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Beauty talk with Amy Adams

  • Story Highlights
  • Amy Adams leaves makeup to professional "when it counts"
  • Would love to try hair that was Christina Aguilera blond or Harlow blond
  • Has skin that "rejects the sun"
  • She's always wanted to be taller
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By Kwala Mandel
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InStyle

(InStyle.com) -- She may have charmed audiences in "Catch Me If You Can" and "Junebug," but Amy Adams's sweet demeanor belies a criminal history. "I used to steal my older sister's pink-and-green Maybelline mascara," says Adams, 33.

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"I see myself as optimistic, and I think that can be confused with being innocent and naïve."

Although the Colorado native, who appears this month in the movie "Enchanted" and in the upcoming "Charlie Wilson's War," has "outgrown petty theft," she says, she hasn't outgrown her love of mascara -- or any other beauty products.

Spend time with the actress and she'll offer you a dab of her favorite lip balm (Benetint) and a sample of her tooth-whitening system (Go Smile).

When it comes to makeup, she's more a giver than a taker these days. "If I outgrow something, I like to share it. It's good to be my friend when I clean out my makeup bag!"

How skilled are you at doing your own makeup?

It's a learning process. I can do a decent job, but I like to leave it to the professionals when it counts.

When I first moved to L.A. I got a callback, and a producer said he'd like to see me with more makeup. But he told my agent that she might have to put it on "because I didn't seem like the kind of girl who would know how." And he was right! I had to go into the bathroom at my agency and have my agent do my makeup.

Have you come a long way since then?

I still keep it pretty simple, although I like getting dolled up to hang out with friends. Sometimes, if you need a pick-me-up, there's nothing better than a new lip gloss. At any given moment, I can have upwards of 10 glosses in my purse. And I am addicted to perfumes. I love Jo Malone's scents -- the Nectarine Blossom & Honey, the French Lime Blossom, and the Orange Blossom. I don't have a signature scent; I switch depending on my mood.

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Is there another product you are more faithful to?

If I'm outdoors, I'm constantly reapplying sunscreen. My sister used to call me Fish-Belly Blue because I was so pale. I went to Italy this summer and decided I'd be a rebel and sit out in the sun wearing a sunscreen with a low SPF. The next day I woke up with a rash all over my body.

My skin rejects the sun. I had a grown man at a water park once yell at me to get a tan.

A water-park heckler?

Me in a swimsuit -- that's a lot of pale skin!

How do you take care of it?

I get regular facials. I had some skin problems when I was starting to film "Catch Me If You Can." I had really dry skin. I went to Marion Simms at Skin Sense in L.A., and she got it under control. I've been going there since then for the standard facial.

What do you do for your hair?

Bumble and Bumble True Reds shampoo keeps the richness in it. I really like red, but I'm always open to change. I would love to cut my hair and try platinum -- Christina Aguilera blond. Harlow blond.

Have you gone blond before?

I've had red hair for the past four years. Before that, I never thought of being anything but blond. There was a definite shift in my life when I decided to go red. I tend to laugh a lot, and I can be really silly. I think when you have blond hair, people associate those behaviors with being flighty. With red hair, you're suddenly quirky.

What is your quirkiest beauty tool?

I love the classic Conair hot rollers. I put my makeup on, take them out, spray, then just shake my head and I'm ready. I think hot rollers are making a comeback!

Anything on your wish list?

I always wanted to be taller. [Adams is 5 feet, 5 inches.] I was a dancer, so I always admired that willowy effect. I still look at it with a sense of longing, but I fully accept I can't change it. I just walk tall. And wear wedges.

Get her look

Makeup

To create Adams's smoky eyes, makeup artist Molly R. Stern pressed Shu Uemura in AI ($20; shuuemura-usa.com) on the eyelids. She neutralized the blue by blending it with taupe shadow, then used pearly green liner on the inside rims of the bottom lids. She applied beige lip pencil and finished with a slick of Cover Girl Wetslicks Fruit Spritzers in Guava Splash ($6; drugstore.com).

Hair

To build Breck Girl bouncy waves, hairstylist Andy LeCompte set Adams's hair in pin curls for 20 minutes after winding 2-inch sections around a curling iron. When he removed the pins, he added mousse and brushed through the waves with a mixed-bristle paddle brush. He then lightly teased the crown, spraying in Klorane Extra Gentle dry shampoo ($16; folica.com) for texture. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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