Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you’ll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They’ll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can’t live without, the one good-skin tip they’ll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.
Up next, we’re getting to know supermodel Cindy Crawford, the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Below, she’s answering all of our rapid-fire questions and sharing her favorite products, best-kept beauty secrets, and more. Enjoy!
(Image credit: Courtesy of Cindy Crawford)
Congratulations on 20 years of Meaningful Beauty! Are there any lessons you’ve taken from your expansive career as a model and channeled into Meaningful Beauty?
Thank you! During most of my time working as a model, I wasn’t doing my own makeup. My job was to show up with clean hair, nails, and skin. That’s how I got passionate about skincare. In terms of being the founder of a beauty brand, I think what I learned from being around so many creatives is authenticity. I’ve seen again and again that what works best for a brand is a real story, vision, and mission. You can’t fake that stuff—especially now—because there’s so much direct interaction with your consumer.
As a model and beauty founder, could you share a few beauty tips and tricks you swear by?
The best beauty trick is having a makeup artist! But if you can’t have a makeup artist, young women today who want to learn how to do makeup have incredible online tutorials they can use. If my daughter wants to try something new with her makeup, she just goes on YouTube and learns it. My generation didn’t have that. For me, one of the things I learned from makeup experts is to make sure you have a good foundation and make sure it matches.
Another beauty secret I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that too much powder actually ages you because it settles in your creases. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment with your look! I’m speaking more to my age group, but it’s easy to get stuck in what was cool when you were 25. Go get a makeup lesson at a beauty counter and try something new so you don’t look dated! You can do the same thing for your makeup, hair, and approach to styling.
I always think it’s funny how past beauty trends make the rounds and influence younger generations. In fact, I’ve been seeing looks inspired by the 1992 Pepsi commercial you starred in floating around recently.
Oh, definitely! That entire look was timeless. The white tank top and pair of cutoffs I was wearing 32 years ago will never go out of style.
The full brows and big hair you wore for that shoot have also been on the rise lately! Are there any products you’ve been loving lately that you have with you when you’re on the go?
Well, obviously, I love Meaningful Beauty, and it’s always my go-to when it comes to skincare. I’m a big fan of dry-brushing for the body. I’m really obsessed with tongue scraping, which I travel with, and using the Dyson Airwrap because it makes it easy for me to do my own hair since it gives the tension I need with the brush and blow-dryer combined.
I don’t really wear a lot of makeup when I’m not working, so I love a perfect lip gloss that looks like the perfect bitten lip, like Tarte’s Maracuja Juicy Lip Plump in their black cherry shade. There are also old classics I always come back to, like an Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Natural Glow Foundation. I like to mix it with their Luminous Silk Hydrating Makeup Primer because I like my foundation sheered out a little bit for real-life wear with light coverage.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Cindy Crawford)
I’d love to hear more about Meaningful Beauty. What inspired you to dive into the skincare world and launch the brand 20 years ago?
At the time of the launch, I had been with Revlon for 15 years. My contract was up for renewal, and I was 35. Two things happened: First, I’ve always been passionate about skincare and felt that my job as a model was to show up as a model with great-looking skin. For me, it was less about the cosmetics and more about the actual skincare. Plus, I was 35 and was like, “Oh shit, my skin is going to age, too, like everyone else’s!” I had also met [Jean-Louis Sebagh, MD] in Paris when I was 28.
He’s the one who really showed me what good skincare could do. Before that, I don’t think I believed that there were really efficacious ingredients you could use on your skin that would actually make it look better. I understood the importance of a good, basic skincare routine like using moisturizer, but I didn’t know the science. It was the early days when science was really getting into skincare, and we were starting to see the results of retinol and other ingredients like that.
I had this passion for skincare, met the right partner, and was at a time in my life when I decided to do my own thing, and that’s how Meaningful Beauty was created! It’s called Meaningful Beauty because we wanted to create products that are meaningful. The name just kind of stuck.
It’s such a catchy name! Can you share what you wanted the biggest takeaway to be for consumers? What was the goal?
I grew up in the Midwest with a mom and two sisters. We weren’t raised reading fashion and beauty magazines, so when I got exposed to all that through my job as a model, I wondered how I could share what I had learned with women everywhere in a way that’s affordable, easy to use, and will always get great results. It was about bringing Dr. Sebagh’s expertise to my sister, my mom, and friends.
How has creating your own beauty brand influenced your perception of beauty?
To me, what’s meaningful about beauty is the confidence women can have when they feel good about themselves. Think about what it’s like when you have nice hair and a cute top, and you have that little “I got it going on today” feeling. When you look good, you can go through your life with confidence. My whole thing about the beauty line is less about achieving beauty and more about what happens when women feel beautiful. We’re not about starting trends. We just want to offer effective products to women that can be used daily. Skincare is a commitment. If you do it every day and you’re nice to it, it’ll be nice to you.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Cindy Crawford)
What do you see being the brand’s next chapter? What about 20 years down the line?
I don’t know about another 20 years from now since I don’t think that far ahead. Of course, we’re always innovating. What’s been really exciting this year and what I imagine will be going forward is tapping into our customers more. We just hosted a party in L.A. that we filmed with about 40 women who have been customers. Some have been customers since the very beginning! They are the best people to speak on the brand since they’ve committed to it for 20 years.
Moving forward, we want to listen to them even more and ask where we don’t have them covered. Should we be adding more haircare? What about bodycare? It will be about meeting women where they are and giving them what they want. We also want to bring their voices more into the brand message. It’s not a vanity project, and I want it to have a life beyond me. Meaningful Beauty is about creating meaningful products but also touching on what’s meaningful about beauty. I know we have some innovation coming with our day cream. We’re looking to add a device! We’re trying to give women more tools and confidence.
If someone wanted to follow in your footsteps—whether it’s modeling, starting a skincare brand, or both—what advice would you give them?
There’s a lot more diversity in modeling than when I entered the industry, and a lot of it is luck of the genes. Developing a personal brand and knowing who you are or what values you stand for is where you should start. Start with, Who am I, and what do I believe in? If you wanted to start a brand, you should ask if it’s organic and authentic to you [and] if you’re proud to put your name and face on it. I’ve always tried to use that as a test for every choice I make, especially professionally, to judge if something feels right.
Finally, what is your Unfiltered beauty philosophy?
Fake it ’til you make it! Also not being terrified of aging. Understand that it’s not always a piece of cake but accepting it and focusing on the good stuff.
Shop Cindy Crawford’s Unfiltered Beauty Edit
Meaningful Beauty
Youth Activating Melon Serum
Meaningful Beauty
Age Recovery Night Crème With Retinol
Meaningful Beauty
Lifting Eye Crème
Meaningful Beauty
Revive & Brighten Eye Masque
Meaningful Beauty
Skin Softening Gentle Cleanser
Meaningful Beauty
Anti-Aging Day Crème
Dyson
Airwrap Multi-Styler Complete Long
Armani Beauty
Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Oil-Free Foundation
Armani Beauty
Luminous Silk Hydrating Makeup Primer
Tarte
Maracuja Juicy Lip Plump in Honeysuckle
