Quinta Brunson Lands First Beauty Gig as the New Face of Olay: 'It's Something I Really Appreciate' (2024)

Quinta Brunson is ready to script her own narrative in the beauty sphere.

On Monday, the star was named the new face of Olay, which marks the actress' first-ever beauty partnership.

"Olay is such an iconic and trusted brand, and I'm so happy to be partnering with them because of that trust that people have [in] their product," Brunson tells PEOPLE, adding that the opportunity is "something I really appreciate."

The brand has also been a part of Brunson's life "for a long time", from her childhood. Olay was one of her her mom's "ultimate pick ups"; and now it's central to Abbott Elementary creator, writer and executive producer's "back-to-basics" approach today.

"It's important for me to feel actually more comfortable walking into my writers room, having a bare face," she says when it comes to having full faith in her skincare.

"It's funny because the [brand's] tagline is 'Face Anything', but I truly do feel like I'm able to do that with just this line of products as someone who doesn't love to wear a ton of makeup," she says, crediting her confidence to Olay's hydrating, smoothing and brightening Retinol24 + Peptide collection, which she applies at night.

Brunson, 32, also stars in Olay's new campaign, celebrating the aforementioned line which includes the Retinol24+Peptide Night Moisturizer, Retinol24 Night Eye Cream and Retinol24 Night Serum (all priced at $29).

Easy to use and accessible, the collection is also a reflection of her beauty philosophy. "I believe everything should be for everyone," she says.

In the morning, Brunson reaches for Olay's Vitamin C + Peptide 24 collection. "I really took to this brightening line (that moisturizer, eye cream, and serum) – it's just easy."

The Quinta vs. Everything star is also fan of a "nice five-minute [lymphatic] facial massage", which she does herself by following tutorials on YouTube. "I have this little round face and sometimes if it's puffed or bloated, I like to try to find a way to make it slim out."

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Brunson also makes it a point to infuse her beauty philosophy into her creative projects, such as when it came down to crafting the "very grounded, real characters" on her hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary.

"It's TV – everyone wears makeup – but I was excited with Janine [Teagues] to show someone who is not that good at makeup," Brunson recalls of building her character on the show.

"She doesn't have to be that good at beauty yet and we can show a journey. We can show her find what her standard of beauty is. She already has a unique sense of style, and that's something that people at first were really apprehended by, but then really charmed by, and I think that's really sweet," Brunson adds.

Janine is also a portrait of the actress' appreciation for "girls who have their own looks and don't care what anyone has to say about it," Brunson herself representing "short girls [and] Black girls" throughout her work.

"It's always cool to be able to show how we shine," she tells PEOPLE.

But, the do-it-all star does more than shine – she illuminates Hollywood with her brilliance.

This year alone, she's seen Abbott Elementary earn seven Emmy nominations (three of which belong to Brunson, making her the first Black woman to earn that many nominations in any comedy category) while simultaneously gearing up for her role as Oprah Winfrey in the upcoming film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which is set to release this fall.

Brunson was also named one of this year's Time100's Most Influential People, an honor accompanied by an essay written by Lebron James highlighting her impact and authenticity.

"It's still something that leaves me speechless. One of those things you're like, 'Oh, that's cool, Time100'," she tells PEOPLE. "It's not even something I aspired to be on – I hope that's okay to say – because it seems so far-fetched."

However, she says that "to be recognized for what people considered were my contributions to society is incredible."

It all comes down to Brunson's life motto which, much like her beauty outlook, is simple yet mighty. "Kind of like the be yourself thing," she shares. "It's always enticing to want to model yourself after someone else, but what makes people unique is really trusting who they actually are."