Patti LaBelle Shares the Secrets of Her Beauty Routine (Hint: It Includes Men's Body Wash)

When you've been blessed with Patti LaBelle's talent, you can do anything. And now, the 77-year-old music icon appears in her first-ever Old Spice commercial.

In the spot, LaBelle stars alongside black-ish actor Deon Cole and A Black Lady Sketch Show's Gabrielle Dennis, who both return as part of the brand's "Men Have Skin Too" campaign that launched in 2019 and focuses on men's desire for efficacious body care.

For her cameo, LaBelle plays a "bad mother-in-law" who steals Cole's Moisturize with Shea Butter body wash, she says. The gig had LaBelle filled with excitement as she spoke to PEOPLE exclusively from the set.

"Back in the day, my father wore Old Spice, so, I would make sure he had [it] for a Christmas gift or birthday. And, you know, my son wears it and people in my life wear it," she shares, adding, "It's one of those fragrances that never leaves the room [but] never overwhelms, which is good."

When it comes to her own skin and body care, LaBelle says she keeps her routine "basic."

"People ask, 'Why are you so youthful looking?' I get a lot of compliments on my skin. I use Vaseline to take off the makeup. And then I put on La Mer cream. I've been doing it for ever. And now it's going to be Old Spice [too]."

While LaBelle is thrilled to be back at work, she's heeding the lessons she learned over the last year.

"[This] was my first time on a flight in 15 months, and I felt so happy just to see people walking [around]. I'm the girl who goes in the airport and looks for people to recognize me. And when they don't, I get mad and I tell someone, 'Hey, it's me, Patti. Patti LaBelle.' [But] the 15 months has been such a blessing in disguise because when you're off for that long, you realize how good you had it before the pandemic. And you realize sometimes you are a spoiled American by having the things that you had. And going through that made me realize I didn't need everything I had or need everything I wanted."

Throughout the pandemic LaBelle has kept herself in performance-ready shape — and for her that included wearing her impressive collection of high heels around the house because, she explains, "When you don't wear them for 15 months and you put that sucker on something's going to hurt. So, I've been practicing!"

The prep came in handy for LaBelle, who performed during a live-streamed Verzuz battle alongside dear friend Gladys Knight in September. Although the singer kicked off her Christian Louboutin shoes during the webcast, she says it was all in good fun.

"It was like having a concert, and I usually do [that] on stage anyway. And I had fun singing with Gladys. I mean, Gladys and I are so close, we're like sisters. So, we had wonderful, wonderful moments when we did Verzuz."

LaBelle has also relished in the time she's been able to spend with family recently, especially during her birthday celebration in May which included a visit from an ice cream truck.

"It was just beautiful, the ice cream truck, the kids, everything. Family makes my life. I have two grand babies now, and they make me so happy because they do so many cute things."

With this commercial out, LaBelle is looking forward to more projects, from an anniversary edition of LaBelle Cuisine to releasing new foods. "I've been just been doing things like that and trying to make people happy here. That's my life, to make someone happy," she says.

What else is on her plate? More singing of course.

"I'm looking forward to just pleasing my fans and letting them tell me what they want to hear from me. Anything that people want from me, I'm willing to give."

In the mean time, catch LaBelle nail her role. Says Matt Krehbiel, Old Spice vice president at Procter & Gamble, "Patti LaBelle is such an iconic entertainer, and she nailed the mother-in-law role perfectly. We're honored to have her in the Old Spice family."