Selma Blair Discusses Gold Jumpsuits, Skin Recovery, and Her Perfect Beauty Collaboration

With her service dog, Scout, by her side, Selma Blair enters every conversation with the same mix of humor, candor and self-deprecation that has made her beloved for decades. No matter the topic, the 53-year-old leads with a laugh and a really good backstory—like when she showed up at Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party last year in a shimmering gold jumpsuit and big hair that social media is still talking about.

“That whole look was a little out of my comfort zone,” she says. “It was a James Bond invite, and all I could think of was Goldfinger. I just figured, ‘Okay, we’ll go gold.’ It was the first thing I tried on. It felt fun, but then I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I just need some hair. I need a whole look.’ I might have looked more like a blonde girl than a Bond girl, but it was so fun.”

She keeps going, referencing Arthur—yes, the Dudley Moore original. “I felt like the girl he opened up with—the hooker he took to dinner—and he’s saying, ‘She’s a princess of a very small country.’ I kept explaining that to everyone, which you’re not supposed to do. They’d say, ‘You look so fun,’ and I’m like, ‘I look like a hooker.’”

Shaking her head, she laughs. “Anyhow, it was a good talking point. And we’re still talking about it! I loved the party. The only thing I didn’t love was the jumpsuit. A jumpsuit is hard. I might be a little long in the tooth, but I gave it a shot.”

But the hair? That was pure joy. “I love having hair. I realize how much I miss hair—and pulling it back for an instant facelift. Once you bleach it and get older and start cutting it to maintain its integrity, you lose that. We all need a high ponytail past the age of 50. If I’m not going to get a facelift, I sure as hell need a ponytail lift. I’ll be adding hair in all my future things.”

If the gold outfit was a fun diversion, the real beauty story Blair wants to talk about is far more personal—and years in the making.

Shortly after her son was born, she began experiencing a severe skin crisis. “I had a really bad skin snafu,” she says. “Whether it was autoimmune, hormonal… I don’t know. But my skin was all rosacea, textured, burning. The more I threw all the best products at it, the worse it got. No one had an answer.”

She tried everything, consulted every editor, aesthetician and expert she knew. Then one facialist quietly refused to use anything active on her. “She said, ‘Your barrier is really broken. Here, just try this calming cleanse.’ It was ESK,” Blair recalls. “I had never heard of it. It’s like this nondescript aesthetic bottle. But it worked. My skin started to calm down, so I tried a few more products of theirs.”

That was the turning point. When she later met ESK co-founder and physician Dr. Ginni Mansberg, Blair finally felt hopeful. “We discussed how I wanted to try something for my aging skin now that my barrier had healed,” she says. “I wanted to step it up; I don’t have fillers or Botox yet. I’ve tried it here and there, but I don’t have any right now. I wanted to up my skin game, but I was so afraid of the sensitivity factor I have.”

Together, Blair and Dr. Mansberg began developing what would become Ultimate A Gold ($120), a retinal-based night cream gentle enough for reactive skin but powerful enough to address aging.

“It was a tall order, but we did it. There’s not a ton of things out there that are really gentle yet nurturing and still deal with aging skin.”

The product didn’t trigger the next-day sun sensitivity or inflammation she had always experienced with retinoids. “That’s why it became the hero product of the collaboration,” she says. “I’m really proud of it.”

For Blair, the best part of the collaboration isn’t the labs or the packaging meetings. It’s the conversations. “The most fun part is getting to talk to Dr. Ginni and be like, ‘Wait, is this true? Can I use this right now? Can I use it all over my body?’ I’m worth it enough to put it all over my chest or torso or whatever!”

She also loves the brand’s honesty. “ESK is very basic in their wish to help people. Their site is really accessible. I love bringing something to people who normally wouldn’t be able to use vitamin A products.”

And she loves knowing she’s not alone. “I thought I was a freak. But this happens to a lot of people—autoimmune, too many products, whatever the reason. It’s great to have something sensitive skin can handle. I need all the help I can get, and I love plumbing the depths of Dr. Ginni’s mind.”

Blair also thinks practically about her audience. “I have a lot of chronically ill people who follow me. There’s not a lot of money left over for a glamorous six-product routine when you are dealing with all that. This feels like four products in one. It has the nutrients from the repair cream, Hydra Boost, Gentle Glow, and the anti-aging stuff, too. I honestly love it—you can tell how excited I am when I talk about it."

When asked where her energy comes from—something everyone notices—Blair pauses.

“It’s funny, because I always feel like I don’t have enough. I wish I were like Richard Simmons,” she laughs. “Actually, scratch that. But I wish I could always keep going because we all need cheerleaders.”

Her health, she says, is finally steady. (Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018.) “I’m relapse-free. I found the right treatment for me, finally. It took many years and a lot of false starts. But I didn’t give up. I found the right doctor. I’m healing. When I go out, I realize: I’m the grown-up in the room. If we’re not going to be the ones cheerleading or having a good time, who is? I think we can have a responsibility to bring whatever joy we can.”

She insists beauty should also be part of that joy. “It’s meant to be discovered. I’m so happy on a set, seeing what products people use, seeing the hard work and the creativity. Now that my barrier is healed, I can try things without my skin freaking out and thinking it’ll instantly give me dermatitis.”

Looking ahead, Blair shares a hope more than a prediction. “I’m excited for a more gorgeous 2026. I hope for a whole turning of the page. People are mired in what they can’t do or the things they fear. But we’re still standing. We’re okay. I want a shift toward people being kind and supportive again. I think people are craving connection."

Ever the realist—and the optimist—she smiles, then adds with her trademark deadpan: “Plus, my hair will be longer by then, and I can put it in a ponytail. Let’s get to the practical things."

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