(Image credit: Getty Images/Noam Galai)
It’s not every day that a legendary supermodel—especially one as inimitable as Linda Evangelista—bestows you with skincare advice. So I’m practically humming with anticipation as I head up the elevator of New York’s Fifth Avenue Hotel (an iconic location for an iconic being), where she’s getting ready to speak at Shiseido’s Potential Has No Age Summit. The discussion? Challenging age-related stereotypes in a culture obsessed with youth.
“There are things we can do to look and feel our best, but fighting aging is not the agenda,” she tells me ahead of the event. Her healthy aging philosophy, at its core, is all about respect. “It’s accepting aging. It’s wanting it,” she adds, radiating beside me on the couch. In the context of skincare, it’s about sustainable, holistic habits over short-term gains. And as someone who’s followed a disciplined routine since her early 30s (more on that in just a moment!), Evangelista knows exactly how to nurture her skin for the long haul—and her beauty tips don’t disappoint. Here’s everything I gleaned from our pre-panel chat, including the biweekly facial she swears by and why she calls melasma the “ultimate gift.”
She Follows a Simple, Daily Routine
When I ask Evangelista to share her daily skincare staples, she rattles off a quick list: cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. At night, she loves a “good, heavy moisturizer,” namely Shiseido’s Vital Perfection Concentrated Supreme Cream. “I’ve been playing with that one,” she says of the buzzy launch designed for lifted, toned skin. “And in the winter months, I do add a little bit of retinol,” she adds. “I like Medik8’s… It doesn’t turn me so red.”
Shiseido
Vital Perfection Concentrated Supreme Cream
Medik8
Crystal Retinal 1 Serum
And She *Tries* Not to Dabble
I feel Evangelista and I are real kindred spirits with this tip. “I really should commit to one [moisturizer] because it takes a while to see the results of that one. Dabbling in them is doing my [skin] a disservice. But, oh, there are so many!” That said, whenever she does hit pan, she knows she’s found herself a hero product. (A philosophy we beauty editors subscribe to as well!)
She Commits to Regular Facials
One thing Evangelista is fully committed to? Regular facials with celebrity aesthetician Georgia Louise (who also sculpts the faces of Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, and Amy Schumer, FYI). “I really believe in a monthly facial because that makes you feel so good. A nice extraction, some loving hands, lymphatic drainage,” she says. “[Louise] has gifted, magic hands. She’s great with microcurrent—I really believe in that. I think the muscles really react to that, especially with back-to-back [treatments] and maintenance. But she really just has magic hands, she does great extractions, and it’s always bespoke, so it’s what you need at that moment. I try to get in every two weeks.”
She Stays Out of the Sun
“Melasma was a gift,” Evangelista reveals on the panel, which certainly caught my attention. After all, most people bemoan those patches of discoloration, as they’re one of the most difficult forms of hyperpigmentation to treat. However, it wasn’t until Evangelista struggled with those spots that she started to take sun protection seriously—and for that, she’s forever grateful.
“My face hasn’t seen the sun since I was 33. Why? Because I always walk around with a hat, and I’m always [wearing] sunscreen,” she tells me. In terms of formulas, she prefers sunscreen-moisturizer hybrids and SPF-spiked foundations—again, a streamlined routine is king. “On my body, I’m definitely doing zinc-based ones,” she adds.
Shiseido
Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ Wetforce
She Plays Up the Eyes
Evangelista is well-known for her piercing, almond-shaped eyes, so it only makes sense that eye shadow is her favorite makeup category. “If I put on makeup, it’s always eye shadow,” she shares. And recently, it’s with Victoria Beckham’s new Eye Wardrobe palette. “It’s sensational. It’s different from anything else out there,” she says of the just-launched shadow quads. “It’s really creamy, luxurious, and feels glamorous.”
Victoria Beckham Beauty
Eye Wardrobe
She’s partial to browns and other earth tones for her everyday looks, but that doesn’t mean she’s afraid to play. “If I want a little bit of fun, I always go to Mother,” she shares. (For those unaware, she’s referring to Dame Pat McGrath.) “I have some of her palettes that are fun [for] just a little splash of color in the corner of the eye or on the lid.” Usually, she opts for an aquamarine hue or “something bright in the pinks.” This palette below certainly fits the bill.
Pat McGrath Labs
Eye Shadow Quad: Sublime Blooms
Of course, every immaculate eye look needs a fluttery lash. “I have sparse eyelashes now from the cancer meds that I’m on, so I need a little help emphasizing them,” Evangelista, a two-time breast cancer survivor, shares. Currently, she swears by LoveSeen lashes, created by friend (and fellow panelist!) Jenna Lyons, as well as the $18 mascara below from 19/99. “It came up on my Instagram feed, and I fell for it,” she adds. “I love the brush, and it doesn’t make you look like you’re wearing thick, heavy mascara… It just gives me a little something.”
