Cindy Crawford On Dry Brushing, Blow Drying, & The Beauty Hill She'll Die On

In TZR’s Face Time, celebrities and tastemakers get up close and personal about how they approach their beauty routines — from holy-grail products to ultimate inspirations and everything in between.

A strong argument could be made that Cindy Crawford isn’t just a supermodel, but the supermodel. At the height of the term’s usage in the 1990s, you were just as likely to watch her gliding down a runway in Chanel or Versace as you were to catch her promoting soda pop in cutoffs during a commercial break (perhaps while watching MTV’s House of Style, which she hosted for several years). Some girls were editorial, some girls commercial, but Crawford did — and does — it all. And that’s due in no small part to the relationship she builds with the camera. A good model emotes, but a great model tells a story: with her body, her face, and especially her eyes.

So Crawford’s partnership with Upneeq, a prescription eye drop that addresses low-lying eyelids, makes a lot of sense. And it’s one that came about naturally: During a panel discussion hosted by the brand on a balmy September afternoon in New York City, she shared how she first heard about Upneeq — not through an agent or business manager, but her own dermatologist three years ago. The drops, which can be used once a day, provide instant eye-opening for up to eight hours — pretty ideal for a photo shoot (if you’re a supermodel) or ahead of a big event (for the rest of us).

After the panel, The Zoe Report got to chat with the supermodel about her beauty icons, must-have products, go-to treatment, and more.

The Beauty Hill She’d Die On

“Long hair for women over 50! I’ve had long hair my whole life. I wouldn’t feel like myself if all of a sudden, I [went], ‘Oh, I’m 60, I gotta have a short haircut.’”

Her Favorite Beauty Reference

“I would say, Raquel Welch. That kind of darker beauty — like Sophia Loren — spoke to me, because I had dark hair and dark eyes.”

The Three Beauty Products She Can’t Live Without

“Meaningful Beauty’s Day Cream, which has SPF; the Dyson Airwrap, because I can get good tension [on my hair when doing a blowout]; and Upneeq Eye Drops.”

The Beauty Product That’s Been In Her Routine The Longest

“Dry brushing. I love dry brushing. Another model told me about it when I was still modeling in Chicago, so I was 19 or 20. I was subletting her apartment, and she had one. I was like, ‘What’s this?’ and she told me, so I got one. I just feel so invigorated by it. Like, I love the way it feels.”

How Her Idea Of Beauty Has Changed Over Time

“Beauty does matter; I think it’s easy to be like, ‘Oh, that’s just superficial,’ but the reason that it matters is because of how it makes us feel. As I've gotten older, it’s like, ‘Does it make me feel good?’ As opposed to trying some trend that really doesn't suit me.”

The Style Trends She Can — And Can’t — Get Behind

“We all wore skinny jeans for a while, and now we’re not wearing skinny jeans — and that took me a minute, because I liked skinny jeans! And I think it’s hard when you wore high-waisted jeans 30 years ago, then you’re wearing them again, and they can kind of look like a mom jean. I don’t want to be one of those women who’s stuck wearing the same style that they’ve been wearing; I want to have an awareness of what’s going on in the fashion world, but I want to interpret it through what feels authentic to me.

And then, a trend that I was just like, ‘I can’t do that’: It’s really hard for me to wear sneakers. Sneakers, to me, are for working out. I’m trying! And by the way, they are really comfortable. I get it. That, or leggings at the airport. I would never. I wear straight jeans, or maybe a trouser [with] a little bit of stretch to it but doesn’t wrinkle, so it still looks good. I’m still a bit of a romantic about traveling, so I want to feel pulled together.”

Her Go-To Beauty Treatment

“I do like radio frequency for the face, because there’s no downtime, it’s not painful, and you get a little lifting and firming; I’m all about non-invasive.”