Emma Hernan on Finding Her On-Camera Glow, Self-Care Essentials and Why ‘Health Is Beauty’

When Selling Sunset first premiered, Emma Hernan was suddenly seeing herself through a whole new lens—literally. “It was wild,” she laughs. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I need a full makeover after watching.’ That’s honestly how I felt! You can’t help but pick yourself apart. All I could keep thinking was: ‘Wait, my lips look small!’”

While she admits it was an adjustment, the real estate guru, entrepreneur and CEO says the experience taught her how to refine her beauty look in a way that still felt authentic. “I learned, ‘Okay, I’ll overline my lips a little bit,’ because I don’t want to change my face. That’s one thing—I’ve never touched my face, never changed it, never done anything. I think that’s something that makes me special.”

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For Hernan, it was all about enhancement, not transformation. “I started doing things like switching from individual lashes to strip lashes, finding the right gloss. Those small changes made a big difference. It’s hard to see yourself on TV, but it helped me find my look.”

After long days on set, Hernan says she has mastered the art of washing the day away. “My new favorite thing is the Farmacy cleansing balm. It takes all your makeup off. When I first started the show, I would just use a makeup wipe and scrub my face for so long. Nothing would come off. Now I use this cream remover—you put it all over your face, and your lashes and everything just melts away. My face feels so much better and more hydrated because I’m not scrubbing every night.”

Her next steps: “I use a cleanser, then a scrub; Dr. Barbara Sturm’s is my favorite. And before I go to set, I do my under-eye patches. I keep them in the fridge so they’re cold—it wakes me up a little more.”

When the cameras stop rolling, self-care becomes sacred. “I walk every single day. Spending time with my animals is super important—when the cats are lying on me and purring, it’s so therapeutic,” she says. “Every single night, I take a bath. It sounds small, but that’s my time to let go of everything. I add bath salts to give my body a break—after walking in heels all day, it’s rough. It’s my moment to relax. I also live really close to Next Health [in Los Angeles], and I go down there all the time. I get IVs, I do the sauna, cryotherapy, vitamin shots—all of it. Health is so important. Health is beauty, and wellness is so important to me. I try and prioritize that.”

When it’s time to unwind fully, there’s one place above all others that she swears by. “The Maybourne in LA is my absolute favorite for massages. I love to go in the hot tub, relax, shower before my massage and then go in the mineral pool afterward. I leave all the oils on my skin—it’s so good for hydration. My skin always feels amazing when I leave.”

As the year winds down and the heat on the show turns up, Hernan says her focus is on balance. “I’ve been working nonstop,” she says. “I’m excited for some family time and to unwind a bit. The holidays are my favorite—it’s when everyone can relax, put life into perspective and get that family time in. It’s my niece and goddaughter’s birthday tomorrow, so I’m flying in for that. Of course,” she adds with a laugh, “I never really stop working. I’m continuing to build my empire.”