Elizabeth Olsen & Maggie Q Talk Conservation, Design Inspiration and Long-Loved Beauty Products

Celebrities team up with Kiehl's for limited-edition product release

By Erika Stalder Apr 17, 2015 12:04 AMTags
E! Placeholder Image

Every day is Earth Day...or it should be. So when Kiehl's teamed up with community awareness nonprofit Recycle Across America as part of its ongoing Limited Edition Label Art series, it looked to two actors who live by this motto: Maggie Q and Elizabeth Olsen.

For the partnership, Maggie Q, an ocean and wildlife conservationist, and Elizabeth Olsen, who works with an organization that brings clean drinking water to developing nations, have both designed limited-edition labels for the brand's super-hydrating Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado—which is formulated as a cream but morphs into an oil when warmed up with the fingers. 

To help celebrate the limited-edition release, we talked design inspiration and creative conservation with Ms. Olsen and Ms. Q.

How does your approach to beauty tie in with your work as a conservationist?
Maggie Q: It's gotta be natural. For me, the more chemicals, the worse it is for you. That seems obvious, but I don't think people ask questions about what's in their products or think about the idea that if you can't eat it, you shouldn't put it on your skin. Most of the hydration that's absorbed in the body is through our skin, so you have to remember that as well.

For you, where did this conscientiousness stem from?
Maggie Q: My mom used to put egg whites on her face. Our parents were the first conservationists if you think about it. They didn't waste anything. They used things in the house and didn't buy specialty products. I learned not to waste from my parents.

It's easy to write people off as being cheap, when it comes to conservation. But it's not always about that.
Maggie Q: It's not. It's not about being cheap; it's about being sustainable.

What sparked your label design for this limited-edition release?
Elizabeth: My friend, Fernando Mastrangelo, who is a sculptor and artist in New York. The label design is actually a picture of one of his art pieces. He created a series of really big discs and uses salt crystal, rock salt and all-natural materials in his work, so I thought it was inspired. He's a genius.

It doesn't seem like you lend your celebrity to many branded partnerships. What felt right about this one with Kiehl's?
Elizabeth: No, I don't. When they approached me about this partnership, I spoke with them about doing it with the Avocado eye cream because that's the first product I've ever used when I was a teenager.

There's also nothing that's selfish about this in any way. It helps teach children to recycle more and it's also really nice to do something where Kiehl's will also donate to a charity of my choice, Charity Water, as well. It all sounded like a lot of good things. Only good things could come from this partnership.

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado, $47

PHOTOS: Celebrities' most-loved beauty products