25 Nov 2008, 10:42pm
Beauty Paris:
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Clarins, Cassandra and Me

My Current Drug of Choice

My Current Drug of Choice

I think we’ve all been expanding upon certain rituals lately, those little things we do on a regular basis that help us to cope with stress.  Some people might be having an extra wine at their local gathering spot, others extend their workouts an additional fifteen minutes and yet others are perhaps seeking solace in food.  For me, I’ve become a bit obsessed with aromatherapy.  My little apartment seems to be transformed daily into a mini spa in which soothing scents swirl, easing my anxieties—big and small—every hour of the day.  

Essential oils, such as lavender and sandalwood, have been my godsend at bedtime for a number of months.  But ever since the economy plunged in September, I dove headfirst into a number of potions and lotions that I knew would provide some sort of redolent release.  Clarins Huile Tonic, or Body Treatment Firming and Toning Oil, quickly became my favorite and now I pretty much only have to open the bottle and give it a sniff to achieve a greater sense of serenity.

Apparently this highly aromatic oil, composed of geranium, hazelnut, rosemary, sage, peppermint and rosewood extracts, is known to be particularly effective during “that time of the month” when virtually all women feel the need for more slimming and relaxation.  It has been nearly sixty days now and I’m still turning to this wondrous tonic on a daily basis.  Maybe all this woeful news left me feeling episodically distressed and bloated, but I’ve found my cure in Huile Tonic.  (Totally contrary to the instructions, however, I put it on my damp skin as soon as I leave the shower, breathing the aroma-therapeutic qualities of the oil deeply in many times over within the steamy space of my bathroom.)

This daily ritual, of course, prompted me to think more about Clarins, a company I first discovered in Paris in the early eighties.  As with most other people—including men and women—it was the fragrance of the products that drew me in.  As early as 1954, long before aromatherapy became a buzzword, Jacques Courtin-Clarins was creating skin care products with scents that completely enhanced your whole state of well-being.  And as I recently re-discovered, the plants and essential oils that make up these predominantly plant-based products promote external and internal healing in sometimes surprising ways.

La Belle Cassandra in Stella Cadente

La Belle Cassandra in Stella Cadente

I couldn’t think of Clarins without thinking of my friend, Cassandra Moonen, the International Public Relations Manager of this world-renowned big name in beauty.  We only met in person a handful of times, but each time I was greatly impressed by her elegance and glow.  I think each woman has a collection of females they truly admire and Cassandra figures among those on my short list.  She’s actually Dutch-born, but to me, she embodies the total look and feel of this leading French company.  She’s also single and as I’ve said to her before, it’s too bad there are so many miles between us because I’m sure we’d enjoy spending lots of time together.  All these aromas and musings prompted me to put a few questions to Cassandra in order to feel more connected with her and my beloved Paris.

 

M.C.:  Are you still wearing Stella Cadente, the French label you introduced me to a few years ago? 

C.M.: Yes, but not every day.  I love wearing this feminine and colorful collection that is not related to fashion trends but corresponds to my personality.  I feel really good in the nice fabrics and I always choose a cut that enhances my natural shapes.  The truth is that I will always get compliments when I wear a piece of Stella Cadente, even if I mix with other more trendy or classic pieces (of other brands).

 

M.C.: If so, what’s her fall look? 

C.M.: Stella Cadente has her own style that corresponds to the girl inside a woman with a touch of Rock & Glam.    

 

M.C.: Anything new with the fragrance Miss Me, the one Clarins created for Stella Cadente? 

C.M.:  No further development for this Parisian “niche” brand this year, but you can see the lovely and poetic cosmetic products on her Web site.

A Smoldering Look for this Holiday Season

A Smoldering Look for this Holiday Season

 

M.C: What other fashions and/or fashion accessories are big in Paris this fall/winter?  What’s the overall look?

C.M.: Leggings are back with nice fluid, feminine tops, short cuts, slim fit jeans and the trendy color of the season is violet.  For the winter season it will be Chic and Glam with silver, gold or black accessories!  We have a very nice make up bag for the Holiday season at Clarins a must-have for the season to be the IT girl!

 

M.C: What are your favorite Clarins products of the moment and why?

C.M: My favorite Clarins product for my face at the moment is Total Double Serum, the most complete Cosmetic product to fight against aging, ideal when the season changes to offer my skin all it needs.  It’s like a multivitamin for my skin to stay healthy and young.  For my body, I recommend Clarins Aromatic Relaxing Body Polisher, to exfoliate my skin very gently offering aromatic and well being benefits immediate to my skin (once a week) and the second product is the Toning Body Treatment Oil, a hundred-percent natural cosmetic product to firm and tone my body from head to toe every morning after my shower; it just needs to be rinsed off with cold to warm water.  No need to apply other products after and you’ll find immediate results.  It’s quick and easy and I love it.  I can add, of course, many other products according to the area I would like to improve (the bust, my legs and hips..).

 

M.C.: What Clarins products are favorites among American women?

C.M.: Our anti-aging products (Extra-Firming and Super Restorative lines), our sun care products, our self tanning range, Instant Beauty Flash Balm, and in Make Up, our big hit is Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch.

 

M.C.: What Clarins products are favorites among French women?

C.M.: Our anti-aging products (Extra-Firming and Super Restorative lines), our sun care products, Eau Dynamisante, Tonic Oil, Total Body Lift and all our body products, Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch and our foundations.

Miraculous Make Up

Miraculous Make Up

More of My Favorite Clarins Products

Cassandra mentioned the Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch above, a product I discovered a number of years ago and was completely amazed by how beautifully it evens out your skin with a pink-y glow.  Clarins recently came out with the Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch foundation (that she also cited above) and it is truly magical.  I’m not a fan of foundation, but applying this base to your skin is like smoothing your face with a creamy satin mousse.  Truly a must!  I’m also in love with Paramour, a rather heady fragrance, perfect for amorous winter evenings wrapped in velvet and cashmere.  Unfortunately I’m out of that now, but its scent still lingers in my mind.  My current fragrance is Chanel’s Chance (also means luck in French) which is perhaps more suited for these times.  And I suppose I can always dabble a little Huile Tonic behind my ears.

Be sure to check out www.clarins.com; their Beauty Advice in particular is worth the visit.

13 Nov 2008, 12:00pm
Beauty Travel:
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Comments Off on Mariel and Munchies on My Mind

Mariel and Munchies on My Mind

These are indeed challenging times.  And to make matters worse, I’m torn between trying to get into good ski shape and satisfying my autumnal urges of snacking on candy and indulging in extra amounts of pasta and bread.  It already feels like winter now in Telluride and many of us are fighting the urge to crawl into hibernation like our resident bears.

I feel guilty trampling up the snowy ski run outside my place, forever mindful of the need for the mountain to build up its base.  So in between ski conditioning classes, I’ve mostly taken to doing exercises in my living room, in the morning in front of the Today show, before the rush of the day begins.  And I’ve been thinking of Mariel every day.  Mariel Hemingway that is.

Mariel Hemingway

Mariel Hemingway

I interviewed this world-renowned celebrity and leading voice for holistic and balanced living on Travel Fun last spring.  We chatted a lot about her book, “Mariel Hemingway’s Healthy Living from the Inside Out.”  In the introduction to this work she explains how she set about undoing the extremism she’d inherited from her family—the running-with-the-bulls approach to life encoded deeply in the Hemingway DNA.  Much of what she talked about resonated greatly with me, particularly her approach to exercise and preparing healthy snacks for travel.

Mariel believes that if you exercise with intention, you can cut the amount of time you do it in half.  Mindset and intention seem to be the foundation of much of Mariel’s beliefs.  So I pull in my abs and tighten my butt—engaging my thoughts and core as much as I can—as I work through my little morning routine.  My desk is just a few steps away, luring me in with an inbox full of e-mails that need to be answered—so my need to cut my exercise time in half swells with each passing minute.  Thank you, Mariel, for making it perfectly O.K. for me to do a mini workout.

Miss Hemingway pops into my mind yet again when I think of how she talked about minimizing your intake of “noisy” food such as sweets, caffeine, and alcohol.  “These noisy foods disable you to listen to the signals of your own body,” Mariel says.  I do half regular/half decaf with my coffee and snack on fruit and nuts (sometimes!) instead of leftover Halloween candy.

Still, I’m conflicted.  Thoughts of cognac-infused chocolate truffles, butter ladened with granules of sea salt, creamy pâtés, slabs of smoked bacon, nutty-flavored cheeses, ruby-red wines and many more sweet and savory comestibles occupy my mind, stimulating my taste buds, leaving me yearning for the holiday season when over indulgence is an inevitable part of our lives.  (Thank goodness I can attempt to counter its effects with a long string of days on the slopes.)  Glorious treats have become more of an obsession of late since I’m working on preparing my annual Holiday Online Shopping Recommendation Mailing.  This year will be better than ever for both food and nonfood items, so you must check it out.  If you don’t already receive my mailings, you can sign up here.

I have to wrap this up now to run off to do a few errands.  Thankfully I’m pondering what healthy munchies I can bring along à la Mariel Hemingway.

 

Travel Tips from Mariel Hemingway

(Note that most of these apply to your life at home as well.)

-Take the time to prepare foods that will nurture you on your travels.  “The food in first class isn’t even that good,” Mariel says.  So she delights in bringing her own containers of favorite foods such as salads, fruits, nuts, and her own sugar-free cookies that will soon be available as part of Mariel’s Kitchen.

-Always work in some form of exercise while traveling.  “I think walking and travel make the perfect mariage,” Mariel says.  And if the weather is inclement, Mariel recommends yoga.  Practicing yoga taught Mariel to slow down.

-Silence will help you to better tune into yourself and to achieve calm, even if you’re racing around in a foreign megalopolis.  Mariel feels there are many ways to softly fall into your own silence including a short meditation or a long, luxurious bath.

-“I make home when I travel,” Mariel says.  So do I, and I hope you do as well.  Mariel creates a homey environment by bringing along candles and her yoga mat.  “It’s important to have a sacred space that will help you to connect with your inner self,” she adds.

“I find travel to be a booster to health and well-being,” Mariel says.

 

Mariel’s Basic Tenets

-Find your own balance with food, exercise, silence and home.

-Slow down.

-Breathe.

-Throw out perfectionism.

Be sure to check out Mariel’s Web site and blog at www.marielhemingway.com.

 

Book Pick

“Healthy Living from the Inside Out:  Every Woman’s Guide to Real Beauty, Renewed Energy, and a Radiant Life,” by Mariel Hemingway.  It’s excellent for men, too!

1 Nov 2008, 5:22pm
Beauty Colorado Telluride:
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Bobbi Brown’s Beauty: As Natural as the Mountains of Telluride

Bobbi Brown

Bobbi Brown

I first heard about Bobbi Brown back in the early nineties when I stopped into Bergdorf Goodman’s in New York.  There was a big counter devoted to her line of natural looking lipsticks and the array of super-wearable shades such as yummy Raisin, Blackberry and Burnt Red was refreshing.  I was living in Paris at the time where I operated a shopping service, so I couldn’t help taking notice of this American woman that had garnered so much attention—actually buzz—at the cosmetics counter, territory predominantly overrun by the French.

Fast forward to just over ten years after that when I found myself living in Telluride, an equally beautiful place as Paris, and surprisingly enough, working at the Telluride Children’s Ski and Snowboard School.  There I learned that a friend of mine was teaching Bobbi Brown’s kids to snowboard.  The Bobbi Brown? I inquired.  Bobbi Brown of make up and beauty fame?  I quickly learned that Bobbi Brown was in many ways as much of a fixture in the Telluride community as alpenglow sunsets—or almost at least.  She and her family have been coming here for over fifteen years.  And like many other children of T-ride families, her kids practically grew up on the Magic Carpet.  As Bobbi’s fame grew so did her willing participation in so many of Telluride’s events and charities.

I finally met this make up diva extraordinaire when I interviewed her for my Travel Fun radio show.  It was easy enough for me to decide what to wear for that meeting and how to do my hair, but in terms of make up, I almost folded.  Did I go for the quintessential Telluride look and just put on a bit of make up or should I enhance myself a tad more?  Just as it’s often better to be overdressed than under dressed, I figured I should do my eyes some in addition to the cursory sweep of powder, blush, concealer and gloss.  Not surprisingly I realized when I met Bobbi that she wasn’t wearing a smack of make up at all.  Indeed she appeared more like a Tellurider than I.

“I never wear make up when I ski, when I’m at the beach or when I exercise,” she readily told me.  I tried not to feel self conscious about my somewhat made up look and proceeded to ask her about her take on beauty and her life in Telluride.  I quickly learned that Telluride has been a source of inspiration for Bobbi on many levels.  Many of her products, in fact, have been entirely Telluride inspired.  “Extra,” her ultra-rich skin care products, for example, were created in response to the harsh, dry climate of the mountains.  “All the years of coming here, I couldn’t believe how my skin looked,” Bobbi said.  “I looked like an old woman.”  She knew that drinking water was essential but she realized even more the importance of developing a product that would hydrate and protect your skin at the same time.  “Extra’s” super-hydrating tinted moisture balm has an SPF of 25.  “It’s like three products in one,” Bobbi says.

Upon seeing her boys come home wind-burned and chapped from a day on the mountain, Bobbi set out to replicate that intense rosy color earned from a day in the outdoors.  Slopes, a particularly color-saturated line of cosmetics directly resulted from her wintertime observations.  One summer produced  Stonewashed Nudes, a collection that came about from hikes picking stones in Telluride.  “The nude face is more about putting on colors that look like your coloring but don’t make you look washed out,” Bobbi says.

This natural approach lies at the very foundation of Bobbi Brown’s beauty philosophy.  That is how she entered the cosmetics business in the first place.  While working as a professional make up artist, she would constantly mix up different cosmetics in order to achieve the colors and looks that she found to be more natural.  After a chance encounter with a chemist, she was able to create a lipstick that seemed to be missing from the market, a very down-to-earth color just one shade darker than her own lips.  That lipstick is now called Brownie and it’s the number two selling lip color of her collection.

Today Bobbi is as much of a fixture on high-profile programs such as the Today Show as on the slopes of Telluride.  And as I learned while chatting with her, all of us are so much better off because of her and her approach to beauty.  “Make up is a way for a woman to look and feel like herself, only prettier and more confident,” Bobbi says.  Indeed she is a huge proponent of women—young and old—feeling good about themselves.  She’s not into artifice; there’s no putting on a mask with the Bobbi Brown look.  “Confidence is the key to beauty,” Bobbi says.  “Self esteem and confidence are the foundation to feeling and looking pretty.”

Bobbi in Her Telluride Home

Bobbi in Her Telluride Home

Bobbi particularly emphasizes these traits for teens and underlines the importance of the need for young women today to have positive role models.  For women approaching their forties or over forty, she wrote “Bobbi Brown Living Beauty,” her fourth book that is actually a lifestyle book about how to look fresh, pretty, and healthy as you head into your fifties.  “I wrote this as a gift to the women I know,” Bobbi said.  “It also helped me to come to terms with the fact of turning fifty.”

To look at this vibrant lady with incredibly dewy and radiant skin, you would never guess that she’s fifty plus.  Her products seem to be working for her but I can tell that it’s mostly about attitude and lifestyle.  She’s also a big believer in massage and regular exercise.  “Both help to release toxins and oxygenate your blood which will help your skin immensely,” Bobbi says.  She concluded her interview with me with a chunk of her biggest advice which she clearly adheres to tenfold.  “Stop beating yourself up and feel good now, because in ten years you’ll look back at pictures from now and say how good you looked back then.”  Well, I don’t think many of us can disagree with that!

Bobbi points out that that’s true for men as well but she also acknowledges that men have it a little easier.  “Men are lucky because they can look good a little grungy and with lines around their eyes,” she says.  Although women have the added benefit of beauty enhancers such as the much-necessary concealer and lipstick.  “Men should be sure to take care of their skin and moisturize,” Bobbi continues.  “But the only other products they can use are perhaps self tanners, bronzing gels and tinted moisturizers.”  Sorry guys, all the rest of the good stuff is for us.

In 1994, Bobbi Brown essentials went international, debuting in Harrod’s in the U.K.  In 2003, her Brightening Collection was launched in Asia.  Move over Paris, there’s plenty of room for this enterprising américaine.

 

Bobbi’s Beauty Tips

Concealer is the secret of the universe.

A pop of blush is the quickest way to add a healthy glow to the face.

Strive to be comfortable and relaxed.

Find a make up that suits you.  A very natural look might work better for some women whereas others might want to introduce more color.

Be open to change.  It’s probably best not to do your make up the same exact way you did it a decade or more ago.  “Don’t get caught in a rut,” Bobbi says.

It’s good to focus on one thing; if you’re going to have smoky eyes, make sure you have pretty, soft cheeks and lips.

The same goes for your clothes:  If you’re wearing a glitzy sequined dress, keep the accessories subtle.

Be sure to have a good skin care regime that will keep your skin looking fresh.

Always moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.

Consider wearing jewelry as make up.  Don earrings or necklaces that will enhance your complexion and put on a big beautiful pair of earrings if you’re not feeling so pretty.

Use lip liner sparingly as it can dry out your lips.  Plus Bobbi doesn’t like to see a dark line around the mouth.

Every woman should have a shade of lipstick that she can swipe on without looking in the mirror.

Pair down what you bring when you travel—maximize your use of mini items as much as you can.

Always do something to your face to make you look more attractive.  “It’s a big mistake not to do anything to look brighter or fresher,” Bobbi says.  “Those are the women I like to help the most.”

Travel with good face moisturizers such as face oils.  “I put a ton of face oil on before and after I board the plane,” Bobbi says.

Bring something special with you on your trip such as black eyeliner or some shimmer.

Always be nice.  A smile is the best way to engage someone.

When you feel good, you look good—so make smart food choices, exercise and drink water.

Love more.  “When you feel love, you look more beautiful,” Bobbi says.

Spray Tanning: Bronzage in a Bottle

Peaks Mountain Spa

The Peaks Resort & Spa

The days were ticking by in Telluride before I was to leave for a month of travels. As with every pre-trip departure, I had a ton to do. But I was prioritizing my chores and a last-minute beauty treatment had made it to the top of my list.

My mountain pallor wasn’t going to cut it back east where I knew I’d be sporting all kinds of summery attire including a bathing suit. Although it can be delightfully warm—even downright hot—in Telluride in the summer, we do typically have a good amount of rain and cool weather, so it can be a challenge to build up much color, especially if you spend a lot of time at your desk. (The little tan I had was truly a hiker’s tan, so clearly I needed some quick evening out.)

I set up an appointment for a spray tanning, one of the newest services added to the many treatments offered at the Golden Door Spa at The Peaks, Telluride’s landmark resort. I had already seen one girl that had been spray tanned this spring and I was truly amazed by the results.

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