Sunday, May 31, 2015

Congratulations Kim and Kanye! 9 Beauty Indulgences Worth Adding to Their Baby Registry

Kim Kardashian West Kanye West

Today, Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West revealed that they’re expecting a second child. But while fans celebrate the growth of reality TV’s royal family, the couple’s closest friends may already have begun racking their brains for the perfect congratulatory baby gift. After all, what’s left to get for the infant who seems primed to inherit a mini-wardrobe’s worth of gender-neutral Alexander Wang and custom Balmain from sister North? Thankfully, plenty of thoughtful indulgences remain in the world of beauty—starting with a sterling Tiffany & Co. brush packed with whisper-soft bristles. For cleansing rituals, Enfance Paris soaps, which call to mind the site of the Kardashian West nuptials, are customized by age group to address the changing needs of growing children, while a crowned rubber duckie is a suitable bath-time playmate. And The Honest Company’s ultra sensitive nontoxic sunscreen will protect the new arrival from the UV rays of the California sun—thus ensuring a lifetime of Kardashian-worthy beauty. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for what Kim and Kanye should add to the Baby West registry.

Look back at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s behind-the-scenes video (with a cameo by North!) from their April 2014 cover shoot:

The post Congratulations Kim and Kanye! 9 Beauty Indulgences Worth Adding to Their Baby Registry appeared first on Vogue.

The Essential Honeymooner’s Beauty Packing List: What to Bring by Destination

The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Joan Smalls, North West, and More

best beauty instagrams

If you spent your first official summer Friday glued to your computer past cocktail hour—and your Saturday lounging on the couch—your Instagram feed has a message for you: Get up! Leave the house! Bask in the glory of a sun-soaked, email-free day! For Cindy Bruna, this meant kicking off her morning with a few seaside stretches in the South of France, while fellow model Romee Strijd spent her downtime recharging in a café with a double order of green juice and Joan Smalls reminded us that taking a day off from our makeup routine is a beautiful thing. Over in the Maldives, Caroline Trentini enjoyed a quiet moment practicing yoga (and lots of gratitude) while gazing at the Indian Ocean from an infinity pool and Drake prepped for bathing suit season with a free weights–fueled exercise session. Not that a seaside escape is a prerequisite for your Sunday to feel like a holiday: For Hanneli Mustaparta, a vacation state of mind is as simple as a lawn chair and a sunny patch of grass.

The post The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Joan Smalls, North West, and More appeared first on Vogue.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

The 13 Best Waterproof Mascaras for Your Wedding Day

Steven Klein Mascara

There are lots of things that a wedding makeup test will prepare you for—including the success of your big-day look in settings from sunlight to candlelight (and every camera flash in between)—but it might not take into account your in-the-moment overflow of emotions. To avoid accidentally muddling an expertly applied face with blackened tears of joy, opt for waterproof mascara. According to L.A.-based makeup artist Beau Nelson, who regularly turns out eye-opening looks for Kristen Stewart and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, finding the right one is simple—and thanks to summer’s latest launches, more customizable than ever.

 

 

Both in person and on camera, Nelson says years of experience have proven that nothing will make your eyes pop like jet-black mascara. For this, he prefers a volumizing formula, which “is the closest to a false lash” doe-eyed look you can get. If the goal, on the other hand, is feeling like the most beautiful version of yourself, fair-haired women (whose lashes are often pale) may be more at home in black/brown or brown hues. Brides with shorter lashes will enjoy the fringe-extending benefits of “lengthening” formulas, while “curling” mascaras will give gravity-defying shape and hold to those with stubbornly straight hairs.

Behind every great mascara application, says Nelson, is an eyelash curler—he uses one by Chanel on his clients before he does anything else. Then, to enhance what you’ve got, he suggests applying Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eye Liner between each hair with a brush to make them look, in his words, “really dense, thick, and lush.” For the most natural finish, two swipes of your favorite mascara applied thickly to the roots then combed gently through to the tips will provide the appearance of healthy lashes with delicate fluttering ends. All that’s left is to enjoy your wedding. You can cry if you want to.

Click through our guide to the best waterproof formulas for the ceremony.

The post The 13 Best Waterproof Mascaras for Your Wedding Day appeared first on Vogue.

The Off-Duty Cool of Breezy Waves and Baseball Caps: Gigi Hadid, Amanda Seyfried, and More

Gigi Hadid Kendall Jenner Bella Hadid monaco grand prix

You know summer is really, truly here when fashion’s heavy-hitters are hanging up their fedoras for the off-duty cool of a baseball cap. Always game for a little tomboyish edge, Cara Delevingne boarded a yacht in France with her windblown waves topped with a sunny yellow number that felt as luxe as her couture kicks. Model girl gang Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Bella Hadid, who were collectively spotted enjoying some downtime on the Riviera, lent their beachy texture a sporty note at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco. Over in New York City, Amanda Seyfried kept flyaways at bay with a backwards hat while walking her dog, Finn. It’s an all-American look that Rihanna took for an elegant evening spin with a fiery, waist-grazing blowout. Just in time for the weekend, here are five winning reasons to let your hair down that are poised for a proverbial home run.

 

Amanda Seyfried’s dog Finn is the ultimate best friend:

The post The Off-Duty Cool of Breezy Waves and Baseball Caps: Gigi Hadid, Amanda Seyfried, and More appeared first on Vogue.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Where to Go for the Best Spray Tan from Coast to Coast

Gisele Bundchen

It’s finally happening: As the season gives way to sunny skies and balmy temperatures, the first breezy slip dresses, shoulder-baring tanks, and micro-bikinis of summer are about to go into heavy rotation. But while the appeal of a lighter, brighter wardrobe is undeniable, those of us still cowering under a security blanket of sheer sleeve, lightweight cardigan, or ankle-grazing skirt may feel a few fleeting pangs of sartorial separation anxiety. Fortunately, the solution for easing the transition into bare legs and exposed collarbones is simple: a subtle coat of color. Even those of us with complexions that veer closer to “silver minnow” than “golden halo” know the wonders of a strategically applied spray tan, with its ability to hide a multitude of sins. Here, we’ve curated a list of the best salons in the country to take you well beyond the pale.

 

New York City

 

Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa
This fine airbrush tanning mist is spiked with a tinted aloe-infused moisturizing base that prevents streaks.
171 East Sixty-fifth Street
212.988.7816
paullabrecque.com

The Setai Spa
Vita Liberata’s cultish natural formula comes in three pitch-perfect levels: light, medium, and dark.
40 Broad Street
212.792.6193
setaiclubnewyork.com

Joanna Vargas Skin Care
Full body microdermabrasion removes dry, dull patches; a subtle layer of organic-based bronzing color yields transformative results.
501 Fifth Avenue
212.949.2350
joannavargas.com

OC61
In-house pro Anna Stankiewicz’s foolproof technique and meticulous attention to detail have won her a loyal following of actresses, models, and editors.
33 East Sixty-first Street, Third Floor
212.935.6261

 

Los Angeles

 

House calls by Jimmy Coco
When he’s not making Hollywood house calls, Coco keeps busy supplying Victoria’s Secret models with their signature glow backstage at the company’s annual runway show.
jimmycoco.com

Four Seasons at Beverly Hills Spa
Lightning-fast service defines this intimate space: Airbrush pros can deliver an immediate glow in only fifteen minutes, that deepens over the next five to twelve hours.
300 South Doheny Drive
310.273.2222
fourseasons.com

 

Chicago

 

Ortanic
Custom-blended, chemical-free formulas—plus rooms that feature a cutting-edge air purification system to prevent you from breathing in over-spray.
1030 North Clark
312.944.1030
ortanic.com

Bliss Spa
The scrub-plus-color treatment starts with head-to-toe exfoliation and a quick rinse in a Vichy shower before color is carefully applied by hand with a sponge to avoid any missed spots.
644 North Lake Shore Drive
312.266.9216
blissworld.com

 

Austin

 

Hush Hush Tan
Founder Izabel Wicker’s organic botanical formula includes a skin-healthy blend of Brazilian acai berry, Vitamins C and E, aloe vera, and rosemary.
1502 West Sixth Street
512.482.8339
hushhushtan.com

 

Miami

 

Valet Tans
Clients like Kate Upton and Caroline Wozniacki can request private house calls or stop by the brick-and-mortar salon for an organic glow.
229 Eighth Street
347.824.9867
info@valettans.com

Spa at Viceroy Miami
Pre-game in the sun-drenched, 5,000-square-foot water lounge overlooking Key Biscayne, equipped with a reflecting pond and floating library, before settling in for a session of seamless color.
485 Brickell Avenue
305.503.4400
http://ift.tt/1SHr4PT

 

Philadelphia

 

The Rittenhouse Spa & Club
For a lasting glow, prep with the Pineapple Enzyme Exfoliating Treatment: The fifteen-minute add-on service can help color last a full ten days, instead of the standard week.
210 West Rittenhouse Square
215.790.2500
therittenhousespaclub.com

 

San Francisco

 

The Social Beauty Co.
The Tanned Tahitian has a soft cucumber scent, while California Girl goes green with a nontoxic formula free of alcohol and parabens.
2157 Lombard Street
415.529.1305
thesocialbeautyco.com

Ipanema Airbrush Tanning Boutique
For a summer wedding season defined by all things backless and strapless, the Full Body Line Eraser treatment gently blends away accidental tan lines.
2040 Union Street Suite #1
415.800.8968
ipanemaairbrushtanning.com

 

Washington, D.C.

 

The Ritz-Carlton
Airbrush pro Stefanie Wolf recommends the South Seas formula for clients with fair skin—the golden shade is free of orange undertones, and can be customized for every complexion.
1150 Twenty-second Street NW
202.835.0500
ritzcarlton.com

The post Where to Go for the Best Spray Tan from Coast to Coast appeared first on Vogue.

North West Takes the Ballerina Bun to New Heights

L.A.’s Lost Hills Salon: The Ultimate Secret Hair Hideaway

The Essential Honeymooner’s Beauty Packing List: What to Bring by Destination

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Emma Stone Embraces a Healthy Flush for Summer

Emma Stone Aloha premiere los angeles

A swirl of bronzer and a dab of nude lipstick may be the ultimate strategy for amping up a seaside glow, but taking porcelain skin into summer requires a more delicate approach than terracotta powder. Enter the perennially fair Emma Stone, whose healthy outdoor flush at the Aloha premiere in Los Angeles last night came courtesy of a wash of warm, peach-toned blush—a subtle dose of color that felt even beachier paired with pale gold lids and a textured bob. Still, it was her fresh, translucent skin that showed off a redhead’s secret sunny weapon: a pretty smattering of freckles.

 

“Everybody loves magic.” Especially Emma Stone. Here, she shows us a few tricks:

The post Emma Stone Embraces a Healthy Flush for Summer appeared first on Vogue.

Reasons to Love a Steamy Day: Solange Knowles’s Brushed Curls and Sunny Glow

Solange Knowles

If the surprising chic of a little seasonal frizz was winter’s most triumphant hair trend, let Solange Knowles serve as a reminder that the best in laissez-faire beauty has yet to come. The singer was spotted in London last night with her shape-shifting curls brushed into frothy waves that offered a beachy counterpoint to the clean geometric lines of her dress. It’s the kind of breezy, slightly unruly texture bound to inspire the blow-dryer-weary to lean into every increasingly steamy day—and a natural match for equally humidity-friendly makeup: soft nudes and a sunny, unpowdered glow.

The post Reasons to Love a Steamy Day: Solange Knowles’s Brushed Curls and Sunny Glow appeared first on Vogue.

Can You Draw On the Perfect Eyebrows? Watch Carly Severn Create the Ultimate Faux Set

Carly Severn

 

When Carly Severn lost her hair to alopecia at the age of nineteen, she took a precautionary measure: Knowing her eyebrows were probably next, she began searching for online tutorials on how to draw a believable set. “I thought it was better to be prepared,” says Severn—who was surprised when she came up empty-handed. Intent on developing her own smudge-proof trompe l’oeil effect, she set to work practicing on herself instead. “I learned that pencil alone looks really fake, powder doesn’t work either, and when your eyebrows are too thick or too shiny, it’s a dead giveaway.” For believable 3-D texture, she found that approximating the shape first with eye shadow, then layering tiny “hairs” over it with pencil was the best technique. And her research paid off: Within three months, when her real eyebrows disappeared, she was an expert at sketching them in. “It gave me the ability to take control of a situation that was taking control of me,” she says.

Now 29 years old, Severn has spent the past ten years perfecting her product arsenal (and blogging about it). “Any powder eye shadow, as long as it’s the right color, will work [as a base],” she says, although she’s partial to the cocoa shimmer contour shadow in Benefit’s Big Beautiful Eyes kit. For feathering on individual hairs, her “absolute nonnegotiable” is Rimmel London’s dark brown eyebrow pencil. “I buy ten at a time—the pencil is not too hard or smudgy.” If she needs a fully waterproof option, on the other hand, Kat Von D’s Tattoo Liner looks just as realistic and an afternoon in the water is no match for its long-lasting properties. Finally, to seal the look so that it can withstand a wipe of her hand or a sweat-inducing workout, she pats over the area with a translucent powder (any will do), then paints on BGDL’s Brow Sealer. With five products and a mere four minutes, Severn can create perfect feathered, gently rounded arches that will hold up to whatever the day may bring—and that’s nothing to raise an eyebrow at.

The post Can You Draw On the Perfect Eyebrows? Watch Carly Severn Create the Ultimate Faux Set appeared first on Vogue.

No Hair, Don’t Care: How Cancer, Chemo, and One Epic Buzz Cut Conspired for a Bold New Look

Hair Loss Illustration Julia Felsenthal

I’m sure I would feel differently if I had great hair. Trademark hair. Botticelli curls or Pantene Pro-V hair. I don’t. What I’ve got is ordinary, except for the ways in which it is kind of bad. My hair is dully brown, somehow both greasy and dry, fine as a baby’s. It’s straight and lifeless, except where it cowlicks, and tangles and generally misbehaves.

Perhaps you can understand why losing it was not the tragedy I was warned it would be?

When you are diagnosed with cancer, you meet with many oncologists. They are almost all men. They do not talk to you about how sick chemotherapy will make you feel, about anxiety, depression, or doom. They talk about hair loss. It’ll take you awhile to come around to the idea of it, I am told matter-of-factly by one early contender, a George W. Bush doppelgänger. It’s harder for women.

I move on to other doctors, ones with less Republican faces and better bedside manners. They all want to discuss my hair. Even if you can’t imagine wanting one, get a wig. Get one even if you only wear it one day of your whole treatment. Go now, it may take a long time to find the right one. Don’t go alone. Take your mom, take your sister, take your best friend. Take your boyfriend. Make a date of it. Take a picture of someone whose hair you’ve always wanted. Take a picture of your own hair on a day you liked how it looked. You can’t imagine how this is going to feel. Get two wigs! One for fun and one for real. Go while you still have the energy to fight with your insurance company about how many wigs you have the right to get.

I find a doctor I would follow off the edge of a cliff. Even if you don’t want a wig wig, he says while the first round of chemotherapy drips into my veins, you may want to get a winter hat with a ponytail attached to the back of it, so you can run out to the store without attracting any attention. He is not joking, but my boyfriend Jake and I laugh about this for months. I try to imagine such a contraption. Would I keep it hanging on a hook by the door, a sad little Davy Crockett cap to slip on and face the world?

In preparation for chemotherapy I get a lymph node excised, a bone marrow biopsy, an echocardiogram, a pulmonary evaluation, a flu shot, an HIV test. I get three cavities filled and my gums scraped. I don’t get a wig. I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of walking into a room wearing someone else’s hair. I can imagine walking into a room and blurting out: Do you guys like my wig? Is my wig on straight? Do you think this wig looks cool? I am too sarcastic for wig-life. I am terrified of not being in on the joke, that the joke will be me.

My body hair falls out first. I notice in the bath, pubic hair curling up and floating on the surface of the water. Time moves backward. My legs become smooth, my armpits empty, my pelvis prepubescent. For a few fun weeks I have a full head of hair and the hairless body that women spend serious money trying to maintain. When I start to go bald, it’s subtle: strands on my pillowcase, clinging to my sweaters, clogging the shower drain. I abandon shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes. I am disturbed to observe that my hair-loss pattern matches that of my father. My hairline recedes, the crown becomes stringy, and a fringe around the sides stubbornly holds on. Think John Malkovich. Picture Wallace Shawn. It looks better on them.

It’s winter and our house is cold. I wear a hat and try to forget about what’s happening underneath. Sometimes when I get out of the shower I take a photo of myself in the mirror, a record for a future life. Mostly I hide. Jake and I talk about shaving my head, but we don’t own clippers, we never pull the trigger. It’s easier to do nothing. I’m scared of my own scalp, which I imagine to be misshapen and lumpy.

I go into remission in March. We invite our friends to a bar to celebrate. I wear a leopard-print silk shirt, dark skinny jeans, patent leather ankle boots. I am making an effort, the first in a long time. At the bar Jake puts his arm around me and accidentally knocks my hat off. I avoid eye contact, pick it up, furtively pull it back on. Two girlfriends swoop in to assure me that I’m beautiful. I excuse myself to get another drink, burning with shame. The joke is on me.

The next day I take a nail scissors and cut off everything I can, the nappy chemo-resistant tufts that have not been washed or brushed or so much as touched in three months. I call the salon I used to go to before I was sick and ask if they’ll shave the rest. We don’t do that, the girl on the other end of the line says weakly. I hang up and ride my bike over anyway, demand that they help me. They do.

You have a good scalp, the girl who buzzes my head tells me. At home I examine it in the bathroom mirror. It’s true. I’m six feet tall with square bony shoulders and a pin head that I’ve always made fun of. It works in my favor now: I am delicate, feminine, a Sinead O’Connor, not a Britney Spears. Your eyes look enormous, my mother tells me. I start wearing red lipstick and a hunter green motorcycle jacket. I try to channel Robin Tunney in Empire Records, the damaged girl with the punk rock attitude and the quick wit. I have been beaten to a pulp, but I have come out the other side. I’ve proved difficult to squash. I can take a punch and then joke about it afterwards.

If I’m shy about being out in public it passes quickly. I go to rock concerts, fly on airplanes, eat at fancy restaurants. I attract attention. Alopecia? A gleamingly bald male bartender asks after sneaking looks at me from across the room. But most people assume this is a choice, that I’m edgy, avant-garde. I interview for a job at a fashion magazine and get it. Cancer never comes up, and I’m fairly sure nobody guesses. They think I’m fashion-forward, on trend. That is so rad, I hear from silky-, long-haired ladies. I wish I were brave enough. At a music venue in Brooklyn, a girl with a star razored into the side of her head gives me a smile and a nod from across the room. She thinks we are the same. I let her think it.

For thirty years I’ve been the woman with the boring hair; suddenly I’m the one with the cool hair. It is starting to fill in, coming in blonder, curlier, funkier. There’s a Jean Seberg moment, a Justin Bieber stage, a modified faux hawk. Each one comes with its own rhythm, its own style. I enjoy the attention. About nine months into remission the front grows long enough to do a little side-parted flop over my forehead. I immediately hate it, am disgusted by that alien, messy feeling of hanging hair, unchecked growth, malignancy.

I think about baldness often, the smooth, bare, naked straightforwardness of it. I consider shaving my head but inertia wins. Besides, would it feel the same if I chose it? If I had to choose to maintain it? What I really want is that blank slate feeling, that new beginning, to freeze life in a moment when I knew exactly where I stood. The farther I get away from illness, the farther from the last clean scan, the more I stand to lose. Time hurtles forward, reaching out into the unknown. My hair grows back. It is a clock, marking days, counting up from one thing, down to the next.

 

9 women embrace the radically stylish possibilities of life after hair loss:

The post No Hair, Don’t Care: How Cancer, Chemo, and One Epic Buzz Cut Conspired for a Bold New Look appeared first on Vogue.

Wigs That Don’t Look Like Wigs: Editorial Pro Jimmy Paul on How to Style a Stealth Hairpiece

Wigs

Editorial whiz Jimmy Paul understands the power of a good hair transformation. So when he stepped onto the set of Vogue.com’s “Crowning Glory” shoot, starring nine women experiencing the various stages of hair loss as the result of a life-changing health diagnosis, he came prepared: carrying more than 100 banged, bobbed, and back-grazing wigs.

Paul is no stranger to the subject matter—in fact, he’s something of an expert, crediting the wholesale wig catalogues that his hairstylist mother brought home with sparking his interest in the craft. But while the faux pieces he has created for fashion shows like Thom Browne and Adam Selman in recent years remain exaggerated statements meant for the runway, he’s the first to admit that creating an imminently wearable, real-world wig is a different story.

According to Paul, giving a hairpiece everyday ease comes down to a few simple tenets, starting with the straightforward act of trying one on. Taking each woman’s skin tone, eye color, face shape, style, and natural hair color into consideration on set, he began slipping on dozens of different shades and cuts by House of European Hair, starting with his favorite pieces, then taking a 360-degree view. “You should look at the side, the back, and the front—you will know in a second if a wig is wrong,” he explains. Extra attention was paid to the hairline—which should line up with the subject’s own. Bangs, like the ones worn by 27-year-old lawyer Kate Ambrosi, make for easy camouflage, and, says Paul, lace-front wigs work wonders, too. “They’re the Holy Grail—they make the hairline invisible,” explained Paul of the construction that gave 35-year-old actress Valisia LeKae’s frothy Afro its seamless appeal.

For the most part, length and texture should not be deterrents—an originally “granny-ish” blend of short, demurely curled brown hair was morphed into the punkish pixie worn by the seventeen-year-old fashion blogger Mia Sidaros, thanks to a quick cut, a fresh blow-dry, a blast of texturizing spray, and some roughing up with Paul’s hands. Surveying his arsenal of combs, picks, clips, and products, Paul explained that, when working with a human-hair wig, you can cut, color, or style it as if it were growing from your own head. Before taking one to a favorite hairdresser for a bespoke trim, however, consider whether or not they have experience with wigs—because unlike your own hair, “it won’t grow back.” His go-to destinations for a spot-on shearing include Los Angeles’s House of European Hair’s in-house salon and New York City’s Helena Collection studio.

As a general rule of thumb, lightening the color of a wig “is trickier than making it dark,” says Paul of getting the shade right. But his favorite tip for giving hair a more lived-in look is to subtly deepen the roots by misting a quarter-inch section along the part with a darker shade of hair powder, like Bumble and Bumble’s Soft Black Hair Powder, to convey the kind of “rock-’n’-roll look” worn by Sidaros. As for styling, Paul used Bumble and Bumble’s Dryspun Finish—a light, hairspray-like formula—to make 24-year-old dancer Maggie Kurdirka’s shoulder-length blunt cut more “bed-head-y and real.” A mattifying product, like dry shampoo, will also take down synthetic levels of shine while creating of-the-moment slept-in texture.

No matter how you choose to customize your wig, sticking with a cut and color close to your former or current style will make the process simpler. Which isn’t to say that a bold new look has to be any less believable. Suleika Jaouad’s graphic bowl was “a major statement,” that suited the 27-year-old writer’s urban style. Although, according to Paul, the final step to pulling off a wig is attitude—you should always have fun with it.

 

Here, a look at a few of the before and after wig transformations from Vogue.com’s “Crowning Glory” shoot, as cut and styled by hairstylist Jimmy Paul. 

9 women embrace the radically stylish possibilities of life after hair loss:

The post Wigs That Don’t Look Like Wigs: Editorial Pro Jimmy Paul on How to Style a Stealth Hairpiece appeared first on Vogue.

Hair, Interrupted: One Woman Faces Hair Loss After Chemo—and Discovers the Beauty of Standing Out in a Crowd

Photographed by Cass Bird

For as long as I can remember I’ve felt like an outsider looking in. Between the ages of four and eighteen, I attended six schools on three continents. As the child of two immigrants—my mother is Swiss and my father is Tunisian—I discovered that my multicultural background was anything but “cool” or “exotic” to my classmates. Roll call on the first day of school was like showing up to class wearing underwear on the outside of my jeans. With a name as unpronounceable as Suleika Jaouad, I found it hard to blend in. Sometimes that made me want to blend in all the more.

Even my lunch box was a source of embarrassment. All I wanted back then was a brown paper bag filled with typical, all American fare: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Snackables, Pop Tarts, and Gushers. Was that too much to ask for? I remember bursting through the door after school in a huff one day. “Never, ever pack me chicken tagine for lunch again,” I said. The contrast between the smelly, coagulated orange mess of chicken and the pristine, odorless beauty of a PopTart had never felt sharper.

Over time, the embarrassment of being the perpetual new kid hardened into resentment. I resented that my family had a French-only language policy at home. I resented that I had a multisyllabic name and that I was too young to legally change it to something more normal like Ashley or Jessica. And I resented that my mother, an artist with a flair for the eccentric and a sturdy sense of who she was and what she believed, seemed to think it was so easy to be comfortable with not always fitting in. “You are unique,” she would tell me, forgetting that the word is a social albatross when you’re a kid. I was mortified the day she came to pick me up at the bus stop wearing cross-country skis, a fluorescent-yellow parka, and a backward baseball cap covering her spiky two inch-long hairdo. Quelle horreur!

When I got to middle school and my family settled in upstate New York, I dreamed of having golden, waist-length Rapunzel-like tresses—like the popular girls on the cheerleading squad—instead of my frizzy, shoulder-length auburn hair. I tried everything. They knew me in the hair product aisle at the local CVS pharmacy, but no amount of roasting my hair with Sun-In or dousing it in Long ‘N Strong could make me look like them. In the sixth grade, I even persuaded my mother to let me get a braided blond weave (hello, fashion police!).

These were the memories that came rushing back to me on a muggy spring afternoon in May 2011, at the age of twenty-two. Nothing of note was happening in the news that day. But the world that I knew was about to implode.

“Precautionary” was the word the doctor had used. He was talking about the bone marrow biopsy I had undergone a few days before, a fairly painful, invasive procedure that is rarely performed on young people. After two months of flu-like symptoms that seemed resistant to the strongest antibiotics, it had been the next step. My skin had become so pale it looked almost translucent. “Robin’s egg blue, as if all of the veins have floated to the surface of my skin,” was how I described it in my journal. Something was wrong. This much I knew. But the doctor reassured me that he didn’t expect to find anything abnormal in my bone marrow.

By the time my parents and I arrived at the clinic to hear the results of the biopsy, it was dusk. All of the staff and the other patients had gone for the day. The lights in the waiting room had been dimmed, casting an ominous shadow on the beige walls and stacks of outdated magazines. The doctor didn’t mince words. “You have something called acute myeloid leukemia,” he said, enunciating the diagnosis like a foreign language teacher instructing us in the pronunciation of a new vocabulary word.

“We need to act fast.” A lot of people have asked me what it was like to hear that I had cancer at such a young age. What’s the appropriate reaction to one’s own cancer diagnosis? Are you supposed to break down in tears, or faint, or scream?

I did not do any of those things. Instead, I froze and repeated the word over and over in my head: Loo-kee-mee-ah. Loo-kee-mee-ah. Loo-kee-mee-ah. It sounded like an exotic flower. It was my next reaction, however, that really surprised me.

“Am I going to lose all my hair?” I blurted out to the doctor.

On balance, since I had just been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, worrying about hair loss seemed petty and irrelevant, even narcissistic. But a bald head—the signature side effect of chemotherapy—was one of the few tropes that I knew about cancer. I needed to reassure myself by asking questions that were within the realm of my understanding. A question like, What’s going to happen to me? could have lethal and terrifyingly unforeseeable consequences. My doctor confirmed that the chemo would take my hair as its prize, within a week or so of starting treatment.

Chemotherapy is a take-no-prisoners stylist. The thing that no one tells you when you lose your hair during chemo is that it doesn’t happen all at once. The first evidence that mine was falling out appeared on my pillow: a mess of stray hairs spread across the fabric like a furry Jackson Pollock painting. Then, over the next few days, it started to come out in clumps. Finally, when only a few patches of hair were left on my head, I yanked the rest of it out with my bare hands. I felt like a gardener, pulling weeds from damp soil.

Within a few weeks, I could no longer recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror. Gaunt cheeks. Bald head. No eyebrows. No eyelashes. Skin as dry and white as chalk. And a waist that quickly shrank from a healthy size 6 to a 00. But what hurt most were the silent, invisible side effects of my disease. The isolation. The friends who stopped returning my calls after I got sick. The fear of dying before I had really begun to live my life. And perhaps worst of all, coming to terms with the reality that the chemotherapy had rendered me permanently infertile. Just like that, my life had split in two: there was Suleika BC (before cancer) and Suleika AC (after cancer)—and that’s if luck was on my side.

For the most part, my transformation had taken place within the privacy of the four walls of my hospital room. I could avoid the mirror hanging on the bathroom wall, but when I left the hospital for short breaks in between treatments, I couldn’t shield myself from the stares of curious strangers. Everywhere I went, cancer spoke for me before I could speak for myself. I tried hiding beneath hats and head scarves and wigs, but they only made me feel like more of an impostor.

One night, I made the mistake of going to a friend’s party. It was my first time seeing many of my old college friends since my diagnosis. As I walked through the door, it felt like the music had suddenly gone dead. I could feel everyone’s eyes glued to my bald head and to the tubes of my catheter protruding above my right breast. When I made eye contact with people, some quickly looked away. Conversations were awkward as acquaintances stared at their shoes or quickly excused themselves to make another drink or to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later, I told my friends I needed some fresh air. I jumped into a cab, hot, inky tears streaming down my face as I gave the driver directions to take me home.

My mom sat on the edge of my bed rubbing my back with the palms of her hands as I cried myself to sleep that night. I wanted my old life back, and I missed the way I had looked before. While my new situation was entirely unfamiliar territory for me, the feeling of wishing that I were in a different body—that I looked more similar to those around me—harked back to the way I had felt about myself in middle school. Now, however, I had a different perspective on the “outsider complex” of my youth. I was angry at the teenage version of myself, for nitpicking over the color and texture of my hair, when now I had no hair at all.

Almost a year after my diagnosis, with three inches of freshly grown baby hair covering my head, I prepared for the most difficult chapter of my cancer treatment yet: a risky bone marrow transplant that would be my only shot at a cure. My doctors told me point-blank that I had a 35 percent chance of surviving the procedure. The odds were stacked against me. Surrounded by so much uncertainty, I began to search for the things that I could control. I realized that the outward signifiers of cancer could only define me if I allowed them to. I became determined to enter the transplant unit looking and feeling like Suleika, and not just an anonymous cancer patient.

Growing up, I had always wanted to wear the coveted cheerleader uniform. To be a girly girl. But I didn’t want that anymore. I needed to look inward and to figure out what my own uniform was going to be. I adopted a brown leather jacket lent to me by my best friend, Lizzie. Boots with spikes on the heel staring at me in the store window? I’ll take them. The final piece of my new look fell into place just five days before I was scheduled to enter the bone marrow transplant unit. I went to Astor Place Hairstylists, a cavernous basement barbershop in downtown Manhattan, known for its famously low prices, multilingual barbers, star-studded clientele, and no-nonsense customer service. I wanted to get a simple buzz cut, a preemptive strike against the chemo that would soon make my hair fall out for a second time.

When I explained my situation to my barber, Miguel Lora, he suggested I take the buzz cut one step further by getting “hair tattoos.” The idea of a tattoo scared me at first, but Miguel reassured me that he would simply use his clippers to groove a spiral design in the half-inch layer of hair that remained. “What the hell,” I said. After all, I had little left to lose. My new style made me look like I was tough, even when I didn’t always feel that way. I was adding armor, and I liked the way it fit.

As I walked out onto the street, a construction worker whistled at me. “Cool hair!” he shouted out. It was the first time since my diagnosis that someone had made a remark on my appearance that wasn’t cancer related.

While cancer may not be a choice, both style and attitude are. I wish I could have told this to my fifteen-year-old self. Trying to make my unruly brown locks blond back then was as futile an effort as trying to pretend that I had hair after my chemotherapy. I would never go so far as to call cancer a gift. After all, I would never give it to you for your birthday. But I would call it a teacher. My disease has taught me that I can far more effectively take control of my look by embracing it and having fun with it, rather than forcibly trying to make it something it is not. This approach toward my outward appearance extends into a larger lesson: no matter what life hurls your way, the best way to face a challenge is to lean into it and to make it your own.

Eventually, my hair would slowly start to grow back. As soon as it was long enough, I went to see Miguel for more hair tattoos. I shared photographs of my new hairstyle on social media, and within a few months, several other young cancer patients had gone to see Miguel to get their own hair tattoos. The tattoos had shown us a new way to have fun with the hair that we had—or that we didn’t have—and given us a newfound confidence in our own skin.

I survived the bone marrow transplant. With each day, I’m getting stronger and healthier. And in the time since then, I’ve come to appreciate the benefits of sticking out in a crowd, even though I don’t always seek out the circumstances. Today my hair is about two inches long, short and spiky just like my mother’s. When people tell me how much we look alike, I smile and thank them for the compliment. I’m still a long way from having waist-length Rapunzel tresses. But the funny thing is, I don’t want them anymore. Short hair is starting to grow on me.

 

“Hair, Interrupted” will appear in the forthcoming book, Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle an Obsession, edited by Elizabeth Benedict, to be published by Algonquin in September 2015.

 

9 women embrace the radically stylish possibilities of life after hair loss:

The post Hair, Interrupted: One Woman Faces Hair Loss After Chemo—and Discovers the Beauty of Standing Out in a Crowd appeared first on Vogue.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

6 Ways to Wear Flowers in Your Wedding Day Hair: Audrey Hepburn, Gisele Bündchen, and More

floral wedding hair

Those finalizing the details of their wedding hair would do well to stop and consider the flower. Blooms casually tucked behind an ear or woven into a decorative crown make for a naturally romantic accessory. As easily customized to a crisp black tie affair as they are to an undone island destination, hair-bound florets are a favorite timeless stand-in for jewelry that has been used by some of the most beautiful women to grace the aisle.

For her 1954 wedding to actor Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn topped a playful pixie cut with a circlet of white rosebuds, the crown lending a whimsical aura to her tea-length Balmain dress. Though Jane Birkin never made it official with Serge Gainsbourg, she too experienced the fairylike effect of the flower crown—her wedding wreath in the 1968 film Wonderwall was authentically wild and romantic, the ideal adornment for an era ingenue.

Actress Anna Karina wed director Jean-Luc Godard with a fully blossomed rose perched atop an equally voluminous updo, effortlessly channeling the communicative power of the lover’s flower, while Margaux Hemingway’s formal, veiled hat was quickly replaced by two pale pink post-ceremony rosebuds, pinned on each side of a raked chignon. More recently, Gisele accessorized a sequined bustier gown with her signature bombshell waves and a single gardenia—appropriately translating to “you are lovely” in flower language. And Solange Knowless addition of baby’s breath to her wedding day afro was a spontaneous afterthought—her sister, Beyoncé hand-placed the delicate white buds there during dinner. Here, six reasons why your “something borrowed” should be plucked straight from your bouquet.

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Gisele Bündchen and the Art of the Perfect Summer Ponytail

Decoding the New York City vs. Los Angeles Beauty Rules: Which Tribe Are You?

new york v la

With droves of New Yorkers—Beyoncé and Jay Z included—decamping for the sunny skies and wide-open spaces of Los Angeles in recent months, the distinction between the two cities is blurrier than ever. But a peek inside any woman’s makeup bag will tell you who is an East or West Coast native.  SPF-loaded serums and creamy bronzers pay homage to the tradition of basking in the California sun. And any L.A. girl knows that even an outdoor lunch at Sqirl requires post-hydrating hair care. It’s a look embodied by longtime resident Rosie Huntington-Whiteley—whose golden complexion is expertly enhanced with a swirl of warm blush and a flesh-colored lip stain. Between bombshell blowouts, her sun-kissed blonde hair is often pulled back into a simple polished bun—which also happens to be the laid-back way to transition from the beach to the street.

For the New Yorker, a good skin care regimen often stands in for makeup—with an almost-invisible bb cream and a moisturizing lip balm telegraphing cool urban minimalism. Local girl Liya Kebedes second-day waves (hello dry shampoo) and shine-proof skin were practically engineered for life in a city that never sleeps. So, whether you’re jetting off on vacation or heading to the opposite coast to start fresh, we’ve done the packing for you. Here’s what you’ll need to blend in.

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Zoë Kravitz’s Summer Hair Transformation: From Waist-Grazing Braids to a Breezy Bob

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of May 25, 2015

Photo: Getty Images

With beach season so close we can practically taste the salty breeze, could there be anything more appealing than Cannes’s legendary blend of seaside polish and Old World glamour? Windswept updos (Kendall Jenner) and tousled waves (Doutzen Kroes) punctuated with a pop of red lipstick or a crisp feline flick ruled the red carpet, while the Croisette saw a laid-back take on Riviera chic with wispy ponytails (Nina Agdal) and fresh-faced makeup (Chanel Iman). Just up the coast in Monaco, sisters Poppy Delevingne and Cara Delevingne accented their Mediterranean bronze with tousled blowouts, and Olivia Palermo took French chic stateside with a swipe of poppy pigment. Here, a look at the week’s best beauty moments.

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Why Post-Weekend Waves Are Your Best Accessory: Dakota Johnson, Kate Hudson, and More

Kate Hudson

Whether you rang in the unofficial start of summer barbecuing surfside, or spent Memorial Day lazing away barefoot in the grass, a golden outdoor glow and leftover windswept texture are the ultimate markers of a long weekend well spent. Spotted in Malibu yesterday, Kate Hudsons dried-in-the-breeze waves and sun-kissed skin have us inspired to give our hairbrush another day off in favor of a blast of salt spray, while Dakota Johnsons tousled bob and ruffled top telegraphed the kind of sunny elegance that would fare just as well for summer Fridays. Meanwhile, Vanessa Hudgens injected a beachy look with a little city polish by pairing her cream maxidress with a second-day blowout and a soft red lip stain. Here, three reasons why off-duty beauty can’t wait for the weekend.

For Dakota Johnson, a minute is never “just a minute”:

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Booking Your Wedding Day Hair and Makeup: There’s an App for That

wedding hair app sofia sanchez barrenechea

With iPhones never out of reach—and house call hair and makeup apps becoming as addictive as Uber in recent months—perhaps it was only a matter of time before the ultimate big night beauty event was available to book with just a few touches of the keypad: Once a potential logistical nightmare requiring word-of-mouth recommendations, twelve-month wait lists, and the occasional noteworthy hurdle in the form of an extended troupe of bridesmaids, planning your above-the-neck wedding day look has suddenly been made, well, ridiculously simple.

For Vênsette founder Lauren Remington Platt, whose loyal users have been asking for a wedding-specific extension of her 24 hours a day, 365 days a year luxury bookings service, adding a bridal component (due out next month) just made sense: Clients who use the day-to-day service love its convenience factor, as well as the style-minded ethos of the company’s team of hair and makeup artists, many of whom come from the worlds of film, television, and fashion. Available in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami, the new bridal services added to her app offers customizable packages, which include two trials plus day-of hair and makeup with the same pros who did their tests. There’s also the option of adding a team to tend to the bridal party and appointments for the rehearsal dinner, along with touch ups following the ceremony.

For the spontaneous brides heading to City Hall for a last-minute elopement, or those facing the panic of a last-minute emergency cancellation, New York City’s recently launched StyleBookings can help. Headed up by two beauty veterans—founder and editorial hairstylist George Kyriakos and creative director and makeup artist Vincent Longo—the company has a roster of industry hair and makeup stars who are on-call to pinch-hit within four hours of the event. And while currently appointments can only be done via its mobile-friendly website, an app will be ready for downloading by mid-summer. In the meantime, brides can browse the online portfolios of each artist who is available, then simply click on their choice of date and time, enter their address, and press send to confirm their appointment.

If you prefer to hand the details over to someone else entirely, GlamSquad offers bridal beauty specialists and a weddings coordinator, who acts as a kind of primping planner, doing everything from scheduling the necessary appointments (trials, engagement photos, ceremony) to handpicking the team based on a bride’s needs. And those headed across the pond are now officially also in luck: In addition to its New York City and L.A. offerings, Priv recently added London to the list of city brides it services. Here’s hoping a map’s worth of jet-setting destination wedding locations aren’t far behind.

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Vogue’s Favorite Designers’ Top Picks in New York City, Paris, and London

New York Vintage

Other than designing gorgeous eponymous footwear lines, what do Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, and Tabitha Simmons have in common? They all have impeccable taste and distinct opinions on where to go in their hometowns—or more correctly, global capitals. From Christian Louboutin’s favorite Place Vendôme shirtmaker and where Manolo Blahnik likes to go for tea in London to Tabitha Simmons’s florist of choice and favorite way to see New York City, take a walk through these global capitals in someone else’s well-heeled shoes.

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Monday, May 25, 2015

15 Reasons Why Blondes Have More Fun: From Gisele Bündchen’s Surfer Girl Streaks to Lara Stone’s Icy Platinum

Gisele Bündchen

What is it about blonde hair that embodies everything that is good and right about summer? The hair pendulum has already started to swing firmly toward sun-streaked this season—and we can see why: For the fair-haired beauties turning up in our Instagram feeds, life’s a beach. Giseles seaside surfer babe adventures set the bar for wave-catching hair color, inspiring an army of Victoria’s Secret Angels like Behati Prinsloo and Doutzen Kroes to follow suit with hand-painted golden highlights. Making the case for a more uniform shade, Beyoncé and Gigi Hadid have turned thick washes of buttery blonde—and eternally sunny dispositions—into their signature, while Anja Rubik and Candice Swanepoels dye jobs rely on an unexpected medium to convey their jet-setting urban cool: roots. Whether you’re considering Lara Stones icy, supernatural platinum or Taylor Swift’s darker shade of ash, here are fifteen reasons why right now is the time to lighten up.

The post 15 Reasons Why Blondes Have More Fun: From Gisele Bündchen’s Surfer Girl Streaks to Lara Stone’s Icy Platinum appeared first on Vogue.

Mastering the Summer Selfie: 10 Foolproof Products for Upping Your Insta-Game

Photo: Courtesy of Joan Smalls

This weekend marks the first of many summer getaways—meaning that from now until September, your free time will be spent outdoors amidst sunny scenery and cerulean seaside backdrops: Why shouldn’t you look just as photogenic? “Fresh and pretty” is the simple philosophy that makeup artist Nico Guilis suggests for upping your Instagram game (see the clean skin and healthy glow of clients Dree Hemingway, Poppy Delevingne, and Katherine Waterston for reference). The trick, she explains, comes down to incorporating a few stealth products into your makeup bag.

After starting with a base of extra-hydrating moisturizer to combat the drying effects of the sun (Guilis likes Kate Somerville’s Goat Cream moisturizer), she layers on Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Foundation. “It doesn’t look like you’re wearing makeup and the coverage lasts for twelve hours without coming off, even at the beach,” she says of the recommendation she picked up from her surfer friends.

Next up is her ultimate secret weapon: Chanel’s Soleil Tan de Chanel illuminating cream, which she blends along the cheeks. “It’s heaven—I swear they should sell it in bulk,” she says of its golden tone and line-blurring effect. (Sidenote: If you’re serious about your selfie skills, you may also want to consider a subtle contouring powder, like Marc Jacobs Beauty’s #Instamarc to provide cheekbones, should nature have failed you there.)

Blush, on the other hand, actually looks best on the lips—“I love that Bardot look of baby pink lipstick” says Guilis, who blends MAC Cream Color Base on top of lip balm for semi-matte, semi-sheer pigment that isn’t too white. “Bite Cream Lip Crayon has the same creamy texture in these pens that are super skinny and easy to bring with you.”

If your eyes tend to disappear in the bright sun on camera, a swipe of mascara will help. For fair-skinned clients, Guilis uses Chanel’s Inimitable Intense Mascara to give a clean and lengthened finish. But the tapered wand on Lorac’s Pro Mascara will supply more dramatic buildable “wispy, thick lashes.” When nighttime definition is in order, she traces a coppery tone along the bottom lashes, or shimmering teal inside the waterline. Of reaching for her favorite smudgy midnight pigment, she adds, “NARS creamy pencils just look really sexy after you’ve been in the sun all day.” It’s a look both you and your followers are sure to like.

 

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Sunday, May 24, 2015

Taking Cues From the French Open: 4 Beauty Ideas for Taking a Tennis Visor Off the Court

Photographed by Miles Aldridge, Vogue, June 2006

Today, the 2015 French Open returns with a cadre of our favorite tennis stars and their signature sun-shielding visors. Beyond its practical purposes, the aerodynamic accessory has emerged in recent years as a personal beauty and style statement for many of the sport’s best players: Simona Halep’s architectural brim is typically accompanied by a topknot and triumphant fist clench, Ana Ivanovic’s brightly colored variation frames a slick single braid, and Venus Williams’s streamlined shape encircles a network of intricate pulled back twists.

Off the court, as the temperature starts to climb, we’d be remiss to not take a cue from the pulled-together cool of our favorite tennis powerhouses, whose hair remains resolutely neat even as they slam 100mph serves across the net. Which has us wondering: Could the everyday tennis visor offer up the season’s easiest—and most versatile—bad-hair-day fix?

Channeling the urban athleticism of the spring runways while walking the line between whimsy and utility, a low-angled visor seems made for throwing on over last night’s blowout in the city. A day of beach volleyball, on the other hand, demands slicked-back, humidity-proof hair and a monochromatic visor to match black-and-white swimwear. For evening, what could be easier than an abbreviated brim and a swingy ponytail, paired with embellished drop earrings and an expertly coordinated column dress? Here, four hair and visor pairings to take you from the court to cocktails. Game, set, match.

 

The post Taking Cues From the French Open: 4 Beauty Ideas for Taking a Tennis Visor Off the Court appeared first on Vogue.

The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Lady Gaga, Cara Delevingne, and More

Courtesy of Romee Strijd / @romeestrijd

With swimsuit season looming on the horizon, the pursuit of all things active seems more appealing than ever before, particularly when fitness enthusiasts like model Vanessa Axente—who paused during a Brooklyn Bridge run to quite literally jump for joy—pop up on our Instagram feeds. Linda Tol made a more relaxed play in the fight against inertia, sitting astride a white horse along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Elsewhere, Romee Strijd reminded us of the equal importance of a healthy summer glow—hello, bronzer!—during a Victoria’s Secret Sport shoot. Photographer Magdalena Wosinska and model Melodie Monrose both enjoyed reenergizing plunges, sharing snaps from their respective dips. Lady Gaga posted perhaps the chicest sheet mask selfie we’ve seen yet, accessorized with statement jewelry and retro shades. The never-ending hunt for the ultimate summertime braid turned up Mary Charteris’s hypnotically complex coil of a French braid. As for Cara Delevingnes extreme close-up? Consider it proof positive that the best complement to any summer selfie is a major power brow.

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Saturday, May 23, 2015

Why the Best Beauty Moments at Cannes Happened off the Red Carpet: Kendall Jenner, Sienna Miller, and More

Sienna Miller

While the festival’s seaside location could be felt in every wind-whipped evening knot and flash of sun-kissed skin making its way down the Cannes red carpet, it was the beachy waves and fresh-faced makeup spotted along the Croisette that offered up an appealingly laid-back take on Riviera polish. Izabel Goulart and Toni Garrn dressed in crisp whites that showcased their Mediterranean glow, while a barefoot Zoë Kravitz was the picture of surfside chic with her waist-grazing, summery braids.

Also letting their hair down, Chanel Iman and Kendall Jenner made the case for the styled-by-the-breeze blowout. And while it’s no secret that evening beauty reaches its peak with a little after-party wear, Sienna Millers ruffled bob and luminous skin showed that this holds doubly true on a steamy night. Here, a look at Cannes’s off-duty beauty at its finest.

The post Why the Best Beauty Moments at Cannes Happened off the Red Carpet: Kendall Jenner, Sienna Miller, and More appeared first on Vogue.

Friday, May 22, 2015

The Memorial Day Beauty Prep by Destination: Where to Get a Spray Tan, Wax, or Manicure on Vacation

Karlie Kloss Mario Testino

The unofficial start of summer has arrived, and while you can check in to your flight for that long-awaited Memorial Day getaway en-route to the airport, you may not have had time to check off the requisite beauty maintenance from the proverbial list. Fortunately, getting swimsuit-ready on arrival has never been easier, thanks to a crop of fast, efficient, on-site spas with a full roster of speed prep services. Whether your long weekend entails hanging poolside at the Roosevelt in Los Angeles or hitting the surf near Ojai, here is Vogue’s guide to the best local salons, nail bars, and beauty apothecaries in six of our favorite long weekend destinations.

 

EAST HAMPTON

 

Warren Tricomi Salon
The best mani-pedi on the South Fork can currently be found at the East Hampton outpost of this buzzy Manhattan salon and spa (known for its dry cuts and quick color). Throw in a pressure-point foot massage to stimulate blood circulation, two coats of Essie’s new Peach Side Babe polish, and you’ll be able to take the social whirlwind of the next three days in stride.

64 Park Place
631.324.3036
warrentricomi.com

Naturopathica Healing Arts Center and Spa
Founder Barbara Close is a long-time Hamptons resident and knows just what Manhattanites need to kick off a holiday weekend: namely, a Lemon Verbena Body Polish treatment to break down cellulite and tone the skin. Regulars include Hamptons habitues Martha Stewart and Christie Brinkley, who stock up on the line’s high-performance botanical products. A full menu of waxing services is also available.

74 Montauk Highway, Suite 1
631.329.2525
naturopathica.com

 

MARTHA’S VINEYARD

 

The Spa at The Boathouse
This preppy Katama country club spa serves up luxury pampering at lightening speed for clients who’d rather be playing tennis or having cocktails while lounging starboard. The speedy fifteen-minute dry-brush body treatment, followed by a 30-minute massage, and fifteen-minute express manicure and pedicure will have you on the court or weighing anchor before noon.

16 Field Club Lane, Edgartown
508.627.3535
boathousemv.com

Rouge Luxe Apothecary
If your cache of beauty products was confiscated by an overzealous TSA agent, head to this expertly curated apothecary to restock on Kate Somerville broad-spectrum sunscreen, Deborah Lippmann nail polish, and Caudalie body scrub; a beautifully wrapped Red Flower candle makes for the perfect last-minute hostess gift.

21 Kennebec Avenue, Oak Bluffs
508.696.0900
rougeluxe.com

 

MIAMI

 

Gee Beauty
This cool, minimalist salon, located in the Bal Harbour Shops, is all about effective, time-conscious beauty services. A fifteen-minute eyebrow threading and tint with owner Natalie Gee and a speedy spray tanning treatment will impart a healthy glow. While you’re there, browse the shelves filled with cult beauty brands including Dr. Sebagh, Margaret Dabbs, and David Mallett.

9700 Collins Avenue
305.868.3533
geebeauty.com

Vanity Projects
This by-appointment-only salon-meets-art gallery is known for its Nail Artist in Residence program featuring the likes of Nail Swag, Britney Tokyo, BK Ruby, Spifster, and Hana4. If a full-on art installation on your fingers and toes threatens to interrupt precious beach time, opt for a Simple Art Mani-Pedi (French, glitter, or color gradation) instead.

7338 NW Miami Court Unit 2
786.292.3442
http://ift.tt/1FEhUOs

Agua Spa
Stop in for a quick wax, but be forewarned: You might end up spending the day at this 3,500 square foot private rooftop oasis perched on top of the Delano Hotel with sweeping views of South Beach that offers everything from body scrubs and facials to massages and reflexology.

1685 Collins Avenue
305.674.6100
http://ift.tt/1FEhW9b

The Edition Spa
For glowing, beach-ready skin, this new hotel spa has a foolproof strategy: A steam followed by a Triple Exfoliation Treatment (in which a Himalayan salt scrub is applied first, followed by a thorough buffing with a body mitt, a dry brush for good measure, and finally a massage to hydrate). Also recommended, a wax with in-house aesthetician Aida Torres.

2901 Collins Ave
786.257.4500
http://ift.tt/1FEhW9e

 

LOS ANGELES

Gina Marí Skincare
The Birthday Suit treatment, a 90-minute, five-step procedure, involves multiple aestheticians and an arsenal of high-tech machines resulting in a Cinderella-like transformation. Start with a full-body microdermabrasion, followed by a light peel to exfoliate and brighten. A two-pronged assault on cellulite combines TriPollar radio frequency with the ZWave Pro’s high energy radial shockwaves, and finally a full body LED light treatment stimulates collagen production and reduces fine lines so you will dare to bare.

9350 Wilshire Blvd #204, Beverly Hills
310.276.7601
ginamari.com

Arcona Studio
Known for its high-performance, organic, small-batch products, Arcona has a cult celebrity following (think Natalie Portman, Anna Kendrick, and Julia Roberts) and an under-the-radar studio just steps from Santa Monica beach that offers multitasking treatments like the Detox Package—which combines an InfraRed Sauna session with a slimming seaweed treatment—and the full body Fruit Enzyme Peel to rejuvenate dry skin in a single session.

425 Broadway, Santa Monica
310.458.3800
arcona.com

Mèche Salon
A-list colorist Tracey Cunningham is a whiz when it comes to replicating perfectly sun-kissed hair. While your color develops, have your nails prepped for sandal season, followed by a brow shape and tint with expert Gina Veltri, who counts Erin Foster and Sara Foster among her devotees.

8820 Burton Way, Beverly Hills
310.278.8930
mechesalonla.com

Portofino Beverly Hills
The pros at this salon specialize in custom spray tans and can formulate more than 1,000 shades to suit any skin tone. Their four-step program starts with an LPG Endermologie session to stimulate the lymphatic system, followed by a organic honey wax to remove hair without irritation or sticky residue. Next, a custom body scrub exfoliates before one of their airbrush artists expertly contours your body.

9431 South Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills
310.276.8855
portofinobeverlyhills.com

 

OJAI, CA

 

Ojai Valley Inn and Spa
How does L.A.’s haute-hippie set achieve that laid-back, beatific glow just an hour after checking into this iconic resort that has counted Audrey Hepburn and Clark Gable as regulars? With the spa’s signature Ojai Glow treatment that combines a full-body organic salt scrub with an expertly applied spray tan in 50 minutes. Waxing, facials, massages, and a roster of nontoxic nail services are also available.

905 Country Club Road
805.697.8780
ojairesort.com

 

CARMEL, CA

 

Bernadus Lodge & Spa
During a weekend in California wine country, the newly renovated Bernadus spa is worth a trip: Try the VinoTherapy Pedicure or Body Polish, which delivers the benefits of grape-derived antioxidants and Resveratrol. Also on the menu: facials, massages, and waxing services.

415 West Carmel Valley Road
831.658.3560
bernarduslodge.com

 

LOS CABOS, MEXICO

 

The One&Only Palmilla
Renovated after last year’s Hurricane Odile, this peaceful property’s beauty offerings include scalp massages, blowouts, spray tans, and waxing at its new OBO salon (founded in collaboration by L.A.-based celebrity hairstylists Jonathan Antin and Amanda George). For feet that look as good buffed and bare as they do with a coat of Pop Art bright polish, a quick trip to nail guru Bastien Gonzalez’s studio, where two therapists work simultaneously to get you in and out the door fast, is also a must.

Km 7.5 Carretera Transpeninsular, San Jose Del Cabo
011.52.624.146.7000
palmilla.oneandonlyresorts.com

The post The Memorial Day Beauty Prep by Destination: Where to Get a Spray Tan, Wax, or Manicure on Vacation appeared first on Vogue.

Beauty Lessons from Emma Stone, Adriana Lima, and More: How to Master the Travel-Friendly Bun

Photo: Splash News

Acting as a breezy counterpoint to the couture gowns swishing down the Cannes red carpet, easy knots proved every bit as popular at the Nice airport this week—lending a cool polish to the most laid-back travel looks. Karolina Kurkova and Emma Stone touched down with a low, off-duty loop that felt just right for jeans and kicks while Irina Shayk took a page out of Miranda Kerrs stylebook with a slick center part. Also embracing the unfailing elegance of good sunglasses and a pop of lipstick, Adriana Lima scraped her blowout into an off-kilter twist. Meanwhile, Anja Rubik wore her shoulder-grazing chop in a wispy high bun that ensured a soft post-flight wave once she let her hair down. Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, here are five reasons why on-the-go beauty is just a few stealth hairpins away.

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The Season’s Best Glimmering Body Oils and Hair Mists are Made for a Golden Glow

Beauty Products

While training our gaze on the limbs crossing the Cannes Croisette this past week, we were reminded of Coco Chanel’s famous twenties return from the Riviera, replete with her game-changing accidental tan. We may not be as keen on catching authentic rays (or the UV exposure that comes with them) these days, but we do plan on procuring a healthy-looking glow for our own imminent seaside retreats—courtesy of the season’s new glimmering gold oils, mists, and pomades.

The warm metallic tones of Tom Ford’s white-floral-and-sandalwood-scented body oil or Michael Kors’s sheen-enhancing formula trigger a summery state of mind. Even better, their understated packaging won’t turn a carefully curated raffia bag into a neon jungle.

As for hair, Australian hairstylist Kevin Murphy’s Shimmer.Shine mist revives weather-damaged strands with a moisturizing, paraben-free infusion of Vitamins A, C, and E, for a finish that’s sure to catch the light. But if what you’re going for is a bit more full-on, consider the following: Comb just enough Redken Metal Fix through your hair, then twist it into a slicked-back knot—and hit the beach in a minimalist maillot. No additional accessorizing required.

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Poolside Pedicures: A Nail Color for Every Summer Weekend

Nail Polish

Memorial Day weekend is the kick-off to a lot of things: Half-day Fridays, for instance, when you will zip off to a swimsuit-required destination and unpack your chic new bikinis/maillots/rash guards. But what about the pedicure to go with?  “At the pool, brights and pop colors look amazing,” explains nail pro Madeline Poole. Go for raspberry, metallic turquoise, or magenta: “In the sunlight, these colors look extra shiny”—as will an element of the unexpected in the form of a sparkling, healthy coat of clear.

If the beach is more your jam, earthier, matte shades of soft pink, gray, taupe, or mauve work well, since the sand is going to scuff up your lacquer anyway. And there’s another decision to be made: whether to match or contrast with the day’s swimwear. According to Poole, there is no wrong answer: “If you’re wearing a pastel suit, try a polish in the same family”—although sometimes, she admits, the best way to bring out the beauty in a standout maillot or bikini is by pairing it with a contrasting shade of lacquer. Whichever way you go, here are the best sixteen pedicure hues for summer—one to last you for every weekend from now through Labor Day.

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Thursday, May 21, 2015

Smarter Sunscreens: 8 Next-Generation Formulas for Your Most Protected Summer Yet

Photographed by Mario Testino, Vogue, March 2013

In an age when a smartwatch can locate the nearest bottle of Sancerre and an iPhone can start a scooter, how much more intelligent can your sunscreen be? A broad spectrum formula that blocks UVA and UVB rays is par for the course, but now there’s a new wave of serums, creams, and sprays that work overtime—providing the skin-enhancing benefits of your favorite face cream or upping the staying power of your standby sun protection.

Natura Bissé’s novel SPF-infused dry oil spray employs powerful antioxidants to help your body fight aging and gives limbs a flattering sheen while blocking the sun’s harmful rays. If you’re looking to go the chemical-free route, on the other hand, a physical sunscreen like Omorovicza’s Mineral UV Shield, which uses zinc in combination with silica spheres of titanium dioxide to create the appearance of smoother skin as it protects, may be in order.

When the day’s events include a seaside run, sets on the tennis court, or beachfront volleyball match, Neutrogena’s CoolDry Sport Sunscreen Lotion with SPF 70 will encourage sweat to evaporate even as its complex formula stays in place. And for an afternoon in the water, Shiseido’s new Wetforce Ultimate Sun Protection Cream does the seemingly impossible—becoming more effective at blocking rays when it gets wet. Here, eight smart sunscreens that will serve and protect your skin.

 

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#TBT: Hairstylist Julien d’Ys Remembers the Making of Linda Evangelista’s Signature ’90s Bob

Doutzen Kroes, Joan Smalls, and More Take Evening Contour for a Springtime Spin

Joan Smalls

Once a makeup-artist trick strictly reserved for controlled lighting—and a way of life for the Kardashians—contouring has found its place in the real world with defined cheekbones taking the place of diffused washes of blush in recent seasons. But leave it to Cannes to infuse stark red-carpet elegance with a refreshing ease.

Spotted at the Youth premiere last night, Doutzen Kroes and Anja Rubik paired a linear swath of bronzer with a healthy swirl of peach-toned blush on the apples—a softly sculpted effect that Lara Stone proved can look every bit as ethereal on porcelain skin. Opting for a monochromatic palette, Joan Smalls finished her expertly defined features with a soft brown shade, while Rachel Weisz’s pop of bright pink color was a spring awakening. Here, five reasons why blush is back.

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Dakota Johnson Matches Her Bold Red Lipstick to One Winning Off-Duty Summer Accessory

Making the Case for Dry Cutting: New York City’s Spoke & Weal Salon Opens in SoHo

Haircuts

“Dry hair tells no lies,” says stylist Jon Reyman of his penchant for dry cutting, which involves wielding his shears on strands well before a drop of water enters the equation. The method, which reduces any guesswork, is not just for the stylist (“you can’t see shape, density, texture, damage, or color when hair is wet”), but also for the client (who can see the cut taking shape and gain emergency call time if that lob looks like it’s turning into a bob). “It allows you to tailor a haircut to fit the individual perfectly,” Reyman explains. “You can really see what you’re getting.”

The veteran editorial and runway pro, who works with designers ranging from Carolina Herrera to Charlotte Ronson when he’s not busy applying his trademark fifteen-minute dry-cut technique to the likes of Lana Del Rey and Sienna Miller, will open the third outpost of his Spoke & Weal salon with star colorist Christine Thompson in SoHo today (San Francisco’s Russian Hill location opened in 2013 and L.A.’s West Hollywood site opened last year). That’s not to say you’ll be out the door in a quarter of an hour flat: After the dry cut comes a shampoo, Aveda aromatherapy scalp massage, and blow-dry; then Reyman makes any final tweaks. The reason for his reverse method? “We don’t hide bad cuts with good styling.”

Cuts with Jon Reyman, from $450
149 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013
spokeandweal.com

The post Making the Case for Dry Cutting: New York City’s Spoke & Weal Salon Opens in SoHo appeared first on Vogue.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Why Sideswept Bangs Are a Boho Babe’s Secret Weapon

Elektra Kilbey-Jansson

With their haunting electro-pop vocals and their seventies-inspired vintage fashion sense, twin sisters Elektra and Miranda Kilbey-Jansson of the Swedish-Australian duo Say Lou Lou are sure to inspire a legion of style followers while on tour for their Lucid Dreaming album this month. But it’s the fair-haired Elektra—with her long, blendable, disco-influenced bangs—who’s currently fueling our summer beauty inspiration.

Chopped at the cheekbone and pushed to the side, her easy fringe evokes an ethos of rock star cool. In fact, the hairstyle’s charismatic roots go back to the sixties, when singers Françoise Hardy and Nico embraced tapered, full-face fringe that launched a thousand downtown imitators. Brigitte Bardot made eye-grazing, deliberately messy bangs a bombshell ingenue signature. More recently, the long bang has found a present-tense fan in Alexa Chung, the modern-day archetype of easy glamour. Here, five takes on face-framing fringe that promises to look cool this season—heat and humidity come what may.

The post Why Sideswept Bangs Are a Boho Babe’s Secret Weapon appeared first on Vogue.

Natalie Portman, Léa Seydoux, and More Make a Case for the Easy Updo at Cannes

Natalie Portman

With the Cannes Film Festival heading into its home stretch, a look back on our favorite red-carpet moments reveals a prevailing penchant for the easy elegance of a finger-raked updo. Léa Seydoux opted for a fuzzy tangle of a chignon, elevated by a bit of volume at the crown, that kept the focus on her eye-catching drop earrings and embellished neckline. Cate Blanchett also abandoned classic waves in favor of a relaxed bun, sweeping up her blonde hair to timeless effect but leaving the ends loose at the back. Natalie Portmans soft, elegant twist tempered a sheer Rodarte dress, while Rooney Mara sported a high, nineties-inspired knot that looked as if she had pinned it up quickly with her hands before sailing out the door. Here, four reasons to embrace the neck-elongating benefits of the evening-ready look.

The post Natalie Portman, Léa Seydoux, and More Make a Case for the Easy Updo at Cannes appeared first on Vogue.

Your Mid-Week Workout with Michelle Obama

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj Redefine Festival Girl Beauty in “Feeling Myself”

Does the Tasteful Tan Really Exist? Introducing a Stealth New Generation of Self-Tanners and Body Bronzers

Lara Stone by Mario Testino

This is not the most fashionable of admissions, but I really love a suntan. This being 2015, though, that sounds about as out of date as a rousing endorsement for wheat gluten. But despite the recent zeal for a gleaming porcelain complexion, the cooler months leave those of us with less ivory than olive tones looking, well, slightly undercooked. And really, a golden glow is practically a requirement for Valentino’s and Vuitton’s lacy white dresses, which is not even to mention the season’s vogue for picnic-perfect gingham. My previous experiments with self-tanner—streaky ankles, stained palms, orange tinge—occurred sometime early in the millennium (before we even knew about the tanning mitt; imagine!). But, apparently, self-tanner has changed. And with it, so has the tan. The new tan, it seems, is an un-tan: a subtle, just barely sun-kissed luminosity—less lying out on the French Riviera, more cruising along the Dalmatian Coast.

Inspired by the gray skies and pale skins of her native Ireland, Alyson Hogg created the line Vita Liberata with the promise of a long-lasting, authentic, and—here’s a key development—utterly odorless tan. I apply a thin layer of her Self Tanning Night Moisture Mask before bed twice a week and wake up with a habit-forming, gradually growing glow. But it’s the line’s Trystal Minerals powder bronzer—which possesses a crystal form of DHA miraculously activated by your own foundation or facial moisturizer—that is her most ingenious creation. Dusted on like a regular bronzer, it results in natural-looking contouring—the kind you’d get from ten days in Tulum—that remains for about a week. “It’s subtle, it’s sophisticated, and it looks like you,” says Hogg. It takes seconds to apply and garners office-wide compliments that I attribute to a recent jaunt through Palm Springs.

When it comes to that little fib—and I was in Palm Springs, if under a sun hat (and an umbrella)—well, I’m in good company. Where self-tanners once shouted their presence, now they whisper. “No one should ever say, ‘You look tanned.’ They should say, ‘You look really well; you look really good,’ ” says U.K.-based tanning pioneer James Read, whose Express Bronzing Mousse is beloved by It Brits like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Ellie Goulding, not least for its glam Studio 54–esque packaging. Read advises smoothing on the product in thin layers for best possible fade, employing mini paint rollers from a hardware store to apply tanner to your seat, and attaching a tanning mitt to a wooden spoon with a hair elastic to reach your back. (You don’t get your own Harvey Nichols tanning salon without coming up with some shortcuts.) Practice makes perfect, and mistakes, he says, are easily righted: “If the tan is too dark, go have a steam for ten to fifteen minutes and rub it off with a towel.” Bronze Buffer Self-Tan Remover sponges also do the trick.

In addition to discreet color—no one wants to have to explain how she went from zero to George Hamilton in the middle of the workweek—a notable innovation is results that last. L’Oréal Paris’ Sublime Bronze serum, applied once a day for three days, promises to last up to a full two weeks—much like that ill-begotten real tan might. Jergens’ new Tan Extender is powered by fade-fighting technology that preserves the effects of its Natural Glow moisturizers or any other tanning product.

St. Tropez’s Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion goes on like a body wash, eliminating the mess—and the stress—altogether. I rinse, I pat dry, and I am glowingly, healthily, and, if I do say so myself, tastefully tanned. Later, at a dinner party to which I’ve worn an ivory crepe Wes Gordon column, a friend asks where I’ve snuck off to for my “obvious” recent travels. Victory!

 

Here, Vogue.com’s expanded guide to the season’s foolproof formulas.

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6 Reasons Why Laura Bailey’s Supernaturally Long Hair Is Our Summer Beauty Obsession

Photo: Courtesy of Laura Bailey

The return of bohemian waves on the spring runways have left many a reformed devotee of the chin-length chop stocking up on Viviscal or considering stealth extensions. But London model Laura Bailey, whose waist-length blonde hair has long been her signature, is way ahead of the curve. These days we find ourselves glued to Bailey’s Instagram feed for inspiration on a regular basis: Tied into waist-grazing braids, twisted into a messy seaside bun, or billowing in the spring breeze, it’s the kind of lanky seventies hair that taps into our childhood understanding of femininity—or, to cite a more recent reference, our Chloé ad fantasies. Here, six reasons for canceling your next cut.

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The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of May 18, 2015

Photo: Getty Images

With neither a pin-straight blowout nor a rumpled mess of waves in sight, the week’s best beauty looks found the happy middle ground between laid-back cool and pulled-together perfection: Beachy waves were whisked back into textured knots (Léa Seydoux) and extreme ponytails (Beyoncé), while the ladylike polish of bombshell waves (Salma Hayek) made the case for turning your natural texture up a notch. Makeup was decidedly more casual, ranging from soft rosy nudes (Kim Kardashian West) to quick swipes of red lipstick (Hailey Baldwin)—because when your hair is this good, everything else can be an afterthought.

 

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