Mindy Kaling Was So Impressed With New Skincare Brand Lion Pose That She Invested in It (Exclusive)

Mindy Kaling is adding another role to her ever-growing resumé. 

The actor, producer and creator of The Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ever, who also has her own imprint in partnership with Amazon Studios and a swimwear line in collaboration with Andie Swim, is now an investor in and ambassador for Lion Pose, a skincare brand that is founded by two female Harvard Business School grads. 

PEOPLE caught up with the 44-year-old mother of two (she has a daughter Katherine "Kit" Swati, 5, and a son Spencer Avu, 2½), to talk about her own skincare journey, how she discovered Lion Pose and the last thing she was influenced to buy.

PEOPLE: What’s your relationship with skincare? Are you one of those celebrities who’s secretly obsessed with it and stays up all night reading about ingredients?

Kaling: I'm an obsessed fan. Obviously, I have my full-time jobs and I’m a mother of two, but there are a few things like skincare, cosmetics, bedding and stationery that I am very interested in perusing and I have way too much of. But unlike the other things, I actually have some skincare concerns. I have hyperpigmentation and acne scarring.

PEOPLE: Where or who do you get your skincare recommendations from?

Kaling: I am that person who sees a halfway compelling Instagram ad or a TikTok influencer who's talking about some product and just buys it. The thing with skincare and with beauty [products], is that usually for the most part, the price points are affordable enough that you can make those impulse purchases. But I know working with so many young people that it actually does add up.

PEOPLE: How did you connect with the Lion Pose founders?

Kaling: They approached me. A lot of people ask me if I'll read their script. That's normally how I meet people. But one of my reps was like, "these two women, Madhu Punjabi and Nisha Phatak, who went to Harvard Business School and are successful entrepreneurs, founded this line called Lion Pose, and they'd like to talk to you,” because I've been public about my issues about acne and hyperpigmentation.

We did a Zoom and they were such A students. They had this great vision and this product that they loved and they also had, which was nice given what my job is, this passion for more representation in clinical healthcare and skincare space. But I also had to test the products because just liking them isn’t enough.

They sent me the UNSPOTTED 4X Dark Spot + Hyperpigmentation AHA Serum, which is focused on the issues that women with melanated skin deal with — hyperpigmentation and acne. [It contains azelaic, glycolic, lactic and tranexamic acids.] I started to notice results in two weeks and to me, that was very fast. I just love it.

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PEOPLE: You are both a celebrity investor and brand ambassador — why was it important to you to be more than the face of this brand?

Kaling: I want to make money and this product is really good and is going to make money [laughs]. They unlocked something special and I just want to be part of it. I'm in comedy and I'm also a writer and I was really flattered that they thought of me in this skincare beauty space, which I'm not always the first person that comes to mind. I'm really hoping that this is a long-term relationship and that they'll be other products for women with my skin concerns.

PEOPLE: With everything you have going on, you have to be pretty selective about what you take on. What makes you say “yes” to a project?

Kaling: It has to be really good. Whether it’s a book from my Amazon imprint, a skincare product or a bathing suit, if I gave it to Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington or Issa Rae, who are three people that I consider my friends but also are people that are used to having nice things, I have to be proud of it.

PEOPLE: Speaking of recommendations, what was the last thing you were influenced to buy and was it worth the hype?

Kaling: It’s actually funny because I did this collaboration with Andie Swim and I love it so much. I own all of the pieces and I've been wearing them all summer. And then they did a collab with Iskra Lawrence, which I didn’t know they were doing. They had this kelly green swimsuit and I just bought it.

PEOPLE: Of all the characters you've played, who do you think has the most extensive beauty routine?

Kaling: I think Kelly Kapoor [from The Office] is probably the one that has the most elaborate skincare routine. I don't think it's super high end or anything. She works in customer service for a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but I think she's splurging at Sephora and then going to the local drugstore for other products. Also, she wears so much makeup that I think it takes a while to take it all off. Her eyeshadow alone...