From PEOPLE Magazine Click to enlarge
Beauty emergency! Roll the repair truck! When Sandra Bullock, 34, feels like the Forces of Nature are blowing in the wrong direction, she goes for Practical Magic. "That's the great thing about being an actress," she says. "I have this construction crew that can come in, put up some cones around me and work on the disaster area."

What could possibly be so wrong with one of Hollywood's most bankable stars? Her hair is often a mess, she says, and she's seriously nearsighted (hence a wardrobe of "dozens and dozens" of pairs of glasses). There's also her ever-present laugh. "It's obnoxious, kind of like a hyena," says the 5'8" Bullock. "People complain about it all the time." And then, of course, there's the overcute schnozz. "People think it's a nose job," Bullock says, "but seriously, why would I choose this one? The truth is, my sister Gesine [29 and an attorney] broke it. She was raising the garage door and her elbow cracked me right on the nose. I've been stuck with it ever since."

For the men who know her, however, Bullock's aura remains bubblegum and roses. "Have you ever seen her profile?" enthuses Matthew McConaughey, her close pal and A Time to Kill costar. "She's so very beautiful." Harry Connick Jr., who worked with her in last year's Hope Floats, finds Bullock's allure right on the surface. "She's got this friendly, laid-back feel, which is very sexy," he says. "And she's got such beautiful skin. It's like porcelain. You can't see the pores."

To keep her complexion china-smooth, the energetic Bullock, daughter of Virginia-based voice coach John and opera singer Helga, has mostly given up gobbling handfuls of candy ("I've gotten better," she says). She also admits to daily three-mile runs and regular eyebrow plucking. Otherwise, she tries to keep beauty on the back burner. Her Austin, Texas, home has mirrors only in the bathrooms, "so you don't catch yourself staring into them." But there's one thing Bullock can't live without: two baths daily. "If I can only take a shower, it ruins my day," she says. "I have so many products around me in the tub—candles and soaps. And I have a conditioner that makes me smell like Pez." That sounds indispensable.