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For as long as I can remember, I have said the same three words upon waking: “Five more minutes.” No matter if it was Christmas morning and Santa had come. Eyes closed, I told my older sister the presents would still be there when we woke up—at a kinder, later hour. That the habit carried over into the sluggish teenage years and the sleep-deprived working ones is not much of a surprise. I’m at my most optimistic when I set  the alarm each night (morning yoga? A civilized breakfast?). Yet in reality, it plays out as more of a suggested wake-up time, like pay-what-you-wish admission at the Met. Maybe an hour slides by, the electronic cacophony punctuating the fog every nine minutes.

Which is why my ears perked up when my doctor, Eamonn A. Vitt, M.D., said the word snooze-ectomy during a recent checkup. The thinking goes, rather than put your body through the repeated stress of transitioning from sleep to wake ad nauseam (and ad delirium), force yourself to do it just once. Easier said than done. Vitt, an instructor in clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, says it all started about 20 years ago, when he heard a sleep expert on a local NPR show and called in to get his thoughts on snoozing (answer: not a fan). “That very day I took a screwdriver and duct tape to my Panasonic clock radio and performed what may be the world’s first snooze-ectomy,” Vitt recalls of his unconventional surgical excision. “The results were fantastic.”

But is the post-wake-up mini nap actually harmful to our health? Not exactly, though if you’re caught in a whirlpool of snoozing, “you’re definitely disrupting sleep,” says Elizabeth B. Klerman, M.D., Ph.D., a physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School in the division of sleep medicine. She ticks off a string of issues associated with insufficient amounts of shut-eye: weight gain, mood problems, changes in immune function, problems learning, and errors like car accidents. If anything, she adds, “The snooze button is telling you that you’re not giving yourself enough sleep.” In other words, it’s a helpful diagnostic tool—even if, as in my case, it’s like a warning light going on when the engine’s already smoking.

The morning after my visit with Vitt, I bit the bullet and got up with the alarm. I had plans to take a sunrise train to visit friends on Long Island, and, punctuality not being my strong suit, I surprised myself by catching an earlier train with time to spare for a coffee. The next day, I woke up on the first ring and took an impromptu (and unprecedented) jog around the block. I began to wonder: Why have I spent so many frantic mornings hustling to get out the door, thinking my problem was chronic tardiness—when it’s really chronic snooze-itis?

Sure, I’ve since struggled with relapse—owing, perhaps, to my inability to surgically remove my iPhone’s snooze function, as well as to the rigors of modern life. (Vitt, who has worked overseas with Doctors Without Borders and other aid organizations, remembers getting “incredible” sleep while living in a mud hut in rural East Africa, but hyper-speed New York is another story.) There’s a physiological hurdle, too: “Different parts of your brain wake up at different speeds,” Klerman says of a phenomenon known as sleep inertia, which can stretch as long as 90 minutes or more. “When you’re hitting the snooze button, you’re not really acting rationally. Your body’s going, ‘Let me go back to sleep.’ ” Indeed it is. But my mind—newly aware of the possibilities of a full, unhurried morning—is ready to wake up.

The post Why Swearing Off the Snooze Button Is the Secret to Better Sleep appeared first on Vogue.

There’s nothing quite so photogenic as a pristine canvas, be it a deserted city street post-blizzard or—camera flipped around—a snow-bunny selfie revealing otherworldly skin. But for all but the most hermetic among us, now is the time when that vacation glow has faded and a certain seasonal pallor sets in, laying bare all the sins of beach days and boat rides past—that is, sun spots.

Fortunately, winter also happens to be the right time to correct them. Bundled up and cooped up, most of us are keeping our UV exposure—which triggers the skin to overproduce melanin—to a minimum, so the ingredients have a chance to work undisturbed. Cold-weather hibernation is also an excuse to layer up: socks, sweater, serum, mask (and come March, Charlotte Tilbury’s new Magic Foundation, with a super-charged form of vitamin C that’s been shown to minimize hyperpigmentation). Here is some inspiration for a retooled skin-care regimen designed to lighten discoloration, even the complexion, and reveal a new kind of lit-from-within glow. Just think: There are brighter days ahead.

The Serums

Whether formulated with ultra-gentle acids to encourage cell turnover (like Glytone Enhance Brightening Complex, out in March) or with patented brightening technology to help lift stubborn spots (Shiseido White Lucent MicroTargeting Spot Corrector), these concentrated treatments are your first course of action.

The Masks

Think of these add-on treatments as a built-in partner for your Netflix account: You can unwind while the active ingredients get to work. Depending on your preferences, slather on one from a jar (like GlamGlow’s potent FlashMud) or drape a Korean-style sheet mask over your face (Dr. Jart+ Dermask Micro Jet Brightening Solution is made from ultra-fine microfibers).

The post Out, Dark Spots! The 12 Best Brightening Products for Winter Skin appeared first on Vogue.

There’s good reason why a fresh manicure is the beauty staple of otherwise low-maintenance women: Something unmistakable happens when you get a new coat of polish. Set against the flash of paint on your fingertips, colors around you come into sharper relief—which is why it’s always a disappointment when those nails disappear into gloves for much of winter. Gone is the glamour, not to mention the usual nimble-fingered ease with an iPhone, a Metrocard, or a pot of lip balm.

Enter the fingerless glove, beloved by Karl Lagerfeld and the moto set, not to mention eminently practical types. We’ve rounded up five covetable pairs—including cashmere gloves with fox-fur pompoms and a traffic-stopping Chanel duo—that are as much hand-warmers as they are peep shows for coordinating statement polishes. Stopping by the manicurist mid-snowstorm? Slip on your gloves before the painting starts. Consider this your new, more dexterous winter game plan.

The post 5 Definitively Chic Manicure Shades—And the Fingerless Gloves to Match appeared first on Vogue.

When it comes to the winter beauty strategies of Vogue editors Laura Regensdorf and Arden Fanning—a close-knit duo in terms of desk proximity and collaborative spirit—you could call it opposites attract. Arden likes things “cool cool cool cool cool,” while Laura keeps an eye out for the nearest heater. Naturally, their plans for surviving this bleak stretch of winter have taken decidedly different courses of late, with their favorite rituals offering a road map for surviving the cold according to personal preference.

Do you run hot? Read on for a firsthand look inside the cryotherapy chamber, paired with pore-freezing skin care and an icy (and good-for-you) twist on hot cocoa à la Arden. Seeking steamy refuge from a wintry mix? Laura’s regimen of heated yoga classes, steaming bone broth, and warm-to-the-core spa treatments will fortify you through the next blizzard.

Laura Regensdorf, Vogue Beauty Writer

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Photo: Courtesy of Laura Regensdorf

Hot Yoga
Word that Modo Yoga—the model-favorite hot spot in the West Village, cofounded by Arcade Fire member Sarah Neufeld—was branching out to Williamsburg this month was enough to lure me to the opening day. Inside the spacious, cork-floored studio, the thermostat was set at 96 degrees, but as more and more people filled the room, things got equatorial, fast. For the inaugural class, Neufeld and four fellow musicians (cofounder Rebecca Foon, Colin Stetson, Greg Fox, and Alex Drewchin) played a lush, cinematic soundscape vaguely reminiscent of the score to There Will Be Blood—or, in this case, no small amount of sweat. “It’s hot in here, right?” Neufeld asked the rows of us standing in mountain pose. “That’s what you signed up for!” So I did, and I left feeling flexible, taut, and wrung out in the best sense.
Modo Yoga, 109 Metropolitan Avenue; nyc.modoyoga.com

Bone Broth
On one side of Morgenstern’s downtown ice cream parlor sits an unlikely pop-up: Brodo, chef Marco Canora’s East Village bone-broth outfit, which contributed to the elixir’s rise among pro athletes, expectant mothers, and wellness devotees. Sipping the ginger-laced Marco—a hearty blend of chicken, turkey, and beef stocks—from a to-go cup, I seemed to be winterizing from the inside out. In fact, that’s sort of how the amino acid–rich broth acts on the body, with glycine helping to quell inflammation and glutamine supporting gut health and the immune system. On the way home, I picked up housemade broth from a neighborhood market and began drinking a café au lait bowlful each morning: the best (if unconventional) part of waking up.
Brodo pop-up at Morgenstern’s, 2 Rivington Street; morgensternsnyc.com

Japanese Baths
For a relaxing thaw, I stopped by the Greenwich Hotel’s Shibui Spa, where Japanese-style baths are an under-the-radar add-on. I started with the Samunprai Thai Poultice massage, a 90-minute treatment that combines pressure-point work, an oiled rubdown, and kneading with a piping-hot compress filled with Thai ginger and other circulation-boosting aromatics. Next, I slipped into a deep, square tub for the L’Hiver Helper Soak, the first-ever collaboration with the organic bath line Pursoma. The two-part experience pairs a long soak infused with pore-opening sea salt, detoxifying green clay, and warming ginger, followed by a 20-minute rest on a Japanese mat. As I floated back to the dressing room, I caught sight of the steam shower but passed it by. At last, like a glistening Thanksgiving bird, I was finally done.
Shibui Spa at the Greenwich Hotel, 377 Greenwich Street; thegreenwichhotel.com

Arden Fanning, Vogue Beauty Assistant

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Photo: Courtesy of Arden Fanning

Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is based on the principles of extreme shock: The idea is to flash-freeze your body so that it rushes blood to your internal organs in order to regulate temperature, eventually picking up nutrients that have lazily been kept in your core. Once you return to room temperature, oxygen-rich blood pumps through your entire system, stimulating your immune system and reducing inflammation. Its purported health benefits, which Europeans have been researching for decades, read like a checklist of super cures. Is it migraines you’re looking to fix? Eczema? Love handles? Then it’s cryotherapy you want. I booked a package of sessions at Kryolife uptown, where I was promptly instructed to strip to my underwear, apply cotton socks and gloves, slide on some wooden clogs, and step into a tanning-booth-size chamber swirling with nitrogen gas. My head hovered over the top so that I could breathe fresh air, and I vowed to bear it for the maximum three minutes. By two minutes and 30 seconds, my legs felt like blocks of ice set on fire—similar to running cold hands under warm water, but worse. I exited the chamber slowly and pedaled on a stationary bike for a few moments to speed the thawing process. The next morning, my skin, which was on the verge of a breakout pre-cryo, seemed to have already cleared up. By my sixth visit (10 are recommended to “restart your body”), I realized that the pain in my upper shoulders had eased significantly and I had a newfound spring in my step.
Kryolife Wellness Center, 57 West 57th Street, Suite 712; 212.551.3333

Freeze Facials
There’s nothing like an ice-cold splash of water to tighten the pores and wake up the skin. Likewise, the same can be said of a new wave of cooling skin care. Riffing on the ingredient delivery system of a transdermal patch, NaturaBissé’s Diamond Ice-Lift Mask promises to provide a “face-lift” effect thanks to its marine-DNA-spiked formula that tightens skin. I applied a thick layer of the iridescent gel to my entire face and immediately felt a chilling effect. Twenty minutes later the gel had dried into a crystal-clear shell, and I peeled it off in one face-shaped piece à la American Psycho. I followed up with Kenzoki’s Ice-Cold Eye Cream, stored in the fridge to double the chilly sensation, followed by a spritz of Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Cooling Hydrating Mist. The results? My eyes looked slightly less koala-puffy, my smile lines were plumped, and the overall texture of my complexion appeared Photoshop smooth.

Iced Tonics
Instead of cozying up with a mug of hot cocoa during the blizzard, I shook Aloha’s Daily Good Greens Chocolate Powder into a tumbler of ice water for a chilly beverage with the same indulgent feel, but with the added benefits of a cold-pressed juice. Packed with vitamin D, the powder detoxifies and provides a full serving of fruits and veggies like a green juice, but its dried formula doesn’t require the usual daily delivery service for its dose of fresh vitamins. That night, at drinks with a friend, I sipped tequila, which has been touted for its metabolism-boosting potential thanks to natural agavins, which act to lower blood sugar and could help you lose weight when drank in moderation. I ordered a glass on the rocks with soda and fresh lime juice—basically a margarita with none of the regret.

The post Do You Swear by a Frozen Face Mask—Or a Hot Sauna? Choose Your Winter Beauty Strategy appeared first on Vogue.

Jane Austen’s novels are beloved for good reason: Rarely do books blend incisive social criticism and affecting love stories with such biting wit. This Friday, when Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hits theaters, it will introduce a new chapter in the lives of the Bennet sisters—albeit with a surreal twist. And while the film takes certain liberties with the plot, there’s something refreshingly modern about its adrenaline-fueled, take-charge riff on Regency-era manners, which is loaded with enough roundhouse kicks and martial arts moves to double as a present-day fitness class.

In fact, a look back at other recent adaptations of the Austen canon yields plenty of tried-and-true advice and keen observations, especially when it comes to beauty and fitness. That’s why we’ve combed through three of our favorites—Emma, starring Gwyneth Paltrow; Pride & Prejudice with Keira Knightley; and Sense & Sensibility, led by Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet—for the best among them. In the spirit of getting in the mood for this Friday’s release, here are a few unforgettable gems worth considering.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

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Who says updos are for evening? For the most complicated of hair looks, enlist a friend (or unmarried older sister).

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Take walking meetings to boost your Fitbit potential—or discreetly pass along critical office gossip: “It’s refreshing, is it not, after sitting so long in one attitude,” Caroline Bingley says mid-promenade to Elizabeth Bennet.

Sense & Sensibility (1995)

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Find a workout partner to keep things interesting—all the better if your cardio session is en plein air.

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There’s always time for a quick touch-up—starting with blush in a pinch.

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After taking a tumble, seek medical attention immediately, especially from a tall, dark suitor.

Emma (1996)

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Broad-spectrum sunscreen is for amateurs. Ladylike complexions call for UV-deflecting parasols.

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Be sure to set aside “you time” for meditative self-reflection—preferably with a hairbrush.

The post The Jane Austen Beauty Rules: A Lesson in 7 GIFs appeared first on Vogue.

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When you think of the lissome maidens on-screen today, there’s good reason that Lily James comes to mind. The English actress showed off her poise and golden ’20s finger waves as Lady Rose Aldridge on Downton Abbey before stepping into Cinderella’s shoes in last year’s live-action Disney film. With her fine porcelain features and pitch-perfect accent, she seems so cut from the Jane Austen cloth that it’s hard to believe she hasn’t appeared in one of the many adaptations until today, when Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hits theaters.

Of course, the film, based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 mash-up novel, isn’t just any adaptation—and the skills her Elizabeth Bennet displays go far beyond ballroom dances and piano playing to include martial arts, swordplay, and hand-to-hand combat. “I’ve been training for this my whole life,” her character says of her zombie-slaying prowess, and, in turn, James underwent serious training of her own. Speaking recently by phone from Los Angeles, she talked about her unorthodox early-morning workouts, off-screen bonding with her fellow Bennet sisters (including Bella Heathcote and Suki Waterhouse), and why Angelina Jolie Pitt in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was an inspiration.

Did you come to this script already a Jane Austen fan?
I feel like just by being born in England as a girl, it’s sort of ingrained that you will love Jane Austen. I studied her at school, and I’ve seen loads of the adaptations. So when I saw the title, I was quite mortified—I hadn’t heard about this Pride and Prejudice book that Seth had written and that it was a best seller. Then I read the script and really fell in love with it, and it washed away all those fears I had about tampering with Jane Austen and adding zombies into her work. [laughs]

You’ve done a number of fair-maiden roles where you’re decidedly not ripped, but here you play a character whose arms Mr. Darcy describes as “surprisingly muscular.” Was that an unusual twist for you?
Yeah, it was great. I loved the fighting. The Bennet sisters were like Spice Girls with swords, and I felt so proud that it was the girls leading the action and on the front line, and the boys [who] were the damsels in distress. To do that in a period drama is so surreal because it just would never have happened.

Your Elizabeth Bennet trained in the Shaolin temple. Who did you work with to prepare for the role?
James Farmer. He’s an incredible trainer in London. I was really unfit—I’ve been doing Downton Abbey and having way too many biscuits and just drinking tea, really—so I got really, really strong. He would come around to my flat, and I felt like I was waking up the entire block of apartments. He had me whacking baseball bats against punching bags and working on my coordination, and then I started doing boxing, which was really useful. He even had me pushing his car around the car park where I live! The exercises are not only really hard, but they’re also very inventive and fun. After that, all the girls got together, and we started working with the fight coordinator, Maurice Lee, and also this dude from Lithuania, who was a martial arts king.

What was the mood like among the five of you? Did anyone emerge as a total natural?
Each of the girls is so perfect for that character, so all our fight rhythms and techniques and strengths were really different. And that was the point—that we all sort of had each other’s backs. That emerged really organically and naturally. Ellie [Bamber], who plays Lydia, was much more fiery and feisty and had little needles, whereas I was a bit more graceful and had a sword and a dagger, and [Heathcote was] the most graceful and much more kung fu. We all really helped each other out because half the time we were way out of our depth. Poor Sam Riley—in the proposal scene where I fight Darcy, I got so carried away in the heat of the moment that I was whacking him so hard! He was very patient.

What’s your usual exercise plan? Is there a quintessentially English approach to fitness?
I go through phases of exercise, and I do begin to feel bad if I’m not moving my body and stretching. But at the moment, I’m not doing anything, and I kind of love it: My boobs get really big when I don’t exercise [laughs]. But I walk everywhere and also cycle. I’m doing a play next year in the West End—Romeo and Juliet—and if I cycle from where I live to work every day, that would be quite a good hour. I also enjoy training for work. I just did a film called The Kaiser’s Last Kiss, and I knew I had to get naked for the first time. I didn’t want to lose weight or anything but just wanted to feel really confident, so I did some work with [Farmer] focusing on the back of my legs and my bum. I like it when you’ve got a reason to be exercising. It takes a lot of willpower just to do it for nothing!

Was there a horror-film heroine who inspired you?
I have to admit, I watched Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider as my woman-power inspiration. I just think she rocks in that. I also love Linda Hamilton in The Terminator, the original one. So strong and so real. I really wanted the fighting to feel convincing, and I didn’t get to go as far with the muscles and the strength as she did, but I thought that dedication and that determination was really necessary.

How did you get in the zombie-slaying mind-set during filming?
Radiohead and FKA twigs was my go-to [music] to get me pumped up. I would blast that out in my ears. And I totally [worked on my] diet—having a big, healthy appetite with meat and fish—to keep my energy up.

Watch Cinderella’s Lily James find the perfect pair of shoes:

The post Lily James on Getting in Zombie-Slaying Shape—And Why Nude Scenes Are the Best Motivation appeared first on Vogue.

Effervescence is a personality trait that usually translates best in person, but Xiao Wen Ju seems to radiate it in every medium. The Chinese model sparkles in Fashion Week street style photos; in editorial shoots (styled as Warhol’s Marilyn for Italian Vogue); and on her massively popular Instagram feed, where she recently posted a mermaid-esque video from a steaming Icelandic lagoon. It’s exactly that X factor, together with a chameleonlike versatility, that has caught the attention of the fashion world, and now the beauty industry: Today, L’Oréal Paris announced Ju as its newest face.

Displaying a weakness for black eyeliner, poppy red lips, and skin-nourishing face oil, she’s certainly a natural for the job. Speaking by phone from Manhattan on the cusp of New York Fashion Week, Ju talks about the beauty traditions in her native Xi’an, the makeup trick she’s still hoping to master, and why confidence is a woman’s best asset.

What Chinese beauty secrets informed your upbringing?
In China, growing up, my mom never allowed me to wear makeup. She always asked me to eat vegetables and all the good things for your skin, and my father always cooked up pork bone soup, [also] for the skin.

What were the ideals of beauty in your hometown, and how do you define a beautiful woman today?
It’s funny because in China people like big eyes, a high nose. There are so many surgeries that open your eyes and give you that nose. But I think things change; people see the world and no longer think that. Now, for me, beauty is all different kinds. It’s also about the inside, the confidence. I think the girl who is doing something is really beautiful.

Who have been beauty icons for you at different points of your life?
When I grew up, of course it was my mom. My favorite, favorite person was [actress] Maggie Cheung. Some people think we look alike. I think she’s great and looks really elegant. At the beginning [of my career], I really liked Gemma Ward. All the girls I like have a strong personality; the first time you see them, you can remember them forever. For me, I like a kind of special-looking [model]. Gemma Ward is still on my computer screen. Every time I turn it on, I always see her face.

What was your reaction when you heard you were signed with L’Oréal?
It’s kind of like a dream come true! When I was little, I always watched TV and [remember] the advertising—translated in English as “You’re worth it.” I always copied those words, and I always used their hair products—the hairspray, the shampoo. Now maybe one day my face will be on them! [laughs]

What’s the best makeup trick you’ve learned from the pros backstage or on set? Is there anything you’re still hoping to master?
I’ve learned that they’re using everything differently. They’re not only using the lipsticks on your lips; they also use it on your cheeks. Now, for me, [there’s an] eyebrow color that I always use as eyeshadow. But I’ve never had the ability to learn [how to do] the foundation they’re putting on me. It’s really natural; you can never see the product! There are so many brushes and so many colors while they’re working on your face, and after, you have, like, perfect skin. I really want to know how to do that! I need to make a video.

You’re a master of the selfie. Any tips?
The first thing is the angle. The person who knows your face [best] is yourself, so you know which angle is good. If you want to make the picture special, always look for some interesting [expression]—like a monkey! [laughs] It’s funny, it’s alive. I feel like different expressions are the real makeup. I remember my first selfie—I was in college, actually. The phone quality was really bad, but I still have the picture. Looking in the mirror is kind of like the first selfie, though. You make different faces, and then you stop [and gaze] for a long time—it’s like a picture.

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View all images of Xiao Wen Ju

Photo: Courtesy of Xiao Wen Ju

The post 9 Reasons to Fall in Love With Model Xiao Wen Ju—The New Face of L’Oréal Paris! appeared first on Vogue.

In the wake of recent fascinations with shoulder-grazing lobs and subversive buzz cuts, the head-turners this winter seem to share one signature asset: long, enviably healthy hair. Given its bohemian associations—one imagines a ’70s-era Joni Mitchell on the road, miles from a pair of shears—it might seem that all it takes to go the distance is a laissez-faire attitude and an amicable breakup with your stylist. Not so: Those strands, which have survived a battery of blowouts, hair ties, and indelicate brushing, need a considered maintenance strategy—no less so in cold weather, when humidity drops and metaphorical gold turns into straw.

With the Fall collections just getting started, this month promises plenty of waist-grazing role models, both on the runway (Frederikke Sofie, Jean Campbell) and in the front row, where a well-kept head of hair is both street style accessory and personal statement. “Long hair softens my everyday tomboy aesthetic—[it] makes easy double denim or a mannish tux more feminine, more romantic,” explains British Vogue contributing editor Laura Bailey. In that spirit, we polled fashion insiders about the go-to masks, salon routines, and nourishing supplements that keep their most covetable feature in photogenic form.

The post 7 It Girls Share the Secrets to Their Healthy, Waist-Grazing Hair appeared first on Vogue.

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Photo: (From left) Courtesy of Suno / @suno; Getty Images

It’s a happy coincidence that New York Fashion Week coincides with Valentine’s Day this season—providing some well-timed inspiration just in time for the weekend. Case in point: Backstage at Suno this morning, there was one beauty statement that was as instantly want-able as the clothes.

The starkly beautiful ponytails wrapped in black silk-velvet ribbon that hairstylist Odile Gilbert was crafting for the runway seemed to require little more than a quick trip to the nearest notions store. Set against the collection’s muted earth-tone plaids and feminine ruffled sleeves, the effect is “graphisme,” explained Gilbert of the linear, self-contained look. To start, she first wet the models’ hair and layered in Kérastase’s L’Incroyable Blowdry Heat Lotion (out in April) before blowing out the lengths. Then, after securing a very low ponytail, she tightly crisscrossed the ribbon three-quarters of the way down—“like a corset,” she pointed out—knotting in the back every few turns to keep it from sliding.

Against the sunlight streaming in through the Pier 59 windows, the minimalist style proved easily wearable by day, but “the fact that it’s silk velvet makes it more evening,” she judged. “It’s a touch of sophistication.” There’s also a subtle association with the hair accessory, the Parisian continued: “Years ago in France, if you put a tiny ribbon around your neck, it meant you were searching for somebody. There was something romantic to it.” Whether or not sartorial signals are your date-night thing, think of this as the quickest way to infuse a hint of French-girl spirit into your look. As for what to do with the ribbon at the end of the night? We’ll let you take it from there.

See the Suno Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection

The post Suno Just Solved Your Date-Night Hair Situation: Meet the Velvet-Wrapped Ponytail appeared first on Vogue.

With temperatures dipping into the teens today, and the crushing pace of New York Fashion Week starting to take its toll, those with an eye toward the long game have already started breaking out their immune-boosting tricks. Model Soo Joo Park has landed upon the go-to supplement that’s always in her bag, though it’s the sort of thing she uses her passport—not her MetroCard—to procure.

“I carry red ginseng extract with me—it’s exported from Korea,” she explained backstage at Alexander Wang this afternoon, cutting a striking figure in her signature platinum shag and bleached brows. “I get it whenever I’m going to the Seoul airport, from duty-free.” Asian ginseng (a different plant than what’s known as American ginseng) has long been said to help fight off colds and other infections. It’s also often referred to as an adaptogen—a type of herb that can play a role in stress management, which certainly comes in handy with back-to-back castings and overseas flights.

That’s not Park’s only strategy for staying calm during the fashion month storm. “I have meditation MP3s on my phone. My friend gave them to me; she was like, ‘This will be very helpful for you because you go through a lot of stress, and you can just turn it on,’ ” she explained. “I’ve done it in cars, but it’s usually best when you’re alone sitting in a room. If the call time is at 6:00 a.m., I try to wake up at 5:00. It only takes like 30 minutes, so I do my meditation, take a quick shower, and then I’m out the door! You feel so much better.”

Fitness is also a priority (she’s currently on the hunt for a Pilates guru). “Being in shape really helps when you’re traveling so much. Your [mental and physical] health just becomes so much stronger when you work out,” she said, adding that she recently tried EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) while in Seoul. “You wear a vest with all these wires, and [the electrical impulses] go into the core of your muscles. You can build strength like that.” Consider us intrigued—and our passport primed and ready.

The post The Korean Health Secret That Model Soo Joo Park Swears By appeared first on Vogue.

At a time when people wax nostalgic for the golden age of jet-set glamour, Victoria Beckham proves to be redefining it for the present moment, combining unmistakable sophistication (ladylike heels, coordinating prints) with a multitasker’s sense of purpose—and attracting legions of airport paparazzi along the way.

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Photo: Getty Images

Of course, this being Victoria Beckham, the look was hardly undone. To achieve that “very dramatic head shape,” Palau applied Redken’s heat-protectant Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Primer before sweeping hair back using GHD’s Aura blow-dryer (a diffuser nozzle is key, he noted). Securing an elastic at the nape, he then layered in hairspray for pliable hold with a subtle wet-look finish. “It takes it from a normal ponytail into a fashion idea,” Palau explained—not to mention one that can withstand a transatlantic flight or a trip through a Manhattan wind tunnel.

See the Victoria Beckham Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection

Watch the Victoria Beckham Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear show:

The post Victoria Beckham’s Speed Ponytails Are the New Jet-Set Staple appeared first on Vogue.

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Photos: Courtesy of Anthony Turner / @anthonyturnerhair

On Valentine’s Day it’s tempting to see everything in romantic terms—witness the profusion of flowers, cards, and innuendos on Instagram—but backstage at Prabal Gurung this evening, the emphasis was squarely on capital-R Romanticism. At the center of the designer’s inspiration board, amid photocopies of paintings by Goya and Rousseau, was Lord Byron’s 1814 poem, “She Walks in Beauty.” The notion of such a muse wandering the wood was a through line for the entire presentation, from the clothes (accented with feather motifs and fur) to the makeup (luminous, ruddy cheeks by Diane Kendal), but the element that seemed most ethereal were the ultrafeminine ponytails by Anthony Turner.

“The idea is that the hair was once very perfect, but she’s gotten lost in the forest,” the stylist explained of the “very weathered, very disheveled” twist on a rolled-edge ponytail. To recreate the effect of the elements, Turner layered in two products by John Masters Organics—the Volumizing Foam (launching in March) and the Sea Mist Salt Spray—finger-raking the hair back and loosely blowing it dry. “I’m not using any kind of brushes or combs because I want it to feel lived-in and rough around the edges,” he stressed. Then, starting at each ear, he twisted the sides of the hair inward and secured them at the nape with an elastic.

The poetic finishing touch would come later. “I’m going to fuzz it up with my fingers right before they go out,” he said, reaching out to muss a nearby model’s too-perfect hair—which, come to think of it, seemed well-suited to any number of Valentine’s Day extracurricular activities. Here’s to a new kind of bedhead for tonight and beyond.

See the Prabal Gurung Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection

The post Why Prabal Gurung’s Poetic Ponytails Are Made for Lovers appeared first on Vogue.

During New York Fashion Week, the life of an in-demand model is nomadic at best and utterly crazed at worst, with a constant stream of castings and shows sending them across town and back again. Creature comforts, therefore, are crucial. The perfect lip balm, the well-timed snack, and the right head-clearing music can make staying in the game all the easier. Here, 10 models share the health and beauty essentials that get them through the hectic stretch feeling hydrated, relaxed, and ready for the next early-morning call time.

The post 10 Models Share Their Backstage Essentials: Lip Balm, Vitamin C, A$AP Rocky, and More appeared first on Vogue.

To purists raised on old-school standbys like Coast and Dial, bar soap seems like an unlikely candidate for cult devotion. Yet in the creative enclaves of Brooklyn, Toronto, Los Angeles, and beyond, a growing number of modern makers have set about reinventing the utilitarian staple with equal attention to aesthetics and well-sourced ingredients. If there’s a cathartic allure for the people who produce them—“It’s soothing, it’s simple, it’s methodical,” says Karen Kim of the hands-on process behind her elegantly understated line, Binu Binu—it’s an equally sensorial experience for those who lather up, with soaps that are faceted like jewels, striped like Frank Stella paintings, and scented with bracingly fresh botanicals. In the March issue of Vogue, we profile our favorite small-batch producers. Here is our expanded online guide to those who are redefining clean design, one palm-size bar at a time.

Wary Meyers Decorative Art

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Cedarwood & Vanilla Glycerin Soap; Clockwise from top: Grapefruit & Clementine; Cucumber & Cilantro; Sea Air; and Oud Wood; Esprit de Peach Glycerin Soap; $14 each, warymeyers.bigcartel.com

Photo: Courtesy of warymeyers.bigcartel.com

Based outside Portland, Maine, John and Linda Meyers have distilled their self-proclaimed obsession with stripes into glycerin blocks with such charismatic color-fragrance pairings as Bellini-scented ombré pink and coconut-tinged surfer pastels. Their signature linear motif (no easy feat to execute) draws on a diverse set of influences, including Italian design master Ettore Sottsass, artists Donald Judd and Frank Stella, and 1980s fashion by Esprit.

Pelle

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Soap Stones, $12 each; Shube, $56; and Black Dome, $16; shown on the cast-cement Moon Dish, $12; Special Edition Soap Stones in Blue Shadow, $16, pelledesigns.com

Photo: Courtesy of Pelle Designs

“We put design front and center,” says Jean Pelle of the aesthetics-driven soaps that she and her husband, Oliver, produce out of their Brooklyn studio, Pelle. (The Yale-trained architects also create a line of lighting and furniture.) After the surprise success of their hand-faceted Soap Stones, which debuted at the Museum of Modern Art’s “Destination: NYC” exhibition in 2013, the two recently debuted a second collection called Folly, which marries architectural forms (domes, columns) with offbeat ingredients (charcoal, volcanic-rock pumice).

Binu Binu

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Hibiscus Clay Facial Soap, $18; Haenyeo Sea Woman Soap, $18; Seshin Korean Scrub Soap, $18, binu-binu.com

Photo: Courtesy of binu-binu.com

When Karen Kim hung up her product-director hat at the online retailer La Garçonne early last year, she set out to translate that same spirit of modern refinement into her handmade beauty line, Binu Binu (Korean for “soap soap”). Inspired by the country’s famed spa rituals and cultural touchstones, Kim’s nourishing formulas feature ingredients like crushed sesame seeds, fine clay, and boricha—a detoxifying roasted-barley tea ubiquitous in Korean households. “At the end of the day, you have this physical object that you created,” says the Toronto native. “There’s something satisfying about that.”

Maak Lab

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Sea Bar; Doug Bar; Coffee Bar; $9 each, maaklab.com

Photo: Courtesy of maaklab.com

After Taylor Ahlmark and his girlfriend, Anoria Gilbert, relocated from dusty Arizona to Portland, Oregon, seven years ago, the “crazy variety” of plants growing in their front yard (think lavender, peppermint, and Douglas fir) infiltrated their early experiments in soapmaking. A full-fledged business soon followed. “Everything that we do is based around scent first,” says Ahlmark of their signature blends, which have evolved to include not only local flora but also unusual botanicals like Japanese hinoki. In addition to running a downtown storefront, the pair also collaborates on private-label soaps with such companies as Tanner Goods, the outdoors label Snow Peak, and the soon-to-open Hi-Lo hotel.

Studio Cue

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Golda Hiba Sphere Soap, $18; Golda Hiba Pyramid Soap, $18; Golda Hiba Cube Soap, $16, studiocuela.com

Photo: Courtesy of loyalsupplyco.com

There’s a refreshing simplicity to the geometric soaps by the Los Angeles husband-and-wife team Tsugu Wada and Keiko Matsuo, who designed them to bring “visual happiness” to a guest bathroom. All three bars—a lemongrass-scented golden sphere, a golden cube with hints of blood orange, and a pink pyramid redolent of rose—are packed with hiba-wood oil, which is prized in their native Japan for its antimicrobial and aromatherapeutic properties. The ingredient now has a broader audience, thanks to the soap. “People use it every day,” Wada says. Even if you don’t, he adds, “it’s still a nice thing to look at.”

The Greater Goods

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Rose Clay Soap; The Woods Soap; Mechanic Soap; $12 each, the-greater-goods.com

Photo: Courtesy of the-greater-goods.com

For Arian Franz, a graphic designer based in San Francisco, her line of all-natural soaps provides much-needed time away from the computer. “You get to see materials transform into something that’s super useful but also sensorial,” she explains of the hands-on process that admittedly has her “hooked.” The formulas vary from ultra-nourishing (Rose Clay, with organic olive and coconut oils) to hardworking (the exfoliating Mechanic, with walnut shells and activated charcoal), but all of them feature a one-of-a-kind undulating silhouette—“a little sculptural element that reminds you that it’s a handmade product.”

Saipua

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Goat Milk Soap with Basil; Coffee Mint soap; Rose Geranium soap; $18 each, shop.saipua.com

Photo: Courtesy of saipua.com

The intersection of the visual and the olfactory is at the heart of Saipua, Sarah Ryhanen’s floral studio and soap company based in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. Named after the Finnish word for “soap,” the cold-processed bars are handmade by her mother, Susan, and loaded with moisturizing olive oil and shea butter. In time for their 10th anniversary, the soaps recently got a packaging upgrade with handsome papers and gold-foil lettering. “It’s about simple luxury,” Ryhanen says of the everyday indulgence.

Shore Soap Company

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Cast Away soap; Salty Mariner; Sea Glass; $8 each, shoresoapco.com

Photo: Courtesy of shoresoapco.com

What began as a hobby for Jake and Steph Kopper has become a charming fixture of Newport, Rhode Island, where the Shore Soap Company storefront overlooks the water. After three years of soapmaking in the back of the shop, the by-hand production recently expanded to a nearby studio to accommodate its stockists in far-flung Florida and Australia. An ocean theme fittingly runs through the entire line—from the sea salt incorporated into the formulas (a natural antiseptic) to the names (Cast Away, Surfer’s Sunrise) to the palette of mariner blues and sea-glass greens.

Bar Soap Brooklyn

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The Equilateral: Blue Gold, $12; The Equilateral: Pink Gold, $12; The Equilateral: Black Gold, $10, barsoapbrooklyn.com

Photo: Courtesy of barsoapbrooklyn.com

KaKyung Cho, the Korean-born maker behind Bar Soap Brooklyn, credits her upbringing for her early introduction to skin care. While her formulas are rooted in the soothing and natural, with ingredients like jojoba oil, shea butter, and aloe vera, her design has a distinctly modern edge—particularly the two-tone equilateral soaps, which challenge the parameters of the classic bar. Her adopted surroundings have something to do with that. “Being in Brooklyn now can’t be a better education!” she explains. “[It] taught me to be myself and be experimental.”

The post Bar Soap Is Back! 9 Decadent Lines That Will Make You Rethink Clean appeared first on Vogue.

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Photo: Courtesy of @michellesaunders

Some fashion houses relish the opportunity to redefine their beauty aesthetic from season to season, veering from metallic lips to sky-high side ponytails, from stylized topknots to grunge-girl decadence. But leave it to Oscar de la Renta to put a fresh-faced spin on one enduring theme: the eternal allure of ladylike elegance.

“There’s a timeless beauty here: That’s the attraction,” hairstylist Guido Palau explained in the backstage area of The Prince George Ballroom in the hours before the house’s Fall 2016 show—and from the look of things, rule number one of being up to the Oscar challenge involves knowing your way around a bun.

At the direction of creative director Peter Copping, Palau was securing models’ hair into “soft, painterly” updos that skirted the idea of trend. If the finished look—a center-parted, loosely gathered chignon—gave off an effortless air, that was precisely the point. After Palau blew out the hair, he misted in Redken’s Windblown 05 Dry Finishing Spray for a touch of grit (an updo’s best ally). Next, he secured most of the hair into an easy ponytail near the crown before gently sweeping back the front bits, “so you get that romance,” he said of the ultrafeminine, wispy effect.

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Photo: Courtesy of @carolmccolgin

As skilled with black liner as she is with a hairpin, Copping’s girl does her eye with an unexpected linear twist—this season, drawing a crisp rainbow in the crease of the lid along with her signature wing. “It still has a lightness to it, without being a heavy statement,” Diane Kendal mused. She first created the paper-thin outline using MAC Studio’s Chromagraphic Pencil, and then traced the eyelid contour using a thin square brush dusted with black shadow to set the pigment.

After all, that stay-put longevity is a must for the sort of woman whose evening might start with gallery hopping, bleed into dinner, and wind down with a nightcap—or, as the case may be tonight, a champagne-fueled Fashion Week after-party.

See the Oscar de la Renta Fall 2016 Collection

Watch the Oscar de la Renta Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear show:

The post Oscar de la Renta Brings Back the Bun! Here’s to Easy Evening Elegance appeared first on Vogue.

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Photographed by Irving Penn, Vogue, October 1997

In the March issue of Vogue, we celebrate a fresh new generation of beauty innovators who are bringing game-changing hair technology straight to our showers just in time for spring. Searching for a modern take on texturizer? Look no further than Jen Atkin’s cult-y new Ouai line—a collection of shampoos, wave sprays, and hair oils that takes a cue from the extraordinary insouciance of the French girl mane. Trying to keep your hair looking as young as your skin? StriVectin’s star formulas tackle 10 signs of aging, including breakage and dullness. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here, eight standout companies that are breaking the beauty mold with their novel offerings, from a must-have volcanic ash cleanser to an online hair-loss consultation service.

The post 8 Hair Breakthroughs That Are Changing the Beauty Game appeared first on Vogue.

The cast of international models making the rounds at New York Fashion Week—a group of women who look impossibly good in clothes and equally so on camera—is used to being the subject of pinpointed praise. Some catch attention for their paradigm-shifting haircuts. Others get singled out for a defining gap-toothed grin, untamed eyebrows, or legs that seem to stretch the entire length of a runway (ahem, Karlie Kloss). But enough with outside opinions. After all, who better to chime in about a model’s signature feature than the very person who greets her in the mirror each day? Here, we catch up with nine of this season’s busiest beauties to find out what they deem their prized asset.

The post 9 Models on Their Favorite Beauty Feature, From Mile-Long Legs to Statement Brows appeared first on Vogue.

Anyone who has spent time north of the tropics this winter knows how quickly cold weather can ravage the skin. By now we’re well accustomed to keeping a lip balm in every coat pocket and slathering on ultra-hydrating face masks, but there’s an often-neglected part of the body—so delicate, so exposed!—that deserves equal attention: our hands.

The smartest course of action is a multipronged one that takes everything from cuticle oil to nourishing hand cream to protective (and covetable) gloves into account. But why stop there? With the survival of the chicest in mind, here are five essential care kits curated by personality. Whether you have uptown polish or downtown edge, hit the stables or the hiking trails, or simply want to unwind with a good read and a glass of wine, there are plenty of reasons to start making room on your nightstand.

The post Here’s Everything You Need to Winter-Proof Your Hands—A Shopping Guide by Personality appeared first on Vogue.

Want to know how to avoid the office flu this winter? Ask an ER doctor. “I’ve got to find a piece of wood before I say what I’m going to say: I have not been sick in, like, four years, not even a cold,” says Mark Gendreau, M.D., the medical director and vice chair of emergency medicine at Lahey Medical Center in Peabody, Massachusetts, who comes into contact with his share of pathogens every day. While his strategy for staying healthy may be multipronged—he takes North American ginseng to boost his immune system and vigilantly sanitizes shared keyboards and airplane tray tables—he is a firm believer in the power of straightforward soap and water.

“Hand hygiene is incredibly important,” Gendreau stresses, explaining that the most common way to get sick involves simply touching a public surface, such as an ATM or escalator handrail, that’s contaminated with a virus or bacteria. What happens next? “The average human touches their face about 200 times a day, so what you’re basically doing is self-inoculating”—that is, inviting those invader cells in through the mucous membranes of your eyes, nose, or mouth. Frequent hand-washing goes a long way, but most people go through the motions without getting a thorough clean. According to Gendreau, you need to lather up for a full 20 seconds, followed by a 10-second rinse—in other words, as long as it takes to “sing ‘Happy Birthday to Me’ in your mind,” he says.

In today’s hyper-speed world, 30 seconds might feel overly generous, but it doesn’t when a particularly decadent and chicly packaged soap transforms the whole process into a sensorial experience. (Diners who are pleased to find Aesop hand wash by the sinks at Buvette in New York’s West Village know what I’m talking about.) In the service of fewer sick days ahead, here are 14 liquid soaps that will inspire devoted lathering and earn pride of place on the bathroom vanity.

The post 14 Exquisite Soaps That Will Make You Want to Lather Up This Flu Season appeared first on Vogue.

When Natasha Liu Bordizzo makes her wide-screen debut on Friday in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, premiering in IMAX theaters and on Netflix, she will have a much smaller screen to thank. “My agent in Sydney, she found me on Instagram,” the Australian beauty explained by phone this week from Los Angeles, where she is just setting down roots. If Liu Bordizzo’s career beginnings have a fairy-tale ring, so does the story of her first-ever audition. After reading for a supporting role in the follow-up to the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, she got a surprise call the next day announcing that she’d landed the lead. “I flew to New Zealand [to the set] a week later, I dropped out of university, and here I am,” she said, still a bit incredulous two years later.

With her finely modeled features, calligraphy-stroke eyebrows, and dimpled chin, Liu Bordizzo cuts a striking figure as Snow Vase, the free-spirited ingenue who trains under Yu Shu Lien (played by the regal Michelle Yeoh, reprising her role). Though certain aspects of the sequel are quite a departure from Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning original—the unconventional distribution; a new director (the respected martial arts choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen; and dialogue in English, not Mandarin—the fight scenes still reveal an impressive technical mastery. And Liu Bordizzo accepted the challenge: Already a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, she underwent intensive training in Wudang sword-fighting. Here, the 21-year-old talks about the rigors of the two martial arts disciplines, what saves her skin on long-haul flights, and why breakfast rules the day.

You’re part Chinese and part Italian—did you grow up with any traditional Chinese notions of beauty?
It’s like that stereotype that Asians will carry umbrellas—now I’m one of them because it’s so necessary, especially in Sydney. The best way to avoid sun aging is just prevention. CosMedix has a great hydrating sun mist—that’s my go-to.

How did you first get interested in martial arts?
When I was about 9 or 10, my parents told me I’d either have to start martial arts or dance. I was always a tomboy, so of course I was like, “Martial arts, definitely. I’m not a ballerina—come on!” And I stuck with it. Through my teenage years it really became an outlet for me to let out any frustration. I think it transfers into your life as well: You just become more disciplined and more focused.

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Photo: Courtesy of Natasha Liu Bordizzo / @natashaliubordizzo

Both the original Crouching Tiger and the sequel center on master-student relationships. Who did you study with to learn Wudang sword-fighting, and what was that process like?
It was kind of terrifying because Master [Woo-Ping] Yuen is, like, legendary. He choreographed Kill Bill, the first Crouching Tiger, [and] The Matrix. I had Tae Kwon Do, but that was just so different from Wudang that it was like starting from day one again with the best choreographer in the world. It was pretty intense. I was in the dojang from about 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., five days a week. We definitely got there in the end.

What part of your body was most affected by Wudang?
Funnily enough, it was probably my arms. Everything else hurt, of course, but twirling that sword and holding it out—it’s not something you usually ever do. I had one scene with Harry Shum, Jr. where we don’t use weapons. It’s the only scene in the movie that’s just us—body on body, fist on fist—and that was really hard because he’s a professional dancer. He’s like a stone! [laughs] I would hit him, and then my hand would be, like, broken, so that was definitely the most challenging fight in the movie.

You’re no stranger to long-haul flying. Do you have an in-flight skin-care routine?
Now I do! I use this amazing black rose mask by Sisley. I just slather that on. And there’s a hydrating mist from CosMedix that’s great as well. I try to sleep on the plane, but I remember to wake up and quickly cleanse and apply moisturizer because the plane definitely gets to your skin.

Healthy living seems to be the norm in Australia, starting with a solid brekkie. Are you much of a breakfast person?
Oh, my God, yes! It’s my favorite meal of the day. Right now I’m eating Farmer Jo [muesli] from Sydney, and then I just add different things every morning to keep it interesting, like cinnamon, blueberries, bananas, [and] coconut milk. [In Los Angeles] I love Blu Jam and Earthbar—the smoothies there. It’s so easy to be healthy in L.A.!

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Photo: Courtesy of Natasha Liu Bordizzo / @natashaliubordizzo

The post Meet Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Hollywood’s Next Action Supernova appeared first on Vogue.