Nelly Moudime On Aging: Her Must-Have Beauty Products, Wellness Hacks & More

The beauty space mirrors the food space in a lot of ways. Not just in terms of innovation—biotechnology, upcycled ingredients, and the like—but the way we talk about food and beauty tends to parallel. Rich. Buttery. Pillowy. Glazed. I could be describing a hydrating night cream or a frosted pound cake. 

The sensorial experience (read: texture and scent) is an integral component in both beauty and food. Both categories are also intimately tied to emotion, culture, and identity. We could even bring up the gut-skin connection and the skin microbiome…but I digress.  

So it makes perfect sense that for Nelly Moudime, beauty and food memories go hand in hand. "Food is the language of love," the head maître d' at The Polo Bar and former model tells me over the phone. 

It's the people she loves most who have fueled her relationship with the restaurant world: She recounts going to the market with her grandmother, taking in all the smells and textures, and watching her cook various dishes at home. In the same breath, Moudime reveals how her grandmother would frequently massage natural oils into her skin. "It was just so full of love," she notes. 

"Now, I'm in a stage of life where less is more. When I was younger, I was modeling, so I wanted to replicate a lot of makeup on my face, contouring and all that. 

"As I'm getting older, I'm more accepting of who I am. I appreciate more of what I have. I'm blessed to have pretty good skin, so I just want products that make my skin feel happy and shiny. 

"I'm from Cameroon in Africa, so moisturizer. I think African kids can relate, especially the ones who grew up in Africa. It's just. We have different oils from different trees, nuts, and you have to moisturize your skin. 

"The way [my grandmother] would use oil to moisturize our skin and touch our skin… It was just so full of love. That would be one of my first [beauty] memories, spending a lot of time with her because my mother was working a lot. I can see myself and smell it.

"I've been experimenting for a long time with ice—that's one of my hacks. I never put hot water on my face. I massage my skin with ice cubes; I read about it maybe 15 or 20 years ago, and I never stopped doing it. Something about it just makes my face feel alive. I also finish my showers with one minute of extremely cold water.

"I'm very much into natural beauty, but at the same time, I'm super excited about all the findings with biohacking. I feel like we haven't tapped as much into the possibilities of our bodies. I'm going to have my first NAD infusion soon, and I can see myself experimenting with that [technology] and see how that will blend in with beauty in the future. 

"Cold showers are definitely something that are good. Sweating, getting rid of all the toxins are so important and easy to do with summer coming up. Take some long walks; that's very important. Through my gym, I'm able to go to the sauna. 

"And then definitely lots of water. Less french fries, which is my Kryptonite. Less sweets. It's very difficult at The Polo Bar…

"I love ILIA's Super Serum Skin Tint. It's very hard for me to find anything that matches my skin tone. I don't know how they did it, but they found something that really is perfect for my skin tone.

Their mascaras—I'm obsessed with mascara. I think I should have a mascara degree. Both the Limitless Lash Mascara and the Fullest Volumizing Mascara from ILIA are incredible. I don't know what they did, but they have the best formulas. 

"Experiment until you find what works for you—and don't forget to work out. 

"What makes me feel beautiful? It's so tricky. I'm going to start by saying that the past few years have been a little on the rough side for me when it comes to loving myself. I went through IVF, and it hasn't been the most positive journey.

"I was just so focused on that and forgot about myself, and I didn't even feel like I was beautiful anymore. I went back home, made peace with that side of the journey, then came back and decided that I would love myself. And I think that I feel the most beautiful when I decide to really care for and love myself. 

"I'm very lucky that I have the best partner on this journey, but [for anyone struggling with fertility], just be kind to yourself and really give yourself TLC. There are so many ways of being a mother, but there's only one you, so I would say to really take care of yourself.