Mariska Hargitay’s 2026 Emmys Prep Started With a $12 Moisturizer, a Jacuzzi Session, and Infrared Sauna
A little over an hour ago, I sat in a back conference room, FaceTiming Mariska Hargitay on her way to the airport. Naturally, she had her two Emmys—for her documentary My Mom Jayne—buckled up, like the precious cargo they are, in the seat next to her. For someone who spent the prior day hosting the 78th Annual Primetime Emmys, she looked remarkably well-rested. I can’t help but comment. “I obviously prepped my skin with my Cetaphil. It is just the most moisturizing. No matter what, no matter how tired I am, I put it on, and it plumps everything up,” the Law & Order: SVU star tells me. “It's pretty magical. I’m in a routine with it.”
Hargitay is a woman of her word. In fact, she kicked off yesterday’s hosting prep with said drugstore skincare routine (the Skin Activator Firming Lotion and Body Cream are her favorites), a 7am jacuzzi session, and “a lot” of time in an infrared sauna. But make no mistake, Hargitay started getting ready for the Emmys quite a long time ago. She booked her glam squad for the night—makeup artist Kate Synnott and hairstylist Adir Abergel—after last year’s event. “It felt like my wedding in a way because I had the most extraordinary team and felt so calm because they were on it. We knew that we wanted sort of old Hollywood glam with a little bit of an homage to my mom, but I also wanted it to just be fun and different. From the minute I accepted this invitation, we started planning,” she says.
Such intense prep resulted in the most outfits (and full glam changes) the Emmys has ever seen. I should point out that Hargitay is also the show’s first female host in 15 years. “I loved so many of my looks,” she tells me. “I think one of my favorites was the Yara black dress with the gloves. I loved the opening one—the Sophie Couture mermaid dress. It was so magical twinning with my daughter. The sparkly Dolce was just heaven. I loved them all for different reasons. I felt so good and so comfortable in them.”
The night, per Hargitay, was “exhilarating,” “joyful,” and filled with so many of her favorite people. She had Zendaya and Tom Holland as her front-row cheerleaders. “One of my favorite moments is going out there and watching Zendaya and Tom Holland waving and going, ‘You’re doing amazing.’” Backstage, she caught up with her friends Allison Janney, Noah Wiley, and Jamie Lee Curtis. “I don’t get to see them a lot, so it was really meaningful to me,” she says.
And of course, I couldn’t let this debrief end without inquiring about the fan-favorite (it’s me, I’m the fan) pre-filmed moment with Taylor Swift. “It's hard to pull something like that off and not have it be leaked,” Hargitay tells me. “Taylor was a dream and heaven. I’ve met Olivia Benson [the cat] before, and I think that’s why she was so comfortable with me. She put her paws right on me. Taylor was the perfect detective.”
Good news, though: Hargitay will be back on my TV screen as my actual favorite fictional detective very soon. Law & Order: SVU season 28 premieres on October 8. I’ll be tuning in, and in the meantime, I’m shopping all of Hargitay’s beauty staples and manifesting her hosting the Emmys once again next year.
Shop Mariska Hargitay's Emmys Beauty Routine
"I focused the lotion across the neck, shoulders, arms and décolletage, areas that are often on display during a red-carpet moment," says Synnott.
"The Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Cream became an essential step in Mariska’s pre-glam routine," says Synnott. "It helps activate surface skin cells while delivering 72-hour hydration and helping skin look smoother and firmer, giving the skin the moisture and nourishment it needs before makeup."
"This was really the hero of the skin for me. It’s 92 percent skincare with collagen peptide, so you get that beautiful skincare-first feel, but it also gives sheer coverage and a really natural radiant finish. I love that the skin still looks like skin—just smoother, hydrated and perfected," she says.
"I then used Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream only where I wanted a little extra coverage, followed by Do It All Concealer under the eyes and around the mouth to brighten and lift," she adds.
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