Ellen Pompeo: "I finally found a product that literally changed my skin."

Image: Getty.

Sometimes a product delivers results so good its life-changing, or at the very least changes the quality of your skin.

For Grey’s Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo it was diverting away from her strictly organic rule that led her to the range that “changed her life”.

“I do love organic products but I have to say that SK-II changed my life. I’ve had problem skin my whole entire life, and hilariously at 44 years old – I’m 45, going to be 46 next month – I finally found a product that literally changed my skin,” she told Into The Gloss.

Now she swears by a cocktail of SK-II products that she applies religiously every morning, using the LXP Ultimate Revival Essence while she’s in the steam, rinsing it off with the Facial Treatment Cleanser before applying the Cellumination AuraBright Illuminating Essence and Essential Power Moisturising Cream. In the evenings, she relies on their Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil to remove the makeup put on on set.

It’s an investment in her skin that the actress considers an alternative to botox.

“I have done Botox before, and I can see why you’d get addicted to it. So I thought, if I have to see my lines, it’ll force me more to take care of myself,” she said.

While she’s passionate about organic beauty, Pompeo justifies her use of other products with a good reason -a refreshing (and relatable) honesty that can often be missing from celebrity beauty regimens.

“I guess because I make my living on camera, I’m vain? I think it’s important for me to look as good as I can look. I get paid to keep up my appearance, so I feel like I need to keep up my end of it. I feel like I’ve always looked younger than I am, and now I’ve started seeing my skin change.” she said. (Post continues after gallery.)

Another beauty ingredient she swears by? Alkaline water which she mixes in a bowl with ice and splaces her face 10 times until it feels frozen.

“I do it after [cleansing] and I just feel like it tightens everything. I got this idea that my face feels puffy and it’s sagging, so I thought, ‘Let me just freeze it!’,” she said.

“I’ve been reading and researching a lot about alkaline water, too, and its healing properties. They say if you have a cut and you stick your finger in alkaline water for like a day, it’ll heal faster. So I thought what if I just put alkaline water on my falling face, what’ll happen? Maybe it’ll pick it up?”.

It's not just restricted to her beauty routine - she also drinks it alongside her coffee in the morning before she hits the treadmill and even uses it to make her signature scent.

"My friend Sam, who’s a very chic girl from Paris, gave me this little Hermès perfume bottle, and I put my essential oils in there with my alkaline water to make my own blend," she said.

And while she doesn't wear makeup unless she's at work or going out, she's worked out some great ways to get the most out of her beauty regimen while she's busy doing other things.

During her twice daily 20 minute meditation, she'll try and pop on some SK-II Signs Eye Masks but it's her simple hair trick that we're really considering giving a go.

"At home, I just wash my hair and condition it, that’s it. I don’t really put anything in it. If I’m going to go out and run errands, I’ll just leave conditioner in it and slick it back," she said. Genius.

What's the product that's changed your life?