Hoda Kotb Uses This Glowy Skincare Product Like ‘It’s Going Out Of Style’

Parade aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.

This past January, after a whopping 26 years, Hoda Kotb left TODAY. Since then, fans have been wondering what’s next for the award-winning journalist and best-selling author. Well, she’s busy being a mom of two girls, Hope and Haley, contributing to NBC via her podcast “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” and even launching a wellness app. And if that’s not enough, Kotb was just announced as part of QVC’s Quentissential 50 (Q50), a group of women that has included Donna Kelce, Stacy London and Kathie Lee Gifford. These women, under QVC’s “Age of Possibility” platform, are dedicated to celebrating women over age 50 with some really exciting projects.

We caught up with Kotb via Zoom about her go-to beauty products, how she stays positive all the time and how she looks so fresh-faced at 5 in the morning. Hint: it involves inside and outside hydration and a bit of manifestation.

What Does It Mean to You to Be a Part of Q50?

“When I think of the term ‘age of possibility,’ it screams my name too, because I feel like there’s a whole new way everybody’s looking at things these days. We all know that our moms’ and grandma’s fifties aren’t the same as they are today. And I feel like that speaks to me in so many ways because for me, my fifties have been the decade of the most changes in my life: my kids in my fifties, my job and my dreams in my fifties, my change of career too, right around there. And I feel like the possibilities are endless.”

“So, if people think, ‘Well, that’s it. It’s a wrap. Let’s just sit in a cozy blanket on the couch and watch the years and years go by.’ That’s not the way it works anymore, man. There are so many new, exciting, fun things. So this speaks to me, and this group of women speak to me, too.”

Related: Jennifer Lopez Goes Makeup Free and Says She ‘Feels Amazing’ In Her Skin

Why Is It so Important to Champion Beauty and Style for Women Aged 50+?

“I think it was Bevy Smith who said, ‘It gets greater later.’ So much of beauty and so much of all of that is confidence and how you lead, walk into a room. There’s a girl who can walk in a room with no makeup on, just fresh face cream on simple classic outfit, and all eyes are her. Why? It’s because she walks in knowing that there’s a good kind of aura around her. And you feel that, and I feel that so much of beauty is that. Look, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, 40-somethings, a lot of it is effortless. But I think there’s something that’s extra beautiful about a woman of a certain age who walks in a room with sheer confidence and lights it up like it’s Christmas and you’re like, what is it about that person?”

“Some days when I’ve got the fanciest dress on, I have full glam, I don’t feel it, but some days I just come from a workout. I put this great delicious oil on my face. I pull my hair back in a ponytail, I throw a sweatshirt on, I walk my kids to school, I’m talking. I feel that. Sometimes beauty comes at different times in life, but when you are authentically who you are, you’re gorgeous. It’s like somebody said once to me, every time you tell the truth, your body relaxes. Every time you are yourself, your body relaxes. And to step into that is gorgeous to me. That’s kind of what this whole entire movement’s about.”

You Seem to Bring Joy to Every Situation. How Do you Stay So Positive?

“I was thinking about this the other day because I wrote something in my notes section on my phone, and it was on a day when things weren’t going right. So I wrote, good things keep happening to me: number one. So at the end of the day, good things keep happening to me. So I wrote, my flight was on time. Good things keep happening to me today. I made it home in time for dinner. Good things keep happening for me today. I think so much of life is about framing and how you see it as opposed to what’s really there.”

I’m Not a Morning Person. How Do You Look So Fresh-Faced at the Crack of Dawn?

“Minus the glam team, as counterintuitive as this sounds, I think getting up earlier than you think you need to so that your day rolls out and it feels special. I feel like there’s sacred time in the morning that you need to take, and you could sleep up to the last minute, hop out of bed, hop in the shower, hop in the car and go to work. I get up an hour earlier. I take my shower. I drink a whole bottle of water every morning straight down. I sit and I do some prayer and meditation for probably 20 minutes or so.

“Then after that I go to my journal and I start scribbling. This is all happens within 40 minutes. I scribble out kind of a mini plan, I write down body, intellect, emotions and spirit. And I ask, what does each one need? What does my body need today? You know what my body needs today? A manicure. I write that down. My body needs a manicure and some nutritious food. I ate like crap yesterday. So I’ll write that. What does my intellect need? I’ll write down what that is. What does my emotional side need? I need to tuck my kids in, give extra time tonight. What does my spirit need? So you write it all down. I don’t touch my phone until I’m done.”

Related: This 54-Year-Old Makeup Artist Has a Genius Hack for Aging Eyebrows

How Does Your Skin Look So Glowy?

“I take a super hot shower, and I use Scarlett Johansson’s face wash. I like it a lot. So I use that and then this face oil my sister gave me [Chantecaille Rose de Mai Face Oil]. The other thing that I use nonstop, my other go-to, is Bio-Oil [Skincare Body Oil.] I use it like it’s going out of style. I slab it on my face, my body. I do the liquid and then the gel, [Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel]. I put that everywhere. If I don’t have to go do anything, the only stuff I like to do is a tinted moisturizer. Brows. And then Thrive mascara. It’s the best in the world. And I use coconut oil for everything, on my body and face.”

Do You Think About How You Speak About Beauty and Self-Confidence Now That You Have Tween Girls?

“My mom was very, very body positive. She wore a bikini probably five years ago in her eighties. I think she always was like, ‘Oh, that’s beautiful.’ And I go, ‘Is this too tight?’ ‘Of course not.’ So for my kids, I don’t pull on my clothes. That’s just not my thing. I mean, I do have a hair thing where I’m like, ‘Ugh, this hair, I can’t do anything with it.’ And they’re always like, ‘What? Why?’ So they question that part.”

“I really have been spending time working on myself so that when my kids see me, they see someone who’s proud of themselves, who’s unapologetic, who doesn’t apologize to an inanimate object that I bumped into accidentally. I want them to know that it’s great to be humble and it’s awesome, but it’s also not great to be a doormat. It’s great to want to be put together, but if you don’t need to. Lipstick doesn’t make you pretty….I want them to know that work can be purposeful, work can be meaningful. Work doesn’t always have to be the grind that takes you away from them. It matters. So I try to share with them, ‘Oh, I met a really interesting person today.’ I’m like, ‘I love being with you guys more than anything. I also love building something over here, building a wellness company.'”

How Is Being in the Wellness Space Different From Your Usual Day to Day?

“It’s shifted everything, including style. I was always wearing sheath dresses and suits, and I love all that. Sometimes I give speeches and I’ll wear that again. But I’ve been kind of seeking out a different vibe because of all of this more wellness feeling that I like. It’s a little boho, a little more fun, a little more relaxed. I kind of like that vibe…It’s White Lotus. Find me White Lotus clothes.”

Up next:

Related: 10 Best Eye Creams for Crow’s Feet, According to Skincare Experts