Iman's 5 Best Beauty Secrets (Like Her Favorite Face Mask That Makes You Look 'Fresh Off Holiday!')
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
When Iman got her start in the modeling industry in the late 1970s, the makeup artists and hairstylists of the time were often not educated on working with Black hair and skin tones.
"At my third job with American Vogue, the makeup artist asked me the most perplexing question. He said, 'Did you bring your own foundation?' He proceeded to mix things and I swear, I looked gray," Iman tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story on newsstands now. "I was not a brown girl anymore. I learned that day to have some control of my image because there would definitely be makeup artists who don't know how to do my makeup and hair dressers who have no clue how to do my hair."
From then on, Iman took things into her own hands. She started "mixing and matching products" to formulate the correct shade for her skin tone and shared her findings with fellow Black models. "In the '80s, no self-respecting Black model would ever go to a fashion show or a photoshoot without carrying some kind of a foundation in her bag because most makeup artists didn't know a thing about how to do our face," she says.
Her passion for inclusivity and empowerment was the catalyst for Iman Cosmetics' inception in 1994. "That's where it came from — to empower Black girls to see and to have some kind of control of how we look. It was for women with all skin of color," Iman says.
Getty
It's no surprise that with her decades of experience as a model and beauty entrepreneur, Iman has discovered some of the best beauty tricks that help her feel her best. Read on for all of her secrets, below.
RELATED: All the Details on Iman's Debut Fragrance Inspired by Her Enduring Love for David Bowie
Make Skin Care a Ritual
Iman was taught the importance of taking care of her skin from a young age. "My mom started with me and my sisters the routine of skincare between the ages of eight to ten. She always used to say, 'The skin you take care of in your teens and twenties is the one you're going to inherit sixties and above.' You start early and you do it methodically, like brushing your teeth. It's an investment in oneself," she says.
Take Time to Mask
If there's one item in her routine that Iman says makes a major difference, it's using a sheet mask. "It's called SK-II 3D Redefining Mask. [Ed Note: While only available at SK-II Singapore, the brand offers another Brightening Derm Revival Mask at Sephora now.] I have no idea what's in it, but I'll tell you one thing: you could have the flu and you will put the mask on and when it does its job you look like you just came from a holiday," Iman says.
"That's how miraculous it is," she adds. "I swear by it."
Keep Moving
Fitness fuels the star, too. "I started really started working out around 30," she says. "I stay in shape by boxing and hiking. I cannot do a treadmill, because that bores the hell out of me."
Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: Iman on PeopleTV.com or on the PeopleTV app.
Love All of Yourself
"I've put on 8 lbs. during COVID, and it's an instant filler. It completely softened my face," Iman says.
While there's been a longstanding societal expectation for women to look thin, the supermodel rejects the notion of maintaining a "skinny" figure.
"People keep wanting to be extremely skinny with no body fat. As you get older that shows in your face and hands. You lose the collagen. People run to get fillers and stuff like that. I'm intending to keep the 8 lbs. Somebody once said it's either the face or the ass, and I'm going with the face," Iman says.
She adds, "Just because you are over 50 and you put on five pounds, dear Lord, let's not stress over that!"
Age Positively
Embrace each year of your life with gratitude and grace, Iman says. "In Africa, we are taught that it's a privilege to get old. I have never lied about my age."
Trying treatments to slow down the signs of aging simply isn't her thing. "Plastic surgery — I'm not against it, but it's not for me," Iman says. "But on Zoom, get yourself good lighting!"
For more from Iman, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.
