It’s ITG’s 11th birthday, and you’re invited to the party. Bring your dancing shoes, your best glittery shadow, and a notebook—because you’re going to want to take notes. It’s not weird, we promise! Especially when the other party attendees are the models, actors, makeup artists, and dermatologists who’ve shared their best beauty tips with us over the past decade plus. It’s not necessarily about buying something new, or splurging on a fancy treatment—these expert tips will make you look at the products you already own totally differently, or at least they did for us. Below, you’ll find every clever trick and not-talked-about industry secret that’s made us say, “Ohhhh, so that’s how they do it!” So go ahead—take notes! It’s our party, and we’re always down to share.
Skincare
“Get a routine and figure out which products you like. Nobody can use three retinols, three night creams, and two day creams. If you’re going to deviate from your core products, only do it one at a time.”
—Patricia Wexler, Dermatologist
“People get obsessed with what moisturizer they should be using, but moisturizer is to keep the hydration in your skin. There are lots of different ones that have all these active ingredients, but honestly, just use Nivea. To me that and La Mer are one and the same.”
—Sofie Pavitt, Aesthetician
“A facialist in London told me to leave any jade tools in a glass of ice water in the fridge, and it will help instantly with depuffing. So anything I use for depuffing—eye masks, mists, certain moisturizers, and my tools—all stay in the fridge.”
—Bec Wilson, PR Beauty Director
“I’ve also been going to the Tribeca Medspa for dermaplaning for years. I started when I was on billboards for Estée…When the photos are so close-up, you have to take care of the peach fuzz that you don’t always notice on your face. No one really knows about it, but I was reading some stuff about how, back in the day, movie stars like Sofia Loren would shave their faces and it actually is really good exfoliation for your skin.”
—Hilary Rhoda, Model
“Because I like my work, I treat myself when it comes to Botox and fillers. Not trying to sound like a narcissist, but it’s the truth. I tell my patients to look at their doctor and the office staff, because that’s the aesthetic they’re going to get.”
—Shereene Idriss, Dermatologist
“I wear SPF, which is key because people think that Black people don’t need SPF, but SPF is key, key, key, in everything, every day. When I hit 40, Patricia [Wexler] said I needed SPF 45 and I said, ‘I’m not white!’ And she said, ‘No, you do.’”
—Iman, Model
Makeup
“As a makeup artist, I’m not the type to say, ‘Less is more,’ but I think if the skin and the brows always look natural, you can wear as much of the other stuff as you want, because there’s balance in the face. That’s my kind of ethos.”
—Katie Jane Hugues, Makeup Artist
“When you use foundation, you have to think about the neck, ears, and scalp matching—I spend a lot of time prepping the skin so I can just spot correct. I blend out a full perimeter, and then I’ll use setting powder to mattify just the shiny part of a pimple.”
—Shayna Goldberg, Makeup Artist
“If I want an even, more kind of translucent look to my foundation, I take a piece of Kleenex and I just pat it on my face lightly to remove the extra product on my face, and it’s a more breathable look.”
—Victoria Loke, Actress
“I tell people how to remove the shadow around the lips with concealer, or to put highlights on the top of your cheeks, to lift them, and on the cupid’s bow above your lips, to make your lips look bigger. All these little tricks, like using a creamy blush, which catches the light so it will look like you have no shadows, like you slept for 20 hours.”
—Violette, Makeup Artist
“The secret with makeup is that it has to look three dimensional. I’ll do foundation like burnt toast—lighter towards the center of my face and darker around the perimeter.”
—Nam Vo, Makeup Artist
“I use By Terry Touch Expert Ultra Radiance Active Concealer under my eyes and around my nose and I draw a line straight down my face, then blend it with a sponge. I learned that from Kevyn Aucoin—that little highlight straight down the middle of your nose instead of contouring.”
—Cindy Crawford, Model
“I once had my makeup done in London by a woman who did Kate Moss, and she only uses shadows—she never uses any line. That’s the real secret weapon of the fashion industry and these people who do makeup on beautiful people when they want to look normal, but better than the rest of us. She used seven different types of skin-toney powders and eyeshadows…all those colors that are not colors and look like they could have been pantyhose.”
—Sally Singer, Vogue Creative Digital Director
“I don’t love eyeshadow because I find that it can age me, but one of my favorite makeup artist tricks is to contour my eyelids. I put a little bronzer in the crease, and it gives my eyes some nice depth. I look made up, but not makeup-y.”
—Lily Aldridge, Model
“I learned everything I know about makeup from artists like Pat McGrath. I now use my fingers to apply lipstick. She never uses the brush—ever. Even applying eye shadow sometimes—she’s literally hands on.”
—Karen Elson, Model
“I use my fingers a lot for foundation and concealer, because the warmth of your hand helps blend it in. I always do it with this pat-pat-pat-pat motion. By putting the moisturizer on and patting the foundation or concealer in, you’re livening up the skin and giving it a mini-lift by increasing circulation; the skin does really glow afterwards.”
—Charlotte Tilbury, Makeup Artist
“Normally, it’s some mascara and Colour Riche on my lips and on my cheeks for a glossy sheen. A lot of times, I’ll put the residue on my eyelids, too, if I don’t want to deal with eye shadow. A good lip color will go everywhere. It looks shiny and healthy and pretty and kind of sun-kissed.”
—Mila Jovovich, Actor
“I’ve used Eight Hour Cream for years and years. I put it on my cheekbones for a little highlight, and I put it on my eyes, because it keeps your eyebrows in check. Liv Tyler was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s what you do!’ That’s my top tip.”
—Rosemary Ferguson, Model
“I use eye cream on my lips, because the skin on your eyes and the skin on your lips are similar. If you wear matte lipsticks you don’t want to use them over a lip balm like Carmex or Chapstick because the texture will change. Eye cream conditions and softens, but it also sinks in.”
—Sir John, Makeup Artist
“I think the thing with nude [lipsticks], if they’re not sheer, is you need to put a lip balm on first and then pat it in with your finger. There is nothing worse than a chalky, dry nude lip.”
—Fara Homidi, Makeup Artist
“I have this tray with all my makeup on it so I can bring it anywhere the light is good. Don’t put your makeup on in the bathroom unless you have a good window—without the right light and a magnifying mirror, you’re going to walk out of the house with streaks.”
—Linda Evangelista, Model
Body
“People always ask me if I use The Ordinary, and I do—their Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution goes on the back of my arms too, and I use the red AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution on my feet to get rid of calluses. I’ll cover myself in a chemical exfoliator before I use self tanner, and then the tan lasts a really long time.”
—Charlotte Palermino, Dieux Skin Founder
“I put little drops [of fragrance] on my fingers and put some under my arms and in my belly button. My dad taught me that—if you put it where you heat up, the smell stays with you.”
—Liv Tyler, Actor
“I still use scented soap to wash my panties and bras. I buy my undershirts in Italy—usually silk, cotton, or cashmere. I like to have my underwear and undershirts smell of my soap. It’s nice because your skin never smells like the stuff you use in the shower, but when you wash your underwear in it, if you sweat a little bit you kind of smell it coming up from your clothes.”
—Debi Mazar, Actor
Hair
“My hairdresser, George Northwood, and I came up with the idea of ‘Future Cuts.’ For example, the plan was to grow out my fringe and then cut it short, so during that process he’s done less layering so it grows nicely. ‘Future Cuts’ are about planning ahead instead of being reactive, so it grows into the thing you want it to be.”
—Alexa Chung, Host and Designer
“True to form, I didn’t have curly hair until puberty. At like, 24, I decided to learn how to take care of it on my own. One of the biggest revolutions was using a low-suds, sulfate-free shampoo and a really juicy moisturizing conditioner.”
—Harling Ross, Writer and Brand Consultant
“For [curly] hair, it takes a lot longer for the sebum from our scalp to reach the end of the cuticle, because it’s battling against all these bumps. It’s like climbing a mountain. You don’t really want to use [oil] on the scalp. That’s why people battle with dandruff.” —Cyndia Harvey, Hairstylist
“Take a chunk of your hair in the straightener, flip it, pull it away from your face, and let it glide away from you. That creates a perfect corkscrew curl. I always straighten the ends, because perfect corkscrew curls are not cool. If I’m ever going somewhere, I at least do that to the front of my hair so that I look presentable.”
—Emily DiDonato, Model
“Buns are pretty awful on our hair. We use so many bobby pins—it’s insane how many cases of bobby pins I have—and I get a lot of hair breakage. One trick I’ve learned is to use conditioner instead of hairspray to make my hair stay back.”
—Misty Copeland, Ballerina
“I used to get frustrated when I had to detangle my hair, and [Vernon François] taught me how to do it with no products, no tools, no nothing. You just do it with your fingers. It takes time and patience, but you don’t lose any hair. And not only does it detangle, it gives you amazing texture. It’s the antithesis of everything you’ve been taught as a curly girl.”
—Elaine Welteroth, Host
Photo via ITG