In case you didn’t know, Cynthia Bailey is the queen of class and sophistication. As a working model who is still in high demand, Cynthia uses her expertise to educate the next generation. From the opening of The Bailey Agency School of Fashion, to showing style and class on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Cynthia is a serious force to be reckoned with. We recently caught up with Cynthia for a little girl time—complete with manicures. As we delved into the drama of the show, Cynthia also revealed what she uses to keep her looking pretty.
Read on to learn what we can expect from the new season that airs this Sunday at 8pm ET/PT!
VIBE Vixen: What moment during NeNe’s wedding stands out the most?
Cynthia Bailey: When her youngest son Brentt started crying, that was emotional. I thought when Greg signed the prenup was emotional. That wedding was beautiful—it was amazing. It was absolutely one of the most stunning weddings I’ve ever been to.
Well, they say that about your wedding.
Well, thank you. My wedding was beautiful but it was very different. I got married underneath the dinosaur. Nene’s wedding was almost like a fairytale. When you walked into the room there was crystals hanging and it was just white and I loved the decorations. I had a very non-traditional wedding and I wore a very non-traditional dress. I’m just a non-traditional kind of girl at the end of the day. What I loved about her wedding was that I actually kind of felt like it was mine. She let her bridesmaids wear all white and you know I didn’t wear an all white dress [at my wedding] so I felt like I finally had an opportunity to do it. I kind of felt like a mini-bride.
Photo Credit: Jasmine Gonzalez
There wasn’t as much drama during her wedding. Normally with the show you girls have your moments where you’re bickering but it seemed fairly peaceful and organized.
Some of the bridesmaids kept it going a little bit but we kind of got everybody together and it became cool so after that everybody was pretty peaceful. Everybody had their own personal problems if they felt like they needed to but for the most part NeNe, by the time she got to Cancun, she was in a whole other place.
Would you say that you’re closest to NeNe out of all of the ladies on the show?
Yes, I am. We just connect and we have fun together. We go on vacations and dinners together. We hang out a lot outside of the show. We talk every day.
Sounds like you girls need your own little private show: The NeNe and Cynthia Show.
[Laughs!] Well, I don’t know about all that. I’m just saying that I don’t think you can pick who you’re going to connect with. Going into the show I thought “Oh, I’ll probably connect with Kandi or I’ll connect with this one or the other” but NeNe was the last person I thought I would actually be friends with.
Because…
Just from watching the show. You always see snips of what people are like on the show. You don’t really get to see their full life and who they are so she was just the one I connected with the most. I can’t explain why.
A lot of women have come and gone on the show, but you and Nene seem to have stuck to it for awhile.
This is my fourth season and in terms of friends, I’m a pretty loyal friend. If I’m down with you, I’m down with you and any stuff that we go through, I feel like we could work through it and if we can’t work through it then we weren’t really friends.
It seems that you and Peter are also working through things. What’s the secret to staying married?
Cynthia: Well, we got together before we were on the TV show, so we knew each other before. I think there’s no secret. I think the main thing about having longevity in a relationship or having a successful relationship is to be with somebody that you actually have stuff in common with and you want the same things. If you don’t want the same things then it’s just not going to work.
Peter: You have to be like-minded. You have to be able to have a conversation and do the same things.
What can we expect from you two in the new season?
Peter: A lot of disagreement cause we’re not like-minded. Just kidding!
Cynthia: You guys have seen us pretty much at our worst in the first season and we were going through a lot, then things got better. I think last year was the best that you guys saw us. We kind of came full circle. And now, this season things are happening again. Everything is in motion but then there’s a couple of unexpected surprises. One of the things that we struggle with is balancing. I’m so in to work mode and trying to make sure we’ll never go back to that. I make sure we always have financial security and Peter’s the same way. Now we don’t really have a lot of boo time with each other and that’s frustrating, especially for Peter. He’s always saying “we don’t ever do anything; all we do is work.”
Peter: She’s tired of me. That’s why I have to tag along in situations like this just to spend time with her.
Cynthia: No honey, that is not true. You know we have a plan and what it is. We are going to retire early and buy an island. Buy an island right next to Tyler Perry [laughs].
Peter: We’re going be too old to do anything.
Cynthia: We’ll be old, but we’ll be together.
Peter, how’s the restaurant? I saw in the previews that there was a little bit of drama.
Peter: I found out through my wife—who saw on the internet—that the property where my restaurant is sitting on was in foreclosure. The guy who I pay my rent to every month decided not to pay the mortgage for a year, so of course it becomes public record. And I didn’t know. I pay my bills every month. It’s still in that process so the bank is trying to take the property back from them so now I have to pay directly to the bank.
Which is probably best anyway.
Peter: Yes, and now I can negotiate with the bank to purchase the property which is a good move cause I’ve been there over three years. It could be a great thing for us if they decide to take the offer being put on the table.
What’s the future for the restaurant?
I’m opening Bar One in Charlotte in around six weeks so it’s going to be Sports one and bar in Charlotte. I’d like to license the name to an urban version of a whiskey bar. We don’t have that. You know, cocktails and conversation for thirty-something, forty- something. It’s like a social thing. The only problem I have in Atlanta is that I get more than seventy percent of women in my bar.
Cynthia, what’s your favorite nail polish color for the fall season?
I stay with the neutrals. OPI has one color “Bubble Bath” and I just kinda stick with it all year round.
Do you have a favorite beauty tip?
In terms of skincare, I live and die for makeup wipes. I have them with me all the time and as soon as I get done working, doing a scene, I need to just wipe my face.
I like Neutrogena, and Oil of Olay. But, I don’t swear by just one specific one—I’ve tried them all to be honest. One of the things people don’t understand or don’t realize is they feel like they wipe their face with a makeup wipe and then it’s totally clean. It’s not! That’s just a temporary routine until you wash it for real. You still have to clean your skin after the makeup wipe because if you go over with some toner, you could see your makeup is still on it. So your skin is not totally clean until you actually clean it after that. That’s just a pre-clean, ok? Also I’m very big on exfoliation. I do daily exfoliation.
Do you have a signature scent?
I like Incanto by Ferragamo. And I also like a lot of the men’s colognes, the cream ones. I get them for Peter and I use them too.
Any makeup tips?
Having nice groomed eyebrows whether you wear makeup or not is key. Even if you’re a no make up girl, I still need you to have your eyebrows put together cause that just frames the face. Keep your brow game tight!