Secrets of Slayage: ESSENCE Festival Speaker Cynthia Bailey Shares Her Beauty Secrets

Who better to get beauty secrets from than a 48-year-old model who possibly looks better now than she did in her runway heyday? Real Housewives of Atlanta star and ESSENCE Festival speaker Cynthia Bailey is no stranger to slaying. Her hair is laid, her skin glows and her body is fleeky. As we count down to ESSENCE Festival — we’re only nine days away! — we asked the model/entrepreneur/reality star to let us in on how she’s pushing 50 looking like she’s in her 30s. Here’s five of her secrets of slayage. 

1. Hairfinity. “I like taking Hairfinity vitamins because although I work with a lot of wigs and extensions, I also work with my natural hair as well. I want to always make sure that it is beautiful, strong and healthy.”

2. Kevin Aucoin concealer. “I love this concealer because it just works better than anything I’ve ever tried. I’m a little dark. I have a little dark pigmentation under my eyes so I want something that is going to cover it in real life and on TV. I find that his concealer just consistently works for me. I’ve used it for years, never even used anything else. It’s just a great product and I highly recommend it if you have dark pigmentation under your eyes. And it lasts a long time too because a little goes a long way. I don’t know how long you’re supposed to keep makeup, but I usually just get one every year. I can use it for a whole year because a little goes a long way. It literally lasts like forever because it takes a very small amount to cover under each eye.”

3. Perfect Hair extensions. “I am the hair queen on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. I like to change it up. I’ve never been just a hairstyle. People actually look forward to seeing my different hairstyles on the show. I like to keep it fresh, and Perfect Hair extensions just gives me a lot of different textures and length to work with to always keep a new look going — to create new looks and styles. I really look at hair as an accessory. I think I change my hair like I change my jewelry, every day if I can. Look out for my Cynthia Bailey Perfect Hair collection wig line that is currently in development.”

4. Seaweed body soap. “It keeps my skin beautiful. It’s just amazing. I get it from Dr. Kevin Brown from Precision. Seaweed body soap is incredible and you can find out on Instagram how to get all the stuff, but it just lasts a long time and has a beautiful smell, which is important to me. It just leaves my skin moisturized. I don’t really even need to use lotion after I bathe in this soap because it’s just so moisturizing.”

5. Firm and Fade eye cream. “It’s from Dr. Simon Ourian and his place is called EpiOne. All the celebrities go to him. He’s on Instagram. Getting back to the dark pigmentation under my eyes, he gave me this procedure. Hurt like hell, but it was worth it to just put fillers underneath my eyes because you know, I’m getting older, and as you get older, you start to lose fat on your face, which is good for me because I have great bone structure, so it just makes my stuff look even more chiseled. But under the eyes I just needed a little more fat back underneath. I had that procedure, which I highly recommend for my older sisters that may need a little help around the eyes. This amazing Fade and Firm eye cream that I use every night is incredible. It definitely helps me slay. Everyone comments on how young I look all the time, and I definitely think one of the things that you notice first when you look at someone is the eyes. If they look good and young and fresh, then you look good and young and fresh. It’s the only thing that I really try to stay on top of. I’m pretty good everywhere else on my face, but I don’t get a lot of sleep because I work all the time. I definitely try to take care of my eyes.”