Emmanuelle Chriqui is one of the most beautiful women on TV, consistently landing on “best-dressed” and “hot” lists (she was named AskMen’s Most Desirable Woman of 2010) — but the Canadian babe doesn’t have a magic beauty wand to explain her good looks.

Instead, she credits good genes and and a natural beauty routine for her ever-youthful appearance.

“Honestly, a lot of is genetic! It’s for sure, ‘Thanks mom, thanks dad! I have olive skin too, which helps a lot,” she said.

Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, the Moroccan-Jewish beauty rose to fame for her role as Sloan on HBO’s ‘Entourage’ and as Lorelei Martins on ‘The Mentalist.’ She’s now the face of Mineral Fusion, a small cosmetics line that boasts all-natural ingredients, and is an activist with Raise Hope for Congo, an organization which brings awareness to the atrocities happening to the women and girls of the Congo.

StyleList Canada sat down with Emannuelle to chat about her best-kept beauty secrets, aging in Hollywood and why she’s a proponent of all-natural beauty.

How would you describe your signature beauty look?

I think there are two. There’s a more glamorous smokey eye I do for awards shows and red carpets, and then there’s the totally natural, bronzy, glowy mascara and nude lip I do most of the time when I’m not at an event.

How do you achieve a naturally bronzed look on the go?

I’m really super tan to begin with so it doesn’t take that much! I just use blush and bronzer. Mineral Fusion has a press powder foundation that I love that I use, that I generally don’t put all over — I just do the areas that need it. I prefer to let my skin breathe, unless of course I’m on a red carpet, in which case that’s a different story! Then, it’s just mascara and lipstick or gloss, and I’m good to go.

Has your beauty look changed over the years?

Yes. I used to struggle a lot with my skin and I would always hide it. I also didn’t have the right colour of foundation (which was terrible!). Looking back now I’m like, oh my god what was I thinking?

But now I think, as you age, less is more. If you wear a lot of makeup and you’re powdering, it goes in the lines and creases and it makes you feel tired and older, whereas if you keep your face cleaner it looks fresher and more youthful.

Do you have any anti-aging beauty tips?

Honestly, a lot of it is genetic. Thanks mom, thanks dad! Both my parents look very young for their age. I think having olive skin also helps a lot. I’m really oily, so I look at my girlfriends who are slathering on all these amazing products and I’m like, “I’d get a pimple!” I could never do that.

What’s your natural beauty secret?

There’s a beautiful facial mist and toner that I love to use, either after I wash my face or in the middle of the day, or even as just a refresher on my skin on the plane. It just hydrates really well, which is super important.

Why is ‘natural’ so important to you?

I’m a big believer that you need to treat yourself and the planet with the utmost respect. So I think what you eat, what you put on your skin, how you treat the earth, how you treat others — it’s just really important, and you have to be gentle.

Are there any big Hollywood names whose beauty whose beauty looks you admire?

I love Jennifer Lopez. I think I relate to the fact that she has olive skin, and she just has that sun-kissed glow down. It looks effortless and clean and it never looks caked on. I haven’t seen it in person, but certainly in photographs it looks amazing to me.

You used to live in Toronto, and you’ve been in L.A. for a while now. Has that changed your beauty routine at all?

Oh for sure, just based on weather alone. In California everything is so dry all the time. I’ve been living there for most of my adult life — almost 15 years — so any habit that I have now is borne out of living in California for sure.

California is so progressive in so many ways. Everything is easy to acquire whether its organic food, or all the new trends -– it’s so at your fingertips. So I definitely choose to play in that sandbox!

Do you have any worst fashion moments where you look back on the red carpet and you’re just like, ugh, what was I thinking?

Definitely. There was a moment in time when I got back from Brazil and I had these cargo pants that I thought were the coolest thing ever. And I wore them with a cropped shirt so I had my full tummy exposed. And I didn’t realize that my top was see-through. I was posing, feeling like I looked amazing. Now I look back at that picture and think, “How did no one tell me!”

But there were so many things — it wasn’t even just the see-through top. I was also wearing earrings that were wayyy too big. It wasn’t cute. It was very funny.

What’s a beauty trend you hate?

Definitely a beauty thing that I don’t get to save my life is when people insist on putting too dark of a blush on the apple of their cheeks. We’re not 12. I mean, it’s very strange to me. I don’t like that look when I see it.

Your mom studied to be an esthetician. Did she influence you at all with your feelings about makeup and beauty?

Definitely. I always saw her getting ready, and she was very coquettish. She always doing her makeup and her nails and getting dressed up — you know, she was never casual. So think I got most of that from her. I’m actually very casual by comparison, but the small coquettish side of me is definitely all from my mom.

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