Beauty Upkeep: The Ellen Barkin Plan

What she thinks is worse than an old woman who's too thin: "Nothing."

Her favorite line: "Old is the new sexy."

How she regards beauty maintenance: "It's an ongoing process, like coloring my hair. I wouldn't just color it once and then let it grow in brown and gray!"

What she does for exercise: "I work out with [trainer] David Kirsch three times a week. I do weights, floor exercises, sit-ups and push-ups. No aerobics."

And she doesn't do aerobics because... "I'm lazy. And I've never had a weight issue. I gained 50 pounds with each of my two kids, but after they were born, the weight just dropped away and I was thinner than before I got pregnant."

Why she loved being pregnant: "I've never taken up much space. But when I was pregnant, I took up a lot of space."

Why many women might want to kill her: "At any given time, I'd like to gain about seven pounds."

What she never uses on her face: "Acids. I used Retin-A for about 10 years. But now I see Cristina Radu, a facialist in Los Angeles, every six weeks. She took me off all acidic products. (Radu believes that acids make the skin overly sensitive and irritated, and should be used only occasionally.) Now I use a gentle scrub twice a day for exfoliation, and very rich moisturizers in the Cellcosmet skincare line."

Oh...actually...except once every two weeks... "I use Dr. Brandt [peeling system] Laser A-Peel, which, now that I think of it, has acids in it."