Cybill Shepherd & Cover Girl Clean Make-up 1969

I really love this Cover Girl Medicated Make-up ad from the September 1969 issue of ‘TEEN magazine.  Featuring a fresh-faced Cybill Shepherd, after her win of the 1968 “Model of the Year” show.  I can remember watching that Model of the Year broadcast (I was babysitting), and thinking how incredibly beautiful Cybill was.  She just stood out glowingly from all the other contestants.  It was a novel show for its time, not being a beauty pageant per se, but based strictly on looks and photogenic qualities.  Of course now we have America’s Next Top Model that has run for years, but at the time it was kind of thrilling to pick a woman solely to start a career and MAKE MONEY!

I love this photo because it’s at the very start of Cybill’s career, before she went on to acting and having famous boyfriends (Peter Bogdanovich, Elvis Presley).  It was a time when she was strictly a model, and you can see her perfectly balanced, wide-eyed, All-American features.  Cover Girl showed a very American version of makeup that countered the very British Yardley of London version of makeup, that was so hot at the time.  And even though cool Yardley of London had me completely obsessed, I was rather taken with the clean Cover Girl American approach as well.  I’ve always liked dichotomy!

~Marilyn