forgot I have like those fun clips. I've always wanted to be someone who uses these, but I'm my god, my hair I am. Wow. Look at her.
Next step, I'm going to curl my eyelashes because I always do concealer first and then I curl the lashes and then whatever was on here gets on there and I got to redo it. You get it.
So, I was really committed to and our director Megan is really committed to making sure that the characters feel authentically their age and language feels right. And I guess like getting into that, so much of it is the writing, but also like, you know, just thinking back to like being that age and it wasn't so long ago. So, that was interesting.
And yeah, also I think the thing about Annie is she's like fronting as an adult. And so, I kind of intrinsically understood like she's a teenager being filtered through this like attempt at adulthood. She kind of becomes a kid over the course of the series and you see her sort of, you know, become a normal teenage girl and not have to do a thousand step skin care routine or like be perfect or take care of her father. And I think that's part of the beauty of the series.
And I obviously, you know, I have There's a lot that I relate to about Annie and I got to be a part of the process of building her, which is incredible. But people do think that I am Annie, which I totally get. We wanted to keep a lot of like my natural physicality and sort of like this loosey-gooseyness, but like I am not her, but I like walk like her. So, they seem a lot like Annie, but I got voted on set least like my character. Fun fact.
And then I kind of like mix these two concealer shades.
The closet scene was a bit inspired by something in my childhood. Not that scene itself, but the concept. The monologue that I do in episode six was partially improv, partially I like I don't know, Megan is just so collaborative and like really, really open to kind of combining worlds.
We were discussing episode six, she was like, "Is there anything missing? Is is anything that you feel like should be in here that isn't that like people need to know about Annie?" I was like, I don't know, I think that this is sort of the pinnacle of severe episode. And she's like thinking a lot about her girlhood and like growing up and what she missed out on. And so I was just like, I don't know, I feel like there should be this monologue about, you know, that she doesn't remember getting her period. Like it just kind of hit me and again, Megan being like so clever, she was like, hell yeah, let's let's do it. I can't believe I got to collaborate that way.
Cuz essentially, I guess all to say is the thing that was, you know, I I was a kid who like my mom had this like closet I could like kind of sit in and I just did that a lot growing up. I think I just was like a stressed out kid and it was like weirdly she had this like little fake candle that I would like light and like meditate and pretend to like have my together at like 6 years old. Maybe I am Annie. God.
I'm going to do some kind of like bronzer contour. And then after I do that contour, I go back in with a little bit of this concealer.
Oh, I also, you know what? I also kind of with the nose contour, I use this lighter shade, which is sort of like a sha I'm Rihanna. Oh my god. Rihanna, I'm so sorry. I I've owned this. This is not on her because I have owned this product for years and it was bound to happen. Great color though. It's kind of like the color of a like it it mimics a shadow.
So yeah, and then I kind of like to take it into the eyebrow a little bit. Feel like it just sort of connects everything.
And this is something I used on on set a little bit. It's this Benetint, but it's like the darker one.
My first ever film role was the tiniest part that you could imagine in a movie called The Rewrite. And I was 11 years old. And I was so excited to be there. And Marisa Tomei was playing my mom, who ended up playing my mom in the play I did like 8 years later, which is really wild.
And I kind of do like a little little lip contour.
And I remember just feeling like I was just so excited to be on a set. Hugh Grant was on that movie as well. And I remember he like came by and shook my hand and was like, "I heard you're a troublemaker." And I thought he was I felt so adult. And I was like, "I'm a woman. I'm a woman and I'm respected in my industry." That was a very fun first job. I mean, it was like truly 2 days, but I had the best time. I remember hearing like the crew talk about the wrap party and I was like, "Yeah, like what are you guys wearing? Like I'm I might go too."
This is what I used on Sterling Point.
We have some amazing screen dads in the show. Jay Duplass played my professor. And he's someone who's like been really a mentor and a friend and like my hero in in in so many ways. And I like to reunite with him was like real wish wish fulfillment. And also, spoiler, if you haven't seen Sterling Point, but he is not my biological dad. And he is Ramona's biological dad. And yet, I think I look exactly like him.
And with blush, I like to kind of take it over my nose a little bit.
I love these Chanel baumes. And I I use them kind of as a highlighter, a little bit as a like an eyeshadow. This one.
I've been seeing a lot of kind of like "She looks like this person" on the internet. And someone the other day was like, "Is that like getting you down?" Like are you frustrated? I was like, "No, it's awesome." Like I have all these lovely ladies that I'm being compared to are like beautiful and talented. And like I'll take it all day. I love it.
I use a few lip liners. I did the Rhode one kind of as like a shadowy sort of thing. I think it's so lovely. And then I line a little bit more like specifically. I only really overline like here and there and I feel like that's what sort of does the trick. And then sometimes I use this guy.
This is a color my mom has been using since like I can remember. Oh, everyone's saying who I look like. I look just like my mom. I really look just like my mom and my grandma. She's like a one of those very glamorous women like always kind of done in some way but like really still pared back and like I just I've always found her to be like the most stunning luminous woman and she also I could be wrong. I think I'm right. She like competed in beauty pageants when she was my age I guess and that's how she met my grandpa. Fun fact. This is my beautiful grandmother.
I like to kind of do in there and then like a very light. That's one amazing trick I can do. I can close one eye at one time and just watch as I do this eye. I'm just going to go for it. We're just going to see what happens I think.
Sometimes I add a few freckles. Sometimes I don't. Today I will.
And then I like to take a little bit of this like light shade. Yeah, so this makeup is like everyday plus.
We're going to do mascara. I'm getting it all over my eyelid. I'm going to wait for it to dry and then clean that up.
While the mascara's drying I'm going to do a little spray. This thing is amazing. I've been getting to travel so much for work and I'm very prone to getting sick so this is major help.
I'm going to do bit of powder. I actually don't have my brush, do I? But I'm just going to do with my fingers a little bit. That will have to do.
Hair is coming out. People have been very nice about my hair and requesting the the hair routine. So, I am obviously a blonde doing I do a scalp massage and I think it's really good for like growing hair. I feel like it gets things flowing, but it also feels really nice.
We're going to do a little cut today. I know it I know this like seems insane, but you can't think too hard. You just got to do it. Look at this split end. Amalie and I on set would pick each other's split ends and that became a toxic relationship. Can you see that? It's those. It's those that I pick. So, instead of picking it, I just cut it off. And then yeah, it's just a little bit refreshed. I'm going to do scissors down. I'm going to just let her be now.
And I love using this hair milk serum. And then I use some when it's getting real rough at the end, some of this like bond smoother stuff. Just so I have the ends can kind of especially after I cut it. That's usually when I use this.
Oh, I also still have this mascara on. I'm going to just going to wipe it. It's good stuff. Sometimes I mix them.
And then I love to do some of this body oil. My grandma's thing was like always be moisturized every day and non-negotiable.
This is the final look. I'm going to dinner with my friends and I should stop now or else I'll keep cutting my hair and messing with it, but this was so fun and thank you so much. Bye Vogue.
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