“My attitude toward beauty has changed quite a bit over time,” Diane Kruger says. “When I was younger, I didn’t think about it so much; especially skincare. I was definitely guilty of not always cleansing and being kind to my skin.”

The award-winning actress is in Berlin to celebrate her recently announced role as an ambassador for the hair-care brand Schwarzkopf – and it’s here that she sits down with Bazaar to share the beauty products she’s never without when she travels.

Kruger’s everyday routine might be more centred on cosmetics, but the finish is undeniably focused on her skin. She cites an alternation between Laura Mercier’s coveted Tinted Moisturiser and Make Up For Ever’s Ultra HD Underpainting Palette as the keys to her flawless complexion.

“I don’t like to wear too much make-up,” she says. “You can add this [tinted moisturiser] to the areas where you need more coverage. It’s very natural and it feels fresh all day.” For more targeted coverage she adopts a professional colour-correcting technique. “As a concealer, I use Make Up For Ever cover-up. I like to mix the green and orange for coverage and blemishes and to colour correct when I sometimes have a little spot.”

“Make-up, hair… they are great tools to make you the woman you want to be for that day”

Beyond self-care, the actress uses beauty as form of self-expression. “Make-up, hair… they are great tools to make you the woman you want to be for that day. I definitely feel most confident when I have done my make-up a certain way. I think it’s like clothing; you can be who you want to be.”

When it comes to her hair, Kruger’s signature blonde is arguably the beauty element she’s best known for, though she also shares the benefits of colour experimentation. “[It allows you] to be softer, to come across stronger, or be edgy; I think that it’s fun. As a woman you change and you evolve throughout your life and that can be achieved through hair and make-up.”

But of course, maintaining her hair’s quality is what matters most. “I get my hair done professionally a lot and so it’s often not in its best condition. When I don’t work, I try to do as little as possible and be very gentle… My hair is very fine, if I overload it with too many products it just goes flat and I don’t really look good with straight hair so I love to have my natural curl come out.” The actress’ go-to product to complement her natural texture? Schwarzkopf’s Vitamin B5 Blow-Dry Spray.

Family also plays a formative role in Kruger’s beauty philosophy – much of her own make-up and skincare ethos was formed by her mother’s attitude towards self-care. “Growing up my mom loved to wear make-up,” she says. “I always watched her do her make-up and hair in the morning. She was the kind of woman who would never leave the house without being done up. She has shaped how I take care of myself, for sure.”

Likewise, the beauty moments spent with her own daughter are something she cherishes now. “I try to instil the same discipline towards my hair and skin to my daughter,” she says with a smile. “I love that time with her in the bathroom, taking a bath, washing her hair, teaching her how to brush it, putting on moisturiser. She always asks me, ‘Why do we have to put on moisturiser?’ and I’m like, ‘You’re going to thank me one day!’”