Aging Gracefully: What I Wish I Had Known at 25

I started modelling at 17. By 20, I was working in Paris, Milan, and New York. By 25, I was already hearing the word 'aging' applied to my face. In an industry where the average model's career peaks before 25, the pressure to look perpetually young is not just intense — it is existential.

What the Industry Got Wrong

The modelling industry — and the beauty industry it feeds — has spent decades selling women the idea that aging is a problem to be solved. That wrinkles are failures. That grey hair is surrender. I believed this for a long time. I spent thousands on treatments, products, and procedures trying to freeze time.

The most beautiful women I know are not the ones who look youngest. They are the ones who look most like themselves.

Why I Co-Founded VELPEPTIDE™

When Isabelle and Danica approached me about VELPEPTIDE™, I was initially hesitant. Another anti-aging brand? But their vision was different. VELPEPTIDE™ is not about looking younger. It is about looking like the best version of yourself — at every age. The science is about skin health, not age reversal. The goal is radiance, not youth.

I am 43 years old. My skin has lived in it — sun, travel, stress, joy, grief. I have lines that tell stories I am proud of. What I want from skincare is not to erase those stories. I want my skin to be healthy, hydrated, luminous, and strong. VELPEPTIDE™ is the first brand I have ever used that was built around that philosophy.

• —Great skin at any age starts with a healthy barrier — not with erasing lines.
• —Consistency over intensity: a simple daily routine beats a weekly 'treatment' every time.
• —Hydration is the foundation of all visible skin health — everything else builds on it.
• —Sunscreen is the only anti-aging product with 40 years of unequivocal clinical evidence.
• —The way you feel about your skin affects how you carry yourself — and that is visible in every photograph.