Tate McRae Shares Her Go-To Skincare Routine with Neutrogena (Exclusive)

“I’m probably the worst over-thinker of all time,” Tate McRae says over the phone.

During a Friday night chat with PEOPLE, as the 21-year-old Canadian pop singer celebrates the release of “Sports Car,” the third single off of her forthcoming album So Close to What, music is dominating her thoughts.

“[That’s] No. 1 just because I’m going into an album campaign,” she explains, adding it’s the grueling part “where you look at all the art and you just try to pick it apart as much as you can until the day that you have to turn it in.”

But another topic is a close second. Amid the stress of releasing new music and back to back tours, McRae is also focused on her beauty routine. The singer, named Neutrogena’s new Global Ambassador for the 10-year anniversary of the beloved Hydro Boost Water Gel, relies on a handful of hydrating staples from the brand.

“When I’m on tour, I honestly just try to get on the bus and go to bed as soon as possible,” she says.

But before she hits the sheets, “I’ll use my Neutrogena wipes and take off my makeup. Then, I’ll usually go in with a light cleanser. And then, I obviously use the Hydro Boost Water Gel.”

The moisturizer’s award-winning formula is lauded for having the quick absorption of a gel while delivering the lasting, intense moisturizing power of a cream.

For the “Greedy” singer, using Neutrogena is also a nostalgic experience. She recalls learning how to do her makeup at an early age for dance competitions and finding the necessary skincare steps post-performance to be “a pain.”

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“All I would do is splash water on my face and then put on Neutrogena moisturizer,” she says of the product, which prevented her routine from needing to “involve a million” others.

She also shared: “I’ve been using [the Hydro Boost] moisturizer for so many years, so [a partnership with Neutrogena] felt very natural and exciting.”

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Even with a rock-solid skincare routine, skin setbacks are bound to happen. In those cases, McRae usually turns to her dermatologist for some TLC, but accepts that breakouts are “pretty hard to avoid.”

“Even right now, I’m on set and having a breakout and there’s nothing you can do,” she says. “It’s normal. It’s natural. Everyone gets pimples. You just have to deal with it, but I do try and get a facial. And try and stop wearing makeup for a couple days and let my skin breathe.”

With a slate full of sold-out tours and daring new music ventures, McRae has more eyes on her than ever. And then there were her hypnotizing dance routines (courtesy of her choreographer Sean Bankhead) which exploded on TikTok in 2024 and reminded the world where she got her start — while also opening her up to criticism.

“It’s a terrifying thing to be perceived by that many people,” McRae admits. “On tour this year, my mind felt like it was warping because I was like, ‘I don’t understand how to please or impress everyone.’ And I think I just had to figure out the answer is you’ll never be able to impress or please everyone.”

So instead, McRae has given up on the idea of perfection and instead chooses to follow her creative intuition.

“Every time I go in the studio, I’m like, ‘What do I love? What have I not done? What do I think is exciting at this time? What am I passionate about?'” she explains, “and I try to take other people’s opinions and criticism outside of it to make stuff that feels the most genuine to who I am as a 21-year-old woman right now.”