EXCLUSIVE: Supermodel Christie Brinkley Talks About the At-home Devices She Uses to Target Signs of Aging
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Supermodel Christie Brinkley is the brand ambassador and equity partner of SBLA, a brand known for its noninvasive at-home sculpting devices.
“My publicist started just going nuts over these wands, ‘Buy these. They’re fantastic. They’re amazing,’” said Brinkley over Zoom. “She was raving about the wands, so I gave them a try, and right off the bat, I loved what they did.”
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She was so impressed, in fact, that she contacted the brand’s cofounder and chief executive officer, Randi Shinder, the Canadian beauty entrepreneur (of Fusion Beauty, among other endeavors), and together they’ve partnered to rebrand SBLA, previously known as Spencer Barnes LA (named after the company’s other cofounder, Meghan Markle’s former makeup artist, Spencer Barnes — who remains a minority shareholder).
“Shinder Brinkley LA, we joke about what that SB stands for,” said Shinder.
The brand’s products include a $84 Facial Instant Sculpting Wand, a serum and device containing caffeine and plant-derived squalene to reduce puffiness and smooth lines; a $89 Neck, Chin & Jawline Sculpting Wand (also available in size XL), made for skin aging that’s “clinically proven to build collagen,” hydrate and brighten skin using biomimicking technology, according to the brand, and a $42 Instant Lip Plump & Sculpt Filler, a product to provide fuller lips and “lift the upper lip line.”
“They’re result-driven,” said Brinkley. She’s been using the devices religiously while home, unable to see her dermatologist, and has see improvement on her forehead, neck, jawline and décolletage, she said.
“Full disclosure, I go to my dermatologist to get, you know, these things,” continued Brinkley, pointing to her neck. “That’s my spot for Botox. And as you can see, I need to do that, but it’s going to have to wait but in the meantime.…I’ve been using these, and I am so satisfied with the results.…You know, I’m in the school of if I see something I don’t like, I’m just going to fix it right now, like ‘Hey, there’s a little wrinkle right here that I just don’t like. Can you just the most miniscule drop you’ve ever put in in your whole life? Because I don’t really want to see it.’ Right? And then it’s like, ‘OK, that’s enough. I’ll see you in a while.’ But with the quarantine, that goes out the window. This year, I’ve seen my dermatologist three times during the summer when it was safe. And then that’s it. These products give you what you’re looking for.”
She doesn’t use Botox on her forehead, she noted. She’s not a fan of the “frozen look.”
“I’m in my mid-50s, Christie is 67,” added Shinder. “It becomes the age where you just don’t want to look ridiculous or frozen, but at the same time, you just want to still feel naturally prettier, beautiful and still be able to say, ‘I’m OK with my age. I’m embracing it,’ but at the same time, that doesn’t mean I’m going to not be graciously dealing with certain things that are very simple issues to deal with.”
Business for the brand has done well amid the pandemic, as the beauty industry has seen a boom in sales of at-home products and devices, revealed Shinder. For the past three months, SBLA is up more than 70 percent compared to this time last year, and overall, it’s up 40 percent year-over-year.
“I do think that it’s a way to age gracefully,” said Brinkley. “I don’t want to vilify my wrinkles. I don’t want to, you know, give them a bad rep. I earned them, but if I can make them look just a little bit smoother, just a little less obvious, than I think that’s a good thing.”
She hopes to offer the same to buyers. Shinder — who plans to launch a body device next — echoed similar sentiments: “It’s exciting to think about what we could come up with that’s going to make women just a little bit more confident, just feel like they’re putting their best face forward.”
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