‘I smoke, drink, I’m not into Botox and I still look hot at age 69’: CARINE ROITFELD reveals how she does it

By James On Dec 23, 2023

She smokes, drinks, doesn't like Botox and still looks good at 69. Carine Roitfeld tells Rosie Green how she does it.

With her signature look – smoky eyes, sky-high stilettos and pencil skirts – Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of Fashion Paris is instantly recognizable to its beauty and fashion fans. Roitfeld is a long-time collaborator with the late Karl Lagerfeld and muse of Tom Ford. Roitfeld is also a proud mother and grandmother – and at 69, she's as sexy and stylish as ever. Here, the renegade – who started smoking five years ago, recently got her first tattoo and whose only concession to age is to lower her heel height from 11cm to 9cm – shares her style and beauty secrets.

1 Fingers are your best beauty tool

When I was working with Tom Ford on a fashion show, he said, “I want all the girls to have the 'Carine' eye.” It's a look I started with Fashion Paris: wet, glittery and smoky. The effect is worn in, not perfect, like you didn't remove it the night before, and it's created with your fingers – I always apply eyeshadow that way.

I'm currently working on creating my own eye makeup line so everyone can get the look. There are five products and they last a long time. You don't need a brush to apply them or to be a makeup expert. There will be no lining – I can't make a lining. As for mascara? Chanel mascara (above, £38, chanel.com) is my favourite.

2 That's not casual chic

When I first arrived Fashion everyone dressed in jeans. So I did the opposite: I created a grown-up look: tight jacket, tight sweater, knee-length skirt and high heels.

3 I always cut my own hair

They say you should get lighter as you get older, and I did have a blonde moment, but now it's dark again. I'm shy, so I wear my hair over my face and I also cut it myself because I don't like to look too perfect. People don't believe me, but I do a lot of it myself and am not picky about products – I use the hotel shampoo. However, when I need texture, I spritz on Sam McKnight's Lazy Girl Dry Shampoo because it doesn't look white on my hair. I hate washing my hair, so I go to the salon for that.

4 Obtain inked is cool

Last year I got my first tattoo and just a week ago I got more tattoos on my fingers. They are the initials of people I love. The children were very afraid of it, but the tattoos are very fragile.

5 Polished nails? I think they are polished

I get my nails done at a place near me. I don't like to spend too long in the salon, so I have them buffed instead of polished. I'm lucky that I love my feet and they still look good even after so many years of wearing high heels.

6 Boxing stones

I'm lucky that my body hasn't changed much – I have good DNA. I can fit into the clothes I wore 20 years ago – I have a white Galliano dress that John gave me a long time ago and I can still wear it now. I have been dancing and boxing for 15 years. I have back problems and they both help with that. I look small, but I am very strong. The exercise is also physically and psychologically good. I love the sound when I hit the punching bag. It's good if you love your teacher – mine is like a life coach.

7 Hold the shower

I hate them and would rather take a bath. I add Epsom salts to the water – they're inexpensive – and I also use a body brush on my skin.

8 Botox? No. Facial massage? Certainly

I don't have wrinkles, so I don't do Botox. I visit Hervé Herau every two months for my skin. He is my facialist and massager. He lives in my building – I'm too lazy to continue. He has his own range of about 15 to 16 products and I just use them. People say you should change brands, but I never do that. I was bad with my skin in the sun. I didn't use any protection because I hated the feeling of the cream on my skin, so now I have to have peels to get rid of the damage.

9 I'm big on small portions

I don't eat much, I have a small stomach. But I eat a lot of different foods. I'm not gluten free, I have cheese, meat and eggs. I love coffee. I drink wine and smoke. I don't like cooking.

10 Fragrance should be your signature

I love the idea of a perfume that sticks with you and can be worn for a long time. One you get for birthdays and Christmas. It becomes like your second skin. It's on your clothes, on your sheets. People recognize you by it. Everyone follows me by the smell of my perfume. In French we call it the sillage – the path. Bee Fashion everyone knew where I had been – in the office, in the elevator – by my smell. At that time I mixed Opium by Yves Saint Laurent and Fleurs d'Oranger by Serge Lutens.

I have always been loyal to patchouli. When I was young I could only buy it in the Indian stores, but now I have created my own perfume called Forgive Me. [above, £190 for 90ml, parfum-muse.com], which of course contains patchouli and white flowers. It is refined, classic; not too sweet or strong. My daughter is the face of it. She is very beautiful and feminine.