Maria Sten calls Biologique Recherche's Crème Masque Vernix ($225) "a game-changer on a 10-stop press tour." Her aesthetician, Natalya at La Muse Skin Studio in Brooklyn, suggested she use the cream mask on airplanes instead of sheet masks — and it became the actress's latest obsession.

Sten now headlines Neagley, Prime Video's spinoff of the Reacher franchise, which premiered September 16, the same day as Reacher's fourth-season finale. She plays private investigator and former Army Master Sergeant Frances Neagley, with Alan Ritchson guest-starring as Reacher. The role moves Sten from scene-stealing supporting player to leading lady.

Her path to the part was not direct. Born in Copenhagen, of Danish, Swedish and Congolese heritage, Sten speaks several languages, worked as a professional dancer and model, and was crowned Miss Universe Denmark in 2008.

What does her on-set skin routine look like?

Sten's skin-care routine stays consistent regardless of location. "My skin-care routine is pretty much the same no matter where I am," she said.

Her morning protocol:

• Mild cleanser
• Toner
• Sometimes a serum
• Face cream
• Face oil on long set days, especially in winter — her skin "runs very dry"
• Face mist throughout the day when skin feels "dull, dry and tired"
• Mineral SPF when outdoors

At night, she doubles down on gentle removal. "At night, I use Pai's Light Work Rosehip Cleansing Oil ($54) to lift the makeup off before I use a makeup wipe. It makes removing makeup gentler on my sensitive skin," Sten said. She then repeats her morning routine.

How has her relationship with beauty changed since pageants?

"I didn't know anything about beauty when I did Miss Universe or modeled! I only really started learning about it in the last seven or eight years," Sten said. Her early on-camera years involved "quite a learning curve" with makeup and eyelashes.

A shift came in her mid-20s. "The media world has a culture of facades and presentation, where everyone is trying to be an idea of something, and it felt so inauthentic to me," she said. "Without really thinking about it, I stopped wearing makeup day to day, stopped wearing extensions and embraced my natural face and my natural curls instead."

Today she identifies as "a huge proponent of clean, organic beauty" and stays away from injectables, relying instead on organic methods to keep her skin healthy. "The biggest change is realizing that beauty is less about aesthetics and much more about how someone carries themselves when they're comfortable in their own skin," she said.

Did her Danish upbringing shape her approach?

Sten grew up with Denmark's "less is more" mentality, oriented around organic, sustainable, healthy living. "Embracing your natural beauty is definitely something I grew up with," she said. "The most 'beauty' thing that happened to me as a kid was my mother buying me a face cream. I think that's kept me grounded."

How does she recover from fight scenes?

Acupuncture is non-negotiable during filming. "Acupuncture is absolutely essential for me while I'm filming, both for muscle recovery and to balance out the lack of sleep and the high stress," Sten said. She also practices infrared yoga for anxiety, muscle recovery and inflammation, and frequents Jaybird in Toronto when filming in Canada, especially in winter.

Playing the tough, low-maintenance Neagley has had a counterintuitive effect off camera: "Playing her has actually made me lean much more into my softer, more feminine side in my own life," Sten said. "We're all more than just one thing."

What's in her travel kit?

Sten never travels without five products:

• Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Facial Toner ($45)
• M-61 Hydraboost Cream ($88)
• Maya Chia The Super Blend ($100)
• Furtuna Skin Porte Per La Vitalità Face & Eye Serum ($105)
• Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara ($29)

Add the Crème Masque Vernix and the kit totals roughly $592 — a working arsenal for an actor now carrying a franchise. As Neagley establishes Sten as a lead, her aesthetician-informed, clean-beauty routine is likely to draw the same attention her character's stunt work already has.