LINDA RODIN ON GROWING OLDER
Beauty tips from the former model, boutique owner and stylist
Linda Rodin began her beauty empire in 2007 with a single product. Rodin Olio Lusso, a blend of essential oils with sleek Art Deco-inspired packaging, was an instant hit in fashion and beauty circles. In turn, Rodin, a former model, boutique owner and stylist, became a kind of street-style icon, with her signature grey hair, oversized glasses and red lipstick. Rodin’s first cleanser was introduced last month. She spoke about finding the perfect formula for it, a fondness for clumpy mascara and her philosophy on ageing.
You just came out with your first cleanser. It’s in powder form. How did you come up with that?
When I was growing up, my sister and I had this granular goop we put on our face. We just loved it. It felt really clean. Fast-forward 50 years, and I saw a Japanese cleanser that had a granularity to it and I thought, ‘I could figure this out’. It took over two years to come up with the right consistency, though.
How did you come up with the original oil recipe?
I’ve always used oils for little things, arnica for a bruise, jojoba oil for a massage. I just put together everything I loved in a coffee cup. I made it like salad dressing, by eye without a formula, and I could tell if it was right. I was working as a stylist and brought it to photo shoots and everybody wanted some. And here we are!
Estée Lauder recently bought Rodin. How is that going? Does it give you more freedom?
It doesn’t give me more freedom. I still make everything and decide what I want to make. They clearly understand it’s my vision. I have so many things in the pipeline that aren’t ready yet.
Like what?
I’m not allowed to say. I have a big mouth, and now it’s like, ‘OK, let’s wait to discuss’. I guess that’s a difference, which is OK with me.
Do you wear much make-up?
Just lipstick. I wear hot colours. My mother would drive us to school in her nightgown, and I remember her backing out of the driveway while putting lipstick on. Now I get it. I feel so naked without it. I wore eye make-up in the 60s and 70s. Now and then I’ll put on clumpy Maybelline mascara, which I love.
Why clumpy?
My eyelashes are so wild and I like them wacky. I don’t like perfection in eye make-up. I wish I could do a cat-eye. If I could look like Brigitte Bardot with a cat-eye, I would do it.
What do you think of young women who are dyeing their hair grey?
I think it’s kind of funny. I had dark hennaed hair, and at 33 I could see the white hairs turning pink from the henna. I stopped it then. People tell me I should dye the hair, that I would look younger. Dyeing my hair is not going to make me look younger, I promise.
There is something to be said for ageing gracefully.
I don’t think it is graceful, to be honest. There’s nothing graceful about it. It’s not easy. You think, ‘I used to be so cute’. I did try filler on my nose and chin. It was well done and nobody noticed, I’m sure. But I thought, ‘I’m morphing into someone else. Where is this going?’. I never did it again. Who was I fooling in the end?