Christina Ricci’s New Merit Campaign Is A Love Letter To ’90s Glam

If you came of age in the ’90s, or at least had a really well-curated Tumblr feed, Christina Ricci probably inspired at least one of your beauty choices. Perhaps it was her pale, bleached brows in Sleepy Hollow (truly a look ahead of its time); the black eyeliner and red lipstick combo in 200 Cigarettes; or that unforgettable baby blue eyeshadow in Buffalo ’66. Ricci has long embodied a kind of cinematic cool that feels approachable yet defiant, so it’s no surprise that her onscreen looks became the blueprint for an entire generation’s makeup mood board. Decades later, her influence still looms large, which makes her latest beauty collaboration feel like a natural fit.

Ricci is the face of Merit’s Solo Shadow Sheen, a new, shimmery take on the brand’s viral one-and-done eyeshadow, Solo Shadow Matte. Inspired by the diffused, neutral tones of ’90s beauty and infused with nourishing jojoba extract, it’s a formula made for anyone who loves a hint of nostalgia with their modern routine. Naturally, there was really only one person who could star in the campaign — someone who represents timeless cool with a subversive edge, like Ricci.

Ahead, Ricci chats with TZR about her love of sparkle, the hair care tip she got from her Casper co-star, and which product makes her feel like a beauty rebel.

Your past movie characters are still major style and beauty inspirations. That blue eyeshadow in Buffalo ’66 — it pops up all the time on Instagram. What do you think about that makeup? Why do people love it so much?

I think it’s a very classic look. It’s very iconic. The reference was the Gucci ads at the time — I think it was ’96 — where all the girls wore blue eyeshadow. It’s a makeup look that Elizabeth Taylor did, but you can also see it on Blythe dolls. So, I think there’s a lot of iconography wrapped up in that whole look.

Do you remember liking it when you were filming the movie?

I’ve always loved a full makeup look. I love evening glam, and I was very into it. Gucci Westman did it, and it was when she first started. She was really early in her career, and I was only 17. She and I were very good friends and had a really good time on that job. So, everything about the makeup and hair — I feel really good about it from that experience.

Speaking of eyeshadow, can you tell me how you wear the new Merit Solo Shadow Sheen?

One of the things that I like about these eyeshadows is the fact that they’re in a pot. I like a cream shadow, and this feels very close to that. I like the texture of it. I use my fingers a lot to put on makeup, and it’s very conducive to that. I like darker eyeshadow shades. What’s nice about this line is that they’re sheer enough to layer or use in a very sheer way, yet still maintain the color. I prefer a darker color, but I don’t always want it too dark. This gives you the ability to play with the intensity, which I really like.

Can you tell me about some of your other everyday makeup or skin care products?

I take really good care of my skin. I exfoliate every day. I use serums… I use all the stuff. And then I generally use a CC cream during the day for the double benefit of sunblock and a little bit of evening out my complexion. Most of my skin care products are Lancer products. I use his exfoliator every day and the cleansers, and I’m a huge fan of the Gravity Defying Moisturizer. The CC cream I use is from It Cosmetics. Those are very consistent for me. I’m also a really big fan of Aquaphor. As I’m getting older and everything’s drying out, I find that I’m putting Aquaphor all over my body and face every day, every night — otherwise, I’m like a desiccated sack in the morning.

I feel that — my skin’s definitely changed over 40.

It’s crazy! And it goes through phases, too. Some mornings I’m so dry, and other days I have acne. So, that’s been fun. I want to come out with my own beauty line for perimenopause, but I hear everybody else is already doing it. I want to call it Purgatory. Do you think that’s a good title?

I’m already obsessed. OK, let’s talk about ’90s beauty products. Aside from shimmery eyeshadow, is there anything from that time that you miss and hope comes back?

I lived in SoHo when I was a teenager, which was amazing because we’d go to the Make Up For Ever store, and I had every single color of loose sparkle, and we’d sprinkle that sh*t all over our faces every day. [Laughs] Just randomly sparkly skin. And I miss it. I like everything to sparkle.

I know you used to wear dark lipstick back in the day. Do you still?

I don’t really care that much about my mouth. I don’t have particularly notable lips or anything, so I tend to forget about them or put a stain on them. I think black or very dark lipstick is a good “f*ck you” to traditional beauty [standards]. So sometimes, as a rebellion, I’ll do a dark lip.

What about perfume? Any signature fragrances?

I’m the kind of person who wears the same jewelry every day, and I generally wear one of two perfumes almost every day. I wear Diptyque Do Son or a perfume from an [Italian] pharmacy, Santa Maria Novella — it’s called Tabacco Toscano. It’s really incredible. My friend got it for me for my birthday when she was in Florence, and I’ve fallen in love with it. Luckily, you can order it online. I love that one. And then I’m also a big fan of Byredo Gypsy Water, so that’s three.

Do you do any beauty treatments, like facials, lasers, nails…anything like that?

I don’t have a lot of patience, and I don’t find beauty treatments to be luxurious, so I kind of go for maximum impact. Really, the only beauty treatment I do is the Morpheus8 laser every couple of months or so, and I really, really like it.

Do you remember when you first got into beauty?

When I was on the first Addams Family, they taught me how to do Wednesday’s makeup, and then they’d let me do it every morning and just touch it up. So, that was really fun. I’d always liked makeup before that as a little girl — I was only 10 — but after that, I always liked it, and I do a lot of my own makeup when I’m filming.

I’m curious if a co-star, like Cher, ever gave you a beauty tip.

When I was doing Casper, Cathy Moriarty introduced me to this hair treatment called Sebastian Potion 9, and I still use it today — that’s 32 years later. And I remember when I was younger, any woman over 35 was already using the tapes on their face and under wigs. I just remember being sort of really fascinated by that, because it looks very uncomfortable, and having every single one of them tell me, “Don’t ever start with these tapes. It’s ridiculous. It’s the worst decision you’ll ever make, and you’ll never be able to stop using them.” So I’ve always seen those tapes, and I’ve seen people use them. I see young people using them, and it just seems like a real mistake.

Are there any other beauty products that you still use today?

When my skin is really dry, I’ll use Pond’s Cold Cream to remove my makeup. That’s what we first used when I was 9 years old to take my makeup off at night. And I’m still a huge L’Oréal Elnett fan when it comes to hair spray. I love hair spray.