In a world of uncertainty and confusion, there is one voice that always seems to soothe my troubled mind, and it belongs to Martha Stewart. There is something undeniably comforting about her calm, steady, patient advice on how to frost a cake or fold a fitted sheet or wrap an oddly-shaped gift — and today, she’s lending her expertise to those staying at home to slow the spread of COVID-19. Let me just tell you, I feel more relaxed reading it.

“Where is my hairdresser Megan? Where is my makeup artist, @daisybeautytoye? Where is my colorist Parvin Klein @bergdorfs? Where is my manicurist, Luda @johnbarrettnyc? I think about you all daily as I attempt my own daily ablutions and preparations,” Stewart laments, before offering up her sage wisdom for the rest of us navigating this new normal.

You can practically hear Stewart’s low, creamy voice as she continues. “I warn all of you to not attempt frivolous ‘fixes’ during this time. Wash your hair, condition it, air dry it. Remove chipped polish and lightly file your nails. With all the hand washing, apply lots of rich hand lotion and reparative ointments. Cleanse your skin well and moisturize morning and night.” (I know a few dermatologists who would co-sign this message.)

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A post shared by Martha Stewart (@marthastewart48) on Apr 3, 2020 at 5:33am PDT

In Stewart’s self-isolation rule book, tinted sunscreen and lipgloss are imperative. So is applying a face mask thrice-weekly — you heard the woman. Slathering on CBD masks and serums are also considered Stewart-essentials, but so is watching your dessert consumption. “Watch your diet — baking is fun but too many cookies, too many cakes — Careful!!,” she warns. Too late, Martha, too late.

It’s simple advice, but coming from Stewart, it’s even more permission to prioritize self care in whatever form that looks like for you. Now excuse me while I meticulously apply my second facial treatment of the day — starting with a few of my own favorites, below.

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As the number of coronavirus cases remains on the rise, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC are working on a possible vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Scientists announced news of the potential vaccine, which has now been tested successfully on mice, on Thursday.

According to a press release from UPMC and the university, “When tested in mice, the vaccine, delivered through a fingertip-sized patch, produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus.” 

In a paper announcing the vaccine in the journal EBioMedicine, co-author Andrea Gambotto, an associate professor of surgery at the university said the researchers hope to “get this into patients as soon as possible.” 

Through their previous work on SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2014, researchers and scientists in that lab have learned that a spike protein is of particular importance to building immunity against the virus. Thanks to that research, Gambotto said, “We knew exactly where to fight this new virus.”

The announcement comes as we enter the fourth month of the pandemic, with one-third of the global population now on lockdown trying to fight the spread of the virus through social distancing. While that strategy is working to flatten the curve in places that adopted the practice early on, the full effects of the virus are yet to be seen in places that waited to enforce stay-at-home orders. The novel coronavirus has now infected more than one million people globally and killed more than 54,000 people. The U.S. alone has reported more than 245,500 of those cases, with hotbeds for the virus in New Orleans, Chicago, New York, Seattle, and Detroit. 

Still, even as we take the necessary social precautions to slow the spread of coronavirus, only a vaccine can help people build immunity to it and prevent people from getting sick. There are currently at least 35 companies and academic institutions working to do so, four of which have developed vaccines that are in the animal-testing stages, The Guardian reports. 

Last month, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh estimated it could take at least a year to 18 months to develop a vaccine and get through the trial period. According to Louis Falo, a professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh who co-authored the paper in EBioMedicine, they would like to start clinical trials in about a month, “give or take. Maybe two months. We just started the process.”

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“Stress is my number-one achilles heel,” Viola Davis, wearing a crisp white pantsuit and red lipstick, told me at a L’Oréal Paris event last month, two weeks before Angelenos were asked to stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19. “I should be doing meditation, but I’m not; there’s too much going on up here.” 

While there was no shortage of topics to discuss with Davis during our interview —like being the face of L’Oréal Paris’ Age Perfect line or her upcoming role playing Michelle Obama — with growing unease about a global pandemic, it was impossible to ignore the elephant in the room: the stress and anxiety we were all feeling.

But, if there were ever a celebrity to take advice from on the subject, it’s Davis. The award-winning actress, who is also a professional motivational speaker, has spent years learning how to cope with internal pressure — and her words are proverbial milk and honey in these unprecedented times. 

Keep scrolling for highlights from our sit-down, including how she’s preparing to play FLOTUS in the upcoming First Ladies Showtime series, what being the face of a beauty brand truly means to her, and the epiphany that changed how she manages stress.

People are more stressed out than ever and it’s showing up on our faces. How do you combat stress?
“I am one of those people whose brain never shuts off, so I have to do something physical to knock the stress out of me. Sleep is important, and so is exercise, but how I combat stress most is I take a lot of baths. I put epsom salt and lavender in the tub and just soak. I don’t want my stress to show on my skin, that’s my big thing, so I always use serums before moisturizer. I love the L’Oréal Revitalist moisturizer.”

You are the face of L’Oréal Paris at 54. Do you think that women above 50 are fairly represented in the beauty world?
“No, and I think that’s why Age Perfect is resonating. I grew up with beauty brands that were [represented] by skinny white women. I certainly loved all those women, like Twiggy, but I couldn’t have been any further from them. L’Oréal is giving a message that is so deep and meaningful of a woman’s worth. Aging gets a bad rap in general, perhaps because people think you’re closer to death, don’t look as good, or are not as viable, when in fact, everything gets better. There is honest pressure, then there is the pressure that’s a lie — and most pressure is a lie.”

What kind of pressures do you consider lies?
“The ultimate image of perfectionism is money, youth, and beauty, and when you get to a certain age, you begin to understand that it’s a lie. So what happens next is this extraordinary thing where all the other values, like wisdom and authenticity, take over and you cannot help but feel less anxiety — it just happens! One day you just wake up and say, ‘I feel great!’ You cannot put a price tag on wisdom, on getting to the point in your life where you feel worth it, on understanding the power of no.”

What advice would you give to young people who are trying to feel less stressed?
“I was always in internal strife in my 20s — always. It was every single day and I didn’t know how to get out of it. People don’t value the internal, but that’s where all the value lies.”

How did you beat those feelings of daily turmoil?
“Becoming a mother, then my career taking off and feeling like, ‘I did it! I’m done! I am successful!’ — but then feeling tired, disillusioned, and not happy. Then one day, I was sitting next to a life strategist at a party and he said, ‘Viola, that’s not the final step; the final step is living a life of significance.’ He said that when the last person who has a memory of you dies, that’s when you’ll truly be dead. So that made me think, What are you leaving behind? What’s bigger than putting on the perfect shade of lipstick? What’s bigger than your brand and your net worth? I realized that I became worthy on August 11, 1965 — the day I was born. Realizing this sort of blows a hole in everything that the world tells you value is.”

You just signed on to executive produce and star in First Ladies as Michelle Obama. How are you feeling?
“I talk about worth and then I’m like, ‘Oh shit!” I feel terrified!'”

What are you doing to get into the role?
“I started looking at interviews and started reading her book, and then, of course, I am talking to my makeup artist and hairstylist. I am one of those people who will work work work then I get scared and fall apart… and eat. And then I’ll work work work and then fall apart again.”

Have you talked to Michelle about the role? Do you feel like you need to get her blessing?
“I have met Michelle Obama twice and we’re certainly representing her beautifully. There is something about her… she’s perfect. I haven’t had the real interview, which is the getting in there, getting to know her, sitting down and really hearing her feedback. I have to do it before I start, but I am terrified. I am, but you know what? I am not afraid to fail.”

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