Supermodel and philanthropist Doutzen Kroes has been a L'Oréal girl for more than 10 years, and it was at the brand’s Paris Fashion Week show, which was open to the public yesterday, that we caught up with her backstage.
“No one ever does that at Fashion Week,” she tells Bazaar of it being open-access. “And that’s what L'Oréal does; they unite women to come together and share secrets and not be competitive. I definitely think it helps beauty and fashion become more democratic.”
We all know the tagline, ‘I’m worth it’, “but now it’s ‘we’re worth it’,” Kroes explains. “And that says it all. We’re sharing. It’s not about ‘look at me, I’m so fabulous’, it’s ‘look what you can achieve’ and we want everyone to feel good about themselves.”
In the vein of sharing, we asked the 33-year-old what she’s learnt along the way – in modelling and motherhood. Despite a career built on aesthetics, though, she says it’s more than skin deep.
My beauty philosophy is…
“I sounds so clichéd but it definitely chimes from within. You can put as much make-up on as you want, and hide certain things, but it’s cyclical. So, when you have gratitude and feel good, make-up emphasises how you feel already. I see products as a tool to look even better and then because you look even better then you feel even better – it’s a positive circle.”
I work on inside-out beauty, by…
“I’m discovering by practising gratitude - that when you feel grateful and find that in the smallest of moments you then find it over and over again. You feel happier and happier and happier – because you continue to find it everywhere. It’s a really nice way of living.”
As a busy mother of two, I…
“As a mother it’s very difficult to spend an hour in the morning on make-up! L'Oréal has a great BB Cream that I use and also in the summer they have one with SPF, so I wear this and mascara and that’s it. The volumising Unlimited Mascara is my favourite make-up product.”
If I have the night off, I…
“If I go out for the evening with my husband or with friends, I spend time in the mirror doing my make-up and I really love it – so I pick my moments. When I was younger I would spend an hour in the morning but my priorities have changed, so now when I do spend time on myself I really enjoy it. And I enjoy my job for that, it’s exciting to see how your face can change with different make-up.”
The best beauty tip I’ve learnt in my career is…
“...curling your eyelashes. Because when your eyes are tired or puffy in the morning and you curl your eyelashes it makes a huge difference. It was make-up artist Lucia Pieroni that taught me that.”
I look after my skin by…
“... using SPF. I cleanse in the morning and then put on a serum, cream and SPF. This is something I more recently started – when you’re younger you don’t really care about your skin, it’s just there – and as you get older you see it changing. I needed to step up my game! So I’ve been doing facials and masks and I look after it now.”
On my hair, I use…
“My favourite product ever is definitely Elnett [hairspray], but I also use the Elvive Extraordinary hair oil as a mask, before a shower. Put it in dry hair until it really absorbs, then rinse it out in the shower and it leaves a beautiful shine.
Doutzen Kroes's favourite beauty products
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