KAY MONTANO IN CONVERSATION WITH LILY DONALDSON
by Kay Montano / 5 February 2013
Make-up artist Kay Montano catches up with British model Lily Donaldson on a shoot and finds out the secret behind the model’s flawless complexion.
Known throughout the business for having great skin, Lily has one of the healthiest complexions I’ve ever seen on a model, so of course I was curious about her diet and skincare when I caught up with her on a shoot recently.
We’ve bonded on other shoots before over our choice of food - snacking on raw nuts with dried fruit to keep our energy levels up, instead of indulging in the many white carbs lurking on set.
Lily told me her that mother, Tiffany, was strict about food and processed food was a rare treat, admitting, “We only had crisps on Saturday.” I wondered if that made her reject healthy food as an adult. “Well like all kids I got into processed stuff in my teens but I rarely eat it now.”
No vegan or raw food recommendations here. Her favourite New York restaurant is a Middle Eastern place near her apartment called Mogador. This attitude to food shows on her skin. In my experience, whilst they may fit into couture, underfed models have an unhealthy pallor and skin with no ‘bounce’.
Next I asked Lily about skincare. “I love Estee Lauder Pore Minimizer and Repair Perfectionist, they really work for me,” she said, “I also love Kiehl’s and Avene from France as they don’t have too much scent.”
As I write, this otherworldly blonde from Camden is off to Zanzibar (and maybe Mozambique) before she comes back to London. I’ve never seen Lily on such good form, with her lust for life clear from her desire to make the most of her life as one of the world’s top model.
Successful models grow up doing this, so for them it’s no novelty being in airports or sleeping on planes. Models work in what are holiday destinations to most people. They routinely stand in shoes that are too small, stare into sunlight without squinting and constantly change into different outfits all day in places where most people spend the day relaxing.
Being jaded, however, is not for Lily, who now seems to possess a “lightness” of spirit that I’ve never seen before. I mentioned this and asked if it had anything to do with her horse riding accident in July 2011 (which left her in a critical condition, unable to walk or speak properly for months). Lily agreed that she indeed felt “lighter”, and that “[her] whole attitude to life has changed.”
Thanks to a brilliant Pilates’ teacher in New York and regular swimming, the breakages and fractures from her fall have been repaired and Lily has made a full recovery.