This Japanese Electric Wand Is the Secret to Tight, Lifted Skin

Parsing through the litany of skin fixations on my mind of late, a single-minded obsession with “the sag” has risen to the top. A passing comment from an overly frank doctor (“Your face. It’s sagging.”) sent me into a spiral last month, and I subsequently began seeking a miracle product to restore my youth, sans needle or scalpel. Luckily, the PureLift, a cunning electric device, has just arrived stateside, promising actual results.

At-home microcurrent device NuFace, codeveloped and made in Tokyo, at the behest of New York–based XtreemPulse. But this sleek facial wand uses “patented high-frequency complex waveforms,” or a version of mild electric muscle stimulation, and a conductive gel to trigger deeper muscle contractions. The logic is that facial bands need to be worked out and tightened, effectively tautening the skin on top. “We like to say that it’s like yoga for the face,” explains Cindy Kim, cofounder of New York’s Silver Mirror facial bar, the first location to stock the device in the United States. “The more you commit to your practice and keep at it, the stronger your muscles become.”

Yet, there is an instantaneous effect that’s quite striking. On a trip to Silver Mirror, I laid back while an aesthetician firmly pressed the PureLift into the crook of my right cheekbone and along the jawline for five minutes. She then brought a compact out for inspection, revealing a Two-Face visage (I’m told the results are far more dramatic on mature skin). What’s more, my face stayed tighter and brighter for days after, compelling me to bring a device home for regular use—just five minutes for each side, gliding the wand along the contours to mimic a lymphatic drainage massage, as the corners of my mouth twitch uncontrollably.

“I was instantly hooked,” Kim says, and I, too, have become addicted. Fellow Vogue editors who have tried it agree. Chalk it up to a placebo effect if you must, but I, for one, am a believer. Sometimes, it can be as good as it seems.

PureLift Lift & Glow Facial Wand, $599
silvermirror.com

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The Best Beauty Street Style From Stockholm Fashion Week

Just one glimpse at the beauty street style looks at Stockholm Fashion Week has us visualizing our fashion month makeovers—with that type of practiced, laid-back nonchalance perfected by the Swedes, of course. Outside the Spring 2017 shows, texture owned the sidewalks, with easy rumpled waves, relaxed ponytails, and come-as-you-are curls. The honey-blonde hue that turned heads in Copenhagen sprinkled the streets, along with sheets of drizzle that afforded a few damp hair moments which looked remarkably chic with cozy knits and animal print blazers. And because a hint of whimsy is never a no, subtle streaks of lavender and washes of blush transformed would-be updos to maintain summer’s carefree vibe. Next stop: New York.

 

 

 

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The Best Hair in Men’s Tennis: Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, and More

Men’s tennis is a gentleman’s sport of style, timing, and finesse, leaving much for viewers of this week’s U.S. Open to dine on. This, after all, is what writer David Foster Wallace once called “a prime venue for the expression of human beauty,” and its top competitors have never disappointed. From their nuanced approach to a baseline game and topspin, to the way they tuck their hair into a sweatband, every detail of a tennis player’s on-court performance shows incredible personal range.

In the 1930s, Fred Perry’s tennis whites and slick comb over were as spotless as his championship-sweeping record, inspiring not only a genre-defining clothing line, but also a grooming legacy that can still be found on the clay and grass in the form of Canada’s Milos Raonic. He, it’s worth noting, is off to a straight-set winning start in the New York tournament.

By the 1970s, John McEnroe was anointed the sport’s golden boy for his seemingly faultless touch on the volley, a reputation only further enhanced by his halo of fluffy, combed out curls. But there was no question when Andre Agassi stepped onto the court a decade later—in acid-washed denim shorts, no less—that his bleached tipped, feathered mullet and unmatched speed were ushering in a law-defying bad boy tennis of the future. And it’s not just the coifs that count. These days, Benoît Paire finds plenty of freedom and visor-free shade beneath a healthy head of lettuce and buxom beard. Meanwhile, Roger Federer, the quintessential gentleman, prefers a face so clean it has earned him a razor endorsement. From Björn Borg’s flaxen lengths to Yannick Noah’s free-flying locks, here is a look at the best hair in men’s tennis—truly a vision of beauty.

 

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This Is 50! Why Halle Berry’s Ageless Bikini Body is Worth a Double Take

Meet the Man Behind Margaret Qualley’s Insane Dance Solo in the New Kenzo Commercial

Kenzo has changed the perfume campaign game. At least, that was the online consensus this week, after creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon dropped a four-minute Spike Jonze–lensed film for Kenzo World, their first fragrance for the French fashion house. The offering read more art-house short than commercial—touching on the bold floral scent and sculptural evil-eye bottle only in abstract. At a black-tie event in downtown Los Angeles, starlet Margaret Qualley appears as a woman unleashed, breaking loose in an emerald jewel of a dress to romp through the nearly abandoned pavilion in frenetic dance—limbs convulsing, knees rocking back and forth wildly.

Those theatrical moves come courtesy of Ryan Heffington, the choreographer best known for his equally subversive work with Sia (this is the first time he has collaborated with Jonze). “He’s incredible,” Heffington says of the Being John Malkovich and Her director. There were only a few days of prepping and workshopping a “movement vocabulary,” as Heffington calls it, combining Jonze’s highly conceptual ideas with the 21-year-old actress’s own balletic training. “She was incredibly gung ho to fall off stages and run up stairs in heels—super athletic,” he adds.

Given the freewheeling spirit of the performance, much of the choreography was improvised on set by Qualley, while Jonze and Heffington looked on—the particularly surrealist sequence where she interacts with a sculpted bust, that was all her. “A couple times, Spike would just say, ‘let’s have her improv,’ and she would kill it,” Heffington says. It should come as no surprise that the artist’s loose, expressive style is now in very high demand. “Too many to list!” he says, laughing, when asked what he has in the works. He does reveal that a new Sia video is set to debut next week, where more of his absurdist side will no doubt be on view. “She always encourages me to go to the strange,” he says. “She really lets me express myself and my weird.” It makes sense—weird is wonderful, after all.

 

 

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The Model Secret to Supercharging a Canadian Tuxedo? Rock-Solid Abs, of Course!

Freckles Make You Look Younger—And Other Italian Beauty Secrets

Meet the Models Calling for a Body Diversity Revolution in Fashion

Why Ana Ivanovic Never Wears Makeup On the Court—Really

On a particularly humid Thursday afternoon, in Manhattan Plaza Racquet Club’s airy bubble of a tennis court, Ana Ivanovic is patiently lobbing balls over the net at my person. “Your short game is good!” she offers, kindly—though it goes without saying that my skills don’t compare to the powerful forehand of the world-ranked tennis star.

Ivanovic is in town for the U.S. Open but has taken time out of her whirlwind schedule to, rather charitably, provide a few one-on-one tips—like how to guide a racket across the net at just the right spin-inducing angle, for one—and discuss her own tournament prep. “I was pushing harder at the beginning of the week with two hours of training, plus fitness and recovery,” she says of her daily 8:00 a.m. court sessions and isometric core work. “But as we get closer to the tournament, the [tennis] hours are less, and I do a lot in the gym and off-court.”

There’s also a newfound love of yoga, picked up a few months back and practiced 15 to 30 minutes each morning with the portable Yoga Studio app. “I’m still a beginner, so I like to take my time with it,” she says. “I’m not very flexible, so it helps me to improve that.” Then, at the end of each session comes five to 10 minutes of meditation to ease the competitive pressure—similar to the pre-match visualization she’s done for years—which provides the uncanny side effect of a well-rested glow.

To maintain that surreally good skin, Ivanovic credits her beloved Shiseido WetForce sun cream, smeared vigorously before every match. “When I was in Australia, they advised us to also apply it on our ears and neck because that’s where the skin is thinnest,” she says. “You can’t forget that!” The rest of her on-court beauty essentials include Tresemmé hair spray to tame flyaways and keep her mane “sleek and back,” a touch of Oribe moisturizing cream on the ends of her signature braided ponytail for shine—and that’s it.

As for her no-makeup-on-court philosophy, “I actually don’t [wear any],” she swears with a laugh. “I like to focus on my tennis; I don’t want to worry that my mascara is running.” Instead, she has zeroed in on a skin-care routine that makes cosmetic camouflage unnecessary in the form of Shiseido’s Ibuki cleanser, mixed with a bit of exfoliator and topped with a hydrating, energizing cream. “It’s very simple,” she says. “I always say I’m very lucky to get good genes from my mom.” Here’s to one beauty secret that’s truly au naturel.

 

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Zendaya, Taylor Hill, and More Show Us How to Do Labor Day Beauty

With Labor Day approaching at lightning speed, there’s no time like the present to start planning your off-duty beauty look. In over 48 hours, the long weekend will commence, providing just three final days to apply the remaining drops of glittering liquid bronzer before officially stashing those summer staples until next year. So while you still can, get inspired with these five Instagrams, sure to fuel your sunny weekend ahead.

Take the gloriously bold Tina Leung, whose fuchsia lip and sleek blowout can easily be re-created with a swipe of NARS lip gloss and a humidity-blocking, weatherproof hairspray. Pick up a tube of MAC’s Ruby Woo and slip on a pair of showstopping aviators, à la Martha Hunt, to give new meaning to the word “glam” in 80-degree heat.

Those looking to let out their inner child, make like Taylor Hill and press a tattoo marker onto your cheeks for a playful addition to an overall glowing palette. For a hands-off approach, leave the blow-dryer at home. Imaan Hammam serves up frizz-embracing realness in her latest post, giving us some serious hair envy. And if fall is calling a little early, let Zendaya be your guide; the bombshell has been sporting a dark lip all summer, but now it’s her bronze smoky eye and taupe lip that are making us reconsider what’s in our makeup bag.

Above, five ways to smoothly transition into a new season.

 

 

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Rihanna, Kim Kardashian West, and More Beat the Heat With This Fresh Beauty Strategy

Tucking away whites after Labor Day may be a sartorial rule that’s best ignored, but Rihanna’s crisp shirtdress and gleaming nude makeup in New York City last night suggested that now is the time to embrace a monochromatic palette like it’s going out of style. After all, is there a better way to make bronzed end-of-summer skin sing?

Not if you ask Kim Kardashian West, who paired her post-vacation glow with trademark beige lips and a cream-color duster for a night out in Manhattan. Across the East River, Martha Hunt rang in the U.S. Open with little more than a swirl of bronzer and a dab of rosy nude lipstick, offsetting an ivory crop top and pencil skirt.

Here, three reasons why tawny makeup and summer whites are having their moment in the sun.

 

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Happy Vyshyvanka Run! How I Conquered My First 5K in Traditional Ukrainian Dress

The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of August 29, 2016

In Defense of Linda Hamilton Arms—Because, It’s Judgment Day

Recently a colleague was discussing running into an actress at a restaurant in New York. “She looked good,” she said, before adding, “Linda Hamilton arms.” It was unclear whether the comparison to the Terminator star was meant as a dig or a compliment, but I chose to believe it was the latter. Today, August 29, after all, is Judgment Day. To be forever associated with the woman who embodied Sarah Connor, that ’90s Hollywood feminist icon who evolves from a damsel in distress to a powerful force to be reckoned with—the actual mother of the revolution who, on this day in movie history, is responsible for saving the human race—should be an honor. I should know. I, too, have Linda Hamilton arms. Though I didn’t always think of that as a good thing.

I was raised on the rivers of upstate New York and in the oceans of Northern California, swimming since before my earliest memories and surfing as soon as I could get a ride to the beach. Long hours were spent incidentally sculpting my arms under the sun—but it never occurred to me that the muscle fiber was anything but something that made me faster and better, made my days more fun. And yet, I can vividly recall a horrifying moment in high school when, while lifting my arms up to put my hair in a ponytail, I met the gaze of my wide-eyed friends. “You’re so strong,” one of them blurted out to a bit of innocent laughter. In the years when you most hope to go unnoticed for all of your painfully weird and strange ways, that teen exchange encouraged me to limit the verve of my strokes in swim practice and while surfing, hoping my limbs would deflate into something close to willowy, lest I appeared mortifyingly masculine.

Knowing that my arms were capable of such bulky expanses, I spent most of my 20s avoiding burpees and push-ups in workout classes, fearing that Hulk-level biceps and triceps were lurking behind every pair of 5 pound weights. But then Michelle Obama came along. And Beyoncé. And Serena Williams. And, most recently, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. Capable, beautiful, strong women who represent more than a pretty profile, who get to do the things they love to do because of their could-punch-clear-through-a-wall strength. Who would want to limit them? And by extension, why would I limit myself?

These days, I swim and surf with abandon. I may not escape a month without a comment on the size and shape of my biceps (strangers, suitors, and friends included), and the sleeves of my vintage dress collection may continue to be victimized by my strong limbs—I have torn through seams doing such simple tasks as closing a taxi door while on a date (the death knell of chivalry?), picking up my nephew, and reaching for a glass of water. But I’d rather get to know my tailor better than ask for help paddling into a wave, or opening a jar, for that matter. When the winds die down this evening, New York City is up for one of the best swells it has seen all summer. In other words, I’m ready for Judgment Day.

 

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Here’s How to Look Like a Swedish It Girl—From a Stockholm Stylist Who Knows

Serena Williams on Why She’s Thinking Pink for the U.S. Open, From Her Game-Day Look to Her Manicure

There are five winding floors at the Niketown complex in Midtown Manhattan, and all five were brimming with bodies on Friday night. This is what’s commonly known as the Serena Williams effect—complete with throngs of hopeful fans peering down for a glimpse at the reigning queen of tennis from the balconies above. And yet, in a private room before the evening’s fireside chat, the 34-year-old icon appeared remarkably relaxed ahead of her 17th U.S. Open, free from the on- and off-court pressure to be perennially on-point—not only in terms of her athletic ability, but also with the famously head-turning style that she’s made her own.

“This year, I really wanted to bring classic back to tennis,” she says of her latest collaboration with Nike for the Open—a twirling white dress for day matches, a black variation for night, with pops of bold, feminine color flitting throughout. “There are hints of pink in the pleats when I move,” she says with obvious delight. The candy-color shade has been Williams’s favorite since girlhood, and regularly creeps into her beauty routine, too—a petal lip here or cotton candy nail polish there. “I always try to wear it,” she says. “Yesterday, I had a rose-color eyelid, which was fun.”

Rounding out the rest of her current game-day lineup is a low, loose ponytail, a slick of waterproof eyeliner, and a surreally long manicure that winks at her larger-than-life persona—and is, surprisingly, no harder to serve or slice with. “Not at all!” she insists with a laugh. “I definitely make more mistakes typing.” Yet where Williams’s beauty routine has shifted to allow for more freewheeling expression, her fitness approach has been about buckling down and honing in on what she eats in recent years. “It’s about wellness more than anything,” she says. “I want to make sure I’m as healthy as possible, and I think you can really heal yourself through foods—the right foods.”

That means a plant-focused diet packed with fresh-pressed juices and plenty of dark leafy greens, cooked lightly to keep them as bright as possible. “To be able to play as much as we do, you have to take care of your body and that means changing your approach [over time],” she says. “When I was a teenager, I was eating only candy—now I eat only 20 to 50 percent candy,” she jokes. And which sugar-coated treat helped propel a young Williams to greatness? Sour Patch Watermelon chews—the pink ones, of course. Although, “I haven’t had them in forever,” she admits. Surely, a Sour Patch–worthy occasion is not far off.
Serena Williams dances and dishes on one thing she hasn’t mastered:

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The 7 Beauty Trends That Definitively Ruled Summer

Just the thought of Labor Day signaling the end of leisurely Fridays and weekend road trips can bring on a case of summertime sadness. But before taking your favorite crisp whites out for a final spin, keep in mind that the first chilly days of fall weather are still several glorious weeks away. So what’s a girl to do before breaking out the fresh cashmere and unearthing the hairbrush? Simple: Take another look at the seven beauty trends that defined the sunny season—and bring them right into fall.

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5 Swedish Beauties Who Raised the Bombshell Bar: From Anita Ekberg to Ingrid Bergman

It’s the first day of Stockholm Fashion Week—and the sight of pretty young things flitting through the city’s tree-lined streets offers a fresh reminder of the shrewd sartorial sense and all-around impossibly good genes of the Swedish people. Which got us thinking: For a country of less than 10 million people, they’ve certainly supplied their fair share of beauty icons.

Long before Linda, Christy, and Naomi demanded thousands to get out of bed, after all, Lisa Fonssagrives’s cool, Nordic allure captured the imagination of photographers like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn—landing her on countless covers of Vogue and Vanity Fair throughout the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s and earning her the unofficial title of the world’s first supermodel along the way. Predating the Kardashians by more than five decades, Fellini muse Anita Ekberg’s voluptuous cascade of gleaming waves was as hypnotizing as her zaftig curves as she waded through the Trevi Fountain in 1960’s La Dolce Vita. And who could forget Sweden’s answer to the Swinging California beach babe, Britt Ekland? She went from pageant queen to Bond girl in 1974’s The Man With the Golden Gun with the help of her fresh-faced good looks.

Of course, not all of the country’s beauties were of the towheaded variety. With her dramatically arched brows and heavy-lidded gaze, the Stockholm-born, Hollywood-bred brunette Greta Garbo (née Gustafsson) could project a devastatingly aloof sensuality without uttering a single word, while Ingrid Bergman’s pillowy sensual features transfixed everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to Ingmar Bergman. Here, a look at a few of our all-time favorite Swedish models and leading ladies.

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Teyana Taylor’s Surreal Body in Kanye West’s “Fade” Video Just Broke the Internet

It takes a lot to grab the spotlight from Beyoncé, Britney, and an entire roomful of music’s biggest heavyweights—not to mention Kanye West—but that’s exactly what Teyana Taylor did at tonight’s VMAs 2016 show, when West revealed his music video for “Fade.” Dressed in a retro sports bra and knee pads, the 25-year-old actress, singer, and dancer revealed her supernaturally sculpted form, next-level curves, and enviably toned core, which she shook and shifted fluidly before the camera in front of an ’80s Flashdance-style gym set. Judging by the immediate social-media frenzy (who would have guessed Taylor had given birth not one year earlier?) and the explosion of “body goals” that followed in the video’s wake, we’ll be seeing a lot more of this VMAs scene-stealer, and soon.

 

 

 

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VMAs 2016: The Best Beauty Looks on the Red Carpet

Kim Kardashian West Turns Beach Hair Into a Red Carpet Win at the VMAs

Kim Kardashian West has made immaculate hair and makeup her beauty signature—think sleek, glossy blowouts and intricate contour, 24/7. So, when the star took the 2016 VMAs alongside her husband, Kanye, with a set of rough, tousled, almost-damp beach waves, it made for one of the night’s most surprising standout make-unders—one that quickly materialized into a major moment on social media. The wet look recalled the high, windswept ponytail that the mother-of-two sported earlier this month in Mexico, where she appeared fresh and glowing on the sun-drenched beach with her kids in tow. By bringing that laid-back spirit to the VMAs, Kardashian West made the case for the ultimate reality-to–red carpet beauty transformation—and proved that when in doubt, easy always does it.

 

 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on eating reindeer at Met Gala 2016:

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Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Rule the VMAs Red Carpet With a Breakout Mommy-and-Me Beauty Look

Beyoncé vs. Adele: Two VMAs Beauty Icons Face Off!

The 10 Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: FKA twigs, Beyoncé, and More

This week’s best beauty Instagrams flooded our feeds with the type of textured manes that come only from sun and salt water. FKA twigs lounged on a boat in Ibiza, where photographer Mert Alas captured her updated take on the seaworthy mermaid: metallic shades, cherry red lips, and thick silver dreadlocks adorned with subtle seashells. Cara Delevingne took a dip off a cerulean dock, while Grace Mahary paused by a beach in Bali to shake out her raked-back collective of curls that were—when adorned with a sunny bandana—the very definition of summer insouciance.

Hair-only selfies were given an upgrade by Drew Barrymore, whose golden blonde waves were perfectly matched to the rugged scenery that surrounded her, and editor Alexandra Spencer, who bedecked a loose blonde braid with well-placed sprigs of baby’s breath. Elsewhere, making a case for the sculpted body contingent, Carolyn Murphy toted her surfboard to the nearest coastline for a day of wave riding and head-to-toe toning, a sentiment echoed by Karmen Pedaru’s stair-climbing session alongside the Balearic Sea.

But leave it to Beyoncé to forgo summer in favor of the all-out glamour that comes with chillier months: Queen Bey offset an earful of silver jewelry with a statement eye—winged liner, full lashes, and a dusting of golden glitter—that has us dreaming of a new season’s worth of beauty transformations ahead.

 

 

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Rihanna’s 10 Best Music Video Beauty Moments

 

The MTV Video Music Awards this weekend will be full of surprises, but one sure thing is that Rihanna will take home the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award. It’s an honor that celebrates the singer’s culture-shifting, career-spanning contribution to the genre. For each banger she has turned out since launching into superstardom, Rihanna has explored every type of music video before rewriting the rules herself—from the production value to the plot line (or lack thereof) to, of course, her boundary-pushing beauty looks, which leave no micro or macro hair, makeup, skin, or nail trend unturned.

In “Pour it Up,” she turns the classic pairing of bottle blonde and crimson pout and polish on its head, letting her talon-like manicure attach to leather gloves, the innocence of her icy dye job subverted as she throws money in the air. Then there are the Ariel-worthy Disney princess curls in fire-engine red, the slick bob, the tiara-esque layers of hair clips. Her skin has been glossy (“FourFiveSeconds”), silver (“Umbrella”), and gold (“SOS”); her eyes have been dramatic shades of black, green, and purple. And when Rihanna is torn between two equally Bad Gal hair-and-makeup motifs, she doesn’t choose—because why not make two perfectly jaw-dropping mini-movies for the exact same song (“Work”) instead? Here, a survey of the best video looks in RiRi’s repertoire.

 

 

 

Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, and more of Rihanna’s Navy pay tribute to “Work”:

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The Braid Brigade! 10 Pretty Plaits Good Enough for Sunday Brunch

With the siren call of back-to-school polish coming to a crescendo—all while the humidity index is soaring off the charts—the Instagram set is getting creative with braided styles that polish up a steamy head of waves.

Spotted fly-fishing in Wyoming, Karlie Kloss refashioned her slept-in layers into two schoolgirl plaits that left out a halo of face-framing wisps, while Josephine Skriver went boxing with a sleeker iteration of the style, and Alessandra Ambrosio tucked two wet seaside pigtails under a straw hat.

Over in Manhattan, Zoë Kravitz kept cool with her signature waist-skimming braids reworked into a half-up twist, just as Yara Shahidi showed off a set of cornrows fastened into a high ponytail that ended in woven rainbow extensions.

And lest you think that an above-the-shoulder chop means sitting out this trend, one look at Sarah Snyder’s two-toned style proves that nimble fingers and a bit of imagination are all you need to reimagine a bob.

Above, 10 summer braids good enough to take into fall.

 

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Meet the Afropunk DJ With the Best Natural Blonde Curls in the Business

Serena Williams, Monica Puig, and More Tennis Stars Share The Winning Beauty Staples They Can’t Live Without

Jessica Alba, Emily Blunt, and More Prove Why Sunglasses and Nude Lips Are the Perfect Pairing

If you’re the kind of girl who can’t wait for sweater weather to break out fresh knits and dive into a darker makeup palette, the street style set has a message for you: Put down the bordeaux lipstick, head outside, and drink in the last golden moments of summer with a split-second makeup routine.

What could beat the carefree elegance of a dab of nude lipstick and a pair of favorite sunglasses on a hot day? Chrissy Teigen’s matte pastel mouth and tortoiseshell frames channeled the same heat wave–defying elegance as her supersize curls in Los Angeles yesterday, while Emily Blunt’s oversize sunnies kept the focus on her bee-stung lips, which were treated to a pressed-on rosy beige stain that promised to make it through the day with a single touch-up.

And as if to prove that the pairing is rife with day-to-night appeal, Jessica Alba mellowed a candy pink tank dress with a camera-ready swipe of flesh-toned lipstick and mirrored shades.

Just in time for the weekend, three reasons why nude lips were made for a sunny day.

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5 Times Emily Ratajkowski Was Instagram’s Reigning Queen of the Six-Pack

It’s been a season of crop tops and six-packs, but only Emily Ratajkowski could usher the term ab crack to its rightful place alongside zeitgeist-y descriptors like belfie.

What’s interesting about Ratajkowski’s rock-hard midriff moments—replete with a supernatural vertical line down the middle—is that she seemingly refuses to dispense fitness advice, instead celebrating her God-given body in a perpetual act of postfeminist pride. We have yet to come across a picture of the actress toiling away with a punishing crunch routine at the gym, but on any given day, you’ll see her dancing poolside or giving a nod to her mother’s out-of-this-world genes. The message, it seems, is to celebrate your best features like they’re going out of style—and that looking good isn’t necessarily a matter of iron-willed discipline.

Here, five times Emily Ratajkowski unapologetically flaunted her best asset on Instagram.

 

Emily Ratajkowski answers all 73 of our questions:

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Sarah Jessica Parker Smells Phenomenal—And Here’s Why

It is easy to tell when Sarah Jessica Parker—a woman known by just about anyone for her generation-defining role as Carrie Bradshaw—is in a room. Even if you had, say, managed to survive under a proverbial rock large enough to eclipse the cultural importance of Sex and the City, you’d be hard-pressed not to recognize the tousled blonde lengths, the exuberant smile, the piercing blue eyes of America’s sweetheart—or the familiar sight of her 5’3” whip-thin frame as it streaks across a floor on vertiginous heels with the ease of a seasoned marathon runner in sneakers. The more advanced task is to know when Sarah Jessica Parker has been in a room—one requires a certain nose for it. As those closest to her can confirm, Parker is instantly recognizable by the particular sillage that lingers in an elevator, cab, or hallway long after she’s departed.

“I wear fragrance all. Day. Long.” she says with characteristically emphatic delivery. “It’s probably the area in which I’m most egregious in my total decadence. I don’t limit myself.” She isn’t kidding. In fact, Parker is so passionate about it that, in 2005, she created her own signature scent—the best-selling lavender, amber, and orchid-based Lovely. Then came the bright and spicy Covet and the sweetly citrus SJP NYC. Now, she’s adding Stash SJP, a smoky vetiver- and musk-spiked unisex blend that has taken 10 years to perfect, to the lineup. While demonstrating her daily application, she spritzes Stash on this writer’s wrists, then neck, then coat, and goes in for one more above-the-head mist with wild abandon for good measure. The aura of patchouli, black pepper, and ginger lily notes, she admits, cloaks all of her belongings. “It’s on everything: my coats, my hats, my horrible winter parka gets its own force field of it,” she says of the seasonal uniform she’s often photographed in on her walks to drop off her children—James Wilkie, 13, and twins Marion Loretta and Tabitha, 7—at school.

On this particular crisp day in New York City, dressed in a simple crew-cut gray sweater and skinny jeans, Parker is taking a break between filming her new HBO series, Divorce, and designing a wardrobe’s worth of shoes for her SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker collection, to shoot the campaign for Stash. “It’s almost like passing along something illegal,” she jokes of the cultish fragrance, named for the response it garnered in everyone from a Senegalese cab driver to the hostess at a local restaurant and her cadre of close friends, all of whom have been trying to get their hands on it since she started brewing it. “They’ll say, ‘What are you wearing? Can we get that?’” Fittingly, the clean glass bottle arrives labeled with a piece of black gaffer tape to give the effect of personal contraband.

In fact, Parker has cultivated an entire arsenal of treasured beauty goods—like the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick she’s currently wearing in a shimmering shade of green. “It’s the greatest eye pencil ever in the history of eye pencils,” she says, citing its ability to smudge freely and then miraculously stay put. Parker keeps an entire stock of shades including Jungle, Tuxedo, Khaki, Smoke, and Plum, at her disposal to dial up the smolder everywhere from the sidewalk to the red carpet. “I wear it every day of my life,” says Parker, chronicling the moment she fell in love with the look while watching Lisa Bonet on Letterman years ago. “She didn’t have a smoky eye, but she did have a natural really low shadow that was this beautiful plum,” before going on to wax poetic about the exact “lavender, pink, and heliotrope” tone of Bonet’s uncovered dark circles. “I love dark circles—any movie with a woman with dark circles, I just think, ohhh,” she says, letting her eyes roll toward the ceiling in elation.

Off set, you will not find Parker in concealer. “I always feel like a fraud,” she says. Instead, her daily ritual consists of Dior Addict lip gloss, the aforementioned swipe of Mercier’s Caviar Stick, and upwards of five spritzes of her fragrance before she’s out the door. Hair gets tossed into one of two looks: a bun or a ponytail. “I never brush my hair unless I have to, ever. It’s ratty and nasty and slept-on and I dig it.” And, she adds, “I don’t wear extensions. It just really embarrasses me—what if someone hugs you?” Instead, she tosses her head over and douses her head in sprays of Serge Normant’s Dream Big volumizing spray. “It’s like scar tissue,” she jokes of the product’s ability to create an otherworldly scaffolding for her hair. “It’s the greatest friggin’ thing.”

The pared-down routine allows Parker a few more precious uninterrupted moments in the morning. “I’m up before anybody else in the house is up with the most brutal black strong coffee you’ve ever imagined. One cup in the morning is like everything to me. I think about it the night before.” That being said, you won’t find her leaping out of bed in the name of fitness. “I used to read that Demi Moore would get up [and] work out for two hours and then she’d go shoot. That’s so wonderful, but it’s just a quality I don’t possess.” Instead, she earns her muscle tone by taking the city she loves by foot, walking everywhere. So, if you happen to turn a corner onto a certain block of the West Village in the early morning hours and catch a hint of cedarwood or sage in the air, Sarah Jessica Parker has probably just been there. Or maybe it was a Senegalese cab driver, or a restaurant hostess, or one of her close friends.

 

 

Get a look inside Sarah Jessica Parker’s home while she answers all of our 73 questions:

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Who’s Your Burning Man Beauty Icon? The 18 Best Desert Looks of All Time

First-time and repeat Burners are making their way to the Nevada desert this week to tap into the temporary alternate reality of Burning Man—the dreamscape utopia where a smile will grant you access to just about anything you want or need. In their bags are undoubtedly feathers, face paint, glitter, and sunscreen, but perhaps the best beauty ally can be found in the frequent sandstorms that ensue on such flat stretches of dry plane. Just look to the great history of dust-filled films. For Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’s Alison Doody, a smudge of mud on the high planes of the cheeks is better than the best bronzer. It also doubles as a wonderfully volumizing replacement for dry shampoo (see: Olga Kurylenko, Rachel Weisz, and Patricia Arquette).

If you’re going to forgo clothes (as many Burners do), look to Zabriskie Point, which, for all its plot deficiencies, deserves classic status for, among many reasons, Daria Halprin’s great lengths of hair—your best defense against wind- and sunburn when shade and shelter are far away. If the heat calls for securing it back, consider the tactics of alternate galaxies (especially those far, far away), with Star Wars’s Daisy Ridley and Carrie Fisher and Dune’s Sean Young providing every iteration of braid and bun inspiration. Not that there aren’t plenty of good examples closer to home: From the Badlands to the outback, here, some of cinema’s best beauty looks to help you rise like a phoenix from the silt and become your very own Raquel Welch.

 

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An Ode to the Tennis Ponytail: The U.S. Open’s Most Winning Style Statement

Designers have made their fair share of recommendations for sporting a ponytail in the past few seasons, but with the U.S. Open kicking off, we can’t help but think that tennis’s top players may be our best resource. And why shouldn’t they be? These women wear their ponytails professionally, recognizing them as a neat utilitarian solution for on-the-court style.

The middle of a heated rally is no place for a hair malfunction, which is why the greatest stars of the sport have developed their own signature styles as they dash across the court. Allowing for vision to remain unrestricted, a well-placed ponytail can accommodate visors, braids, and even the sweat of an especially muggy day.

Players are as recognizable for their texture, braids, and ponytail height as they are for their topspin and serve. From Chris Evert’s low, ribbon-tied look to Mónica Puig’s braided variation, here is a tribute to the best tennis ponytails over the years.

 

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Is Climate Change Aging You? 12 Beauty Products That Protect Against Pollution

In the September issue of Vogue, the feature “Something in the Air” spotlights the connection between climate change and a steady increase in airborne pollutants—and their resulting assault on your skin, hair, and health. This invisible attack on your immune system surfaces in several forms, from rising temperatures creating skin-irritating “pollen tsunamis” to surges in ozone emissions (which create smog) that dull hair and stipple your complexion with fine lines and hyperpigmentation. “There are clear data that airborne particulate matter has an association with more dark spots on your skin and a slight increase in the number of wrinkles,” says dermatologist Arash Mostaghimi, M.D. Other than checking the ozone level as frequently as you tune in to the weather each morning (a common practice in Asia that’s making its way into health-conscious Americans’ routines)—or wearing a medical-grade face mask—what can you do to protect yourself?

Beauty companies are taking defensive measures, with a new guard of products designed to shield hair and skin from the elements. “The skin is our largest organ in the body, and it’s your first barrier to environmental allergens and airborne pollution,” explains Aisha Sethi, M.D., associate professor of dermatology and infectious diseases at the University of Chicago. Origins led the charge in skin care this year with their Mega-Defense line of skin barrier-boosting sunscreen and face oil, while hair-care brands like Philip Kingsley and IGK are infusing treatments, shampoos, and sprays with ingredients that protect against airborne aggressors (and repair existing breakage).

However you decide to safeguard yourself, consider boosting your protective product game the same way you layer on SPF: better to focus on prevention now than damage control later. Above, 12 ways to step up your first line of defense.

 

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6 Hair Color Ideas for a Shoulder-Length Cut: Selena Gomez, Dakota Johnson, and More

Whether you’re growing out your lob or have just found the solution to split ends in a healthy shoulder-length haircut, there’s hardly a better way to recalibrate summer’s breakout chop for fall than with a fresh dye job.

A few ideas worth considering? Sofia Richie’s inky roots and bleached ends toe the line between pretty and punk, while Jessica Alba’s stealth end-of-summer blonde tips subtly replicate an organically sun-bleached effect.

Dakota Johnson and Selena Gomez have also warmed up their brunette layers with honeyed streaks, while anyone longing for an endless summer might want to take a picture of Sienna Miller’s pitch-perfect surfer blonde to their colorist.

But if you’ve already cast your gaze toward the chillier nights ahead, take a page from Rosie Huntington-Whiteley with a set of finely threaded face-brightening highlights. Who knew that what was once considered a “sensible” length could have this much range?

Here, six ways to take fashion’s favorite haircut into fall.

 

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The Best Healthy, Satisfying Snacks for a Day at the Beach

There are two weekends left before summer’s unofficial end, and many of us will be taking advantage of them with a trip to the beach. And whether your version calls for a leisurely stroll or a volleyball marathon, a well-planned selection of snacks is as essential to pack as your SPF. This weekend, forgo the sugary nuts or tortilla chips and reach for nutrient-dense foods that will keep you feeling energized and light on your feet. Here, New York City nutritionist Brooke Alpert, R.D., discusses her favorite bites to pack for a day on the sand.

When preparing for a beach day, portability is key. Snacks need to be light enough to transport from home; avoid anything that must stay chilled. “Fruit is one of the best things to munch on, on or off the sand,” Alpert says. She recommends slicing up a potassium-rich watermelon or pineapple to replenish electrolytes lost in the heat. Also high in water content are crudités; Alpert suggests tossing freshly diced carrots, celery, or jicama into a portable bag for a quick on-the-go treat.

Crunch seekers can swap traditional white-flour chips for satisfying, nutrient-rich snacks like Mary’s Gone Crackers, baked with whole grain quinoa, sunflower seeds, and flaxseeds. And while guacamole is a filling, crowd-pleasing dipping choice, Alpert likes to bring along salsa instead, since avocados tend to brown in the sun, or garlic hummus, which is high in protein and fiber.

Those craving salt shouldn’t skip out due to fear of bloating; a touch “will actually balance out electrolytes in your body,” says Alpert. Opt for a bag of non-GMO popcorn with salt—like Quinn or Pipcorn—for a fiber-filled indulgence. Seaweed and kale chips are two more easy store-bought options that deliver flavor and salty crunch without weighing you down, calorie-wise.

And though it’s a no-brainer for a hot day, “don’t forget to pack tons of water,” Alpert notes. Bonus points if you slice up antioxidant-rich lemon to toss in the cup: It’s the little details, after all, that make summer worth savoring.

 

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We Need to Talk About Drake’s Instagram Basketball Skills

This German Model’s Breakout Bob Is Our New Fall Hair Inspiration—And Here’s Why

The Wonderfully Weird Makeup Trick That’s Sweeping Korea

“It’s the hot tip in K-beauty right now.” This, I’m told constantly, and always take with a fat grain of salt. But at dinner in Seoul last week with a particularly plugged-in friend, I heard that a rather unorthodox trick called “diving” had swept the city this summer, producing a perfectly matte, melt-proof face with little more than a bottle of baby powder and a basin of water. Given the thick humidity enveloping both the U.S. and Korea of late, I was at least intrigued by the wholly whimsical proposition.

It was purportedly a Japanese beauty blogger who sparked the trend on YouTube, though it quickly became a Korean sensation. The novel technique bears some similarity to “baking”—setting your makeup with powder and body heat—but feels rather next-level. First, cleanse and moisturize, then swipe on primer, foundation, and concealer, per usual. Then, shake heavy handfuls of Johnson’s Baby Powder onto your palms (though any loose powder will do) and pat it on freely, releasing clouds of it into the air until a pale kabuki-style base appears. Filling a sink with cool water, plunge your powdered complexion into the bath and hold it there for no more than 30 seconds. Finally, pat your face dry, and finish the rest of your look with a lasting, pitch-perfect canvas.

“If you have dry skin, don’t push your face in the water too long,” my friend says, adding that one might take a facial mist and spray liberally, instead. A bit reluctantly, I dunk my Ringu-esque head in the sink for some 15 seconds, feeling (frankly) ridiculous. But, I quickly find, the results are beyond. Yes, my skin is intensely matte, but also incredibly smooth and even-toned. Better yet, when shading in my arches and applying liner, there is no oil-induced glide, allowing me to craft fine, pencil-thin strokes that are the best brow-work I’ve done in ages—all thanks to a $4 tin of drugstore powder. It lasts remarkably well with no under-eye smudging and, I’m frequently told, my face looks softer and even younger—appropriately enough, like the skin on a baby’s bottom.

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The Greatest VMA Beauty Moments of All Time: From Kurt Cobain’s Blonde to Britney’s Abs

Amid a sea of red carpets that revolve around the glamour of a pitch-perfect blowout and a well-executed cat-eye, the MTV Video Music Awards have come to stand out as a beacon of quirk and nonconformity, offering celebrities an occasion to let their hair down—or tie it up, as the case may be—in a youthful celebration of music and pop culture.

Who could forget Madonna’s revolutionary 1984 performance of “Like a Virgin” at the network’s inaugural event, inspiring a generation of bedheads, brushed-up brows, gleaming décolletage, and irreverence? Since then, looks have ranged from familial grunge—Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love attended the 1993 ceremony with daughter Frances Bean in tow, each embracing their own shade of shoulder-grazing platinum and a pop of red—to romantic.

The mid-’90s found alternative songstress Fiona Apple embracing Botticelli-worthy waves tied back in a half-up style that amplified her ironically angelic features—ones that she employed later to not-so-sweetly call out the absurdity of pop idolatry while accepting her silver Moonman statuette. Meanwhile, Alanis Morissette’s middle part, slightly weighted lengths, and lightly lined eyes were the very picture of the decade’s rocker insouciance.

Not long afterward, an unofficial exposed midriff dress code was born, spurring everyone from the members of TLC, Jennifer Lopez, and the Spice Girls to Shakira, Miley Cyrus, and Gwen Stefani to flaunt their famously sculpted abs—Stefani pairing hers with an equally engaging look above the neck. She knotted up her cotton candy–blue bob and decked out her brow in light-catching bindis. It was a tactic repeated in 1999, when the red carpet saw a lot of Lil’ Kim, who supplemented her lack of clothing with an impressive wig of shiny lilac and an era-appropriate plum lip. In 2001 Britney Spears found all the balance necessary for her well-oiled legs and abs in a handful of glitter tattoos and one albino python.

In fact, the red carpet and onstage rebellions have been so iconoclastic that attendees continue to pay homage to the trailblazers that came before, with Cyrus seemingly re-creating Stefani’s aforementioned topknots, Katy Perry honoring Spears and Justin Timberlake’s all-denim moment—made newly modern by a cat-eye and full-face bangs—and One Direction expanding upon ’NSync’s many uses for hair gel.

Beyoncé used the iconic platform to announce her pregnancy, unbuttoning her sparkly jacket and jovially embracing her baby bump while her honey-coated, side-swept mane blew behind her. And though we all remember Kanye’s infamous onstage interruption, we should have been paying attention to his intricate buzz cut—after all, Taylor Swift is no worse for the wear. The singer later took to the red carpet in a Mary Katrantzou romper, which marked the beginning of an endless array of leggy displays.

With Rihanna and, yes, Britney (!) set to take the stage for this Sunday’s show, there are sure to be more memorable performances in the midst. Before our favorite pop stars set out to shock and delight, here, a look back at the best VMA beauty moments of all time.

 

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How One Victoria’s Secret Angel Does Breezy Date Hair

It’s a well-established fact that Victoria’s Secret Angels are masters of summer-in-the-city hair, but as Taylor Hill proved yesterday, a knack for breezy off-duty styles also comes in handy when you’re on a daytime date.

Fresh from shooting a campaign in Paris, the 20-year-old found a guaranteed good hair day in a thick, wispy bun while strolling through Beverly Hills with her boyfriend, actor Michael Stephen Shank. Her relaxed take on fashion’s favorite hair upgrade channeled the same sporty appeal as her ab-flashing knotted T-shirt and lived-in jeans.

But as any long-haired girl navigating the late-summer heat could spot in a hot second, a very important detail was hiding on her wrist. Because when the humidity index is soaring off the charts, your most valuable accessory just might be a backup hair elastic.

 

 

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How Gigi and Bella Hadid Do the Body-Con Skin Reveal

This Tiny Tweak Is the Shakeup Your Fall Beauty Routine Needs

When a new season sparks a desire for change, there’s an impulse to let the scissors do the talking (Jean Seberg pixie, anyone?). But a fall reboot can be just as effective with subtler means of transformation. Consider the brows: Tinted this way or that, those twin punctuation marks can suddenly bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the face. “I really like it when people can’t figure out what’s been done, but everyone’s like, ‘You look so good! Awake, alive, refreshed,’ ” Carrie Lindsey tells me at her brow-and-facial studio in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, the sort of place where both sunlight and chic regulars stream in all day.

While the runways traffic in the avant-garde—futuristic bleached eyebrows at Givenchy’s Fall show, highlighter pink brows for Maison Margiela’s couture collection—Lindsey lets nature be her guide. “Typically when I tint, I look at the root color of your hair; that tells me if you’re warm or cool,” she explains of her custom-blended colors. (After testing dyes over the past two decades, she favors the gentle vegetable-based ones formulated with just a hint of peroxide, to aid in the depositing of pigment without any bleaching effect.) That keen eye for observation means she embraces the seasonal shifts. “In the summer I love that sun-kissed, beachy look, when the brows get a little lighter. Then I pull the brow back out in the fall,” she says of her tendency to go darker with the onset of cooler temperatures.

How is it that a subtle wash of color can make such a difference? Because, with brows, there’s often more than meets the eye. “The tint adds color to all hair that it touches, even the new growth and blonde facial fuzz we all have, making a noticeably richer and more ‘filled-in’ look,” says Kristie Streicher, who sculpts her trademarked Feathered Brow at her Beverly Hills salon, Striiike. For those experimenting with statement hair color—such as platinum, candy pink, or dove gray—Streicher welcomes a bold brow that reads “edgy and cool.” On the flipside, softening the brow color with a high-lift tint can temper an otherwise harsh look, she points out. “However, proceed with caution,” she stresses, “as the hair on the brow is not as strong and forgiving as the hair on the head. Overbleaching, -coloring and -shaping can really affect future growth.”

Back in Brooklyn, I’m perched in a high stool while Lindsey mixes a tailor-made shade of brown. “I’m going to lean toward ash on you because you have cool undertones,” she tells me, before she swipes rainbows of color atop both brows. Minutes later, she wipes off the dye and stands back to assess. “It’s super pretty—subtle,” she says. “It’s just the perfect emphasis.” She’s right. It wasn’t enough to catch a friend’s notice over wine that night, but the next morning at work my editor stopped herself mid-sentence to say, “Wow—your brows look great.” For a makeup minimalist, what more can you ask for?

Carrie Lindsey Beauty, 88 S. Portland Avenue, Brooklyn, carrielindseybeauty.com
Striiike, 9278 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, striiike.com

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Why Tennis Is the Ultimate Model Workout

With the Olympics just concluded and the U.S. Open kicking off next week, tennis has been on full display lately. And after watching the Serena Williamses, Andy Murrays, and Monica Puigs of the world backspin, slice, and smash their way across our TV screens, what better time to get inspired to take to the court ourselves? After all, with its requirements of flexibility, balance, muscle strength, and endurance, tennis is a total-body workout that models have long counted on to keep their physiques in top form.

Just look at Cara Delevingne, her signature dirty-blonde lengths blowing in the wind, practicing her forehand atop an open-air roof, in nothing but a sports bra and a pair of mini-shorts. For fitness aficionadas like Izabel Goulart and Caroline Trentini, the game is another means to achieve rock-hard abs and toned Brazilian derrieres. And while the racket just may be the perfect accoutrement to your swimsuit (Michele Ouellet, we’re looking at you)—a pairing whose classic status is confirmed by a flip through the Vogue archives—it’s a sport that’s as strenuous as it is chic. Case in point: Victoria’s Secret model Kelly Gale, who appropriately captioned her flushed-faced selfie “#SundaySweat.” Above, a look at 11 models who put the perfect ten in tennis.

 

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North West Reveals the Kardashian Family Secret to Glowing Skin

Consider the Kardashians’ collective love for surreally lit-from-within skin—carefully crafted with next-level filters and a generous use of highlighter by every member of the famous clan. Yet a rather unexpected piece of the family secret was revealed on Instagram today, where Kim Kardashian West shared an adorable shot of her daughter, North, in the bathtub, surrounded by glow sticks.

Beyond the sheer whimsy of the candid snap, the unorthodox beauty ritual had the canny effect of bathing young North’s complexion in pale, fluorescent, and surprisingly photogenic light. Because, what better way than an amped-up bath to get Kardashian-level glowing?

 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on eating reindeer at Met Gala 2016:

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How Emma Stone, Diane Kruger and More Do Easy Hair for Hanging Out With Your Ex

The success of a first-date beauty look could be measured by how closely you can replicate the good hair day captured by your Bumble profile picture, but as Emma Stone can attest to, post-breakup hangouts call for a slightly different set of beauty rules.

Or rather, just one: Keep it simple. The actress, who took a stroll through London with her ex Andrew Garfield on Sunday was the picture of fresh-faced elegance with her auburn side-sweep whisked into a wispy low knot that looked like it had been quickly crafted mid-conversation.

Also telegraphing a clean cool that feels intimate in its unpretentiousness—your ex has, after all, seen you bedheaded and barefaced—Diane Kruger relied on a conscious coupling of a low-slung ponytail and a mariner’s cap to meet up with Joshua Jackson in Los Angeles on Friday.

But whether there’s still a spark or you’re building up a friendship, take a page from Sienna Miller, who was recently snapped with former fiancé Tom Sturridge and their daughter Marlowe: There’s hardly a style that radiates mom chic and date-night appeal quite like a head of lived-in waves.

Here, three laid-back hair ideas for when you’re meeting your ex.

 

 

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This Rising Teenage Track Star Has the Best Curls on Instagram

What We Can Learn From the Olympics: How to Train Your Brain Like a Champion

The 2016 Olympics have come to a close. We have borne witness to history, to negotiations of physical limits we didn’t realize were even malleable. We have also seen falls, missed calculations, dashed dreams. Even more than the lifetimes’ worth of punishing daily training and painfully early wake-up calls that happened off-screen, what we saw in the telecast was a competition of poise and confidence—because, as much as anything, the Olympics are a game of mental fitness. “Olympic-level athletes are so incredibly physically trained,” says sports psychologist and founder of HeadStrong Consulting Nicole Detling, who tends to competitors’ mind-sets on-site at the games. “At that level, mental training is what’s going to give you the advantage—a strong mind may not win a championship, but a weak mind will lose one.”

These abilities to quiet the noise and manage anxiety have functions well beyond the Olympic arena—whether before a big presentation or a promising first date. Here, a look at how champions keep it together.

Don’t overthink it.
By the time an athlete reaches the games, the stakes for choking have never been higher. And, according to a 2012 study by Caltech and University College London, the sudden loss of expertise under such mounted pressure can be traced directly to the entirely understandable error of overthinking. In place of leaving the basics to muscle memory, athletes with anxiety will begin to pick apart the minutiae of their technique, allowing the fear of losing to surmount the joy of the sport. “You have to learn how to control yourself first before you can control your performance,” says Detling. Letting your thoughts get stuck on loss is the ultimate misfire. “If you think about losing when you get up to the blocks, you might as well go home,” two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale corroborated in an interview. The mere entertainment of losing invites failure into your performance.

Focus on the task at hand—not what it means.
So, too, anxiety management extends to a certain brushing off of the stakes. After Simone Manuel’s gold-winning 100-meter freestyle race (in which she became the first African-American female swimmer to win an individual Olympic medal), she explained that she knew she would only perform well if she actively tried to ignore the fact that she might make history. “I tried to take weight of the black community off my shoulders,” she explained, thus alleviating the pressure to do anything more than swim beautifully, something she’s done her whole career. “The messages that you’re giving yourself have to help the performance rather than harm the performance,” says Detling, who trains her clients to acknowledge their nerves before reminding themselves of their preparedness. “Saying things like, ‘Yes, this is the gold medal competition, but I’ve trained for this my entire life and I’m ready.’ ”

Even thinking about winning can be dangerous for athletes, adding extra strain to an already tense moment. Leading up to Rio, gymnast Simone Biles, for example, kept a journal outlining her goals, which included more consistency on the uneven bars, but remarkably no mention of winning a medal—and she took home five, four of them gold. Later, she explained to an interviewer, “I’m very well at handling pressure. And I just—I don’t know, I don’t put it on myself.”

Visualize.
Focusing exclusively on the task at hand, and visualizing it from start to finish in every possible permutation is the final step for athletic success. Michael Phelps may have earned his place as the Meme of the 2016 Summer Games with #PhelpsFace as he waited for the 200-meter butterfly finals with a furrowed brow, but he also became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, finishing what may have been his final games with 28 medals. “I was in the zone,” Phelps later explained on the Today show. “He’s the best I’ve ever seen, and he may be the best ever,” said his coach, Bob Bowman in an interview—not of Phelps’s technique or seemingly tailored-for-swimming DNA, but “in terms of visualization.”

When Phelps isn’t doing laps, drills, cupping, or cross-training in the gym, he is step-by-step mentally swimming through his events. “He will see exactly the perfect race,” says Bowman, not just from his own point of view in the water, but also what it looks like from the stands. Next, he will envision unlucky scenarios—goggles snapping, cap coming loose, a late start, perhaps—and he will map out a confident plan of attack for each. It’s likely that this kind of preparation is exactly what separates Mo Farah from getting tripped in the 10,000-meter race and winning from Gwen Jorgensen getting a flat tire in the 2012 London triathlon and competitively throwing in the towel—though, it should be noted that this year she took home gold. What did she credit? Mental training.

Practice mindfulness.
“Yoga and meditation are great for managing anxiety in everyday situations,” says Detling. “Every time you’ve done something really big or really important or really good in your life, you’ve probably had a little anxiety, too. It’s not always a bad thing.” So before your next job interview or public speech, take a power pose for 10 seconds, a deep breath, and follow the lead of gymnast Laurie Hernandez, who just before mounting the balance beam could be seen mouthing to herself, “I got this.”

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How Target Became the Year’s Most Unlikely Indie Beauty Destination—And What to Buy Now

After nearly 15 years of living in Brooklyn—a makers’ paradise where the currency is homespun snacks, small-batch libations, and artful interiors—I am a big believer in buying local. And yet big-box superstores still hold that very special appeal of one-stop shopping. With its proximity to my apartment—and the mass-meets-designer collaborations it helped pioneer with labels like Proenza Schouler and Missoni—Target has always been my go-to for stocking up on paper towels, bed linens, dish soap, and that rogue Rodarte dress (which I purchased in 2009 and still wear) in under an hour, on-site parking included.

On a recent trip to pick up a shower curtain, a duvet, and an ironing board, I noticed something else Target now provides under one roof: a seriously impressive selection of niche and natural skin care. Seeing an uptick in artisanal brands at the beauty counter is nothing new, of course, as the demand for quality ingredients and innovative formulas, often led by Korean labs, is growing. But Target’s focus on adding products like the Rose Rhassoul mask from Denver-based apothecary brand Fig + Yarrow, the three-ingredient wonder salve that is S.W. Basics’s Cream, and French pharmacy standouts from brands such as La Roche-Posay and Nuxe isn’t just a mere uptick, it’s an explosion, given that the American power retailer boasts almost 1,800 stores nationwide.

On September 12, Target will reveal its latest coup in bringing better beauty to its loyal customer base: a limited-run capsule collection with Beautycounter, the Los Angeles startup known for its safe ingredients and high-end packaging. The smartly priced 17-piece collaboration includes everything from best-sellers like Beautycounter’s cleansing balm and cream blush to a new nourishing oil infused with such botanicals as argan nut, rosehip, and sea buckthorn extracts that’s exclusive to Target. 
Pick it up—along with these six other surprising staples—next time you drop by. Here’s to redefining what it means to restock on “the essentials.”

 

 

 

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The 10 Best Beauty Looks: Week of August 22, 2016

Could Compression Sleeves Be the Secret to a Supercharged Workout? A Pro’s Guide to the Stealthiest Training Accessory

Almost any Olympian’s Instagram feed shows that the holy grail in modern competition is recovery, from the results of Michael Phelps’s cupping sessions to Dana Vollmer’s chaise lounge rest break beside her toddler. Athletes fight a near constant battle to reduce inflammation and rejuvenate tired limbs. But is there a quicker way to reverse muscle fatigue and heavy-feeling legs post-workout?

From a quick look at last week’s track and field events in Rio, the answer may be yes. Sprinter Allyson Felix’s uniform included tight leg sleeves meant to fight such weariness and speed up the body’s recovery process. Turns out sports apparel companies have taken the old compression stocking, a stretchy tube used to prevent blood clots in calves and ankles, and adapted it for elite athletes. But what exactly do compression sleeves do, and how effective are they?

Felix wears them on her lower legs, and her Santa Monica–based physical therapist Robert Forster—who traveled to Rio with Felix for the games—says the garments help to remove the extra blood and lactic acid that pools in feet post-run. He says the sleeves use “graduated pressure which is stronger at the bottom of the sleeve and lessens at the top, creating a funnel-like effect to keep fluids moving back to the heart,” and recommends wearing them during a workout and for 30 to 60 minutes afterward. Dr. Daniel Vigil, health sciences associate clinical professor at UCLA and team physician for UCLA’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, agrees that the garments seem to reverse the pooling effect post-workout, though he is quick to note that there aren’t yet many scientific studies to validate them. “This is one of those cases where the idea has taken hold before science can actually prove or disprove it.”

And what about the arm sleeves worn by pro basketball players and sprinters like Morolake Akinosun? Vigil says they actually help with something else. Athletes use arm sleeves—not to be confused with looser arm warmers worn by cyclists—to help with proprioception, which, he says, “is the ability to know where your limbs are in space before looking.” Turns out your awareness of your arm is “enhanced” by wearing something tight wrapped around it.

Vigil says that here, too, there may be little evidence—so far—that wearing compression gear during athletics will improve your performance. But the sleeves won’t cause any harm and do seem to help speed recovery. And he recommends them for what he calls “destination athletes,” anyone who hops a plane to races. “When you’re flying, it’s even harder to get the blood back to the heart,” he says. He thinks athletes of all ages should wear them religiously on planes, post-race, to ward off blood clots caused by excess blood pooling in ankles and feet. USC’s director of track and field Caryl Smith Gilbert agrees, saying that all of her athletes wear the sleeves in the air. To her they’re like “a new form of well-being or recovery,” she says. Reason enough to consider making them part of your own post-power workout uniform.

 

The post Could Compression Sleeves Be the Secret to a Supercharged Workout? A Pro’s Guide to the Stealthiest Training Accessory appeared first on Vogue.

The Cult of the Brazilian Butt: 4 Victoria’s Secret Models Share Their Best Workout Tricks

Last night the Rio Olympics ended—and after weeks of training our eyes on the powerful sculpted forms of the country’s best athletes, not to mention its roster of supermodel ambassadors, we suddenly find ourselves meditating on a different kind of national asset: the cult of the Brazilian butt.

It started with Adriana Lima managing to look sexy in wind shorts as she carried the torch at the opening ceremony, then followed with the entire Brazilian women’s soccer team making the same notoriously unforgiving garments look shockingly flattering. Widely acknowledged as the land of teeny bikinis—not to mention the world’s most notorious wax—there’s something in the water (or the DNA) that sets the country’s gravity-defying bundas apart.

Of course, more than pure genes, the country’s sun-and-sport culture, with its emphasis on a good workout, may go a long way in explaining the supernatural phenomenon. Determined to get to the bottom of it, we turned to a few of our favorite Brazilian bombshells for an answer. Whether it’s Lais Ribeiro’s easy, city-friendly tip (hint: all it takes is moving your feet toward a final destination) or Izabel Goulart’s foolproof resistance training bands, four supermodels (and national treasures) share their best butt-sculpting workout tips.

 

 

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Watch the Moment This Stranger Things Star Shaved Her Head to Turn Into Eleven

7 Ideas for Styling the Shoulder-Length Chop: Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, and More

Back in June, Kendall Jenner took to Snapchat to debut a mane of freshly leveled lengths—a teaser for the haircut she would eventually wear on this month’s September cover of Vogue. But the supermodel’s snip, which came courtesy of editorial legend Garren, didn’t exist in a vacuum. Since then, the shoulder-grazing style has turned up on more than half a dozen girls-of-the-moment, emerging as a casual-cool street style calling card for everyone from Elle Fanning to Cara Delevingne.

The most notable element of the bob’s latest incarnation—and the reason it’s poised to be fall’s MVP chop as we move into the new season—is its slightly longer proportions, which translate into serious versatility. Whether worn with bangs (Rihanna), raked half-up (Chrissy Teigen), or sideswept and left to skim the shoulders (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), it’s got a subtle styling edge on its above-the-shoulder predecessors.

Selena Gomez’s recent beanie-clad outing paired bombshell levels of volume with key fall headwear, for instance, while Delevingne’s abbreviated blonde retains signature off-duty ease when worn in loose waves and sharply shaded eyes. When in doubt, of course, make like Jenner and let the sporty, low-maintenance undercurrents of a baseball cap substitute for makeup.

Here, a look back at seven of our favorite recent takes on the look. Here’s to picking up the shears.

 

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St. Vincent’s Bold Eye Makeup for the NFL Is the Most Patriotic Display of Beauty Since Rio

Guess Which Celebrity Mini-Me Has the Perfect End-of-Summer Hair Color?

Supermodel Bella Hadid Knows the Secret to Erasing Dark Circles—And That’s Not All

 

Bella Hadid is just like everyone else. Not that everyone can count on being born into a famous family, globe-trotting on the arm of a Grammy-winning rockstar boyfriend (in her case, Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd), casting a global spell with famously ice blue eyes and pillowy lips, or Instagramming often to an army of 5.9 million online followers. But she, too, occasionally finds herself appearing less than bright-eyed in the mirror. “I look really tired because I’ve been traveling for two months straight!” she admits in today’s beauty video.

That’s one of the professional hazards of skyrocketing to the top of the list as one of this year’s most in-demand models—but it’s also a serendipitous byproduct of spending hours on set with the world’s best makeup artists that she’s learned exactly how to hide the tell-tale signs of jet lag. In fact, the 19-year-old Malibu native was reportedly given the green light to wear makeup in public by her model mother, Yolanda, only recently; since then, she’s become a quick study. Hadid signed a major beauty contract with the house of Christian Dior and made fast friends with makeup artist and house creative force Peter Philips, with whom she’s collaborating on a multi-part Web series of videos that kicked off on Dior.com this summer; documenting every aspect of her whirlwind international life, they also offer a highly gratifying glimpse into her best-kept beauty secrets.

Of course, on- and off-camera, Hadid swears the key to covering globe-trotting-induced imperfections—red eye–based dark circles, a dehydrated-cabin complexion—comes down to concealer. Even the most slapdash of applications can be heightened to editorial levels by way of blending with fingers, kabuki brushes, and the ever-important sponge. “[Peter] has shown me a lot of tips about beautiful skin,” she says, waving a wand of Diorskin Star Concealer as she speaks. From there, a swipe of a contour beneath the cheekbones, “a little brow” action, a double-impact layering of mascara over lash primer, and a touch of light-catching gold pigment on the eyes leaves her ready for what will inevitably be a well-documented day. Not even a hair tie is required to get her out the door. Because, in true It girl fashion, “You just like, wing it, you know?”

 

Director: Lucas Flores Piran
Fashion Editor: Celestine Cooney
Filmed at The London NYC

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How Bella Hadid Became Beauty’s Breakout Face of the Moment

Bella Hadid is in demand with designers and ablaze on social media. Her next model milestone? A brand-new beauty contract.

Bella Hadid arrives on set casually dressed in jeans and a cropped sweater, a swath of midsection exposed to the summer weather. With curves so astonishing that one’s eyes tend to linger slightly longer than is comfortable in order to process what they are seeing, Hadid is hard to miss. In New York for only a few days, the nineteen-year-old has just flown in from Paris, where the couture season cemented her as one of the biggest models working today. Handpicked—along with such catwalk veterans as Karen Elson and Carolyn Murphy—for Atelier Versace, Hadid also closed Fendi’s Haute Fourrure Trevi Fountain extravaganza in Rome. As the last model Karl Lagerfeld sent down a runway that was elevated above the restored Baroque landmark’s pools, Hadid appeared to be literally walking on water. “It was such a surreal moment,” she said afterward.

Hadid has had a lot of these moments recently—the latest, scoring her first beauty contract with Christian Dior. Her trajectory is familiar in a fashion landscape where a famous family and an army of online followers (she has 5.4 million and counting on Instagram) have helped spark more than one meteoric rise. Just look at her older sister, the gorgeous Gigi Hadid, whose all-American appeal has earned her countless campaigns since she exploded onto the scene.

But there’s something different about Bella. She has a dark, mysterious edge that goes beyond bombshell, thanks in part to rich chestnut strands that make her aquamarine eyes pop (and which she admits to dyeing as a means of differentiating herself from her towheaded sister). That same allure has made her a fixture on Riccardo Tisci’s personal social-media platforms, where she often stars in photos captioned with #gang, a hashtag of endearment the Givenchy artistic director typically reserves for an inner circle that includes Beyoncé. And Madonna.

“Bella came along and charmed everybody,” reveals Dior’s Creative & Image Director Peter Philips, who adds that Hadid also has a face that is seemingly tailor-made for makeup; her cheekbones alone are begging for a slick of Philips’s new Diorblush Light & Contour jumbo sticks. But it’s Hadid’s ability to transition seamlessly from backstage to red carpet and every Snapchat in between that aligns her with the French house’s ever-evolving genetic code, insists Philips. This June, the model and the makeup artist debuted the first installment of a collaborative ten-part Web series on Dior.com. Each episode is meant as much as a compelling document of Hadid’s jet-set life—lounging poolside at Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, or on the arm of her musician boyfriend, Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. The Weeknd)—as a clever behind-the-scenes look at how she’s using Philips’s products.

There’s a glitter-inflected gloss from one of Philips’s forthcoming collections that has caught Hadid’s attention today as he preps her subtly freckled, incandescent skin for the first shot of the morning. “I need this,” she coos, offering her stamp of approval—which means a lot coming from Hadid; her well-documented adventures in high-shine lips and elongated cat eyes have coalesced into a growing playbook for beauty enthusiasts the world over. Considering she discovered makeup fairly late in the game—“We weren’t allowed to wear it when we were younger,” she explains—there’s a slight irony in the influence Hadid now commands. But she’s a quick study, a steady hand, and with the appropriate tools now at her fingertips, she’s just the right poster girl for beauty’s fearless DIY generation.

 

Fashion Editor: Celestine Cooney
Hair: Akki; Makeup: Peter Philips for Christian Dior

 

Get the September issue on Amazon.

 

Bella Hadid’s jet-lag beauty survival guide:

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