"I was a career woman at 3": Anne Hathaway on ambition, ageing and Shiseido Vital Perfection

"I'm here to offer some insight into ageing, but I don’t know, you guys — I don’t think about it that much! As far as I'm concerned, ageing is just another word for living," quips Anne Hathaway to a crowded room of editors and key opinion leaders on the top floor of the swanky new Virgin Hotels New York City.

We are in the Big Apple for an exclusive event with Shiseido and The Devil Wears Prada actress, who was recently named a global ambassador for the Japanese beauty brand, is positively glowing on stage — in part due to the shiny gold gown that longtime collaborator and celebrity stylist Erin Walsh has put her in, but also very much because of the charming energy she seems to exude effortlessly.

As the newest spokesperson for Shiseido Vital Perfection, it's a collaboration that Anne says she's "proud and grateful to be a part of".

"The idea of partnership between Shiseido and myself had great potential. To bring that forth, it took time, care, patience, persistence and love," she says.

In perhaps a rather usual direction for a beauty campaign, the new Shiseido Vital Perfection video featuring the mother of two is almost entirely shot in black and white. She shares: "As the creative team and I spoke on [a Zoom] call, I noticed that each time I moved my head, that light would shoot out from behind it. To be honest, I probably just needed to clean the camera on my computer!"

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"It produced such a lovely effect and I was inspired so I asked them if playing with light, shadow, and the prismatic refraction of light, was something that interested them, as it did to me. An authentic excitement began to fill the call and ideas started pouring out of everyone and suddenly, in this international Zoom [meeting], to discuss a Japanese product for a film that would star an American actress, we found ourselves collectively inspired, connected, by something genuinely universal: Radiance."

"Radiance goes beyond age," she continues. "It's a current that runs through all of our individual lives. It's something that uplifts and illuminates. Radiance is something that is welcome and whose appearance is a gift, and exactly what better protection is designed to do."

Besides the promise of radiance, the Shiseido Vital Perfection range is also known for its lifting, firming and overall anti-ageing properties.

Anne's favourite product, the Shiseido Vital Perfection Uplifting and Firming Cream has ingredients like 4MSK and Safflower BLG Complex that help combat fine lines caused by dryness. PS: "A great face cream is clutch," Anne says. "However, the appreciation, care, and consistency with which you apply it will make it work out much better."

There's also the Shiseido Vital Perfection LiftDefine Radiance Serum that helps improve dullness and overall firmness, especially in the lower areas of the face, as well as the Shiseido Vital Perfection Intensive WrinkleSpot Treatment thats been formulated with pure retinol and is packaged in a unique way that keeps the active ingredients fresh and free from degradation.

In an exclusive interview with Her World, Anne sits down with us to share a little bit more about ambition, role models and why we should be proud of ourselves.

As career women, mothers, daughters and more, women face so many challenges. What advice would you give to those feeling overwhelmed?

"You're not crazy! It's a lot.

You are probably not getting paid as much as someone else. You probably have to spend more time doing things that other people don't have to. And I'm really sorry about all of that. You are not alone. It's not entirely fair. You're not doing anything wrong.

As someone who has a lot of ambition and [has spent] a lot of life to try to normalise the idea that we are people first, I just do try to do what I can do. I think: I'm so lucky that I get to be all of these things. But if I'm not myself first, I don't know... I'll just shatter.

So I just want to say to them is like go easy on yourself. You're probably doing much better than you realise. And I'm sorry I can't do a load of laundry for you — I would if I could! Nobody's doing it perfectly. There will be a tomorrow, keep your head up. Be proud of yourself. You're doing great."

You've previously mentioned that “female ambition is more often perceived as transgressive”. How can the next generation change this? 

"Be ambitious! The thing that I love about this younger generation is their gentleness. And that's something that I'm trying to learn from them.

I think in the world that I grew up in, there was a perception of scarcity and so I sort of felt like I had to be ambitious, perhaps even in an aggressive way, in order to get somewhere. I find this younger generation much less aggressive in a lot of ways and I'm really inspired by them. I find that I'm looking at my habits, my ways, my tendencies, my instincts, and I'm trying to figure out if they are keeping with this new trend towards gentleness.

So I think, keep your ambition, stay nice. Those two things are not mutually exclusive. And show us what you got. I can't wait to see you out there."

What's the best life advice you've received?

"I had some really powerful grown ups invest in me from a young age, and invest in my potential. And I can’t really distill it to one piece of advice because so much of my life has been ongoing conversations with people that I saw or who saw something in me and cultivated it. But as I've mentioned before, I'm not particularly interested in age and I don’t allow it to define my friendships or the way I feel about myself.

I’ve always wanted to be an actress since I was three and I really believed that I would be! And so, you know, I was a career woman at three [laughs]. Age doesn't necessarily tells us everything and it’s important to remember that life is a cycle."

Who are some female icons or women you consider your role model? 

"My dear friend Jessica Chastain is one of my favourite human beings for who she is personally but also what she puts out there in the world, and for her courage, fearlessness and authenticity. Not to mention her astonishing jaw dropping talent. It's fun being friends with an icon!"

What in your life right now brings you joy?

"It's about to be autumn... And I'm really lucky. I've seen a number of weather cycles in my life and well enough to sort of attach emotions to them, to feel held by them, to get to observe them. I'm just at a stage in my life where I'm able to notice things in ways that do bring me joy and are satisfying. I sort of know what's coming next, in terms of autumn. But it's still so fresh to discover it all the time.

I guess I love many, many, many things. I love being in a city, where I have a huge park that I get to walk around and notice nature and so that was the thing that came to my mind."

The Shiseido Vital Perfection range is available at all Shiseido stores and counters, and online at shiseido.com.sg.