Why Cindy Crawford Stopped Wearing So Much Makeup As She Got Older

Cindy Crawford has transformed through the years from posing for her first model photo in the backyard of a high school boyfriend to achieving supermodel status in the 1990s. While she may not be a fulltime model anymore, she still has a recognizable face, and Crawford has taken to showing off what she looks like underneath the makeup. While some women might start to wear more makeup as they age to try and hide or distract from the perceived flaws and wrinkles that come with aging, Crawford has gone the other direction.

In a video for Vogue, in which she showed off her everyday morning beauty routine, she talked about prioritizing being able to get her day started quickly. And she noted her makeup reduction over time: "I have found as I've gotten older I wear way less makeup. I would say that's the biggest evolution for me which is kind of counter intuitive." It definitely seems to be a less is more kind of vibe that's all about letting her natural beauty shine through without any distractions from flashy, trendy makeup.

Cindy Crawford did note in the Vogue video that there was a trade-off for wearing less makeup. "Taking care of your skin is more important because you're not covering it up with makeup." Crawford has her own skincare line called Meaningful Beauty and, as you might guess, she uses plenty of products from that line as she gets ready everyday to help keep her skin healthy and beautiful, including a serum, an eye cream, and a moisturizer with SPF.

For her minimal makeup look, Crawford's approach is rooted in a few basics. Crawford's go-to mascara is Maybelline's Lash Stiletto, which is just $11.99 on Amazon. She also wears light powder and concealer and just a touch of eyeshadow. It's very much the "no-makeup" makeup look (which you can pull off too); as she told Byrdie in 2020, "I don't ever want to look like I'm wearing makeup."

It turns out that even Crawford's minimal makeup look is a bit much for her husband Rande Gerber; she said that he actually prefers her with no makeup on. "But I do explain to him that women do makeup for other women, not men," Crawford said.