Cara Delevingne Shares Her Realest Supermodel Beauty Secrets

It was rainy in Los Angeles when Cara Delevingne answered the phone, but that’s exactly how she likes it — in bed, unglammed, cuddling with her dogs. The 33-year-old “It” girl, model, and actor has built a career on calling things exactly like they are, and our conversation was no exception.

Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25, she joined L’Oreal’s Stand Up Against Street Harassment campaign. “Being able to defend yourself is also part of feeling self-reliant, confident, and beautiful,” she told me.

Below, the supermodel and Victoria’s Secret angel mentioned a few more things she can get behind — including the “caveman” method, indie sleaze makeup, and chin filler.

What was your first beauty-related memory?

I remember my mom's bathroom being a very fun place. I probably took one of her lipsticks and tried to eat it.

What order do you get ready in?

If someone else is doing it, I'll do everything at once because I like the stress of that. But if I am doing my own … Makeup, hair, outfit.

What beauty phase are you in right now?

A little bit more glam, but also simplified. Hair dictates a lot — I love being back to having really long, dark blonde hair. I can just smudge on a black eyeliner or put on an easy matte lip, like the Infallible [Liquid Lipstick]. Really, since I have eyebrows, I can just throw on a lip and bounce out the door.

How do you feel about the indie sleaze makeup revival?

I love when things come back. It makes me so happy. I'm a bit of a hoarder, so give me an indie sleaze revival with my skinny jeans and matte lips any day.

What’s on your GRWM playlist?

I actually made a playlist called “Gay.” It’s like Tracy Chapman, Renee Rapp, Chappell Roan, Little Simz, and my girlfriend, Minke.

I read that you do ice bath dunks after learning it from Kate Moss. Have you picked up any other supermodel secrets over the years?

Don't get surgery — just use tapes in your hair. It works so well if you just want to pull your eyebrow back a bit. Plus, loads of people think I got lip filler when I just get my makeup artist to overline my lips. Joan Collins, my godmother, taught me that.

On that note, do you think cosmetic work can be empowering for women?

Empowering? Yes. It's difficult because I grew up self-conscious about a lot of things, but I was very against it. But now, I've done things. I was super insecure about my boobs. I had a boob reduction, and that really helped me. I've had Botox before, and now I've stopped because I like [Platelet-Rich Plasma injections] better. As an actor, I want to be able to move my face as much as possible.

I've had filler in my chin. I never had a chin, and that was also a problem for me. I do think it's a very important thing to be able to talk about because it's not anything to be ashamed of. Has it fixed the negative self-talk? No — nothing, I think, will fix that apart from taking time every day to say, “I'm enough.” But it does make a difference, and I think it can be empowering, especially when we all talk about it. Genuine happiness with yourself comes from somewhere deeper, but that's a whole other conversation.

It’s interesting because I feel like celebrities have become more transparent in the past year or so about the work they’ve gotten done.

I think it's fantastic. I really do. I used to get upset about it when I was a younger model because I was like, “I know people are getting stuff done. Why is no one talking about it?” It's not healthy for young girls to be looking at this going, “That should be me.” There's nothing wrong with it. I mean, men are getting hair plugs. Let's all just be honest.

How many steps are in your skin care routine?

Oh, I keep it super simple. I have a face wash. I really like the Revitalift hyaluronic acid [serum], especially when I've been traveling. But actually, I try not to use moisturizers that much because my skin is on the oilier side.

Have you heard about the caveman method? It's this trend on TikTok where people go completely without skin care to give their face a detox.

I think that actually makes sense. I don't do that on purpose, but I definitely caveman a lot without meaning to.

And last question — of course, L'Oréal has a long history of activism, but what made the Stand Up cause especially meaningful for you to rep?

One of the most important things is protecting yourself — as well as being able to stand up for other people. As humans, especially when it comes to gender-based violence or harassment, we should feel safe knowing that people will help us. Being able to defend yourself is also part of feeling self-reliant, confident, and beautiful.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.