I feel like I’ve grown up watching Whitney Port’s life journey, as MTV’s The Hills and The City debuted when I was in college, and she’s since gotten married, had a son (Sonny, who’s now 3 years old) and launched a podcast, a clothing line and several other exciting initiatives and collaborations. Her most recent is with Poise, and we couldn’t applaud her more for taking on a topic many consider taboo. That’s one thing we love about the reality star, mom and entrepreneur: she’s candid and down-to-earth, to the point that her fans feel like they know her like a friend. Here, we get the inside scoop on all that and more from Port herself.
You were thrust into the spotlight at a young age. Did that force you to get into skin care and beauty earlier than your off-camera peers?
“I had really bad skin in high school. When I was a teenager, I had really bad acne and so did my sister—it was a genetic thing. So from a young age, about 13 or 14, my mom was always taking us to all different doctors and facialists. My sister had cystic acne; mine was more in my T-zone. So I really started learning about skin then, and that’s how I became skin-obsessed and always took care of my skin since. It became really important to me. Then when I was on TV, luckily I was 20, so I didn’t have to care so much about makeup and all that stuff, but I was always taking care of my skin. I’ve always had a morning and nighttime routine—I was wearing eye cream at 16.”
I know you’re a big skin-care fan. What products have you discovered recently that have really worked for you?
“Yes! Biologique Recherche is a little bit on the pricier side, but honestly their P50 toner is so amazing. It’s so exfoliating and makes my skin looks poreless. I think it also helps with breakouts because I’ll still breakout around my jawline and T-zone. There’s a cleanser on Amazon called Belli—it’s completely natural—that my sister found because she’s pregnant and also obsessed with skin care. It’s a really gentle, cleansing gel with lactic acid and all this good stuff that’s clean for you. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic is really good, although it smells like hotdogs. And Embryolisse moisturizer has just always been my go-to for ever and ever.”
Do you get scared when you try new acid products?
“I don’t really get scared. Even though my skin is pale and it looks like it would be sensitive, it’s really not. And I know how to use acids and how they work in my routine, and how often. But I’ve learned that sometimes less is more. Last summer I had a really long routine, and sometimes if I have the time I’ll do it, but because I usually don’t, I’ve narrowed it down to some simple steps: wash, tone, serum, moisturizer, sunscreen.”
Are there any beauty skills you’re good at or terrible at?
“I can’t do anything! Well that’s not true, I can dermaplane my face. And I’m good at applying powder and foundation to give my skin a flawless finish where it doesn’t look too makeup-y. I use this TULA primer that really evens out my skin tone and a bareMinerals powder that’s really light and good for your skin if you’re prone to breakouts. I can do like one look on my face—a very natural, peachy, easy, five-minute makeup look. I cannot do a winged eye. I don’t know if anybody watched my video with Lauren Conrad about how to do a winged eye, but that was a disaster.
I’m also horrible at doing my hair, so that’s why you’ll see my hair is never done on social media—it’s always just dried naturally. For TV and events, someone else does it. And I can’t file or do my nails. Manicures and pedicures are my guilty pleasure because I definitely can’t do them myself, but I love them. I just feel so clean and put-together after I get one. That’s definitely something I leave to the professionals, or else I’ll get like 10 ingrowns.”
How did your collaboration with Poise come to be?
“After I had Sonny, I definitely had bladder leakage situations, especially when I started getting back into working out. I feel like a lot of women can relate, especially those who have had vaginal births. Also, with period days after having Sonny, I didn’t really want to wear tampons because that was kind of uncomfortable for me. So Poise came out with new products, One by Poise, which are pads and liners that are super comfortable, offer odor protection, absorb urine and blood, and they have this really cute marketing campaign about our ‘Canfessionals’ and taking this ‘me time’ for ourselves. I think this is something a lot of women have realized is more important than ever, especially this year, it’s really put things into perspective. So making that time to get into the bathroom and take care of your business, but also do maybe doing something for yourself that you might normally be interrupted or bugged during. My ‘Canfessional’ is that I go into my bathroom and binge-watch my reality TV for 30 minutes. It’s that 30 minutes that I can do whatever hygiene situations I need to take care of and then just sneak in an episode or two ya know?
We need to normalize these things that maybe we embarrassed about but we shouldn’t be because we have no control over them and they’re part of human existence. Our really cute social campaign is urging women to share their ‘Canfessionals’ and tag @Poise, #sweepstakes, #canfessional and you have the opportunity to win $10,000 toward a bathroom renovation. And they’re giving away five of those. I’m excited that I could be a part of this and just share more. It’s all about talking more, and honestly, not caring about what anybody else thinks. This doesn’t define you. Bladder leakage and any of that stuff that happens to your body after a baby doesn’t define you. It’s important to know that and to know that there are products that can make you feel more comfortable during it.”
Do you find that this is a topic you feel comfortable talking with your girlfriends?
“Most of my girlfriends and I would feel comfortable talking about this with each other, but I don’t know that we actually do it, that’s the thing. So because these conversations maybe aren’t being had, we don’t know what’s normal or what to use, so I would love to help be part of the change, whether it’s on social media or within my friend groups. There really should be no judgment when it comes to this sort of stuff.”
How do you feel about The Hills reboot? How has your life changed in the 15 years since the OG?
“The show is so different. I’ve only watched the first episode, but I think what’s changed is the level of mature conversations that I can actually have with a lot of these people now. I think everyone is realizing more and more what’s important. I think when you’re in your 20s, you have a totally skewed image of what’s important and people are starting to have kids and wanting to protect them, and we’ve all just really matured. We’re able to have deeper connections now. I’ve developed closer relationships with some of the women on the show than I ever did before, which has felt really nice. I think being a mom can do that. It’s just this collective thing that you don’t even really have to justify or talk about, you just sort of get it. I think that’s bonded us and that’s been nice because I was never really close with everyone on the show.”
Are you going to be in any episodes this season?
“Some of them. More of my talking with them was off camera—I wish that could be the show, but I’m not the producer. I wish it could be about talking about how the show has affected everyone’s lives and what their lives look like now.”
