Kristen Bell on Beauty Sleep, Sauna Sessions with Husband Dax and Embracing Her Natural Hair Color (Exclusive)

03/24/2025 09:00 AM

The actress, who stars in Estée Lauder's new Beauty Sleep dupe campaign, talks all things skin care and wellness with PEOPLE

Kristen Bell chases eight hours of sleep just like the rest of us. But for the working mom of two, it's a rare occurrence, so she has to rely on her skincare products to pull double, if not triple, duty.

Bell stars in Estée Lauder's new beauty sleep dupe campaign promoting the brand's bestselling Advanced Night Repair serum, which has just been backed by a new research study claiming to visibly repair the skin in just three nights, a dream product for those who get less than 6.5 hours of sleep.

"With my lifestyle, there will be weeks on end that I will be shaving off hours on my sleep routine," Bell told PEOPLE. "On the nights where I'm getting less than six hours because of my work schedule, I really do feel like this product makes a huge difference."

Bell tells PEOPLE that her nighttime routine is dedicated to helping her family, including daughters Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 10, to unwind.

"I don't have room in my life for more than the absolute efficient amount of steps [of a skincare routine]," she says. "I really rely on the Advanced Night Repair serum because it does so much with one step. I don't know if you've ever tried to get two adolescent girls ready for bed, but it is chaos. It's a circus."

In the campaign spot, Bell finds herself in "a Groundhog Day-esque loop" as she wakes up every morning with refreshed skin in spite of how little she slept the night before. And like any good friend, she doesn't gatekeep the benefits of Advanced Night Repair, sharing the beauty sleep dupe with everyone from her barista to her yoga classmates.

Related: Kristen Bell Shares the Secret to Her 11-Year Marriage with Dax Shepard

"Estée Lauder is at the forefront of today's nighttime skincare research and innovation," she says. "They've been innovating for so long that they're incredibly dependable. They're like your favorite pair of blue jeans — everything they come out with, you always look good and feel good in. They're dependable."

The actress, who is currently filming season 2 of her Netflix hit Nobody Wants This, makes sure to carve out time to prioritize other wellness practices, including sauna sessions with her husband, Dax Shepard.

"The sauna at night is really helpful to wind down," she says. "I find the things I need the most are moments in my evening where my body senses a transition. So that's why the sauna is so great because my body gets in there and it goes, now we're leaving work behind, we're leaving a racing mind behind. Plus, you're connecting with your partner."

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It's that kind of grounding self-care routine Bell likes to model to her daughters.

"Taking care of yourself is not just about beauty, it's for a variety of reasons," she says. "It's for wellness, it's slightly selfish, and that can be a good thing. To have a moment to yourself in a very fast-paced world."

Another way Bell is getting some more time back is by embracing her natural hair color. The star has put her bright blonde days behind her for a more low-maintenance routine.

"I'm loving it so much. I've done it for the last few years, and I've really passed the torch. I have two towhead children; I'm letting them be the bright blonde," she says. "I'm fading into the background, and I'm loving it. I still get a few highlights, but it's pretty much my natural color now, and I love it. And my hair is so much healthier because of it."