Welcome to Skin Talk With Laura Love, our video series in which stars of fashion, film, television, and beyond share their beauty secrets with the licensed model and esthetician.
In the latest episode of Skin Talk With Laura Love, host Laura Love meets with a legend, an icon, one who is always the moment: Pat Cleveland. Dubbed the very first Black supermodel, the now 75-year-old’s career has spanned six unbelievable decades working the likes of Irving Penn, Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, and Andy Warhol, in addition to becoming a muse to Salvador Dalí for a stint. She has appeared on covers for Interview, Vanity Fair, Elle, and of course, W, not to mention her unforgettable participation in the 1973 Battle of Versailles (she was one of 36 models who walked). With an incredible life comes a host of memories about Studio 54, and doing Jerry Hall and Marie Helvin’s makeup for photo shoots. Naturally, Cleveland needs space that’s big enough to hold all those golden-age anecdotes—and her beauty bag (which is actually a carry-on suitcase) is the perfect size. “I brought my beauty bag, and it brought me to where I need to go, too,” Cleveland says.
Inside, Love finds all of the super’s beauty and skincare secrets tucked into neat packing cubes—including Cleveland’s self-formulated coconut and cashew yogurt mask, which she mixes with turmeric for a golden glow. “I make [it] for myself when I’m on holiday,” she says. “In the summer...you can take the time to make your own dessert for your face, because you have to feed your face.” She also juices a cucumber through a fine grater, then dabs the cooling liquid under Love’s eyes—a true hack for models on the go.
In a round of Lightning Looks, Cleveland recalls her favorite beauty memories in photos, including a picture of her in a golden dress by Kevin Arpino that ended up “like, 50 feet high” for the Brooklyn Museum’s Studio 54: Night Magic exhibition back in 2020. During her earliest days in the business, the model was doing her own makeup, even for cover shoots. “I would go home and practice in the mirror at night: how to put the eyeliner under, and attach the spider lashes with the glue,” Cleveland tells Love. She also recounts having to mix her own makeup during a 1966 Ebony Fashion Fair runway show, saying, “Nobody knew about brown or dark brown. You had to take the eye shadow and mix it with the foundation to match your skin. Everyone turned out looking really good, too.”
Finally, Cleveland gives Love a high-energy makeup tutorial, recreating the glam she applied for the cover of Vanity Fair in 1971. “I used a lot of theatrical makeup in my daily life, because it was powerful, and nobody [else] used it,” she says. “There’s not enough lip gloss in the world to apply,” Cleveland adds of her love for beauty, “because I want it all, I want it now!”
