The Glowdown: Sabrina Elba Shares the Beauty Secrets We All Want to Know

Welcome to The Glowdown, the series where we dive into the beauty secrets of our favourite celebrities as they get real about their routines and non-negotiables exclusively with us. Join them as they sit in our beauty hot seat and we fire off a round of quick questions, giving you never-before-shared insight into the products they can't live without, their secrets to getting red carpet–ready, beauty pet peeves, and the genius tips they've picked up along the way. This is no-holds-barred beauty at its finest.

This month, we sat down with Sabrina Elba, the Canadian model, businesswoman and philanthropist who co-founded skincare brand S'ABLE Labs. The 35-year-old certainly knows what she's talking about, as she has also recently trained as an aesthetician. We sat down with Elba and asked her for her top beauty tips and tricks, which products she can't live without and what inspired her to start her beauty brand.

1. Which makeup product gives you the biggest mood boost?

Definitely bronzer. If I look bronzed and glowy, I feel like I've been in the sun and I'm showing myself some love.

2. What is your favourite bronzer?

The Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer (£45).

3. If you could steal someone else’s makeup bag, whose would it be?

Oh my gosh, [I would choose] a good friend of mine, Lori Harvey. She's always got the best brown [shades] on her eyes and good bronzer. I just love her makeup all the time.

4. You’ve got a spot. Are you team pop it or team leave it alone?

Leave it alone! Hyperpigmentation is a big enemy of mine, so I have learnt [to leave spots alone]. I am also an aesthetician now and have seen what [popping a spot] can do to the skin.

5. What are your top affordable and luxury beauty products?

[When it comes to] affordable products, I think I'd always go for the S'ABLE Labs Qasil Exfoliating Mask (£38). It's kind of a one-stop shop: It's a great exfoliator, it can help reduce a pimple overnight and it's also very antibacterial. If I were going to choose a luxury product… it's hard to pick only one, [but] it would probably be a Chanel product. There's just something about Chanel's makeup. The packaging—I mean, come on!

6. What inspired you to start your own skincare brand?

It was frustration, realising that nothing on the market was made for melanin-rich skin and wanting to fill that gap [with a brand] that prioritises melanin-rich skin but also makes skincare that's better for everyone. Because our skin is drier and more sensitive, you actually get skincare that's formulated better. It was this responsibility and this frustration to create something that I felt didn't exist.

7. What is your favourite S'ABLE Labs product?

Definitely our Okra Face Serum (£69). It's been such a journey for me to decide to use okra. I was at this point where I was doing a lot of skin-barrier work and trying to "slug", and I realised that okra must have some skin benefits, and low and behold, it does. It's packed with botanical peptides. It's my favourite. I shouldn't say that—they are all my favourites!

8. What’s the best piece of beauty advice you have ever received?

To do less. I was doing too much; I was damaging my skin barrier, using too many actives and I wasn't taking care of my skin. I think doing less is always doing more when it comes to actives.

9. What's your signature fragrance?

Calvin Klein Eternity (£87) at the moment; I'm an ambassador for the brand and I love it. Maison Crivelli Hibiscus Mahajad (£205) is another good one, but I always get scared about telling people because then everyone is going to wear it!

10. Strong lip or a strong eye?

Strong lip, for sure. I actually get lash extensions so I always feel like I've got a base and then [I add] a strong lip. Especially a red lip and no eye makeup. Ugh, a dream.

11. You’re having your nails done. What’s your go-to colour?

Right now, it's It Never Ends from OPI. I'm really into nude tones.

12. In a sentence, what is your beauty philosophy?

Prioritise your skin barrier’s health and wear sunscreen.

13. What is your favourite lipstick colour?

Ah, it's right here! I discovered this brand recently, it's called Sunnies Face, and the colour is called Brunette [in Fluffmatte lipstick]. It's funny because they call it the "best lip ever", and it actually is such a good lip. It's a softmatte finish, moisturising and a nice neutral.

14. The greatest affordable product for under £10?

It would probably be NYX eyeliners. They are so soft and apply so smoothly—I love them.

15. Candles, reed diffusers or nothing at all?

Candles! I am loving Loewe's candles at the moment; the scents are so interesting. I got a bunch of them including the Tomato Leaves scent and it's really good. I hate cucumber with a passion but I got the Cucumber one as well and I love it.

16. What beauty product do you recommend to everyone?

I think it would be S'ABLE Labs Black Seed Toner (£35). It's such an easy one to have on your desk if you're working all day to get an instant glow. It contains a stable derivative of vitamin C [as well as] black seed, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. If I get off a plane I'm using this toner all the time as it's just so functional.

17. What are your skincare staples?

I definitely use the full S'ABLE Labs range, and at the moment, I'm trying an eye cream from Beauty of Joseon, a Korean skincare brand. I'm also using a sunscreen from Alpha-H.

18. Are you team dewy or matte?

I'm a combination. I want to be dewy under my eyes because I do get quite dry [skin], but I want to be matte all around the perimeter and down the centre.

19. What’s your biggest beauty no-no?

Anything that you think is going to get you really quick results, but does a lot of damage. I would never prioritise quick results for damage.

20. Your brows, in one word.

Inconsistent. I go back and forth on what I want them to look like way too often.

21. Makeup primer: love it or hate it?

At the moment I like it—I'm using the Milk Makeup one—but it really depends on the humidity and the season, because I do feel like that really effects how your makeup looks. [However] primer does make me break out sometimes. Well, I blame the primer—everyone blames the primer, but who knows what it is!

22. Confession time: How often do you clean your makeup brushes?

I actually wash them a lot, once a week. It means my brushes don't last as long but I get really scared that there is bacteria on there because I've watched too many TikTok videos about it!

23. What beauty rule do you always break?

Not changing my pillowcase [often] enough. I don't know why I always neglect that. I change my sheets more than I change my pillowcases.

24. Would you rather have ultra-skinny brows or bleached brows?

Bleached. I can't go back skinny.

25. Which celebrity’s hair would you love to steal?

Solange's. Her big, curly hair… it's so pretty. I don't know if my hair would ever do that but I would steal it in a heartbeat.

26. What are your top tips for styling shorter hair?

Heat protectant. I think something we take for granted with long hair is that if our ends are damaged we can just keep trimming them, but when you're on a hair-growth journey, those ends really matter. You want to keep every bit of your hair; breakage is not your friend. So heat protectant and also sleeping with a silk scarf or a silk pillowcase really helps.

27. Are there any throwback beauty trends that you love?

I love '90s makeup at the moment; I'm all about brown neutrals. I saw Cindy Crawford talk about the MAC Spice Lip Pencil (£20) and how everyone wore that in the '90s, and I literally went out that day and bought it.

28. Eyelash curlers: love them or hate them?

I can't use them because I've got eyelash extensions, [so] I haven't used an eyelash curler in about 15 years. I can't believe I've had [eyelash extensions] that long. I don't know who I am without them.

29. Best beauty hack?

I feel like people underestimate the value of BB Cream. There's one by Lisa Eldridge that I use with a little bit of concealer instead of foundation, and I can see my skin through it and I love that. Another trick I learned recently from a makeup-artist friend is to rub a little bit [of makeup] off the tip of your nose. It’s where people’s eyes go, so if you can see that there is a little less makeup there, they think you’re not wearing as much overall.

Shop Sabrina Elba's Favourite Beauty Products:

S'ABLE Labs

Qasil Exfoliating Mask

£38

Maison Crivelli

Hibiscus Mahajad Extrait de Parfum

£205

OPI

Infinite Shine Nail Polish in It Never Ends

£18

S'ABLE Labs

Okra Face Serum

£69

Loewe

Small Tomato Leaves Candle

£85

NYX Professional Makeup

Epic Wear Long Lasting Liner Stick

£7

S'ABLE Labs

Black Seed Toner

£35

Alpha-H

Dawn to Dusk SPF 50+ Serum

£37