Judi Dench Just Made History as the Oldest Person to Cover Vogue at 85

At an age when most people have long been retired, Dame Judi Dench clearly has no plans to slow down. The formidable 85-year-old actress just made history as the oldest person ever featured on the cover of Vogue, appearing on their British edition — and looking absolutely amazing while doing it.

It doesn’t take much to highlight Dench’s natural beauty, but her makeup artist from the photoshoot, Val Garland, shared some of the simple products and clever tricks she used to get the gorgeous results you can see below.

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Introducing the June 2020 issue of #BritishVogue where Dame Judi Dench, at 85, makes history as the oldest person ever to star on the cover of Vogue. Before the coronavirus pandemic forced the world into lockdown, @GilesHattersley visited her home in deepest Surrey to discuss everything from why retirement is completely out of the question, to how she has become a social media phenomenon – without being on social media herself. Click the link in bio to read the interview and see the full story in the new issue, on newsstands and available for digital download on Thursday 7 May. #JudiDench wears a trench coat by @DolceGabbana. Photographed by @Nick_Knight and styled by @KPhelan123, with hair by @SamMcKnight1, make-up by @TheValGarland, nails by @MikePocock and set design by @TomoTattle.

A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue) on May 4, 2020 at 8:57am PDT

If you can believe it, there’s not even a drop of foundation on Dench’s fresh face. The smooth complexion was instead achieved by giving her a face massage with a jade roller. “Massage is a great way of waking up your face and bringing blood to the surface,” Garland said. After that, she applied L’Oréal Revitalift Filler Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum ($29.99, Ulta) to plump Dench’s skin up a more.

To balance out any redness, Garland used a combination of Dr Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment ($52.00, Sephora) and a few dots of L’Oréal’s Infallible More Than Concealer ($11.47, Ulta). “What’s good about this concealer is that you can just spot it where you need it and, because it’s a long-lasting product, it just stays put,” the makeup expert explained. She then blended in some Florence by Mills Cheek Me Later Cream Blush ($14, Ulta) to add a touch of color to Dench’s cheeks.

There was one tricky element when it came to accentuating Dench’s beautiful baby blue eyes. According to Garland, “She is very allergic to mascara — but she likes mascara — so I was a little bit scared because I didn’t want to be giving any sort of irritation to Dame Judi Dench!” We’d be worried about that, too, but she was thankfully able to boost the actress’s lashes with La Roche-Posay’s Toleriane Mascara ($25, La Roche-Posay), which is specifically formulated for people with sensitive eyes.

We wouldn’t mind seeing more women like Dench on the cover of beauty and fashion magazines — especially when they look this good!