New York Fashion Week was jam-packed with cream puff dresses and perfectly styled food, two things I wouldn’t dare complain about. However, if you’ve got a smidgen of attention left to spare, I’d love to let you in on the most overlooked takeaway from the past two weeks: a panoply of skincare tips, straight from the models’ mouths.
Sitting patiently while several strangers touch your face might seem like the stuff of nightmares, but it’s the reality of each and every model who participated in fashion week. Having your pores poked, prodded and plastered with product day after day sounds like a one way ticket to break-out city, right? And yet, the collective spectacle of glowing skin on runways and at presentations last week gave me the distinct impression that these models might know something about skincare that I don’t. (Either that, or they have really stellar genes.)
To find out, I weaseled my way backstage at four shows — Sandy Liang, Prabal Gurung, TOME, and MIAOU — and asked models to share their facial routines. While there were a handful of product recommendations that individually cost more than I’d like to pay for a week’s worth of groceries, most of these tried-and-true favorites cost $50 or less. It’s also worth noting that many of the models fell into one of two skincare camps: natural-minimal (i.e. coconut oil, aloe vera, apple cider vinegar), or cult favorites (i.e. Avene, Biologique Recherche, Mario Badescu). Which do you fall into?
Below, 18 models’ answers to the question: Amid all of the chaos of fashion week, how do you ensure your skin is cared for and protected? Meet me in the comments to discuss, I’ll be waiting with a sheet mask.
Photos by Imani Randolph and Kell Cholko.
