Two and a Half Men Star Odette Annable Shares Swimsuit Photo From "Mexico”

1. Cooking For Self-Care

Annable loves cooking for self-care. “I would say that cooking has become a priority,” she says. “In a way, I think it’s the greatest form of self-care, and being in the kitchen has been quite meditative for me—even if it’s just my husband taking our daughter for a walk outside while I make the meal. I come from a Cuban family, and I’ve learned everything from my mom and my grandmother. Those recipes are still with me and I’ve been making them for my family more than I ever have before. It’s self-care and it’s self-care in the best way.”

2. Motherhood and Acting

Annable’s experience with parenthood has added dimension to her acting. “As far as I am concerned, being a mother has only helped me in my career,” she says. “I feel more of a connection to the characters I play since having Charlie. My heart opened up in ways I could not have imagined, which has helped me tap into so many different emotions that I couldn’t recognize before. There is no substitute for experience.”

3. Variety of Roles

Annable is glad she has never been pigeonholed as an actress. “I’ve had a very, very large gambit of beauty that I’ve gotten to portray and play around with over the years,” she says. “I’m so grateful for that because I feel like I haven’t been cornered into one physical look or one stereotype. I’ve loved all my looks. Now, I’m on Walker and it’s sort of an homage to an ‘American classic cowboy look,’ which kind of lends itself to minimalistic, very natural makeup. In Texas, the bigger the hair, you know…I’ve relaxed the look just a little bit, but we started off with that. We’ve kind of brought it down a little, just because I like to spend the least amount of time in that makeup chair and in hair as possible. But every single look has lent itself to some really fun beauty, which I love.”

4. Kindergarten Cop Role

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Annable was one of the kids in the movie Kindergarten Cop. “My parents, in an attempt to help me socialize, stumbled upon a casting for the movie Kindergarten Cop and I booked the role of one of the children in the classroom,” she says. “I was the one kid who spoke Spanish in the movie. I’m assuming I checked their box for diversity? I had no idea who Arnold Schwarzenegger was, or that I was even filming a movie, but I LOVED every minute of it. My parents never forced me to keep at it—I genuinely enjoyed being on set.”

5. Beauty Maven

Annable is a big fan of beauty products with high-performing ingredients. “Any product that has hyaluronic acid as one of the ingredients in it is going to be a win for me,” she says. “I have combination skin, so it’s kind of oily and dry at the same time. Hyaluronic acid just deeply hydrates my skin and helps it retain all of the moisture, which is something that I really need now, because now I’m living in a place that actually has seasons! When my skin feels the seasons switch, it kind of goes a little nuts. Kosas is my favorite lip moisturizer. It’s loaded with hyaluronic acid. I love Barbara Sturm’s Hyaluronic Acid Ampoules as well. You put them all-over your face, and you can feel your skin tighten and hydrate; I love them so much. Those are my two hero products that I could never shy away from.”