Drew Barrymore: "I'm in Anything but Exhibition Mode"

Photo: Mark Abrahams/Trunk Archive 

There’s something about Drew Barrymore that makes people think, “Ah, I bet we’d totally hit it off.” It’s an understandable feeling, considering Barrymore has the qualities—positivity, humor, intelligence, empathy, kindness—that anyone would want in a best friend. More than anything, though, people are drawn to her realness.

Of course, most of us “know” Barrymore through her film career, but her newer real-life roles are her biggest yet. Talk about family with Barrymore, who married art consultant Will Kopelman in 2012, and she glows. The couple have two daughters: Olive, 2, and Frankie, eight months.

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And while Barrymore will continue her film career in next year’s Miss You Already, she’s looking beyond Hollywood, too. Flower, her two-year-old line of cruelty-free cosmetics and fragrances, has become a hit; the line, sold at Walmart, promises high-end cosmetics at reasonable prices. Here, Barrymore opens up about everything from regifting to ’90s nostalgia—and how she maintains that famously sunny disposition.

Yahoo Beauty: Hi, Drew! A month ago, you said that you hadn’t started your holiday shopping. How’s it going now?
Drew Barrymore: It’s a disaster. I think I’ve gotten one gift and—no, that’s not true! I got a cool vintage poster for my nephew-in-law and a gift for a woman I work with. My favorite sign of a gift is if you’re giving it over like, “Oh, I want that!” Those are the kinds of presents you want.

You have your own Flower gift sets. I have to say, they’re shockingly affordable.
We put all of our marketing dollars into our formulas and packaging. With our brushes, for example, they’re made at one of the best labs. I don’t want to say who else they work with, because I want to be discreet, but trust that they’re the best brushes. We literally changed our profit margin and figured out a way to make them out at these prices. Especially when it comes to gift sets, you really want to rock it out for people. When you’re giving something beautiful for yourself, that’s good. But if you’re giving a gift to someone else, it has to be great.

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Let’s talk regifting. Are you pro or con?
Con. There’s a bad energy there. I don’t like it. Going back to what I was saying earlier—I swear to God, the authenticity of my answer. You want to be giving away something that you actually want for yourself, that you know is a good gift and would totally keep for yourself. And obviously a regift is something that, right out of the gate, you know you don’t want.

That’s a good way to put it. What about hostess gifts? Do you have any go-tos?
I love when people come up with party favors. It’s such a kids’ tradition, and to roll it over to adults is so cool. It depends on the party, but I would definitely prefer one thing that I found very useful rather than a bag full of stuff that maybe wasn’t so useful.

So, are you aware there’s a F Yeah ‘90s Drew Barrymore Tumblr?
[Laughs.] No, I was not aware of that.

There’s a huge ‘90s nostalgia wave. People keep bringing you into it.
It’s funny: The other day, my husband was like, “What were you doing with these eyebrows? There’s one row of them!” I was like, “I know, but that was the look.” I just loved it. People took more risks [in the ‘90s]; we were still coming out of the ‘80s and we were expressive. I like it when people did crazy things. It was fun. It’s not that we need to be more crazy now—I just think it’s a nice thing to celebrate when people are expressive.

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Still, you have at least one or two hair color changes every year, and you wear different makeup looks. Is having fun part of your beauty philosophy?
Yeah, and it changes. I’m a mom now, so I’m probably not going to go out with crazy makeup and then tell my girls to be more traditional or conservative. If they end up becoming people who want to express themselves, as long as it’s healthy and safe, [that’s fine]. It’s interesting when you become a mom, because you think about how girls present themselves. I think I feel more wholesome and traditional—sort of intimate and cozy. I feel the opposite of expressing myself. I feel very maternal and protective right now. I’m in anything but exhibition mode. I’m in mother-lion mode. It’s a totally different time for me.

Barrymore and her daughter Olive star in the campaign for her new fragrance, Cherished. 

In the Flower fragrance campaign with you and your daughter, you look not just happy, but joyful. Motherhood suits you.
Thank you for saying that. The new most important day of my life is Mother’s Day. Like, I just cry the whole day—it’s so special and no other day really matters anymore.  Christmas, birthday, I’m like, “Whatever.” Mother’s Day is everything. I love being a mom more than anything, and I love all that I’ve learned walking around this planet. I love going to work every day thinking about positive messaging for women and exactly what you said: joy. It’s a very empowering, feminine state of mind—and it’s very good for raising daughters.

You seem like somebody who has a wealth of optimism. Are you naturally that way, or did you train yourself to be an optimist?
I think it’s two things. One, I have to work at it sometimes. I have a lot of darkness and anxiety, and I stress a lot about things. I stress as a parent, I stress over work stuff, I worry, I get overwhelmed because I have so many things going on. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy. But I know that I am magnetically pulled to positive. No matter how heavy it gets inside, I can’t stay there. I just get sick of it. I’m like, “Ugh, no, I want to feel good. I want to get proactive. I’m going to make lists—there’s no such thing as overwhelmed.” You’re not allowed to be in a dour mental state for your kids. I’m just not allowed to wallow in it. I don’t like it and I can’t stay there. Even if I force myself, it wouldn’t last.

So there are no long-term pity parties in your life?
There are no long-term pity parties! It’s a miracle if it lasts an hour. I tried to go the whole day once, and I failed.