By Josie O’Brien

Copyright hellomagazine

Tamzin Outhwaite has had quite the career. The actress, 54, shot to stardom when she landed the role of Mel Owens in the BBC soap, Eastenders. Since then, she’s totted up an impressive portfolio of more TV, film and stage credits.

You might be tempted to assume that, for a woman who has won two National Television Awards and three British Soap Awards, confidence comes naturally to her. But in an exclusive chat with HELLO!, Tamzin, our latest digital cover star in partnership with Hada Labo Tokyo, reveals this isn’t always the case.

“I still have to dig deep for confidence,” Tamzin says. “But a lot of that now comes from my self-care practices, like mindfulness and meditating. If I could see myself the way some of the people around me see me, then I’d be alright. But we all have stuff that’s gone into our subconscious and stayed there.”

Following her initial departure from Eastenders in 2002 (she returned for a year in 2018), Tamzin went on to star in a variety of films, including Woody Allen’s 2007 film Cassandra’s Dream and the 2012 screen adaption of Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations.

Tamzin’s new role in Entertaining Mr Sloane

She also landed television roles on Doctor Who, Silent Witness and Ridley Road, as well as starred in Channel 5’s mystery drama thriller, The Wives, last year. She is currently in rehearsals for Entertaining Mr Sloane at London’s Young Vic theatre, after starring in a revival production of Mike Leigh’s classic play, Abigail’s Party, last year.

Reflecting on past experiences, she adds: “There are always voices in your head that come from someone saying something years ago, like ‘you’re not enough’ or ‘you’re not good enough’. It happens right from being a child, and it’s all stored in your subconscious.”

For Tamzin, digging deep for confidence doesn’t mean a lack of self-acceptance. In fact, it means the opposite – she knows her fears, and she conquers them anyway. The mum-of-two says she has never felt better in her own skin, which she credits to finding out she was perimenopausal during lockdown in 2020.

“Perimenopause is a wake up call for women,” she exclusively tells HELLO! “It makes you look at your health, routine, self-care and mindfulness. It makes you ask yourself: how can I be the best version of myself and still look good?”

After the news, she overhauled her lifestyle by reconnecting with nature, taking HRT, changing her diet, cutting out alcohol, meditating and learning which exercise methods worked best for her body. She also completed a Wim Hof training plan, which combines cold water exposure, breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation to reduce physical inflammation whilst enhancing mental health.

A recent addition to Tamzin’s wellness regime is saying positive affirmations to herself in the morning, as well as sharing inspirational quotes with her children, Flo, 17, and Marnie, 12 – the latter of which has led them to joke that their mum ‘is a hippie’.

Being a mum has taught Tamzin that “nobody else’s opinion matters”. She says: “There’s a lot of judgment out there on being a mum… everyone’s always got an opinion. But I think finding the power in the uniqueness of the way you do things is really important.”

We could all learn a thing or two from Tamzin. Between juggling her career, the “rollercoaster” of parenthood and her dedication to living a healthy life, she still manages to maintain an enviable complexion.

Tamzin’s skincare rituals

The secret to her glow? Heat, and lots of it. The actress had a sauna installed in her house three years ago and attends weekly hot yoga classes, both of which she says “provide a detox” for her skin and internal organs.

“It’s been a life changer,” she tells us. “I’m really big on detoxification, and love how sweating from the sauna and hot yoga flushes out toxins. I know I can go into my spare bedroom to do some weights, do some yoga and then go in the sauna for 20 minutes, and then have a cold shower. That in itself, before I’ve even started any skincare, is like a reset for me.”

This inside-out approach to her wellness means Tamzin doesn’t always put lots of products on her face, as she lets her body’s natural detoxification process do the lionshare of the work when she’s in the sauna.

That being said, she recognises that sometimes her skin needs some extra TLC. “If I haven’t used the sauna in a while or my skin feels grubby, I will exfoliate and then put a mask on,” she says. “I listen to my skin. I can normally tell through dry patches, particularly around the sides of my nose, that I need a much heavier moisturiser there.”

Tamzin adds: “I haven’t stuck to one skincare product ever because I’ll find something that I like, but then I’ll want to try something else for a while. That’s why I’m interested in Hada Labo Tokyo products, as I’m keen to see if I can stick to something.”

For our exclusive shoot, celebrity makeup artist Bryony Blake prepped Tamzin’s skin with the Hada Labo Tokyo range, including the Premium Lotion Intense Super Hydrator, which has been formulated with seven types of hyaluronic acid to help skin glow, as well as cultivate and maintain its own moisture. The brand’s Ultra-firming Booster 7xHA Cream-in-milk was also used to pack an extra punch of hydration.

The actress occasionally invests in professional help, and had a course of NeoGen facials over the course of last year. These use controlled pulses of nitrogen plasma energy to stimulate collagen and elastin production, as well as resurface the skin to improve the appearance of wrinkles, texture and sun damage. Tamzin described them as “pretty incredible” after using them to restore elasticity in her face after “losing a bit of weight”.

Due to her line of work, Botox isn’t an option. “I have no Botox in my face because, as an actor on stage, I have to be able to move everything,” she says. “I do think it works for some people, but it’s personal. Nobody has the right to influence other people on what they should be doing.”

And whilst juggling life as a wellness warrior, actress and mum might be hectic for Tamzin, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Being flexible about things has been really helpful in every aspect of my life,” she smiles.

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