(NEW YORK) The eternally-splendid supermodel Cindy Crawford seems to have discovered the fountain of youth. Now with her new skincare line, Meaningful Beauty, she’s ready to share it with the world. By all means! BY EDDIE ROCHE
How did you go from model to beauty mogul?When I was 28, a makeup artist told me about this great doctor in Paris—Dr. Jean-Louis (Sebagh). I went to see him and had one of his vitamin cocktail treatments for the skin. The results were amazing. I was in Europe enough that I got to see him a few times a year. After I got married and had kids and moved to LA, I wondered, why can’t we just bottle this stuff? When my Revlon contract ended, I was ready to do my own thing. At that point I was 35, and I was really passionate about taking care of my skin. So Dr. Sebagh and I talked about doing a line, and we came up with Meaningful Beauty.
What’s the concept?It’s a complete anti-aging system today, but it began as a very potent antioxidant. Our products hydrate without feeling greasy, and it all works together really well without requiring a lot of products.
What’s your regime?Every day is a little bit different, but for the most part, I use a cleanser in the morning and then maybe a glycolic pad. If I’m going to a shoot, I might use the glowing serum, but I always, always use the day cream with SPF. If I’m wearing makeup, I’ll use the wrinkle-smoothing capsules—it’s like a primer with hyaluronic acid, so it helps fill in fine lines and wrinkles with hydration and moisture. My makeup goes on smoother, and I need less of it! At night, I use Crème de Sérum, which has the SOD (superoxide dismutase), the antioxidant hyaluronic acid, and anti-aging peptides all in one product.
Do you cringe when you see skin that could use Meaningful Beauty?These days, a lot of women take good care of their skin. As for men? Hello, exfoliation! Men still put skincare in the cosmetics category. It’s not!
What’s your beauty philosophy?I don’t want my whole day to revolve around how I look. I mean, I’m a model—I know that sounds kind of funny!
Your New Year’s resolution was to practice more yoga. How’s it going?I fell and sprained my wrist and ankle the day before New Year’s Eve! I can’t even do a downward dog, but I’m hoping it will get better. It’s funny—maybe I’m not supposed to be doing more yoga?
So what’s your workout regime?My trainer comes to my house—I have a little gym. We have a power plate, which she incorporates into my workouts. I do the treadmill or some form of cardio, and then we do a lot of free weights. It’s the same kind of stuff I was doing in my exercise videos with Radu 20 years ago. Squats, lunges, push-ups, presses, and all of that.
Radu! That’s a blast from the past name. Have you seen him lately?Yes, a few years ago, in New York. I just went to say hello. He’s still training!
What are your eating habits like?Lately, I have been eating less animal protein. A typical breakfast is Ezekiel cereal with almond milk and maybe blueberries and bananas with green tea. Twenty years ago, I would have been like, ughhh! I actually love my food. For lunch, I usually have some type of salad with quinoa or grilled vegetables. For dinner, maybe fish, or my husband has a good restaurant out here, Café Habana, which makes great steak. So if I’m going to have animal protein, I’ll have it at dinner. It’s also really easy not to eat animal protein for me. And I have to have dark chocolate every day, at least once.
What were your eating habits like 20 years ago?They were good! There was a time when we thought pasta was like eating light. Then I went through the Zone, where you didn’t eat any pasta or bread, and you ate more vegetables and fish or vegetables and meat. I’ve never been a burger and pizza girl.
Your daughter Kaia just landed a modeling gig with Versace’s new children’s line. How did that happen?
Donatella Versace had her PR person call me! Kaia isn’t modeling, per se—she doesn’t have a portfolio or an agent. I think Donatella thought it would be fun because I had worked with Versace so much in the eighties and nineties. She shot with Mert and Marcus, and I thought if she’s ever going to do anything, that’s about as good as it gets. So she did one picture and it ended up going everywhere! I didn’t quite understand how much media play it would get. They were very smart to choose her.
Were you on set during the photo shoot? Yes. It was sweet. Once she actually stepped on set, I definitely tried to stay back. I could hear and see everything, but I wanted it to be about her—not me. She takes direction well. I had worked with Mert and Marcus before and I knew they were lovely, and that the on-set time would be fast. Donatella kept saying, ‘Come! Stand here by me and we’ll watch on the monitor!’ But I didn’t want to be a stage mom and make her nervous. She knew I was there looking out for her. She’s done little modeling things with me, but it was always with me, and this was just her. And I really wanted her to have that experience.
How would you feel if she decided to be a model?At this point, she’s too young to pursue a career. There aren’t even a handful of jobs for a 10-year-old girl. But if she’s 17 and wants to try it…of course, what can I say? She’s really into singing and acting. She kind of jokingly said—I’m not even sure if it was jokingly—‘I might model first because you don’t have to know how to do anything, but then I want to be a baby nurse.’
Ha! Which designers are you feeling these days?
Jason Wu, Alexander Wang…I wear a lot of Cavalli, just because it fits me and his clothes really celebrate women’s bodies. Versace! But what I really live in is Paige jeans and a cute Joie blouse. That’s what my life is about now—cute mom clothes.
Ha! Any great memories from MTV’s House of Style?
I got to do so many things, from hanging out with Duran Duran at a Sears store to going to the VMAs. It was really fun to have an opportunity to be more than a two-dimensional picture. Our whole thing at House of Style was that we loved fashion, but we also tried to demystify the beauty a little bit. And I think that’s why people loved it!
You did so many interviews—which ones made you nervous?I had to interview all these bands at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. I’m not totally into music, so Def Leppard came over, and I was like, ‘Which one is he?’
If MTV wanted to revive the show, would you do it?It shouldn’t be me—it should be the 23-year-old who’s in the thick of it, doing shows. The access makes it fun!
Do any of today’s models remind you of a young Cindy?I find a lot of them very beautiful. Fortunately, they don’t look like me—they have their own identities!
Are you friends with your fellow supes?
I’m still friends with Christy [Turlington], and I see Claudia [Schiffer] once in a while. When we did the new Duran Duran video, ‘Girl Panic,’ I got to see Helena [Christensen] and Yasmin Le Bon. We’re certainly friendly, but everyone’s living their own life. We’re happy to see each other, but it’s not like we’re besties.
Do any of your old covers make you cringe?The one that makes me cringe the most is British Vogue. The first time they put me on the cover, they airbrushed off my mole. And I think Self flipped me, so the mole was on the wrong side. Whenever they mess with the mole, I cringe!
