Eva Mendes reveals her biggest beauty obsession — and it's surprisingly affordable

Eva Mendes may have taken a beat from acting recently, but she's been quite busy. The Cuban-American actress has had two daughters with partner Ryan Gosling, and also birthed an cruelty-free beauty brand called Circa. The line of makeup, exclusively sold at Walgreens, recently hit the one-year mark, and her girls are both less than two.

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With so much change and becoming a mom, Mendes tells Pret-a-Reporter, "I see beauty in everything — I know that sounds really corny, but I see [the world] through their eyes. My little girl likes to say 'Wow' a lot now, so she'll be like, 'Wowww!' and it will be, like, gum on a street. And then I'm like, 'You're right! Wow!'"

Mendes says her beauty routine has changed, too. Motherhood "has made me do things a lot faster. I need that makeup routine to be [snapping] quicker. Your bag needs to carry diapers now so your products need to be chosen well, and you have to curate. You learn to be really efficient with your time and you know what you need."

And what this brunette beauty needs is simple: coconut oil. "Basically I keep a jar of coconut oil by my sink and whenever I pass by and catch a glimpse of myself and go, Oh no, I try to moisturize. That's my beauty routine right now," she admits with a laugh.

Mendes also uses coconut oil once a week on her thick mane ("I usually avoid the scalp because I can get greasy, and just sleep on that and wash it the next morning").

Her other multipurpose product pick? Circa Ultrasuede Cream Blush ($13) from her line, which she calls "so luxurious. I use it on my cheeks — it's really important for me to have some color because I can go really sallow-y, I can go yellow, green and I can look really tired really easily." In addition to her cheeks, she dabs it on the bridge of her nose and on her lips, too.

Another fave is Magic Hour Illuminating Glow ($14), which she uses to highlight the brow bone, cheekbones and, her pro tip, her cupid's bow. "It accentuates it without it being super obvious," she says. Ultimately, while she can pull off glamorous makeup, Mendes says she likes for it to feel natural. "I have very extreme features and if I start layering too much or if I go too much in a certain direction it just doesn't work for my look," says the mom.

What does work is keeping things positive. "There's no right or wrong when it's beauty and fashion — it should be fun," says Mendes. "I've made a lot of, I guess what one person would call mistakes, but I think those are the funnest times. Oof, and so many of mine are public or can be if you Google them. You have to have a fun outlook or you'll go a bit batty."

Over the years, Mendes says, she's learned, "In my industry you have to be able to make fun of yourself." And she hopes her daughters pick up her light-hearted attitude about beauty. "This is not the important stuff," says the actress. "I mean, it is because it's important to feel good and project what you want into the world, but it should always be fun."

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