Christie Brinkley turns 70 today, but by the looks of her glowing complexion and smooth skin, we’re convinced she’s aging backwards. Looking back on our many interviews with the supermodel over the years, she’s always shared consistent responses when speaking on her anti-aging tips. Scroll through to read about her tried-and-true beauty secrets and best health advice for looking and feeling her best at 70 years old and beyond.
She spends time outdoors.
As we all know from the past two years, spending too much time indoors—and in front of screens—can wreak havoc on your skin. If you take a scroll through Brinkley’s Instagram page, you can see that the supermodel has no lack of vitamin D, as her feed is full of garden shots, bikini selfies, beach days and boats. Spending more time outdoors is not only associated with a younger-looking complexion, but has also been tied to improved memory, reduced inflammation and less anxiety and depression.
She wears SPF.
Because she’s outside every day, Brinkley doesn’t skimp on sunscreen. While she’s now strict with hourly application, the supermodel admits to hopping on the skin-saving bandwagon later in life. “I’m going to add an important beauty tip I wish I had heard sooner..protect your skin while enjoying your sweet happy life,” she writes in a recent Instagram post. “Be sure to use SPF every day. I’m wearing SPF 50, a swimsuit with long sleeved sun protection, and a hat! And if you didn’t wise up to the damaging effects of the sun fast enough like me, use @sblabeauty to reverse the signs of overexposure to the elements. Powerful peptides and active ingredients to help smooth fine lines and wrinkles, even out skin tones and tighten and lift your neck chin and jawline.”
She keeps her lips looking plump.
Thin and wrinkley lips can make the entire face appear aged, which is why Brinkley opts for SBLA Beauty Lip Plump and Sculpt ($42). By increasing blood flow to the lips, it makes them appear fuller and firmer with natural definition. Count us in!
She uses skin care on her neck.
In a recent Instagram post, the star dished on her favorite skin-care product for the neck: SBLA Neck, Chin & Jawline Sculpting Wand ($89). Brinkley is such a fan of the product, she recently announced her equity partnership with the brand, saying, “The instant my close circle of friends and I tried the Original Neck Wand, we saw results—I would think it was unbelievable if I didn’t experience it myself.” According to the brand, the wand distributes a collagen-rich serum that preserves the outer layers of the dermis and tightens the appearance of lax skin.
She eats an antioxidant-rich diet.
Brinkley credits much of her health to clean eating and a vegetarian diet (which she has been practicing since the age of thirteen). In an interview with NewBeauty, Brinkley tells us how she “subscribes to a rainbow diet.” She explains, “the more colors you can eat in a day, the better.” In the morning, she likes to start her day off with an array of colorful fruit and for dinner, she brings in greens by eating different vegetables. Her antioxidant-rich diet is also to thank for her effortless, dewy skin.
She relies on a variety of different workouts.
Brinkley’s toned body proves that she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to working out. She tells us that “the best exercise routine is not to have a routine, to mix it up.” Brinkley usually likes to warm up with her Total Gym, an at-home machine that forces you to use your own body weight to build strength. After that, she often finishes her workout outside, whether that means running through the woods, bike riding on the beach, paddle-boarding, kayaking or taking yoga classes. She switches it up every day, which allows her to work every part of her body and stay energized.
She believes in the power of supplements.
Biosil ($56), the supplement Christie swears by, is formulated to enhance the production of collagen, elastin and keratin. She tells us that whenever she would get stressed, her eyelashes would thin out in the corners and her hair would become patchy. “My great hairdresser friend told me to start using Biosil and that has really helped me a lot. The added benefit: my nails are better and it also builds collagen and elastin throughout the body. All the moving parts in your body need that for flexibility. It really helps everything from the heart to the blood vessels.” Also in Brinkley’s pill box: vitamins B, E and D, plus calcium to keep her nutrient levels up.
She started caring for her skin at a young age.
“I was a very early exfoliator,” says Brinkley of the practice she started after reading an article about how men always look five years younger than women the same age. Why? Because men shave almost every day, which provides daily exfoliation. She tells us that this is the most important part of her skin-care routine—along with lots of laughter, which is the best anti-aging tool.
Brinkley is also a huge user of sunscreen and tries to influence her kids to be the same. She tells us that putting off the use of sunblock is her “number one beauty regret because the fastest way to age your skin is the sun.” We couldn’t agree more!
She’s not afraid of procedures.
Brinkley has gone on the record many times about the in-office help she’s proud to have gotten. “It’s important to keep in mind that after plastic surgery, you still want to look like yourself. If my neck is making me look older than I feel, it’s really just about correcting a couple little things, it shouldn’t be a ‘make me look like someone else’ situation,” she says. Her go-to solution? Ultherapy, a noninvasive skin-tightening and lifting procedure that targets the skin on the neck, chin and brow to improve lines and wrinkles. “The thing I like about it most is that it’s so natural—it’s literally telling your body to behave the way it did when you were younger,” she tells NewBeauty. “When you’re younger, your body is naturally creating the collagen and elastin and giving you that youthful glow, and then it starts to slow down. Ultherapy says, ‘Not so fast. You get back in there and start doing your thing.’”
She’s not afraid to experiment with makeup.
As women, sometimes as we get older, we tend to shy away from bold, bright makeup looks on account of a fear of looking silly. But, Brinkley is proof that playing and experimenting with makeup knows no age. This past holiday season, the supermodel was spotted wearing a festive, bright red lip, her makeup artist Tim Quinn deemed a “holiday dazzle” moment. “For the lips, we went back and forth between subtle nudes or red-hot red and opted for Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lip Liner in Kiss and Tell ($25) and K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick in So Red ($35),” Quinn told NewBeauty. See, you’re never “too old” for a red lip!
She’s honest about going gray.
For a lot of people, men and women a like, going gray can evoke a lot of emotions—fear, angst, even sadness. But for Brinkley, going gray is nothing to fear, though she admits she’s not quite ready to let the natural strands grow in. This year, Brinkley met with celebrity colorist Rita Hazan to discuss covering her gray roots, and revealed in an Instagram video that “Women are very interested in gray hair, and it’s really cool on some people. Mine just isn’t that kind of cool gray hair yet.” We appreciate her candor—going gray is a big feat, and Brinkley’s ability to stay true to herself throughout this aging journey is key to her overall wellbeing.
She fosters a healthy relationship with her body.
While we know that Brinkley fosters a healthy lifestyle with her antioxidant-rich diet, supplements and diverse workout routines, another key part of looking and feeling her best has had a lot to do with changing ideas about beauty standards. Back in 2016, Bristie told us in her NewBeauty cover story that “Our perception of beauty has actually become more beautiful. We literally view beauty in such a wide expanse now; we’ve been exposed to so many images, so many magazines, so many different women. I think it’s really, really great. Look at Ashley Graham. She’s gorgeous and physically fit and she’s the hottest thing right now. That’s her body size and she looks really beautiful in that size. Women come in all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities. That’s the message, and it’s beautiful.”
