This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of ELLE.
We've all heard the tired stereotype about the musician with a penchant for dating models. But what of the model who is a musician? And a good one? This coming March, the British-born, Nashville-based, preternaturally cool crooner/supermodel Karen Elson will serve up a long-awaited follow-up to her well-received 2010 debut album of folk-inspired ballads, The Ghost Who Walks (produced by her now-ex Jack White). Elson may have played muse to everyone from the late Alexander McQueen to Zac Posen, but don't expect an over-the-top stage look to promote the new album, Double Roses. "In this age of excess, the more unexpected thing is to look understated," Elson says. "That might be more poetic." Fashion's favorite chameleon has also become a little more discerning in her makeup and skin-care experimentation. "After 20 years of being a model, where every crazy thing is done to you, it starts to affect the way you look," Elson says. "I get dermatitis on my eyelids if the makeup artist uses a brush that's not soft or a product that's got too many ingredients. Sometimes I leave a shoot and I've got red eyelids. My eyebrows are plucked beyond belief. I just look like an alien. The biggest luxury to me is to be able to turn it down." Which is not to say she doesn't enjoy a beauty experience. "[Model] Maggie Rizer turned me on to fashion candles during one of my first Paris fashion weeks," says Elson, now an ambassador for luxe beauty brand Jo Malone London. "Recently, I've been traveling with the Green Tomato Leaf candle—it's everything I miss from home. It has a grounded brutishness to it, very fresh."
You do your own makeup for shows. How do you amp it up for the stage?
I'll do a cat-eye, with some highlighter in the corner, and skim a taupey Charlotte Tilbury eye shadow across my lid. Wasn't it something that Bette Davis said—redheads should never wear black mascara or eyeliner? I've really come around to that. I use more rusty tones, more dark greens.
What's the best trick that you picked up from modeling?
I always use my finger to apply lipstick for daytime, because that's how Pat [McGrath] applies it. There's no hard line, and it makes your lips look fuller. I clean it up at the end with a Q-tip—but you want a little bleeding to add a softness. I'm obsessed with Nars Dolce Vita for day, and for night, Chanel La Fascinante. Chanel nails deeper, darker reds.
Do you have a signature scent?
I completely admire that, but I want change! It's like clothing. Lately, I've been wearing Jo Malone London Wild Bluebell, a really delicate floral that takes me back to picking spring bluebells for my mother.
You're known for your fiery red hair, but it's taken a lot of abuse on set.
Oh my God, my hair is the bane of my existence! All I want is thick, red, curly hair down my back. And because I'm a model, a human rag doll, my hair is so mistreated. Every time I've gone on set for the past few years, they've put in big red hair extensions; they'll cut the extensions to thin them out and cut my actual hair in the process. Then they'll take the extensions out, and I'll have a mullet! I did PRP on my scalp [platelet-rich plasma injections to promote hair growth]—I'm going to be very honest about that, because the extensions were ripping my hair out. I had bald patches; it was humiliating. Now I have brand new baby hair that has started growing. It really helps. My hair literally was falling out in handfuls. I think stress was one of the factors—it really started to get disturbing. And I refuse now to let anyone glue hair extensions into my hair. I bring my own clip-ins. Social media is now part of the job of being a model or celebrity.
Do you feel an obligation to participate?
Our sense of perfection has been so skewed by Instagram selfies. They're retouched to high heaven! It's not real. I flat-out refuse to have a retouching app, but I'm not immune to it—every time I take a selfie, I'm like, "Shit! Filter that right now! Put it in black-and-white! Lift the exposure so my skin looks really nice!" It makes you feel like you're not good enough when you see yourself in real life. So many women I know—including gorgeous Victoria's Secret models who work out three hours a day—feel that way. If women knew that even the ones they see in magazines are equally hard on themselves, it might put all these things in perspective a little bit more.
1. "Tom Ford highlighter ($80; shop.nordstrom.com) is genius—it can be quite dark, but I mix it with my foundation to make it lighter for my skin."
2. Jo Malone London Wild Bluebell ($130, jomalone.com) reminds Elson of one of her first scents: "I bought it as a body wash on holiday and loved it."
3. For the Nashville resident, sunscreen is a necessity. "I'm religious about SPF. In summer I use La Roche-Posay, factor 50 ($39.99, laroche-posay.us)."
4. Elson loves calming Eve Lom Morning Time Cleanser ($60, sephora.com) for her sensitive skin. "It's incredible. I use it with a muslin cloth."
5. "[Hairstylist] Guido Palau gave me Redken All Soft shampoo ($7.75, ulta.com) at the end of a shoot. It does make your hair very soft, which is everything to me."
6. To fight redness, Elson refrigerates May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon 30 ($160, maylindstrom.com) minutes prior to use "so it's not as oily and is more soothing."
