Taylor Dayne turns 47 Saturday, but unlike most celebrities she isn’t shy about revealing how she keeps her look youthful. (This time, it’s not just water and being happy.)
In this interview, the ‘80s pop star-turned-Gone Country 3 crooner talks frankly about her cosmetic procedures, the impact a superficial world has on her as a parent to twins Astaria and Levi, 7, and how she maintains her shape. Plus, she opens up about her friendship with Paula Abdul.
What’s your secret to looking young?
Listen, a little Botox here and there doesn’t hurt. That’s one thing. But people don’t talk about skincare. Laser treatments are remarkable for your skin and sun damage. And a great product routine on your face – whatever works. I think that’s really key. That’s helped a lot for me. And I’m telling you – exercise, exercise, exercise. Staying in a great frame of mind over the years.
As a woman, as you get older, you get challenged by that all the time because your body works against you a lot because we are hormonally challenged so much.
Your emotional state really reflects your outer beauty on a lot of levels. Emotionally, I’ve always been challenged that way. I always had a lot of anxiety in my body, you know, so working out helps with that, and I believe in a lot of hormone replacement therapy. It’s worked for me successfully.
You mentioned Botox, but a lot of people say they can’t move their face after getting treatments…
[Laughs] Well, is that such a bad thing? [laughs] I don’t know that that’s such a bad thing. I have no idea what they’re referring to.
Brows? Anything excessive, you’re going to have problems with it. I can promise you, if I have too many martinis, I’m going to have problems the next day. Everything in moderation.
But the whole idea of starting Botox and fillers when you’re 60 or 70, that’s when you get that stuff? I don’t think so. It’s preventative. It stops your face from getting lines. I have a different theory on it, from creasing, from starting the process.
The most beautiful women I’ve seen – there are ways to go about the process looking like a beautiful woman. I don’t look 20 years old, I don’t look 25 years old. Come on.
What would you recommend for someone in finding a good plastic surgeon?
Well, Botox is hardly plastic surgery. It’s dermatology now. That’s not surgery. There are so many people who are doing it now. There are estheticians and clinics that have that. I just say look into it, make sure it’s a good source and decide if it’s for you.
As a parent, do you think there’s too much emphasis on looks these days?
I think there always has been, but I think we’re looking at a younger generation, and that’s the part that I struggle with just looking at my own daughter and my son because children today are influenced by a lot of things we weren’t. We didn’t have videos and stuff like that. It’s a hardcore world out there. The girls are growing up real young, and thinking they can be all sassy and sexy.
When I think of when I was 15 and how I was dressing for the boys, you know, and I look at the 15-year-olds now and the 13-year-olds now, and how they’re dressing for the boys … it’s tough. It’s real hard to rope it in.
Any budget beauty tips you can share?
Everybody does a Vitamin C mix. A, E, and C. You can take a Vitamin C in the morning or in the evening, and crush it up like Ester C and use it in a wash when you do your face at night. You can do that with Vitamin K, too – you can crush up the tablets and put that in a wash. You might leave that on – it helps with sun damage.
There’s a lot of stuff like that. A, E, and C are in stuff like Ester C when they say they put Vitamin C on their face. You usually do that during the day, to be honest, before you put your sunblock on. It’s really good for the skin. It’s really, really good.
Otherwise, I always have an A and D ointment I’ll put on my hands or I’ll put it on my chapped lips. An A and D ointment is really good stuff. I always have a Kiehl’s lip balm. Even MAC has this great Dazzle gloss. I always have to have something on my lips.
Do you believe in dieting? How do you stay thin?
I hate dieting, but what am I going to do? With this body, I have to. I don’t naturally have Angelina Jolie’s body, let me tell you. I’m a curvaceous girl.
It’s a day-to-day thing. It sucks. It’s awful. High protein, low carbs. I’m not a big sugar mama, so that’s OK, but the usual high protein, good food. Try to stay away from processed foods, because at the end of the day, that always kills you.
How do you stay in shape?
I like to mix it up. I do anything from hiking, running, I do something called Barry’s Boot Camp a couple times of week if I can do it, and just straight-up go to the gym.
What’s Barry’s Boot Camp all about?
Oh, it’s high-impact cardio and free weights, just mixing it up. It’s thirty minutes in a row. It’s high-impact aerobics, running and inclines and all that crap, and then thirty minutes of free weights and military positions if you will.
Do you keep in touch with other stars from your heyday? I know Paula Abdul was around during your time.
Well, I’ve built friendships over the years. I was just at Paula’s house sitting on her bed looking at her new perfume. She was showing me the new pocketbook line. Sure, I’ve built relationships over the years, that’s just funny that you said her, but sure we’re friends. I was over with another friend of hers, Jimmy, who she’s very close with, and we were looking at the new line. She was handing me off one of her perfume scents. I like one of them very much. It’s very sexy. It’s pretty hot.
Paula’s a sweetheart, but we’re not super tight. She’s friends with my other friend.
What’s something that might surprise us about you?
I’m a feisty New York girl that’s still going strong. A lot of women relate to me. I’m not a shoulda-coulda-woulda person. I go for it, whatever “it” means. And I try.
Catch the finale of Gone Country 3, which airs on CMT Saturday at 2pm, 8pm and 10pm.
Taylor Dayne witnessed Michael Jackson at the height of his fame.
