If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. We asked actress Judy Greer — who’s a founding partner of Wile, a womens supplement brand that focuses on peri-menopausal support — about her family pen, “fancy” olive oil, and lip balm she stashes around her house.
My husband always brings home random pens from the office. When he brought home the Uniball, we committed to it. To be corny, it’s now our “family pen” — we don’t mess around with other pens. It lasts a really long time, writes quickly, and the ink is super-black, like black-black, which I like. My husband and I do Morning Pages and journal, so this is an important part of our morning routine. And, in general, I’m still someone who writes by hand. I love when I open the kitchen drawer, and the little pen cubby is filled with these Uniballs. I’m a dork for school supplies.
I was introduced to the Post-It by my parents back in the ’80s when there were no computers and phone reminders. There were just Post-Its all over the house. When I started living on my own in college and after, I would keep Post-Its as adulting reminders. I had one by the door reminding me to turn off the heat. In my first car, there was one reminding me to turn off the lights because I was always killing my battery.
Now, I use them for notes while I’m on my phone or reading a book. I’ll stick them into my journals and composition notebook for work. Ideally, I’d always have a little Moleskin book on me, but no, I have Post-Its. I jot down funny passages. I have a Sloane Crossley quote in my kitchen: “You have to be a millionaire in New York to expose the back of your furniture.”
To be totally disgusting, when we were all quarantining during 2020, I stopped using deodorant all together because I didn’t go anywhere. I wanted to give my body rest. But then, I started working again and I was like, Oh, I’m going to be on set with people. I need to wear deodorant. I was introduced to Real Purity at Larchmont Beauty Center years ago while looking for the best natural deodorant. The owner said, “People buy cases of this.” It actually works and doesn’t have an intense smell. [Editor’s Note: Real Purity is a long-time cult favorite among Strategist editors, thanks to Judy. She recommended the deodorant to Aubrey Plaza, who raved about it her own What I Can’t Live Without back in 2017.]
Before filming Mabel last summer, the makeup artist texted me to ask if it was okay to use Burt’s Bees, her preferred lip balm, on me. I wrote back clarifying yes, but I love the original version. It’s waxy. I like the flavored ones, too, but they’re much lighter. I have them hidden in every room of my house in drawers and underneath statues. I’m a lip-balm-aholic. Tangerine’s in the kitchen, watermelon’s in the TV room, lime’s in the living room. I have the original in my purse at all times.
This was a big splurge, but I love it. My husband and I use it every night. It has a red light, blue light, and a mix of both. I only use the red light, and it makes my skin tighter and brighter. I was recently gone for a movie in Wilmington, and I left this at home for my husband. (I justified it because my character was going through a hard time.) After a month, I could tell the difference. I’ve been back for three days and have used it every day. I was like, Oh yeah, this is what I really look like. I also like that this works fast. There are similar LED wands you have to hold around your face for 20 minutes. With this, I just wash my face, lay down in bed with it on for three minutes and scratch my dog and then it’s done. I’ll pay a little extra for that.
I should get a commission on this product because all my friends and makeup artists cannot believe my lashes. One makeup artist wanted to trim them because they’re so long. I could direct traffic with them. I use this product every night, and it’s made my lashes long and pretty. It’s not a prescription, so it doesn’t do scary things. I have very light-colored, sensitive eyes, and this has never irritated them.
I love looking through book roundups. Belletrist has interesting taste. I recently read The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett, from their list. I was late to that party, but I couldn’t put it down. I’m proud of anyone who’s trying to get other generations as excited about reading as I am. It’s hard to pick up an old-fashioned book when you’ve got this little thing in your hand all the time that can play movies and see other people’s whole lives. I also love that their lists link you to local bookstores, so you’re not supporting … you know what I’m talking about.
I’m a big reader, but while I’m traveling, it’s hard to get into a novel for a few minutes at a time. I love the Paris Review, because I can read something short on the go. People do that with the New Yorker, but that gives me anxiety because I can never keep up. I just worked with actress Alison Pill, and I was like, “Do you read every New Yorker every week?” She looked at me like I had ten heads and was like, “Of course I do. You don’t?” The Paris Review is more my speed. I can get through that in a quarter.
These are my forever sneakers. I buy a new pair every year on my birthday. They’re easy to take on and off obviously, because they’re slip-ons, and they go with everything. I like the black and white. I can wear them with jeans, dresses, and on airplanes. I always bring them when I travel. They look good on everybody. I feel like the checkerboard ones don’t make my feet look as big as straight-up white.
I work with the health coach Daphne Javitch, and she’s a big fan of just using olive oil and lime on salads. So now I have two olive oils on our counter: one for cooking and one for flavor. A lot of people have been doing this for a while, but I just started cooking and learned the art of olive oil. This was a gift from Rachel Bloom, and I’m addicted. It’s very fancy and very tasty. It has a really rich olive flavor. I’m also taken with how beautiful it is and leave it out on my counter. My husband was like, “Why don’t we just get a funnel and pour it into a bottle?” And I was like, “You’re missing the whole point.”
This tea’s from a family-run farm in Montana. I mix this with Wile’s Stave the Crave chai-flavored powder to get a double-chai situation, and it tastes amazing. I have a sensitivity to caffeine, so I drink this in the afternoon instead of coffee.
A few hours after lunch and before dinner, I get really hungry and just want to eat crap. This, mixed with the tea, keeps me from eating handfuls of chips. I also love the ritual of it. My mornings go so quickly that I don’t even sit and enjoy my coffee anymore. I feel like I’m shot out of a cannon when I wake up. This is sometimes the first moment in the day when I really get to sit down. I take a few minutes to make a yummy warm drink for myself, and do a couple of Duolingo lessons. I try to do that everyday while I enjoy my cup of tea. I’m on a 47-day streak.
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