Tuesday, June 30, 2015

10 Chill-Out Face Masks to Keep in the Fridge

00-holding-face-masks-that-belong-in-the-freezer

Ice cubes and straight-from-the-fridge cucumbers have long functioned as instant après-sun skin fixes—but this season, your beauty routine is due for a high-tech upgrade. The best calming masks are primed for a quick chill, delivering hydrating, de-puffing, and anti-redness benefits in truly cool guise. Amore Pacific Luminous Effect Brightening Masque combines milk thistle and antioxidant gingko leaf in an easy-to-apply sheet mask that offers relief when stored in the fridge of a summer beach house, while Boscia’s Cool Blue Calming Mask features a blend of marine-harvested nutrients, aloe, and botanical ingredients in a deeply satisfying, self-cooling, peel-off formula. Peter Thomas Roth’s Cucumber De-Tox De-Puffing Eye-Cubes—individually packaged liquid pods of cucumber, arnica, green tea, chamomile, aloe, caffeine, and hyaluronic acid that belong in the freezer before use—de-puff tired eyes and feel infinitely refreshing on a hot summer day. Here, ten masks that provide overheated or sunburned skin some well-deserved chill time.

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Why Amber Heard’s Easy Summer Beauty Is Made for the Heat

The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of June 29, 2015

Solange

The week’s best beauty looks illustrate an eternal summer beauty dilemma: whether to fight a humid day—or run with it. Embracing the former strategy, Misty Copeland’s smooth ponytail felt as tidy as a ballerina bun, while the perennially tousled Alexa Chung was a testament to the game-changing polish of a good shine serum and Nicki Minajs slick center part channeled a certain rigorous chic.

Representing the steamier side of the beauty spectrum, Solange Knowles leaned into the sweltering heat with a fluffy cloud of brushed curls, and Cressida Bonas hit Glastonbury with damp tendrils that were reason enough to embrace a midsummer shower. Makeup was just as varied, with pretty pops of pink lipstick (hello, Emilia Clarke) making the case for ladylike elegance—and offering an equally flattering alternative to surfer-girl nudes. One thing we can all agree on: It’s nice to have options.

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Monday, June 29, 2015

Summer’s Prettiest Nail Color: Yes Way Rosé x Tenoverten’s Limited Edition Polish

yes way rose nail polish tenoverten

Nail polish collaborations—with fashion labels, magazines, and celebrities—are a regular part of the beauty conversation these days, and Tenoverten is no stranger to the concept. In recent years, the New York City–based mani/pedi destination has joined forces with J.Crew and SoulCycle on limited-edition custom shades. Lacquer and liquor make for decidedly less likely bedfellows, yet the nail brand’s latest partnership—a blush pink manicure color created in partnership with Yes Way Rosé—feels entirely logical to those familiar with the nuances of the Provençal wine’s distinctive peach-tinged hue.

“They’re a perfect pairing,” says Yes Way Rosé cofounder Erica Blumenthal, who started thinking about the connection between a glass of rosé and a well-manicured hand while sitting down to drinks with Tenoverten cofounder Nadine Ferber at the New York City boîte Tiny’s and the Bar Upstairs (where the façade just so happens to be pink). And Blumenthal’s reasoning goes one step beyond aesthetics: She and partner Nikki Huganir founded their popular wine content and commerce platform on a love for drinking the varietal—as well as the free-spirited, summer-loving culture that goes hand in hand with the chilled, warm-weather beverage. Their universally flattering pink polish, appropriately called “Rosé Vibes,” is no exception—channeling the optimistic hue, while acting as an unexpected neutral that works on hands and feet.

According to Ferber, the polish (which launches tomorrow) fills a seasonal color gap in Tenoverten’s self-titled collection. Plus, she adds, it was an excellent way to harness the “really creative and fun energy” that has earned Yes Way Rosé its loyal legions of Instagram followers—not to mention its own wine, a just-launched Napa Valley pinot noir rosé called Summer Water that seems destined to disappear just as quickly off shelves.

Yes Way Rosé X Tenoverten Rosé Vibes Nail Polish, $18, available June 30, 2015 exclusively at shop.yeswayrose.com, and Tenoverten salons for a limited time.

 

Nail Bars
At any of its three locations, this Manhattan nail salon proves that callus care can be relaxing. More
Contact
917.475.1000
Address
132 West Houston Street
New York, NY

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Is Nude Lipstick the New Street Style Staple? Ciara, Jennifer Lawrence, and More Embrace Summer Neutrals

amber heard

While the crisp polish of a neatly painted red mouth has inspired many a year-round red lipstick devotee, there’s an undeniable beach-babe magic that happens when a healthy midsummer bronze meets the right shade of nude lipstick. Case in point: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who took an airport-friendly pairing of sunglasses and a fedora to bombshell heights at LAX over the weekend with a fleshy pout that flattered her sun-kissed skin. Also in Los Angeles, Ciara projected a striking minimalism with a pink-tinged beige tone that balanced her kohl-lined eyes and smooth waves. Even Amber Heard traded in her trademark retro glamour for a sunny evening elegance with monochromatic makeup and side-swept surfer waves—a strategy Jennifer Lawrence took for a daytime spin in Manhattan. Here, four reasons why your outdoor glow is waiting for a cool swipe of pale pigment.

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13 Products for Breakout-Proofing Your Skin

Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, April 2012

Summer calls for less-is-more makeup, compelling us to temporarily stow products that disguise and conceal in favor of a minimalist fresh-faced glow. Which is why warm-weather breakouts can be particularly frustrating. New York City dermatologist Ellen Marmur points out that while sunlight tends to reduce acne, a seasonal mix of travel, exercise, sunscreen, and makeup can throw the skin off balance, resulting in blemishes. To better address your specific issues, begin by noting what type of breakout you’re dealing with. “Little [bumps] under the skin are usually caused by products, while [larger blemishes] are typically results of hormones and diet, and blackheads are a sign of clogged pores,” says Marmur.

Fortunately, spots caused by lazy summer behaviors are the most easily remedied—dermatologist Amy Wechsler points out that immediately removing sweaty clothing, carrying mattifying papers, and disinfecting cell phones and headphones with alcohol swabs are all quick fixes for problematic skin. For a long-term, preventative strategy, updating your skin-care arsenal with the season’s most innovative products will help to cleanse, exfoliate, and treat without overdrying on a regular basis. From an at-home, brightening Vitamin C peel to a time-release acne cleanser, these thirteen formulas promise to breakout-proof your skin this summer.

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The It Brit Answer to Festival Hair: Suki Waterhouse’s Air-Dried Waves at Glastonbury

Sunday, June 28, 2015

7 Meditation Apps to Try Now

meditation apps

In this overstimulated and hyper-distracted digital age, with a jam-packed schedule and abundance of choices at every juncture, making time (and brain space) for meditation—the self-proclaimed secret weapon of everyone from Gisele Bündchen to Arianna Huffington—can feel next to impossible.

Ask around, though, and you may find that the same smartphone that fuels your Internet addiction offers the path to daily zen: Guided meditation apps can be a perfect introduction to the practice because they require nothing except a few minutes of your time and a comfortable and quiet space (though some people listen on the subway or at the gym). Unlike other forms of the practice such as Transcendental Meditation (TM), in which you silently repeat a mantra or sound you, or simple silent meditation, guided meditations talk you through focal points, often starting with breath control, moving toward releasing tension in your body, part by part, to visualizing safe and calming places, and then drawing your attention to the present moment.

Credited with everything from lowering cortisol levels to honing focus, these recordings work like exercise for the brain, training it to overcome any number of daily obstacles (from stress to sleeplessness, physical pain to grief). Which is to say, the mental and physical benefits are excuse enough to check your phone. Here are seven apps to help jump-start your practice:

 

Headspace

 

Billing itself as “your very own personal trainer, here to help you train your mind,” Headspace will teach you the basics of mediations, provided you surrender ten minutes of your day. If you opt into the program, it offers you a tracking page for your progress, a buddy system designed to help you motivate your friends, reminders for staying on track, and a wide range of recordings for different moods and lifestyles. Not endorsement enough? The brainy actress Emma Watson called it “kind of genius.”

 

Omvana

 

Omvana is basically the iTunes of guided meditation apps, offering up a library of recordings that target everything from decreasing stress to revitalizing your sex life to shedding those last five pounds. It boasts a large collection, which provides formidable boredom prevention. Omvana also connects to HealthKit (that app on your iPhone with the pink heart in the middle, for the uninitiated) to suggest meditations based on your stress levels.

 

Insight Timer

 

Insight Timer offers several guided meditations by teachers like Eckhart Tolle who penned the cult self-help book, The Power of Now. If you wish to meditate in complete silence instead, Insight Timer will time your session and wake you to the sound of an authentic Tibetan singing bowl. You can also configure it to ring at any interval you wish.

 

Dharma Seed

 

Looking for a more mystical experience? This app is well-suited for the spiritually inclined. Founded in the eighties, Dharma Seed is a group devoted to teaching Theravada Buddhism, the oldest tradition of the religion still practiced in the 21st century. They believe that through meditation, one gains mental skillfulness and wider insight.

 

Meditation Experience

 

This companion to Oprah and Deepak Chopra’s 21-Day Meditation Experience has been downloaded by the hundreds of thousands, and aims to make meditation accessible as well as enjoyable. Its journal feature, which allows users to jot down notes about their session, is particularly effective in getting the most out of your practice.

 

The Mindfulness App

 

The Mindfulness App, named for the popular cognitive self-help method, lets you create your own guided meditations—customizing how long and what type you want to do that day. It also has a convenient reminder function, to help maintain your practice throughout the day.

 

Buddhify

 

Seriously user-friendly, Buddhify is for those looking to get something specific out of a guided meditation. The app contains custom recordings for fifteen possible scenarios from your day, including “feeling stressed,” “difficult emotions,” “going to sleep,”  “travel,” and “walking in the city.” Want to gauge your progress? It stores stats and presents graphs to track your activity.

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The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Katy Perry, Taylor Hill, and More

Courtesy of Martha Hunt / @marhunt

This week’s best beauty Instagrams offer more than a few good reasons to head to the coast in favor of activity-fueled adventurist pursuits. The Grecian isles found Sofía Sanchez de Betak hitting the high seas on a stand-up paddle board—which may be the best way to take in the tranquil, rugged scenery—while Katy Perry proclaimed her love of the Mediterranean country by stepping over stones, her toes painted with subtle evil eyes that matched the whitewashed ruins and cerulean waters. Hannah Bronfman celebrated International Yoga Day with some jaw-dropping lakeside acroyoga, and model Taylor Hill reminded us of the importance of staying hydrated in the sun. Elsewhere, London fashion editor Sarah Harris cradled a downy rabbit whose gray and silvery white accents created a camouflage effect, artfully blending with her own icy ponytail and heathered crewneck. And WAH Nails’s Glastonbury-inspired manicure offered up more than a few ideas for a stateside mani this weekend—smiling faces are bound to be everywhere.

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Saturday, June 27, 2015

3 Healthy Breakfast-in-Bed Recipes: From Gluten-Free Pancakes to Guilt-Free Tacos

Windswept or Braided? Lily Aldridge, Beyoncé, and Adriana Lima Master the Weekend Ponytail

Photo: Courtesy of Lily Aldridge / @lilyaldridge

Is there anything that captures the steamy, carefree days of summer quite like a good ponytail? With its distinctively girlish charm and outdoorsy athleticism, the youthful style defines cheekbones, reveals swaths of sun-kissed skin, and looks that much better when rumpled by a summer breeze. Case in Point: In New York City last week, Adriana Lima shared a selfie featuring the Statue of Liberty and a casual, windblown ponytail (expertly paired with a set of Wayfarer-inspired shades and a nude pout). Thick and swingy are the best descriptors of Lily Aldridges recent take on the look, which she accessorized with round sunglasses, a smile, and a backdrop of summery green. And Beyoncé cemented her golden status by way of a high plaited pony—slicked back, fastened, and braided to perfection. Here, three takes on the look that will inspire you to tie one on this weekend.

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Friday, June 26, 2015

The Definitive Guide to Humidity-Proof Hair: Introducing a Frizz-Free Existence

Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, Vogue, July 2014

There’s something to be said for the power of embracing seasonal frizz—but isn’t it a comfort to know you don’t have to? According to Manhattan-based stylist Tim Rogers, it’s possible to maintain smooth hair all summer. And, he says, you can start winning the battle against humidity in the shower. “Formulas designed to combat dryness will add weight to the hair to give it more control,” says Rogers. Using a mask or leave-in conditioner like Klorane’s papyrus milk–loaded Leave-In Cream will act as a precautionary measure when the air’s moisture content soars.

Next, Rogers says avoiding any extra friction or heat will save strands from fraying. “Scrubbing your hair with a towel physically raises the cuticle—causing frizz.” Additional heat styling will also wear and degrade the hair over time. “If you can avoid it and air-dry instead, it will help you maintain the integrity of the hair.” (Sidenote: Using a blow-dryer with a concentrated nozzle may be the quickest route to making the cuticle lie as flat as possible, explains Rogers, but the long-term damage it does to the hair will ultimately create more frizz.)

Further insurance can be taken in the form of oils and silicone-based creams, like John Frieda Frizz Ease Beyond Smooth Frizz Immunity Primer, which will invisibly coat each strand’s surface for additional heft. But to keep the hair cleaner longer and fight the weather, Living Proof’s innovative and weightless Humidity Shield can be sprayed at any time of the day to coat the hair in a patented molecule known as OFPMA, which seals the hair to make it impenetrable to airborne moisture.

Once your hair is dry, Rogers recommends fashioning a neat pin-secured bun for your time spent outdoors to protect most of your hair from exposure to the elements. Once inside, you can let it down without so much as a dent from an elastic or humidity. Consider that frizz conquered.

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3 Makeup Artists Share Their Favorite Beauty Hacks

12 Vogue Editors Share Their Favorite Movie Hair Moments of All Time

Thursday, June 25, 2015

The Foolproof Beach Body: 10 Products for Prepping Your Skin

Photographed by Mikael Jansson, Vogue, May 2009

Summer’s balmy temperatures and ocean views are best enjoyed in paper-thin slip dresses and modern maillots—which is to say that for the next three months, your skin will have its day in the sun. With that in mind, the season’s best products are designed to get your limbs glowing from the sanctuary of your bathtub. Mio’s body-perfecting dry brush does the trick before you turn on the water by boosting circulation and sloughing away dead skin particles, while the New York City superfacialist Mila Moursi’s Revitalizing & Beautifying Oil seals in nourishing Vitamins E, F, and A après shower and leaves behind a healthy sheen—essentially the perfect parentheticals to your bathing routine.

Much can be done from inside the tub as well: Clarisonic makes a whirring brush head specifically designed for the body that’s especially good at exfoliating elbows, knees, and feet. Follow it with Malin + Goetz’s addictive peppermint-scented bamboo and pumice scrub for a smooth canvas for self-tanner or sunscreen. In recent months, the top beauty companies have also managed to multitask effectively, designing breakthrough in-shower lotions that are, in some cases, more effective than a traditional body moisturizer. Jergens’s innovative in-shower lotion, which is applied to wet skin immediately after you’ve turned off the water, provides twice the moisture of a standard cream and locks in a blend of hydration and coconut oil when it’s smoothed over skin—no rinsing required. In need of an instant tan? St. Tropez’s In Shower Gradual Tan can be applied to clean, wet skin (and washed away three minutes later) to bestow a gradual golden effect to even the palest complexions while simultaneously providing a dose of moisture. Here’s to leaving your body looking and feeling all together born again.

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What the Most Stylish Women Wear 9 to 5: Meet Whitney Tingle and Danielle Duboise of Sakara Life

Beyoncé and the New Beach Babe Beauty

Gisele Bündchen Takes the Beach Bun for a City Spin

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Laid-Back Beauty of Glastonbury Girls, From Kate Moss to Cara Delevingne

Photo: Mark Boland/FilmMagic

Glastonbury kicks off today, bringing the It Brits to the muddy meadows of Somerset for a welcome showcase of their insouciant brand of beauty. And ticket holders would do well to to take hair and makeup cues from the festival veterans before heading off to performances by Florence and the Machine, Kanye West, and Patti Smith. The blustery days that mark the event call for low-maintenance looks—a side-swept braid or casual topknot are likely the most complicated hairstyles you’ll see—mostly because they improve when the weather takes a turn, with baby hairs and mussed lengths looking that much cooler when you abandon your brush. If you’re wearing your hair down, try something artfully unkempt, middle-parted, and tucked back à la Alexa Chung, or boasting humidity-enhanced volume and full-frontal bangs inspired by Suki Waterhouse.

What’s better, Glastonbury girls tend to prefer no-makeup makeup, or perhaps no makeup at all, sticking to naturally glowing skin augmented only by a well-chosen pair of sunnies. If you’re to pick up any product from your makeup bag, might we suggest a flick of liquid liner or a swipe of tinted lip balm? From Kate Mosss off-duty blonde waves to Cara Delevingnes quirky statement accessories, these British festival beauties will inspire you to ditch the flower crowns in favor of a come-as-you-are aesthetic.

 

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Chloë Sevigny and the Downtown Cool of Summer-In-the-City Beauty

The 10 Best BB Creams for Summer

Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, Vogue, June 2015

The official coming of summer has us embracing a newly pared-down routine—streamlining our overloaded makeup bags in favor of multitasking options that channel the almost-bare mood of the season. Translation: If you’re still using the same creamy, medium coverage foundation you swore by all spring, it’s time to lighten up. Fortunately, the newest wave of beauty balms and color correctors—more commonly known as BB and CC creams—pack a checklist of benefits into a single tube while remaining virtually invisible on the skin for straight-from-the-beach touchups. Chanel CC Cream’s featherweight, pigment-evening formula prescription provides SPF 50 along with antiaging peach extract and moisturizing hyaluronic acid. Physicians Formula Super CC+ Eye Cream SPF 30 relieves puffiness and blurs lines—ensuring eyes remain as bright as their cloudless, sun-drenched surroundings—while Giorgio Armani’s supernaturally luminous offering leaves skin with the kind of glow that rivals a good facialist’s work. Here are the ten tinted balms and creams we’re stocking up on this vacation season.

The post The 10 Best BB Creams for Summer appeared first on Vogue.

Suki Waterhouse and the Surprising Charm of a Little Summer Frizz

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Make Your Makeup Melt-Proof: How to Keep Your Cat Eye on in the Heat

Miranda Kerr vogue

Applying eyeliner has always required a certain amount of focus and skill—the efforts of which become futile the moment an oily lid causes your cat eye to run. The trick to keeping eye makeup in place in spite of a heat wave or high humidity index, says editorial makeup artist Daniel Martin, lies in layering the right primer, liner, and powder. “If you take the time to [apply] those three things, it won’t budge.”

Martin starts with a base of Smashbox Photo Finish 24 Hour Shadow Primer to create an invisible magnet-like effect from the lashline to the eye crease for any makeup to follow. “It doesn’t have any color, but it’s like an adhesive for whatever you put on top of it.” Next, a gel-based eyeliner like Dior’s Diorshow Pro Liner is “perfect for humidity” because it will dry quickly after application and “lock down.” But to secure a truly smudge-proof day or night, Martin says you should trace over the gel line with a powder in a matching shade of pigment. For a black line with depth, he likes By Terry Eye Powder Kajal, though he notes almost any matte powder eye shadow will perform just as well. It’s a beauty equation guaranteed to beat the heat.

The post Make Your Makeup Melt-Proof: How to Keep Your Cat Eye on in the Heat appeared first on Vogue.

Is Pastel Polish About to Become Summer’s Most Wanted Nail Color?

Illustration by Beth Hoeckel

What kind of summer manicure shade is clean and cool and takes you everywhere? That of the pastel variety. Tenoverten co-owner Adair Ilyinsky, who stocks a spectrum of pale lacquers at her trio of New York nail spas, offers three reasons why: “They are more unexpected than the brighter shades that typically define the season,” she says. “They feel more elevated. And pastels transition a little better from city to country to beach and back.”

The crisp shades also have the power to look relaxed or a bit edgier, especially when paired with the right statement accessory. Geometric metallic jewelry—a sculptural Balenciaga bow ring here, a Céline cuff bracelet there—adds a neat minimalism to an icy manicure. When it comes to your pedicure, of course, the right shoe is everything. Ilyinsky suggests wearing pink (try Tenoverten’s polish in Jane) with, say, a tan leather slide from ATP Atelier. The most flattering picks will be those with gray or beige undertones, she says, not white. With that in mind, we’re thinking Smith & Cult’s lavender Faunt-Leroy would go with Tabitha Simmons’s silvery Leticia sandal for a slightly subversive match. Here, our vote for the six best polishes to try now.

 

Nail Bars
At any of its three locations, this Manhattan nail salon proves that callus care can be relaxing. More
Contact
917.475.1000
Address
132 West Houston Street
New York, NY

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Amber Heard and the Eternal Glamour of Pinup Girl Waves and Red Lipstick

The Best Nude Lipstick for Every Skin Tone: Shopping Summer’s Best Shades

Photographed by Cass Bird, Vogue, July 2015

The transformative power of the right nude lipstick is not unlike that of well-fitting underpinnings or a smartly cut bathing suit—when done well, it enhances your natural features without ever revealing how. In the lazy days of summer, what could be more desirable than looking great in next to nothing? Editorial makeup artist Diane Kendal, who regularly turns out the nearly nude beauty looks on runways like Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler, says the shade’s barefaced appeal lies in its ease. “It adds a little bit of interest and color to the face, [but] you don’t have to worry about a red lip smearing or eyeliner running.” Instead, a soft pat of the right shade, applied with your fingers, will take you seamlessly through the day.

For a universally flattering effect, Kendal most heavily relies on Serge Luten Beaute’s lip pencil and Laura Mercier’s Sheer Lip Color. “They have just the right balance of warmth, so they tend not to wash anyone out—you can really use [them] on almost anyone.” For dark skin types, she also reaches for a dab of Marc Jacobs’ Lip Crème in deep, tawny Mahogany pigment, while NARS’ Satin Pencil in Biscayne Park gives peachy glow to the palest of complexions. Experimenting with levels of opacity and undertone will lead you to your ideal shade, says Kendal, who warns against anything “with too much red or brown” to avoid looking dated. From there, the possibilities are endless. “The wonderful thing about a nude lip is you can do almost anything with it: Nice clean skin with a bit of contour and some definition of the eyes—or, of course, you can wear a really smoky eye.” In other words, your summer makeup bag just got a lot more interesting.

The post The Best Nude Lipstick for Every Skin Tone: Shopping Summer’s Best Shades appeared first on Vogue.

The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of June 22, 2015

miranda kerr holding

It may be the season of surf-sprayed waves and minimal makeup, but the fashion flock met the summer solstice with a nostalgic poolside polish worthy of a Slim Aarons portrait. Crisp red lips (Constance Jablonski) proved as glamorous an evening strategy as dramatic side-sweeps (Adriana Lima). Fresh off the heels of the Game of Thrones season finale, actress Emilia Clarke debuted a smooth new bob—and even bedhead authority Anja Rubik upgraded her slept-in texture to smoothly brushed waves. Not that everyone fired up their hot tools: Vanessa Hudgens offered a gorgeously lazy way to bring your A-game on a steamy day—in the form of a shower-fresh bun and good sunglasses.

 

 

The post The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of June 22, 2015 appeared first on Vogue.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Actress Rebecca Ferguson on What It Takes to Get a Mission: Impossible Body

Actress Rebecca Ferguson

When actress Rebecca Ferguson calls from Sweden on a recent Wednesday afternoon, she’s just been for a bike ride through the golden rapeseed fields near the small fishing village she calls home. “They were towering over my head,” says the actress dreamily. “If you walk into them, you just disappear.” That she might find such solitude appealing is understandable. Next month she’ll begin a whirlwind press tour for her lead role in Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation, a project that will have her hitting red carpets around the globe alongside costar Tom Cruise while cementing her place as a rising international star. For the next few days at least, she’ll let her auburn hair dry in the breeze and apply coconut oil and sunscreen to her freckled skin before returning to work on the London set of her next project, Florence Foster Jenkins, where she’ll play opposite Meryl Streep. Clothing options will be relegated to “wooly jumpers and socks. It’s a complete different energy—a beautiful contrast.”

If the tall, fresh-faced 31-year old mother with self-professed vertigo doesn’t seem like a natural for the stunt-heavy Mission Impossible franchise, her résumé tells a different story. Ferguson’s critically acclaimed turn as Queen Elizabeth in 2013’s The White Queen proved not only her chops for playing a powerful woman, but also an ability to endure her fair share of physical obstacles. “Those dresses were so heavy,” she remembers with a laugh. So, too, did her years spent dancing and teaching Argentine tango—an off-screen passion that has provided ample training in the art of on-screen combat. “There’s so much tango in [fight] choreography.” Here, Ferguson talks about overcoming her fear of heights in favor of 120-foot falls, what to eat to stay in the best shape of your life, and how to maintain a natural beauty routine while keeping aging at bay.

How did the Mission: Impossible role come about?
I met with the casting director first. I got a call while I was filming The Red Tent in Morocco, sitting on a camel named Barbie, that I would need to meet with Tom [Cruise] and Chris [McQuarrie] in London. I flew there, and 24 hours later I was back on Barbie. They came back [to Morocco] to see if I could pick up choreography and to look at how I moved.

The physical aspect of filming a blockbuster action film must be quite rigorous.
When I first arrived, they drove me straight from the airport to the gym. For the next month and half, I trained for six hours, five or six days a week. Everything was physical.

What kind of training did it take to prepare?
Pilates was the ground floor. It’s such a good way of keeping your body safe. There is so much technique in fighting—how do you hold your fist, where does the motion come from. I had to learn to run fast—so we did a lot of explosive running. When we started filming, we kept the training up as much as possible. When you see a sequence that is 30 seconds long, it has taken weeks of preparation.

Tom Cruise is famous for doing his own stunts—were you expected to do your own, too?
I did nearly all of the stunts myself. I knew I could back out at any second—they had a stunt double ready. But I think that’s what made me do it. I had to jump off a Vienna rooftop with my legs strapped around Tom Cruise on the first day! Later on in the film, there’s a 120-foot fall. It is scary. You need to get a lot of camera angles, so we had to do it ten times!

With such an active set life, how do you stay healthy? Is there an on-site nutritionist?
Yes, because much goes into the training regimen. If you start being stupid and think that you’re going to look good because you don’t eat, you won’t be able to get through it. We’re given good carbs, good protein, lots of sweet potatoes. [My food plan] was completely dependent on the scene that I was doing. If I wasn’t exercising too much, I ate more salads and vegetables. I did cut out sugar for eight months.

This isn’t the first time that you’ve undergone a major physical transformation for work. You also dyed your hair blonde for The White Queen.
It’s not a big deal for me. I’m an actress. Storytelling and transformation [is part of that], and I will take it to a point where it’s healthy.

In terms of your skin, you’re quite fair. What’s your approach?
It’s not very sunny where I live, but I do wear SPF 30. I like having a bit of a tan, but that’s not more important than my skin. I like quite pure beauty products—I will use organic coconut oil or rose oil to moisturize. When I get tired of the smells I get into the habit of using olive oil. I’ll also create my own face mask with Manuka honey. It’s incredible—and you can eat it if you’re feeling a bit ill. I make a simple peel out of coffee grounds, too, with water and a little bit of oil and coffee. I love the smell. And I like Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream on my elbows, nails, and sometimes on my lashes. It accentuates the eyes.

What else do you do for makeup?
Little enhancements. A little bit of mascara—I always end up buying Max Factor 2000 Calorie Dramatic Volume. I’m used to it: I like the brush, it doesn’t elongate the lashes too much, and I’m quite pale, so it just gives a little bit. I like my freckles, so on set I love finding a base that doesn’t look or feel like I’m wearing very much makeup but just takes away red spots. If I’m going out, I’ll put a harder hand on something—a lip or an eyeliner. I keep the colors pretty earthy. I like lilacs because I think it brings out the green in my eyes.

The post Actress Rebecca Ferguson on What It Takes to Get a Mission: Impossible Body appeared first on Vogue.

Kate Moss’s Rocker Moment: Lived-In Layers and Stained Red Lips

Gigi Hadid’s Day-to-Night Hair Transformation: From Windswept Ponytail to Slick Side Sweep

How to Eat Healthy While Dining Out: What to Order at 5 New York City Restaurants

Photographed by Eric Boman, Vogue, July 2012

Thanks to the rise of healthy food delivery services and nutritional bloggers, sticking to a clean, well-rounded diet at home is easier than ever. But Manhattan’s best new restaurants beckon, and with them, their menu options (which don’t always share your dietary goals). We had to wonder: Is it possible to eat out as well as you would at home and still enjoy what the city’s most talented chefs have to offer? According to nutritionist Kimberly Snyder, the answer is yes.

When Snyder sits down to eat, she and her clients (including Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore, and Kerry Washington) are not counting calories. “I don’t think it’s necessary or effective for long-term weight loss or health.” Instead, she trains her eye on nutrient-dense whole foods that can be broken down easily by the body. Rule number one of dining out, she says, is to start every dinner with a green salad. “I call it the bulletproof vest. It’s a great [source of] enzymes and fiber,” which, she notes, also acts as a natural source of portion control.

But when it comes to choosing an entree, she looks for appetizing vegetable-driven main courses. “Meat can be very acid forming,” she explains. Snyder prefers fish to red meat as a source of animal protein, especially if it’s been broiled or baked. “Pan-seared means [the kitchen] is adding oil and cooking the fish in its own fat.” Though, when considering chicken or steak, the cleaner the source, the better, says Snyder. “There is plenty of organic, free-range meat offered in New York City.” She also steers clear of dairy, like heavy cheese and cream-driven sauces—especially in excess.

With those ground rules in mind, we asked Snyder to browse the menus of five Manhattan hot spots, from Midtown’s French revival, Chevalier, to the East Village’s latest love letter to Mexico, Rosie’s. Here, what to order when you nab one of the hardest reservations to get in town.

 

THE RESTAURANT: Untitled
THE APPETIZER: Cauliflower, curry, and crushed black sesame
THE ENTRÉE: Black bass with bok choy and mushroom broth

At the Whitney Museum’s new organic ground-level restaurant, there are enough healthy options that Snyder says you can easily steer away from “depleting ingredients” like Caesar dressing or fried food. “Anything that says fritters means fried, which I would not order—cooked fats can congest your body.” Instead, she’d opt for the curry-spiced cauliflower followed by an entrée of black bass served with fiber-loaded bok choy and immune system–boosting mushroom broth.

99 Gansevoort Street
212.570.3670
untitledatthewhitney.com

 

THE RESTAURANT: Upland
THE APPETIZER: Little gem salad with Queens Farm lettuces, almonds, pear, and chardonnay vinaigrette
THE ENTRÉE: Whole crispy hen-of-the-woods mushroom, Cloumage, and herbs
THE SIDES: Seared brussels sprouts, Meyer lemon, oregano, and chili

After nixing hunger pangs with an antioxidant- and vitamin-rich salad, Snyder says she would continue to fill up on this Flatiron restaurant’s organic veggies. “Not every restaurant offers really filling, protein-dense vegetarian options, but since this one does, why not go for an alkalizing, veggie-based dinner?” She has a point. Immunity-boosting hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, “revered in Japan for their amazing health properties,” are enhanced with fresh herbs; meanwhile, brussels sprouts, which Snyder points out “are a great source of protein and calcium,” come with a kick of chili and a spritz of Meyer lemon—“a great liver-supporting and detoxifying food.”

345 Park Avenue South
212.686.1006
uplandnyc.com

 

THE RESTAURANT: Rosie’s
THE APPEITZER: Nopales ensalada
THE ENTRÉE: Enchiladas suizas with mixed wild greens or chicken

The first thing to catch Snyder’s eye on the menu at the new East Village Mexican eatery is the nopales ensalada. “I love that they have nopales,” she says of the calcium- and antioxidant-rich cactus. “It’s a great beauty food”—one made all the lighter when ordered without queso blanco. For a main dish, the spicy enchiladas suizas come one of two ways—Snyder says she would opt for the vegetarian version with wild greens and black beans “plus a side of guacamole.” Though, she notes that the organic chicken is another healthy alternative. Whichever way you order the dish, she suggests holding the melted cheese and cream.

29 East Second Street
212.335.0114
rosiesnyc.com

 

THE RESTAURANT: Chevalier
THE APPETIZER: Spring salad
THE ENTRÉE: Halibut à l’Orange

When going French, it’s best to start simple, says Snyder. “Fancy appetizers can lead to more digestive work and bloating.” Instead, a foliage-driven dish, like Chevalier’s spring salad will benefit you later in the meal. “The fiber helps you digest everything you eat afterwards better, and it acts as a natural form of portion control without having to count calories.” For a main course, the nutritionist tends to favor fish over other animal proteins. Halibut à l’orange is a no-brainer. “According to some fish lists, halibut may be a fish lower in toxins,” she points out. Though vegetarians might have luck making a special request for a vegetable plate. “They have a lot of vegetables scattered throughout the entrées and offer green asparagus as a side—hopefully [the restaurant] would be accommodating.”

28 West Fifty-third Street
212.790.8869
baccarathotels.com

 

THE RESTAURANT: Marta
THE APPETIZER: Insalata verde
THE ENTRÉE: Pizza bianche primavera
THE SIDES: Black rice and spring peas

Pizza is the menu highlight of this restaurant making waves at the Martha Washington Hotel. Luckily, Snyder says to dig in as long as you don’t suffer from gluten intolerance.  “Order one loaded with veggies like cremini mushrooms or spring greens and herbs, sans cheese,” she says. “Start with the insalata verde, then order the spring peas,” which come with an unsung superfood: “Black rice is said to be high in antioxidants with anti-inflammatory qualities.”

29 East Twenty-ninth Street
212.651.3800
martamanhattan.com

The post How to Eat Healthy While Dining Out: What to Order at 5 New York City Restaurants appeared first on Vogue.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Rise of the Beach-Babe Selfie: Gisele Bündchen, Joan Smalls, and More

Photo: Courtesy of Elsa Hosk

If the face-mask selfie was Instagram’s winter beauty statement, with the arrival of beach season our feeds have been overflowing with another phenomenon: the perfect bikini shot. It’s a deceptively spontaneous snap—usually depicting some type of seaside frolicking—that showcases the sheer beauty of sun-bleached tendrils and a fresh-faced outdoor glow as much as athletic curves and bronzed limbs.

Bella Hadid and Hannah Bronfman accessorized their two-pieces with dried-in-the-breeze waves and skin-saving wide-brimmed hats, while Joan Smalls embraced a good figure with natural curls (and one-of-a-kind tan lines). Assuming the lotus position on a secluded stretch of sand, Gisele Bündchen was the picture of bombshell-haired serenity and Caroline Trentini and Stella Maxwell bounded down the beach to capture their sculpted physiques mid-air. Still, it was Elsa Hosk who offered up summer’s ultimate beauty enhancement—short of the right filter—by reminding us of one universal truth: Everyone looks better coming out of the water.

The post The Rise of the Beach-Babe Selfie: Gisele Bündchen, Joan Smalls, and More appeared first on Vogue.

The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and More

Photo: Courtesy of Elizabeth Olsen

This weekend’s solstice has us embracing all things outdoors in celebration of summertime, and we’re not alone. Beyoncé soaked up the sun on freshly cut grass, her golden skin elevated by fresh-from-the-water waves. French model Ophelie Guillermand also posed on a grassy expanse, the surrounding natural beauty only rivaled by her effortless no-makeup makeup, while actress Kiko Mizuhara stayed one step ahead of a set of turquoise waves, glowing limbs and geometric cat-eye shades inspiring a retro, pared-down brand of beach-bound cool. Besties Taylor Swift and July cover girl Cara Delevingne honored the solstice by cuddling up to Mother Nature’s petite creatures—Swift and her brassy lids served as stylish chaise to a sweet and sleepy Olivia Benson (kitten, not detective) as Delevingne planted a wide-eyed kiss on a lucky frog, though, sadly, a frog he remained. Elizabeth Olsen celebrated another birthday—or two, rather—with a tribute to sisters and CFDA winners Mary-Kate and Ashley, whose matching ombré blonde waves, strong brows, and matte rose lips made 29 look just right. But photographer Tierney Gearon has us itching for another chance at adolescence—her snap of two teens sporting bright blue and pink lipstick chosen to coordinate with their brace-faced grins is rife with nostalgia.

The post The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and More appeared first on Vogue.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Gisele Bündchen’s Tawny Makeup and Surfer Waves: The Brunch Look of Our Dreams

Just in Time for Father’s Day: A Survey of Facial Hair from Abraham Lincoln to Will Ferrell

facial-hair-hero

 

Facial hair is not a subject people are dispassionate about. For Jeeves, P. G. Wodehouse’s brainy arbiter of decorum, who believed that “A man’s character is better displayed through his actions than his attempts at facial hair,” there was no room for gray area (or stubble). The razor ruled. Whereas, until 1916, British soldiers were required to wear moustaches.

Facial hair is literally a sign of masculinity, as its appearance marks a boy’s biological entry into manhood. But its symbolic meaning is always in flux. In classical Greece, philosophers wore beards; later they’d be favored by counterculture beatniks and “turn on, tune in, drop out” hippies who rejected their Gillettes along with gray flannel suits. In the seventies and eighties, the bushy mustaches of Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck reminded us that facial hair can be associated with virility and sex appeal, while the Anonymous hacktivists have adopted fearsome Guy Fawkes masks to mark their vigilante status. (Take that Yosemite Sam.)

But we have the hipsters—all those tattooed, man-bunned and bearded baristas—to thank for giving facial hair a fashion twist and, who, in trickle-up fashion, have made a hirsute handsomeness popular among Hollywood types from Fifty Shades’s Jamie Dornan to Night’s Watch commander Kit Harington.

What better way to celebrate Father’s Day, than a look at the ever-growing popularity of facial hair?

 

Video by Kevin Tadge

The post Just in Time for Father’s Day: A Survey of Facial Hair from Abraham Lincoln to Will Ferrell appeared first on Vogue.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Behati Prinsloo and the Black-Tie Appeal of Beach Waves

The Cure for Bob Boredom: Dakota Johnson’s Springy Curls

Dakota Johnson hair

You’d think that embracing a shorter crop would limit Dakota Johnsons styling options, but judging by her lineup of silky blowouts and windswept waves, playing with texture is all it takes to reinvent a chin-length chop. Spotted in New York City yesterday, the actress showed yet another quick upgrade with her smooth chop falling into springy curls. Paired with rosy nude lipstick and oversize black sunglasses, the effect was a cool polish that could stand up to an army jacket—and evidence that the cure for bob boredom may be as simple as a quick flick of a curling iron.

 

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

The post The Cure for Bob Boredom: Dakota Johnson’s Springy Curls appeared first on Vogue.

5 Hotels That Are Redefining the Fitness Vacation: Where to Surf, Golf, and Ice Skate This Summer

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Does Your Face Cream Belong in the Refrigerator? A 3-Step Guide to Storing Beauty Products

Kate Moss Mario Testino Vogue

From technologically advanced retinols to face creams that share ingredients with your cold-pressed juice, our daily beauty regimens have never been more diverse. Which begs the question: Do some of these products really need to be kept in the refrigerator rather than the medicine cabinet?

Some beauty brands think so. Los Angeles–based Odacité sells a mini-fridge designed to keep its antioxidant-rich serums at 54–59 degrees Fahrenheit so that plant extracts remain fresh for as long as possible. But before you start tossing bottles of wine and stalks of rhubarb to make room for mascaras and moisturizers, cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson and chemist turned facialist Kristina Holey say there are simple guidelines to follow when it comes to storing your beauty arsenal. Here, from dark bottles to the products you probably never imagined would share space with your Greek yogurt, are their three-step pro tips.

1. What to keep out of direct sunlight:
Both Wilson and Holey agree that nothing from your beauty haul should ever be exposed to the fluctuating temperatures of steamy bathrooms or sun-soaked windowsills, as heat and light can change chemical structures, degrading a product’s potency and possibly creating an environment for bacterial growth. But certain ingredients are more prone to temperature-caused destabilization and should always be kept cool: Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), retinol, benzoyl peroxide, DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid), and anything that’s preservative-free including organic lipsticks and cheek stains. Wilson stores these items on the lowest shelf in her home office, away from direct sunlight. “From my bedroom, my office is on the way to the bathroom, so it’s easy to pick them up and put them back,” she says. However, the latest high-tech nano formulas are more stable and Wilson says they don’t require “such tender loving care.”
 
2. What to keep in the dark:
Organic creams and serums, says Holey, should be treated like anything you would buy at the farmer’s market. “The key to using natural lines is to only buy what you will use in the next month or so for efficacy.” She evens trades out mascara and lipstick after about four weeks. Holey stores facial products in a black linen bag on her bedroom vanity. “I put facial oils on my body, so everything is in the same bag. I keep one bottle of In Fiore Face Oil Concentré in my purse. I move through it quickly so I’m not too concerned about it changing too much chemically,” she adds.

Dark bottles will also help prolong the efficacy of natural oils, serums, and sunscreens. But, the quickest tip for preserving any product is to put a lid on it. Oxidation—the chemical change that happens when oil comes into contact with air—can have more negative effects than temperature, resulting in spoiled solutions. Holey suggests closing bottles immediately after using them—especially if a shower is running—to keep out air and steam.
 
3. When keeping cool is necessary:
Some products, however, truly do last longer under cold temperatures, and the ones that will find a home among your produce may surprise you. Wilson acknowledges that she refrigerates her favorite perfumes, especially the “fine fragrances that I want to preserve for more than a year.” She says cold temperatures help slow the separation process of key ingredients in mixtures. “Nail polish is all about suspension,” she says. “Keeping the pigments suspended in the formula will preserve the life of the polish.”

The post Does Your Face Cream Belong in the Refrigerator? A 3-Step Guide to Storing Beauty Products appeared first on Vogue.

Take a Break from Beach Hair: Suki Waterhouse, Miranda Kerr, and More on the Benefits of Polished Curls

Joan Smalls curly hair

It’s really quite brilliant: In the middle of messy hair season, that gloriously lazy time of laissez-faire textures and minimal makeup, in swoop the amply maned likes of Joan Smalls to steal the show with expertly crafted curls that feel as timeless as a blast of Elnett. Spotted at the amfAR Gala in Manhattan last night, the model paired a deep side swoosh with mocha-toned lipstick and a thick liquid flick, while Cara Delevingne accessorized her romantic waves with a swipe of scarlet lipstick. Over in Moscow, Miranda Kerr supercharged the glamour of her high-gloss curls with smoked metallic eyes and a dab of rosy gloss, and Suki Waterhouse made the style her own with a bit of wispy bedhead. Here, four reasons to fire up your hot rollers.

The post Take a Break from Beach Hair: Suki Waterhouse, Miranda Kerr, and More on the Benefits of Polished Curls appeared first on Vogue.

10 Last-Minute Father’s Day Grooming Gifts

fathers day gifts grooming

Father’s Day is this weekend, leaving you little time to produce the perfect gift. Beyond the expected bottle of scotch or handsome new tie, why not give your dad something in the way of a different indulgence—grooming. Whether shopping for a dapper gentleman or a rugged role model, we’ve uncovered new essentials that are sure to become indispensable to every man in your life’s dopp kit. Perhaps he’ll appreciate the thoughtful upgrades to his shaving routine, including Dior’s soothing aftershave and Czech & Speake’s counter-friendly razor and shaving soap set. Or maybe he’s long deserved a sleek leather carryall to keep it organized. From old-fashioned favorites (Aesop mouthwash) to future classics (Men’s Society Moustache Grooming Kit), here, our picks for a successful Father’s Day.

The post 10 Last-Minute Father’s Day Grooming Gifts appeared first on Vogue.

Is the Topknot the New Updo? Anja Rubik Wears the Daytime Look for a Night Out

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Meet Hari Nef: Model, Actress, Activist, and the First Trans Woman Signed to IMG Worldwide

Trans model Hari Nef

Sitting in makeup at the Standard East Village for her first Vogue.com shoot, Hari Nef, the 22-year-old transgender model and actress recently signed to IMG Worldwide, is telling us that she’s trying to hang out with Caitlyn Jenner in Los Angeles this summer. “I’m trying to get frozen yogurt with Caitlyn and just talk about girl stuff,” she says.

In a few weeks, Nef will be living in L.A. for the first time, working on a high-profile project—she can’t disclose what just yet—that’s sure to launch her further into the cultural forefront. It’s an invitation for visibility she’s happily accepted since the announcement of her signing with IMG—she’s the first transgender model on the agency’s U.S. roster, which includes Gisele Bündchen and Gigi Hadid—two weeks ago, only days after she graduated from Columbia. Almost immediately after graduating, she flew to Amsterdam to shoot a campaign for & Other Stories with an all-trans cast. Back in makeup (Nef calls the robe she’s wearing “so model-y!”), we imagine what kind of froyo Caitlyn Jenner would get: probably peach. “I was going to say peach!” Nef laughs. Maybe with coconut flakes? Strawberries? Sprinkles?

Speculating on Jenner’s palate is, of course, as arbitrary as speculating on her identity. Nef hopes that, by being open in her work, she can help others understand that there are as many ways to be trans as there are trans people. “Being a woman is an option, being trans is an option, and they’re options that appeal to me,” she says. “We need to listen to people, not labels, not semantics.”

Nef arrived wearing silver hoop earrings that stayed in for the shoot. This is the allure of working with Nef: keeping what she brings to set, including the discourse. She’s known for being outspoken and beaming a sharp enthusiasm, so much so that, as she speaks, laughs, and throws her body into gesture, one of her hoops flies out of her ears. (“There goes my hoop again!”) She bends to pick it up, slipping it back in without a pause.

For Nef, modeling began when she started transitioning, and she’s built her career while “creating, re-creating, meta-creating” herself. “I’m a different girl almost every time I look in the mirror,” she says.

Fashion can’t look away. During New York Fashion Week this season, Nef walked the runway for Eckhaus Latta, Hood By Air, and Adam Selman. She starred in Selfridges’ Agender campaign film—soundtracked by Dev Hynes and choreographed by Sia collaborator Ryan Heffington—which the London-based retailer used to launch a “gender-neutral pop-up” department this spring. Two months ago, she caught the eye of Transparent creator Jill Soloway, who took Nef as her date to a PFLAG gala, captioning an Instagram shot: “I brought an international supermodel to the #pflag gala. I heart @harinef so hard.”

But even amid all this, Nef still punctuates her Instagram bio line, “actress & model,” with “lmao.” She grew up obsessed with fashion, crouching in the international fashion magazine section in a Borders in Newton, Massachusetts, but never imagined that one day she’d be “put on blast” as a female model with a major agency. While studying theater at Columbia, she interned with casting director Jennifer Venditti, and also at VFiles in SoHo, and, at night, hosted weekly parties at the Diamond Horseshoe and Up & Down.

Nef is something of a Tumblr-age Chloë Sevigny, with dewy skin and a bone structure that supports home-cut bangs, carrying an elegant contradiction in her posture, sitting in a pretty slouch when she’s riveted, standing statuesque when she’s a little bored at a celebrity-laden party. But of course, her audience looks to her in a different way than Sevigny’s: They aren’t necessarily clamoring to be It girls; they simply want to be accepted as women, and have a say in what that means.

Tumblr users send her messages, like this one from a young transgender woman from Iraq who is “stealth”—gender-conforming—at her high school: “It’s so lonely being the only person in my town who is trans. I am so thankful that I follow you and other girls on this site . . . maybe I’m living vicariously through you a bit. You’re so brave.”

For Nef’s part, “I could have hid in Boston and lived at home for three years,” she says, “gone through my transition, taken voice lessons to make my voice more feminine, gotten gender reassignment surgery, and spent time to complete my transition before I made my debut in fashion or film, but I didn’t want to wait!” she says. “I wanted to be in the world.” Waiting would have required that she pause the rest of her life. “I’m not trying to self-aggrandize, but it’s more than a job to me,” she says. “It is political.”

Nef is the first to say that being trans is not the most interesting thing about her, that “gender is whatever.” But as a trans woman who spends so many of her days in front of cameras, her consciousness of her gender has a more steady glow. “Insisting on perhaps a more gender ambiguous or barefaced or subtle femininity as a trans woman has opened me up to certain dangers and rejection,” she says. “There’s also confusion from cisgender folks. It’s like, ‘Girl, you should be doing everything you can to be femme. Why aren’t you? If you went a little harder for this, people really wouldn’t clock you! You could really get straight men!’ ”

Nef recently spent three hours in hair and makeup on a photo shoot, emerging with heightened contours, full-eye makeup, and long, sleek blonde extensions. When she looked in the mirror, her first thought was, “I could be married in a year if I looked like this every day,” she says. “But it just looked like a different person. It didn’t look like me.”

What looks like Hari to her? “I feel like I don’t look super feminine when I wear a lot of makeup,” she says. “You know, one of my trans girlfriends told me really early in my transition, ‘Girl, never wear lipstick on a first date. It freaks them out. You look like a tranny.’ When I don’t wear makeup, it’s not because I’m lazy, but it’s me making this radical bid for the feminization of my body and being confident in that. I don’t want to say that women who do use makeup or get breast implants or have fake nails are insecure. They’re entitled to that and they should do that if that’s what they want to do. But for me, there are no answers. It’s just a matter of preference and choice and fetish.”

At the end of the shoot, Nef floats out of the room in a J.W.Anderson cloud of tiered tulle (the model’s own). Standing in the elevator, she begins to describe real-time happenings in a faux French accent. “We ahre on zee ground fluh.” Is she referencing some highly intellectual French New Wave film? Mais non, she explains playfully: “I wish I could have the SpongeBob SquarePants narrator narrate my life!” The right to self-define, to choose your own narration, and then to change your mind is what Nef hopes her life will inspire. “It’s not enough to be cute in a magazine,” she says. “You have to talk.”

Hair: Blake Burkholder; Makeup: Akiko Owada

The post Meet Hari Nef: Model, Actress, Activist, and the First Trans Woman Signed to IMG Worldwide appeared first on Vogue.

Kate Moss Does With-the-Band Beauty Like a Festival Pro 

kate moss waves

It’s only fitting that Kate Moss would lend her trademark nude makeup a punkish edge for a night out with Vivienne Westwood. Spotted at a party with the designer in London last night, the model accented her metallic lids and tawny desert glow with a thick smudge of kohl liner and a few coats of mascara. It’s the kind of I’m-with-the-band makeup and festival bronze that was made for a rumpled head of slept-in waves—all promising to get even better with a little end-of-party wear.

The post Kate Moss Does With-the-Band Beauty Like a Festival Pro  appeared first on Vogue.

High Shine Eyes: 8 Metallic Shadows Made for Catching the Light

metallic eye shadow

This season’s new collection of metallic, lustrous eye shadows seems to have one unified message: Make like the sun and shine. And why shouldn’t we? Editorial makeup artist Lisa Houghton—who presses powders into the lids of Amber Heard and Taylor Swift—reaches for shimmering shadows to easily highlight and widen eyes, whatever the occasion. “Shiny eyes look lovely during the summer, especially when your light tan needs a bit of enhancement while still reflecting a less-is-more mood,” says Houghton, who suggests first applying a coat of primer to keep colors bright and in place. Houghton also notes that a simple switch of your lip color can seamlessly take the look from day (natural; just a swipe of balm) to night (bold; a deep plum pairs nicely with metal-inspired hues). Whether it’s Givenchy’s Ombre Couture Cream Eyeshadow—which, in Top Coat Blanc Satin, allows any shadow to gleam—or the tinny teal from Estée Lauder’s Courrèges collection, these eight shadows prove high shine eyes are the ultimate in radiant summer accessories.

 

The post High Shine Eyes: 8 Metallic Shadows Made for Catching the Light appeared first on Vogue.

The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of June 15, 2015

Photo: Getty Images

If the mere thought of using your blow-dryer makes you want to hug an air conditioner, you’re in good, tousled company: Alessandra Ambrosio and Karolina Kurkova leaned into the steamy weather with surf-infused texture, while Sarah Jessica Parkers billowing waves were a testament to the breeze-as-hairstylist phenomenon. Not to be outdone, Camilla Belle and Gigi Hadid embraced a little seasonal frizz—and Orange Is the New Black’s latest breakout star, Ruby Rose, stole the show offscreen with slick, shower-fresh hair done right. Makeup offered a polished counterpoint with crisp swipes of red lipstick (Emily Blunt, Zoe Saldana) and sunny allover nudes (Alexa Chung, Jessica Alba) showcasing equally appealing summer makeup strategies. Here, your chance to vote for the week’s best beauty look.

The post The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of June 15, 2015 appeared first on Vogue.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Is Cara Delevingne Taking Beauty Cues from Taylor Swift? Her Ladylike Lipstick and Polished Curls

Cara Delevingne Paper Towns Madrid

With her penchant for smoldering lids, slept-in waves, and the odd swipe of vampy lipstick, the most shocking look for fashion’s favorite wild child could only be one of demure polish. Spotted at a photo call for Paper Towns in Madrid today with her eyes unsmoked, hair neatly curled, and lips painted a classic crimson, Cara Delevingne was the picture of ladylike elegance. One that rings a bell, especially considering that Taylor Swift has made leggy, high-waisted styles and coy, above-the-navel flashes of midriff her signature. A sign there’s a new set of twinning BFFs coming our way? It certainly looks like the two traded beauty tips on the “Bad Blood” set.

 

Cara Delevingne takes us on a tour of her home away from home aka Hogwarts:

The post Is Cara Delevingne Taking Beauty Cues from Taylor Swift? Her Ladylike Lipstick and Polished Curls appeared first on Vogue.

Kendall Jenner Puts a Seventies Spin on the Ponytail

kendall jenner ponytail

While the modern minimalism of neat buns and cheerful topknots has secured their status as fashion’s favorite hair upgrade, let 2015 mark the year that ponytails got interesting again. And not just for a night out: After a post-workout Gisele Bündchen brought us the perfect summertime version, and Cara Delevingne accessorized hers with a bandana, Kendall Jenner has merged the simplest of hairstyles with summer’s seventies nostalgia.

Spotted in Los Angeles with her new puppy yesterday, the model channeled Ali MacGraw circa Love Story with her glossy blowout neatly divided down the middle and bound into low-slung style. It’s the kind of laid-back look made for nude makeup and faded denim—and offers a striking dose of polish in the middle of messy hair season.

 

Watch what happens when we give Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid a selfie stick:

The post Kendall Jenner Puts a Seventies Spin on the Ponytail appeared first on Vogue.

How North West’s Curly Styles Are Inspiring a Generation of Natural Hair Girls

north west birthday hair

When Riccardo Tisci sent models with intricately gelled coils on their hairlines down his fall 2015 Givenchy runway, the awe these baby hairs inspired in the fashion world was rivaled by another very famous set of curls: the scraped-back and artfully sculpted tendrils of mini It girl North West, who turns two today.

I’ve been charmed by the sleek styles that Kim and Kanyes offspring has sported as she sits front row at Fashion Week on her mother’s lap, arriving to ballet class in custom Balmain blazers, or globetrotting to far-flung locales on family trips. Whether a top bun or a comb-over, North’s pint-sized hair styles complement her fashion-forward play clothes, while remaining refreshingly easy and age-appropriate. They’ve established little Nori as a kind of hair icon for a nascent and diverse generation of tots rocking their natural curls with unprecedented flair—among them, my two-year-old niece, Isabel.

Like Nori, Isabel (affectionately known as “Izzy B”) sprouts an enviable festoon of curls that are a reflection of her biracial background: Her mother is of Russian-Jewish descent and her father is African-American. Ever the hands-on “fashion auntie,” I’ve happily assisted Izzy’s mom with styling her little corkscrews, passing along a long familial tradition of black hair care that emphasizes detangling and moisture. When my sister-in-law doubted her ability to skillfully do her daughter’s hair on a daily basis, I offered encouragement: as I wrote here before, she is not alone in wanting to bring out the natural beauty of her mixed-race child.

And so, for some professional insight into how we could easily reproduce a day-to-day curly regimen at home, sans neuroses, I turned to Anthony Dickey, the famed curl whisperer behind the product line Hair Rules. Empowering parents in multiethnic or multicultural relationships to absorb information regarding their child’s natural hair care, rather than being intimidated by it, Dickey espouses: “Really believe your kid’s hair is much more reflective of a diverse world that we live in.”

I sent him four of North’s go-to looks: the top knot, the pom poms, the comb-over, and her free flying coils, as well as a pic of Izzy for reference, and we got to work. Rolling off a concise list of sulfate-, paraben-, and phthalate-free products that would be the bedrock of Izzy’s routine, Dickey sung the praises of a non-sudsing shampoo that won’t strip or dry out curly baby hair (Hair Rules Cleansing Cream Moisturizing No Suds Shampoo), leave-in conditioner for hold (TotLogic Leave-In Conditioning Spray for fine, flyaway curls; Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner for spongier, kinkier textures), water to activate the curl, and clear latex rubber bands to help hold the styles without pulling at the root. A rat-tail comb was essential for making the precise parts, while a soft bristle brush would help smooth the flyways.

The idea was to create fun, carefree hair that brings out Izzy’s effervescent personality and suits her busy schedule of running around the playground with her teeny-tiny squad or pirouetting about ballet class, without imparting an unreasonable beauty standard that ultimately distracts from her all-too-important playtime. After all, even though North West may rule fashion’s most exclusive front rows, something tells me that rolling through the Charles de Gaulle Airport atop her Frozen suitcase was the highlight of her recent trip to Paris for the shows.

Placing Izzy in my lap with one of her favorite movies, Winnie the Pooh, to keep her entertained, I followed Dickey’s guidelines, and here, this proud aunt and moonlighting hairstylist is happy to say, are the four looks, for everywhere from day care to the swing set, that we created together.

The post How North West’s Curly Styles Are Inspiring a Generation of Natural Hair Girls appeared first on Vogue.

Exclusive! Isabeli Fontana Is the New Face of L’Oréal

isabela fontana loreal

Though Isabeli Fontana has just been named the new international spokesperson of L’Oréal Paris, for a good chunk of her life, the Brazilian model says, she didn’t know much about beauty. On a phone call to Vogue last week she explained, “I was a tomboy growing up. Even after I started modeling at thirteen, I didn’t learn how to do my makeup. I would just sit in the chair and let [the makeup artists] do their work. I wouldn’t even look after.” In fact, it wasn’t until the birth of her first child that the she started to pay attention to the eye shadows, lipsticks, and blushes that were being applied to her face. “My feminine side came out.”

Since then, Fontana has amassed enough technique and fortitude to have fun with products—sometimes despite the advice of more experienced pros. “The other night, I told the makeup artist to put color eye shadow on me along with a bright bold look. He told me I was crazy. But I said to him, ‘Trust me, it’s going to look good.’ ” No surprise here: Fontana won the argument. “I like extravagant beauty [and] coming up with new, edgy looks.” Luckily, her makeup arsenal is growing. “I have a big box of new L’Oréal Color Riche lipsticks,” she says. “Every night I wear a different one!”

If Fontana credits the “geniuses” she works with for her product education, it was her native country that taught that her the key to pulling off any look is confidence. “In Brazil, no matter your shape, you’re comfortable walking around in a bikini. You feel good in your body. We know you’re never going to be perfect. If you get caught up in worrying about this and that, you’re going to spend all your life working on these little spots.” Though she’s pretty Zen about it all, Fontana says she does plenty to maintain her lithe five foot ten frame: “I run intervals,” she says of her exercise regime. “It helps get rid of the fat in the stomach.”

As for the rest of her beauty regimen: The less done the better, as far as Fontana is concerned. “I’ll put mousse in my hair if I’m going out and want to look pretty, to build the volume,” she says. “Otherwise I just do nothing. I let it breathe.” Though, admittedly, the laissez-faire attitude might stem from a lack of skill. As adroit as she may be at wielding eyeliner and lipstick, she says, “Hair, I still cannot do.”

The post Exclusive! Isabeli Fontana Is the New Face of L’Oréal appeared first on Vogue.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

5 Reasons to Ride Your Bike to Brunch: St. Vincent, Lily Aldridge, and More

Photo: INFphoto.com

While many a well-toned New Yorker is quick to credit sweat sessions at The Class or Ballet Beautiful, the built-in exercise of living in a walking—and increasingly bike-friendly—city brings with it a number of incidental fitness benefits. Hilary Rhoda was spotted pedaling through Manhattan with an off-duty-model messy knot and leather jacket, while Keri Russell is known to navigate Brooklyn on two wheels year-round, which might explain her enviable, perpetually breezy waves. Offering another reason to embrace flats this summer, bicycle aficionado Hanneli Mustaparta took a joyride through Tribeca and Lily Aldridge made the most of the wind-machine effect in Central Park. But leave it to singer St. Vincent to make a safety-first approach look good with her frothy curls spilling out from under a helmet. Here, five reasons to head to brunch on a Citi Bike.

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The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Serena Williams, Doutzen Kroes, and More

Cass Bird Instagram

It’s cherry season! As evidenced by Baltimore’s Dooby’s café, which shared a sweet shot from the local farmers’ market, the small stone fruit—which marks the beginning of summer—is now ripe for the picking. Cass Bird dangled a pair of the tart drops in front of Angela Missoni, creating a well-executed optical illusion on the Italian coast, while Karen Elsons lakeside cannonball was made all the more playful with a retro, cherry red swimsuit. In more active arenas, April cover girl Serena Williams couldn’t resist snapping a locker room selfie with her French Open trophies—cementing her 20th grand slam singles title—the champion’s proud smile accompanied by a Nike-esque swoosh of black eyeliner. Hanne Gaby Odiele received a serve from fellow model Anna Ewers, this time of the table-tennis variety. And if the resort collections have you eager to up your above-the-neck accessory game, we recommend following Sandy Hullett—assistant to hairstylist Guido Palau—who this week shared a backstage glimpse of the dancer-inspired headscarves at Marc Jacobs. Or take a cue from Doutzen Kroes—because what pairs better with a baby blonde blowout than a baseball cap and over-the-top shades?

The post The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Serena Williams, Doutzen Kroes, and More appeared first on Vogue.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Why Good Sunglasses and Lip Gloss Are a Natural Match: Imaan Hammam, Nicola Peltz, and More

Photo: Courtesy of Imaan Hammam / @hammamimaan

Half the fun of good sunglasses is that they inevitably draw attention to your mouth, which makes them a prime companion for summer’s paler palette of seashell pink and warm nude lip colors. Just give your Instagram feed a quick scan: Perhaps you’ve already spotted Nicola Peltz and Cat McNeil’s rosy stain and tortoiseshell frames, a subtle pairing that offered the same summery polish as their windswept waves. Also embracing a beachy texture, Nadja Bender offset her onyx aviators with a matte, fleshy beige lip shade while a poolside Imaan Hammam relied on little more than clear balm to accentuate her pillowy mouth with a soft-shine finish. Here, three selfie-friendly beauty upgrades made for a sunny day.

The post Why Good Sunglasses and Lip Gloss Are a Natural Match: Imaan Hammam, Nicola Peltz, and More appeared first on Vogue.

Non-Carbs for People Who Love Carbs: Why Zoodles Are on the Table

zoodles

Like fashion, no food trend is ever truly new—just reinvented. Take spiralized vegetables, instance—the pasta-like ribbons of produce that have recently taken over our Instagram feeds and launched a generation of blogs and book deals—which are being credited with everything from weight loss to curing spaghetti cravings. This latest health food of choice was not invented in our carbphobic era (though it certainly seems made for it). Once commonplace garnishes in restaurants in the eighties and nineties, now these vegetable strips have become the main course, with cookbook authors on both side of the Atlantic, including the beloved Hemsley sisters, writing them into their cultish recipes and even endorsing spiralizers, the machines responsible for uniformly slicing zucchini and cucumber into thin bands.

But is turning butternut squash into fettuccini a realistic alternative for those who crave pasta but are carb-averse? “We eat with our eyes,” points out New York City–based nutritionist Tanya Zuckerbrot MS, RD, “and it absolutely looks like pasta.” Zuckerbrot makes a good argument, especially considering that, from a caloric and carbohydrate perspective, the swap is an inarguable health upgrade. Compare two cups of pasta weighing in at 480 calories, 90 grams of carbs, and two grams of fiber with two cups of zucchini zoodles at 66 calories, twelve grams of carbs, and four grams of fiber. Seems like a no-brainer, right?

It is if you’re using the right ingredients and the right sauce. “Not all vegetables are created equal,” says Zuckerbrot. “Zucchini and carrots are different from potatoes [which are] significantly higher from a caloric and carb perspective.” Meanwhile beets, summer squash, and jicama are as low in sugar as they are high in vitamins. And as healthy as a cup of zucchini noodles are by themselves, tossing them with a sauce that trades high-fat cheese for omega-rich avocado will only increase the benefits.

And now that companies like Hungryroot are capitalizing on the spiralizing craze—swooping in to take the guesswork out of the kitchen by delivering packaged meals of precut vegetables, along with health-conscious homemade sauces and roasted vegan toppings (additional animal proteins are optional) for you to prepare at your convenience (in less than seven minutes)—taking part in the trend has never been easier. Because, regardless of the waist-whittling effects of ordering vegetable noodles or slicing your own, replacing pasta with spiralized carrots or turnips is an infallible route to increasing your daily intake of vegetables, and with them, skin-brightening vitamins and minerals. How is that for holistic health?

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Friday, June 12, 2015

6 Beauty Lessons from the Resort Collections: From the End of Neutral Makeup to the Reign of the Redhead

Photo: Courtesy of Versace

The resort collections occupy an in-between space that, this season, seemed to allow our favorite creatives to let loose, supplementing their vacation-friendly clothes with an unending procession of bold and playful beauty looks. Whether you favor the artful black eyeliner swipes at Stella McCartney, Louis Vuitton’s pre-show pops of pigment, or the bevy of whimsical hair accessories at Gucci and beyond, here are six spirited beauty lessons that will have you reinventing your look from now until next year.

 

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The Bombshell Appeal of Silky-Smooth Middle Parts: Kendall Jenner, Jourdan Dunn, and More

Jourdan Dunn

Textured middle parts may be a natural match for this season’s flares and flowing prints, but a more polished symmetry is turning up on some of fashion’s favorite heads of hair in the form of a swingy, silky-smooth blowouts that feel more Bond girl than bohemian. Kendall Jenner hit a Calvin Klein party in Hong Kong with her obsidian mane neatly split down the middle, while Jourdan Dunn and Gigi Hadid put a bombshell stamp on the look with smooth waves that showed off plenty of round-brush bounce, Over in Los Angeles, Zoe Saldana added a seventies touch with her hair falling into glossy, windblown pieces. Here, four reasons to dig out your shine serum—and give surf spray the night off.

Watch what happens when we give Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid a selfie stick:

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