Odds are that Mindy Kaling has made you laugh at one point or another. Whether through her writing, acting, or production, her influence is broad, her humor is relatable, and her widespread presence has left many brown girls feeling seen—including through Kaling's honesty about her struggles with hyperpigmentation, a skincare battle that most brown girls can relate to. This experience, paired with her belief in the mission of inclusive skincare and support of female South Asian founders, led her to join Lion Pose as a brand ambassador and investor back in 2023.
"I love that Lion Pose addresses skin concerns that I personally have and I know millions of other women have—it gets rid of hyperpigmentation and allows my real natural skin to be its very best self," Kaling says. "I love that they tested all of their products on women of all colors, as opposed to most clinical testing, which is not done on melanated women. It's a very narrow category, so I really love that about it."
Ahead, we caught up with Mindy Kaling about the products she uses until the very last drop, the TV show she stays up watching until 3 AM, and what we should expect from Lion Pose's new PEP Melt Cleansing Barrier Balm.
The Makeup Remover You Finish:
Lion Pose PEP Melt Cleansing Barrier Balm
"I love the idea of doing my 14-step skincare routine, but because of my schedule, I need it to be realistic. My routine has to be very simple, but deliver real results. This is really the only product that I reach out for when I remove makeup. It also takes off sunscreen and all the buildup. I'm often wearing so much stage makeup when I have to go on camera, so having one product that takes it all off and leaves my skin soft and hydrated is so cool."
The Hair Product You Finish:
The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Scalp Scrub
"I have to go to a lot of events and I wear a lot of product in my hair because it's naturally wavy, but I wear it straight almost all the time. This use this scalp scrub once a week or once every two weeks and it just takes out all product buildup. It's such a lifesaver."
The Fragrance You Finish:
MERIT Retrospect L'Extrait de Parfum
"I don't use fragrance for the most part, but I do on special occasions. I really love the Merit fragrance—that's what we use that very special occasions."
The Body Care Product You Finish:
OSEA Undaria Algae Body Butter
"This makes my skin feel ridiculously soft. I have the kind of skin tone where if I don't use moisturizer twice a day, I get very ashy. This body butter has a great scent, which is kind of why I don't use perfume because my other products have scent in them, and it just leaves my skin so moisturized. But even in the summer, I don't feel greasy or anything like that. I'm just consistently re-buying it."
The Serum You Finish:
Lionpose Unspotted 4x AHA Serum
"I love so many serums, but this is probably the one that I use the most. It is such an incredible alternative to retinol, which it's too harsh for my skin."
The Lip Product That You Finish:
Vaseline Original Healing Jelly
"I just the original Vaseline healing jelly. I think it works amazing on the lips."
The Cleanser You Finish:
Sunder Skincare Attack-ne! Cleanser
"I love Sarmela Sunder's cleanser—she's a doctor who's a friend of mine and it's a foamy salicylic acid cleanser. I use it in the shower because even at my age, I still break out occasionally."
The Sunscreen You Finish:
Lion Pose Unghosted 100% Mineral Sunscreen
"There's so many good sunscreens out there. Lately, I feel like there's been a lot of more sunscreens for melanated skin, but Unghosted by Lion Pose is still my favorite. It completely blends into my skin tone and for someone who's melanated, it's so great that it doesn't leave a white cast across my skin."
The TV Show You Finish:
IMDB"Widow's Bay. Not only did I finish it, I finished it twice. I loved it so much. Katie Dippold created the show and is an old friend of mine from comedy in New York from 2001 or 1999—I took an improv class with her, and she is so talented. She worked on Parks and Rec and she's written some amazing movies. Widow's Bay, it's just one of those shows where you just tell yourself just one more episode and then it's 3:00 AM."
The Movie You Finish:
IMDB"I saw The Odyssey with my friend B.J. Novak on the Wednesday before it came out. I really wanted to see it, and I don't care about IMAX. So we just went to The Grove and the theater was empty and I was like, Oh boy, I hope The Odyssey does well. There's no one in this theater.' And that's because anyone who's going to see the movie that early is going to go see it in an IMAX theater. But I loved it. I was a classics major in college so for me, it was incredible. Now I have to go and see it in IMAX if I can even get tickets."