GRAZIA – She charmed us as the titular ingénue in the BBC’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles; held her own opposite 007 in Quantum Of Solace and jump-started a million girl crushes in Tamara Drewe. Now, Brit actress Gemma Arterton has added beauty spokesmodel to her already impressive CV as the new face of Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost range.

An effervescent presence who’d be a firm fixture in our imaginary A-list girl squad, Gemma sees the new role as ‘a natural fit’ for her. ‘My father was a welder with proper welder’s hands so when I was growing up, there were always tubes of Neutrogena hand cream lying around,’ she explains.

We caught up with Gemma to find out the secret to that flawless complexion, look back on her earliest beauty memories and find out why she really hates brushing her teeth (yes, really)…

Beauty wise, would you describe yourself as high or low maintenance?
I’m naturally quite low maintenance – I don’t like anything that takes too long. If I’m getting ready to go out, I give myself about half an hour maximum so anything quick that ticks the boxes is good for me – I’ve got too many other things to do with my life!

What’s your skincare routine like?
I really have to make myself take off my make-up. I really hate doing that, and and brushing my teeth! At the end of the day, when you decide you’re ready to go to bed, it’s yet another thing to do… I’m really religious about it now, though, because I have had bad skin in the past, and for my job I have to look alright. Cleansing in the morning is something that I’ve recently started doing – I thought you just had to leave the natural oil, but it’s actually good for your skin, so I’m quite vigilant about that now.

Which are your favourite products from the Hydro Boost range?
I’m a big fan of the Water Gel moisturiser; it just melts into your skin. The cleanser is really easy to use as well. Before I started using the range, I’d have one product for removing eye make-up, one for cleansing the skin, then a serum, an eye cream… Now I can just use a couple of products, so my routine’s more streamlined.

Which beauty product always lifts your mood?
I know it doesn’t sound very glamorous but I can’t really go without under eye concealer – that’s the one thing that’s always in my bag. I can go without anything else but that, and a little bit of lip balm. A touch of bronzer is always good, too, especially if you’re feeling tired and your skin is looking a bit dull. Brand wise, I really like Nars, Tom Ford and Bobbi Brown.

What’s your earliest beauty memory?
Back in the ’80s, my mum used to use so much hairspray; she’d have an afro comb and backcomb her roots, then spray it and go – that would be her style! She always had a metallic purple lipstick – I remember taking it and putting it on my cheeks, thinking that was how you wore blusher. I’d take the same lipstick to school and put it on in the hallway before I went into lessons. My teacher told me to take it off but I said, “No, I’ve just been drinking hot Ribena!” because that was what you drunk at school, of course. He was like, “Shut up, go and take it off now!”