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6 Natural Skin-Care Staples Every Cool Girl Needs in Her Arsenal

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When the clean-beauty boutique Credo opened its flagship last summer on San Francisco’s Fillmore Street, complete with a jewel-box spa by Tata Harper, that eco-conscious community proved to be the perfect fit. “We live in our environment—we haven’t had plastic bags in this city for 10 years,” founder Shashi Batra tells me. As part of the team that launched Sephora in the U.S. in the late 1990s, he was an early proponent of natural personal care, long before there was an audience for it—or sophisticated-enough formulas to lure people away from conventional ones. “Nobody deliberately wants to live an unhealthy lifestyle, but in beauty we’ve always been compelled by emotion,” he explains of the universal desire to look and feel good. If a product falls short, he says, “it doesn’t matter how many trees it saves. That’s fundamentally the holy grail for us: You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re sacrificing anything.”

Credo is proof that times have changed—the handpicked inventory boasts more than 100 brands, including the Amazon rain forest–powered hair-care label Rahua, niche fragrance line MCMC, and newcomer Evelyn Iona Cosmetics—and just this week the company opened its first Manhattan location, on Soho’s Prince Street. To jump-start your first shopping spree, we’ve asked Batra to share six of his current favorites. Read on for his go-to summer-weight moisturizer, the best user-friendly natural deodorant, and the London-made body oil he nicks from his wife.

 

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Is the Air in Your Home Affecting Your Health? How to Reduce Indoor Pollution

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Pollution is increasingly—and rightfully—on people’s minds lately, as seen in the host of new products addressing its negative effects on the skin and the troubling smog levels in cities like Beijing. But only recently did I start thinking more seriously about the air quality inside the home, after a pair of prolific chain-smokers moved in downstairs, sending evidence of their dedication wafting up into my apartment. What else, besides that stale Marlboro tinge, lurks behind closed doors and windows?

“Indoor air is rated by the EPA, and all our research indicates that it’s five times worse than outdoor air,” says Max Kirk, Ph.D., an associate professor at Washington State University who researches indoor air quality. “As we tighten up our homes for energy efficiency, we live in more of a soup than we ever have before.” The ingredients in that unsavory soup might include chemical gases emitted by furniture, household cleaning products, common allergens like dust, and outside pollution that breezes in and stays put. “If you think that about 90 percent of your life is spent indoors, then it really starts to add up,” stresses Kirk, who is part of a team of scientists at work on a three-year, EPA-funded study examining the effects of climate change on domestic spaces. “A home is almost a living thing: It moves. It breathes. It exhausts air on its own; it brings in air,” he says, explaining how they tracked the effects of last summer’s forest fires inside two homes. “As researchers, it really opened our eyes.”

Of course, there can be less flagrant invaders when it comes to indoor air quality, as Julie Kuriakose, M.D., tells me in the Tribeca branch of Hudson Allergy, where she installed a graphic black-and-white floor in lieu of carpeting (a notorious catchall for triggers). Come spring—and the tree pollen that arrives with it—her New York offices are flooded with people seeking relief. Among the top indoor offenders are pet dander (some of which, like cats’, can linger as long as six months after the animal has left the home); irritants (even seemingly pleasant ones, like scented candles); and microscopic dust mites, which can be found in bedding, fabric-covered furniture, and feather-filled items like down jackets and comforters. Kuriakose rattles off an array of commonsense tips, including investing in dust-mite covers for pillows, frequent vacuuming, and showering at night to wash off any pollen that has hitched a ride indoors.

Beyond that­—and especially in cases where a fresh-air, windows-open strategy only stokes an allergic reaction—an indoor purifier equipped with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter can be a worthwhile investment. “Buy an appropriate-size one for the room you’re putting it in,” says Kurikose, who recommends keeping it in the bedroom.

Fortunately for those of us who value space and aesthetics, Dyson has just unveiled a svelte new model, the Dyson Pure Cool Link, equipped with feedback sensors that connect to your smartphone. There’s a round desktop version and an upright Ewok-size tower—a gentle whirring giant that has been issuing calls of “fair” and “good” from my room. The HEPA filter has two layers, according to Hugo Wilson, a design lead at Dyson. One is high-quality borosilicate glass, which is pleated 200 times to trap up to 99.97 percent of pollutants and allergens; the other is an activated carbon cloth, which targets VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, emitted by household cleaners and such. That the purifier doubles as a fan is a welcome perk, with summer on the horizon. The bigger plus? “The ability to have a window into your air purifier,” Wilson tells me, likening the real-time reports on air quality (both indoor and outdoor) to the clear canisters on the original Dyson vacuums.

In the meantime, as the whirring Dyson purifier continues its work absorbing my neighbors’ cigarette sillage, my next stop is an allergy screening at Kuriakose’s office, to learn what else might be fueling my morning tissue habit. “Knowledge is power,” she says, describing how the findings might shape your choice of pillow fill or the products in your cleaning routine. “It’s good to know what you’re allergic to.”

 

 

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The Story Behind Tilda Swinton’s Rock-Star Makeup in A Bigger Splash

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In Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, A Bigger Splash, Tilda Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a magnetic—if largely silent—rock star recovering from vocal-chord surgery on the rugged Italian island of Pantelleria. If the Mediterranean locale is all sun-soaked idyll, the flashback scenes give a glimpse of the musician’s harder-edged onstage life, complete with a silver sequined Dior jumpsuit and futuristic eye makeup. The look—a metallic, mask-like rectangle painted over her eyes—undeniably harks back to a certain glam-rock androgyny that seems poised to take over this year’s festival circuit. But any shades of Ziggy Stardust were purely coincidental. “Luca talked a lot about Chrissie Hynde, Roísín Murphy, and PJ Harvey,” the film’s lead makeup artist, Fernanda Perez, says of her primary reference points during a phone call from Crema, Italy, where she is working on the director’s next film. That said, Perez adds, “I think David Bowie is in everybody’s subconscious.”

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Photo: Fox Searchlight / Everett Collection

The key to that full-volume eye makeup: a crisp application of Make Up For Ever’s Flash Color Stick in Silver, topped off with matching pigment from MAC. “We wanted to make the face disappear,” Perez explains of the otherwise bare skin, smoothed with little more than Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer. (This, she explains, was in full contrast to the character’s carefree Pantelleria look, which called for the alabaster-skinned Swinton to be both bronzed and protected with layers of La Mer’s self-tanner and sunscreen.) The glittering rock-star look even got a proper road test before a packed amphitheater filled with 70,000 screaming fans. “We shot during a real concert in Milano of an Italian singer called Jovanotti,” Perez recalls. “He gave us the stage for 15 minutes and asked the public to shout, ‘Marianne Lane, Marianne Lane.’ ” For those musicians—or festival-goers—who dare to give the silver streak a try this summer, we can only expect a similarly enthusiastic reception.

 

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7 Summer Fitness Retreats Worth Skipping Town (And the Gym!) For

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If the athleisure movement tends to mean a sea of spandex-clad legs roaming the city streets, there’s another, arguably more glamorous manifestation of the trend: the array of wellness retreats, where the line between fitness and free time blurs—ideally against the backdrop of, say, the azure Mediterranean coast or the Himalayas. With the summer season upon us, there’s no better time to start mapping out the vacation days ahead, and these seven escapes offer an invigorating way to satisfy wanderlust cravings and workout goals in one go. Whether you’re a runner looking to boost your race pace in the wilds of Iceland or a yogi hoping to fine-tune your meditation practice in Majorca, here are seven reasons to get packing.

 

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Photo: Courtesy of La Posta Vecchia

Moraima Gaetmank in Coastal Italy
The founder of Paris’s Studio Kinétique is something of a body whisperer among the city’s fashion editors, ballerinas, and actresses, thanks to her singular elongating, toning technique that draws on Pilates, yoga, the Garuda method, and Gyrotonics. This summer, Gaetmank heads south to two glittering Italian hotels—La Posta Vecchia and Hotel Il Pellicano—for intimately scaled retreats, where she will be teaching a fluid, freeing style of yoga in group and private sessions. The coastal setting (equal parts restorative and decadent) will be matched by Mediterranean-inflected menus designed with wellness in mind.

July 8–10 (La Posta Vecchia) and July 11–15 (Hotel Il Pellicano); email: reservations@pellicanohotels.com

 

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Photo: Alamy

Yoga for Bad People in Croatia
Brac Island’s pristine coastline and sublime aquamarine water are worthy-enough subjects for contemplation, even before factoring in morning meditations. This weeklong retreat, led by YFBP cofounder Heather Lilleston and guest teacher Jamie Lugo, balances two daily yoga sessions—vigorous in the morning, restorative at night—with a mix of local adventures, including kiteboarding and kayaking for water babies and guided hikes to nearby caves. As the group’s cheekily subversive name implies, asceticism isn’t the rule; after all, Croatia is in full swing in August. After a night out dancing, there might be no better place to recover than on the mat—followed by, just maybe, a long stretch in the sand.

August 20–27; yogaforbadpeople.com

 

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Photo: Alamy

Mile High Run Club in Iceland
After flying into Reykjavík, runners will have a serious opportunity to burn off jet lag on August 20, when the annual marathon takes over the city (a half marathon or 10K is also an option). The itinerary then winds through a series of geographic marvels, starting with a soak in the geothermal Blue Lagoon spa for post-race recovery. Next come guided runs through Thórsmörk National Park, hikes along black-sand beaches, and a majestic stay overlooking the glaciers at Skaftafell. If regulars at MHRC’s popular studios in New York have come to embrace the treadmill, it might be hard to go back after a trip like this.

August 18–28; milehighrunclub.com

 

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Photo: Alamy

Guru Jagat in Majorca, Spain
One of Kundalini’s rising gurus is taking her L.A.–based practice on the road this summer, with two back-to-back retreats in the remote town of Fornalutx, near the northern coast of Majorca. If the daily meditation and yoga aren’t enough to untether participants from their responsibilities back home, technological constraints will do it for them (there is no wireless Internet, be forewarned). In addition to exercises designed to tap into creative expression and intention, there are also side trips to prehistoric sites, little-seen coves, and the sorts of famed beaches that have lured thinkers and artists here for decades. Expect clean, organic food that mirrors the pristine white of Jagat’s omnipresent turban.

July 21–25 and 26–30; gurujagat.com

 

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Photo: Alamy

Yogascapes and Gloria Baraquio in Nicaragua
Those drained from the churn of modern living will find all the tools for a deep unwind at this surf-and-yoga retreat, held at the laid-back Maderas Village, complete with thatched cabanas and rope-slung hammocks. Baraquio, the yoga and wellness director at The Springs in Los Angeles, brings a dynamic, tuned-in teaching style (not to mention native Hawaiian cool) to her twice-daily classes. In between, surfers experienced and novice can paddle out at the home break, Playa Maderas, or at nearby beaches a short boat ride away. Healthy meals largely built around the bounty of the garden and the sea offer thoughtful refueling, and a deep-tissue rubdown with the resident masseuse can deliver the reboot you need to start all over again.

August 7–13; yogascapes.com

 

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Photo: Alamy

The Class in Martha’s Vineyard
Taryn Toomey, whose intense—and intensely
cathartic—workouts count high-profile fans from coast to coast, once again returns to this Massachusetts summer colony to deliver a whole-body reset. Each day kicks off with a two-hour session of her quad-shredding, mind-focusing workout, followed by a locally sourced family-style brunch by Marissa Lippert, the nutritionist behind New York café Nourish Kitchen + Table. Kevin Courtney winds down the day with gentle yin yoga, and Thomas Droge is on hand for acupuncture. While some pleasures (a workshop on crystal healing) are esoteric, others, like an afternoon clambake on the beach, could not be any simpler or any more satisfying.

July 10–16; taryntoomey.com

 

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Photo: Alamy

Exotic Yoga Retreats in Bhutan
The word retreat is rarely so apt as it is in the remote stretches of Bhutan, and this program enlists a local guide to venture into seldom-seen places, ranging from hilltop monasteries to pristine forests. Along the way, Amsterdam-based teacher Josie Sykes leads alignment-focused yoga classes—once or twice daily—that continue the spirit of the nation’s meditative traditions. Accommodations range from family-run inns to sumptuous properties, with spa services (like traditional Bhutanese hot-stone baths) to match. Lest it all seem more spiritual than spirited, there’s also a chance to duck into one of the capital’s bass-heavy dance clubs.

August 10–20; exoticyogaretreats.com

 

The post 7 Summer Fitness Retreats Worth Skipping Town (And the Gym!) For appeared first on Vogue.

This Chic New Amagansett Boutique Is Your One-Stop Shop for Summer Wellness

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For those who have combed the streets of Paris in search of covetable drugstore staples to bring home, the ubiquitous neon-green signs are like beacons guiding ships to shore. “We would always look for that green cross,” explains Bethany Mayer of her and her friend Leilani Bishop’s shared love of French pharmacie finds. When the two women decided to team up on Botanica Bazaar, a standout new beauty and wellness boutique opening today in the heart of Amagansett, New York, the signage came easily. “When people come to the square, they’ll see this little fluorescent-pink cross,” Mayer says. “It’s our take on a natural pharmacy.”

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Leilani Bishop and Bethany Mayer

Photo: Courtesy of Botanic Bazaar

And this is one decidedly chic pharmacy, something you might expect from founders rooted in the fashion world: Bishop, a former model, graced campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, and Victoria’s Secret before launching her namesake perfume line; Mayer runs Surf Bazaar, a cult clothing label with an outpost at The Surf Lodge in nearby Montauk. It was there that the like-minded entrepreneurs forged a connection years ago, which deepened over dinners and school drop-offs. Together they came to realize that while Amagansett—where both have set down roots with their young families—has all the small-town charms, it lacked the sort of place where they could find the “holistic, organic products and remedies to live our lives by,” says Bishop. A vision for a store by and for locals—one that outlasts the usual Hamptons pop-ups—was born.

“Leilani and I are kind of secret hippies, but we’re also fashion girls, too,” Mayer explains of the dual emphasis on inner and outer beauty at Botanica Bazaar. Natural skin-care brands with royal followings (Tata Harper, Shiva Rose) line the shelves, along with makeup by RMS Beauty and Bishop’s fragrance oils, inspired by her native Hawaii.

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Photo: Courtesy of Botanic Bazaar

The family-oriented women didn’t stop there. “We really thought about tackling not only every part of the community, but every aspect of your well-being,” Mayer says of their far-reaching lineup, which includes fluoride-free toothpastes, healing salves for rough-and-tumble kids, herbal tinctures, and ingestible probiotics by The Beauty Chef. Even the store design reflects how the natural world seamlessly fits into their aesthetic, with raw wood, tropical plants, and touches of copper (a metal prized in Ayurvedic medicine, they note). Here, Bishop and Mayer share a handful of their favorite products for the warm days ahead. Come fall, when their Web shop takes off, you can order online; in the meantime, join the urban exodus and head east.

Botanica Bazaar, 14 Amagansett Square, Amagansett, New York, 631.267.5660; info@botanicabazaar.com

 

 

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The 11 Best French Beauty Staples to Stock Up on in Paris

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Photographed by Thomas Lohr, Vogue, August 2015

Packing for Paris means leaving room in your suitcase—after all, the city’s legendary pharmacies and perfumeries beckon. And who better to recommend the best beauty products to stock up on while there than the Vogue staffers who make the trip regularly? One colleague waxes on about a natural deodorant that can withstand a fluke heat wave; another raves about a miracle skin balm that extends a summertime glow. That’s not even counting the personal discoveries to be made, which on my visit last month included a sulfate-free shampoo by the texture-friendly line Hapsatou Sy; the mineral-rich tonic Plasmarine; and a box of immune-boosting Influ-Zinc lozenges so chic (blush pink, gold foil) I couldn’t bear to open it, never mind my cold.

With the French Open in full swing, now is the time to implore tennis-loving friends to pick up a few of your beauty treasures on the way home. Need inspiration? Here, 11 Vogue staffers offer up their favorites, from an ace hangover cure to bar soaps so exquisite, they might just inspire a voyage of your own.

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Are Harsh Products Throwing Off Your Skin? Why Striking a pH Balance Is Key

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Trying to assess problem skin is like diagnosing a troubled houseplant. Are yellow leaves a sign of overwatering—or underwatering? Does its droopy demeanor call for more light or fertilizer or whispered words of encouragement? In matters of complexion, the root causes of flare-ups—dry patches, redness, stubborn breakouts—can be similarly hard to pin down, leading to resigned inaction or, often worse, aggressive offense. The better way forward? Consider gentler products that play well with the skin’s natural pH.

That scale, if you recall from chemistry class, assesses where a substance falls on the spectrum from 0 (battery acid) to 14 (drain cleaner), with 7 marking the metaphorical Switzerland (water). “The skin’s natural environment is more acidic, which is why we call it the ‘acid mantle,’ ” says Los Angeles dermatologist Karyn Grossman, M.D., referring to the lipid-rich outermost layer. She puts optimal pH between 4 and 6, which creates a hospitable environment for beneficial flora and also “helps to keep the outside world out and the inside world in.” But when the pH swings out of whack and the barrier breaks down—something that intense peels or harsh, stripping soaps can trigger—the result is often written plainly on your face.

Marisa Vara Arredondo, the founder of the skin-care line Phace Bioactive, knows it well. “As a teenager I had really bad cystic acne, and I tried everything: antibiotics, sulfur, benzoyl peroxide. I would scrub with a buff puff and Neutrogena soap, which at the time was very alkaline,” she recalls of her pendulum swings between breakout and blitzkrieg. Only later, after a recurrence in her 20s, did she come to understand the role of pH, which spurred her to formulate products with the acid mantle in mind. While her seven products range from a dark-spot serum to a décolletage cream, her hero product remains the most routine: the Detoxifying Gel Cleanser. The pH (3.0-3.5) is stated plainly on the bottle, and the ingredient list takes a do-no-harm approach, pairing a mild coconut-derived surfactant with fruit enzymes to boost cell turnover.

If a pH-balanced skin barrier promotes healthy flora, can flora return the favor? According to New York dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, M.D., the answer is yes. “Probiotics have been shown to repair a disrupted acid mantle by restoring an acidic skin pH, reducing oxygen free-radical damage, and improving skin-barrier function,” he explains. It’s a worthwhile case for trying Aurelia’s probiotic-powered products (as if the dreamy essential oil scents weren’t enough). According to founder Claire Vero, the probiotic technology is designed to help “manage the inflammation in the skin by targeting [its] natural defense mechanism”—something that’s no doubt taxed by exposure to pollution, UV, and other routine stressors. The nourishing fatty acids in Aurelia’s Cell Repair Night Oil are icing on the cake.

 

The post Are Harsh Products Throwing Off Your Skin? Why Striking a pH Balance Is Key appeared first on Vogue.

Toying With a Post-Election Move to Canada? We Have Your Beauty Needs Covered

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In any given election year, there comes a point in the wave of voter anxiety when an unlikely third option emerges as the topic of conversation: Canada. This time around, we can expect even more would-be defectors, with recent polls showing historically strong distaste for the two front-runners. In service of those readying their escape plans—or those simply dusting off their passports for a summertime jaunt north—we’ve rounded up the best in beauty, health, and fitness in three fair cities: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Whichever way the race swings, there are plenty of reasons for a border crossing.

Montreal
The best place for the newly arrived to get their feet wet? At Bota Bota, the floating spa docked in the St. Lawrence River along the city’s Vieux Port. Should the Nordic-style water circuit not prove detoxifying enough, there are more than a dozen massage styles on offer—including one with a live harpist. Stock your fridge with gut-friendly fermented foods, like tiny glass pots of Cult Yogurt, made with Jersey cow milk sourced from Quebec farms, and local kombucha by Rise (Rose + Schizandra is a standout) and Fous de L’île  (ditto Cerise). Then stock your bathroom with cold-processed soap by Carriage 44, whose signature hand-cut black bars come fortified with activated bamboo charcoal. For the workout-weary, Le Saint-Jude, a gym located in a converted 1905 church, might offer divine inspiration, along with circuit training and Pilates; those looking for challenging flows will find them at Le Studio de Yoga Wanderlust (kin to the namesake festival) and Element Yoga (good vibes, good people). The salon Two Horses, run by tattoo artist Jessi Preston and stylist Sara-Isobel Mulder, is a beacon for the well-coiffed and well-inked. When it’s all over, make your way to Le Café Bloom for avocado tartines and radish-studded salads.

Toronto
Two of the city’s loveliest small-batch makers—Fran Miller, who blends oils under the name F. Miller, and Karen Kim, who mines her Korean roots for her Binu Binu bar soaps—are friends, and so are their wares, which turn up alongside Sophie Buhai jewelry and Maryam Nassir Zadeh sandals at the boutique Ewanika. (Keep an eye out for Miller’s floral-water Toning Mist and Kim’s Hibiscus Cleansing Balm, both due this summer.) The convergence of naturals and aesthetics continues with Greenhouse Juice Co., whose cold-pressed blends (East of Eden; Rabbit, Run) take a literary bent, and with Kupfert & Kim’s daytime cafés, where the virtuous fare includes avocado smoothie bowls and brown rice congee topped with house-made kimchi. For hair with serious edge, follow Canada native Grimes’s lead and head to DNS (short for Day + Night), the salon and creative consultancy responsible for the musician’s dip-dyed purple locks seen in this year’s “Kill V. Maim” video. Hands-on treatment of a more restorative sort can be found at Province Apothecary, where founder Julie Clark gives holistic facials using her herb-focused skin care. Need more mental clarity? Will, a new line of fitness-focused aromatherapy, has handsomely designed olfactive inhalers to help you cool down or speed up; the Drake Hotel offers mindfulness workshops in “How To Not Give a Sh*t”; and Scandinave, a two-hour drive outside Toronto, lets you soak and steam amid birch, pine, and maple trees.

Vancouver
When a city is as renowned for its natural beauty as this one, it follows that it boasts no shortage of artisanal plant-based soaps (courtesy of hometown makers Woodlot) or botanical body lotions in starkly chic packaging (Sangre de Fruta). For the rest of your clean skin-care needs, seek out Green & Pure, which carries Vancouver-born Rose-Marie Swift’s makeup line, RMS Beauty, and Canada’s Matcha Ninja. Tea lovers will find an even larger array of rare brews at O5 Tea, stocked with fermented pu-erh, delicate Yunnan Silver Needle, and newly arrived green varieties. Over at Le Marché St. George, a gorgeous general store and café, you can refuel with a chai latte and crepes while browsing locally made Belmondo skin care (with wistful names like The Cloud and The Rain), Canada-grown golden quinoa from Grain, and Janaki Larsen ceramics. Work up a sweat at the Vinyasa studio One Yoga or at Tight Club Athletics, which offers a mix of boxing, strength training, and balance work. Then hit Stanley Park for its ocean views or Lighthouse Park for its tree-lined trails. Afterwards, soothe your hard-earned aches with the Arnica Rescue balm by Saje.

 

The post Toying With a Post-Election Move to Canada? We Have Your Beauty Needs Covered appeared first on Vogue.


5 Butt-Sculpting Classes to Work Your Best Asset All Summer

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With Beyoncé on tour, capturing the global gaze with her music, her magnetism, and that justifiably celebrated derriere, isn’t it time for a little self-reflection—in profile view or, better yet, from behind? After all, what you can get away with in winter (say, slouchy Levi’s and Spanx-like leggings) changes in summer when breezy sundresses and bikinis are default weekend wear.

“We are a crisis clinic right now with the launch of bathing-suit season,” fitness impresario David Barton says with a laugh. At his latest gym, TMPL, which opened three months ago in Manhattan’s Hells Kitchen neighborhood, the rear end does not take the back seat. “We have a whole room devoted to the lower body—of course, we affectionately call it the Butt Room,” he explains of the sleek basement-level space, where it’s not uncommon to see women lining up at the squat rack, erasing the evidence of a modern sedentary lifestyle. “Sitting at a desk all day long was not what the body was actually made for,” he says. “Given the inactivity that we are faced with 23 hours a day, we have to spend that other hour activating the muscles in the glutes and training in such a way that they’re going to respond by defying gravity.”

Easier said than done—but not impossible. “Change is within one’s grasp!” Barton says, explaining that a well-rounded mix of exercises targeting muscles around the thighs and backside can sculpt and reshape the posterior landscape. To that end, we’ve rounded up five classes around the country that aim to get the butt in high gear. “I can rattle off benefits all day long of having strength in the lower body—everything from walking up stairs to being able to more efficiently pump blood,” Barton says. “Last but certainly not least: Looking good on the beach.” We’ll second that.

Shake Up the Squats at TMPL in New York City
Thirty minutes for a dialed-in, rear-centric class might seem quick until you’re pulsing in a deep lunge, legs quaking. Props vary per instructor (seek out the spirited Bryan Jarrett, TMPL’s group fitness manager), but expect a mix of resistance bands, free weights, and a step platform to shake up the squats, stabilizing moves, and balance work. Cool down with a dip in the dimly lit saltwater pool—not to mention some quality time with a foam roller.
tmplgym.com

Boost Your Lower-Body Power at Equinox in Miami
The aptly named Best Butt Ever workout—which revs up the glutes and whittles the waist—might be offered around the country at Equinox’s many well-appointed locations, but it seems most at home in this sun-soaked, party-ready city. Come prepared to use gliding discs for advanced plank variations, dumbbells for isometric holds, and a step board to boost lower-body power and cardiovascular endurance.
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Target the Glutes at Rise Nation in Los Angeles
Personal trainer Jason Walsh boasts a high-profile client base, but at his boutique rock climbing studio in West Hollywood, his entire fitness flock is on the up-and-up. The concentrated 30-minute Climb class takes place on a VersaClimber that’s momentum-neutral, meaning all movement is hard-won. “Climbing not only targets the glutes, but also minimizes impact on bones and joints,” Walsh explains. And with exercises that hit multiple muscle groups, “you get more bang per minute invested.”
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Kick Your Own Butt at modelFIT in New York City
Long, strong, and lean is the end game at this downtown studio that’s popular among its namesake clientele. Though the focus of the Sculpt class series varies, a recent hour-long session with trainer Lauren Ashley revived that cliché about kicking butt. Lateral lifts with ankle weights, dynamic lunges on gliders, and tabletop rear extensions are only the beginning—and, with practice, the start of a powerhouse seat.
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Fine-Tune It All at On Your Mark in Chicago
At this pair of handsome, industrial-style gyms, functional movement reigns supreme, as seen in their group class approach. A 45-minute abs and glutes–focused class cycles through core-strengthening planks, squats turbo-charged with medicine balls, and toning balance exercises, all with fine-tuned corrections from the hands-on teacher—a taste of what’s on offer with their popular personal training sessions.
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Trying to Kick Coffee? Here Are 7 Alternative Ways to Fuel Your Morning High

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Is coffee friend or foe? According to the headlines regularly splashing across wellness sites, the pendulum seems to swing with some frequency. On one hand, a growing body of research shows a wide-ranging host of potential health benefits associated with the drink, including lower risks of cardiovascular disease and cirrhosis. On the other, there’s talk in alternative-medicine circles that a cup (or two or three) can stress out your adrenals and shift sleep patterns.

There’s an empty cold brew—delicious, gone too soon—next to this coffee drinker as I type, and yet even I can recall fruitful breaks from the habit; a few days after the fog subsided, I remember waking up clearer-headed and more even-keeled, the sine curve of energy spikes and dips noticeably smoother. Flirting with the idea of another break, I cast around for inspiration and asked a group of herbalists, wellness gurus, and chefs for their favorite alternatives. Between an almond milk smoothie fortified with skin-boosting probiotics and a bottled tonic spiked with fulvic acid and adaptogenic herbs, here are seven new ways to jump-start the morning, one for every day of the week, from a few of our favorite experts.

 

1. Lulu Luchaire

 

Cofounder of Torii Labs, Los Angeles

The drink: A full glass of water to rehydrate, followed by Torii Awake—her line’s bottled tonic, formulated with fulvic acid, organic goji and ginger juices, and adaptogenic herbs (rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra).

The how-to: “I take it out of the fridge, give it a good shake, and drink it straight from the bottle; I feel like the gesture is associated in my brain with that morning kick we are all looking for,” says Luchaire. While the tonic “helps me start my day energized and focused,” she explains that it also makes a nice substitute during another type of break. “Sometimes when I do my dry month, I have a Torii Awake in a whiskey glass with a big ice cube. It is the best alternative to alcohol and has a real punch to it and little sugar content.”

 

2. Kerrilynn Pamer and Cindy DiPrima

 

Founders of CAP Beauty, New York City

The drink: Elevating Hot Chocolate. “Cutting out coffee can be hard,” the two admit, who devised this warming tonic to “activate the brain and keep you going all day.” They offer a primer on the potent ingredients: “Mucuna pruriens lifts the mood, cordyceps enhances mental power and stamina, and astragalus maintains energy levels and whole-body function.”

The how-to: Pamer and DiPrima’s nourishing recipe, below, is powered by superfood supplements stocked at their West Village apothecary.

1 T raw, organic, and biodynamic cacao
1/2 tsp. mucuna pruriens
1/2 tsp. cordyceps
1/2 tsp. astragalus
Pinch of pink Himalayan salt
Pinch of raw dried vanilla or splash of organic vanilla extract
1 to 2 T coconut butter
8 oz. hot water
1 T raw honey (if desired)
Add ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth, creamy, and frothy.

 

3. Cortney Burns

 

Co-chef of Bar Tartine, San Francisco

The drink: Breakaway matcha. “I’ve been off coffee for a while now, so this matcha is my daily ritual,” explains Burns, who runs the celebrated Bay Area restaurant alongside Nick Balla. “I make it for myself when I get to work in the morning. It turns my brain on, cranks up the ketones, and gets me ready for a full day.”

The how-to: “I like to drink it with Brain Octane oil, coconut oil, cinnamon, and vanilla,” she says; she also might add in collagen and a tablespoon or two of grass-fed butter. If a blender isn’t handy, no problem. When she’s on the road, she just “shakes like hell in a thermos!”

 

4. Carla Oates

 

Founder of The Beauty Chef, Sydney

The drink: “I live on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, so I start my day with a walk or run along the beach. When I return home, I whip up a smoothie,” says Oates, whose line of probiotic powders and tonics have taken off across wellness circles. “It’s jam-packed with nutrients that feed my skin from the inside, and gives me a huge energy boost.”

The how-to: Loaded with antioxidants, omega-3s, and gut-friendly superfoods, this GLOW, Blueberry, and Cinnamon smoothie is refreshingly simple and serves two.

2 cups frozen blueberries (you can also use fresh, but frozen berries will chill the smoothie)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 banana
2 tsp. The Beauty Chef Glow Inner Beauty Powder
2 tsp. chia seeds (ideally, soaked overnight or for at least one hour)
2 cups almond milk

Mix everything together well in a blender.

 

5. Mo Clancy

 

Founder of Seed + Salt, San Francisco

The drink: “For years, I have a parsley-thyme-lemon tea prior to my yoga every morning,” says Clancy, whose plant-based, gluten-free café puts an elevated spin on clean eating. She calls out the herbs’ antimicrobial properties, as well as lemon’s vitamin C. “The entire experience puts me in a nourished and happy space for the day!”

The how-to: “I take a handful of organic parsley and thyme and throw them in my beautiful Lynn Mahon ceramic mug with warm water and one-half squeezed organic lemon,” she says. Simple as that.

 

6. Adriana Ayales

 

Herbalist and founder of Anima Mundi Apothecary, Brooklyn

The drink: Get High Morning Tonic, an “exquisite [coffee] alternative that actually boosts my body and mind,” says Ayales, whose book Healing Tonics debuted earlier this month. She credits chaga with stimulating the immune system and another adaptogen, maca, with an energizing effect, while green coffee helps increase focus.

The how-to: Ayales developed this warming, balancing herbal drink as a gentler stand-in for her onetime coffee habit.

2 T chaga powder
2 tsp. green coffee bean powder
1 tsp. maca powder
12 to 16 oz. boiling water
Stevia, honey, or your choice of sweetener (optional)
Almond milk, or your choice of milk (optional)

In a French press or large teapot, add the herbs and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the herbs and enjoy! If you’d like it extra strong, simmer in a pot for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

7. Lauren Dodge and Brooke Rewa

 

Founders of Pure Potions, Los Angeles

The drink: “I’m obsessed with the Latte Elixir recipe we created,” Rewa says of her go-to morning drink, which can be made with any of the line’s three herbal powders. (Her favorite is Beauty; Dodge prefers Longevity, which she blends into an avocado-berry smoothie.) For Rewa, the warm tonic is both indulgent and deeply nourishing. “The frothy rose-cinnamon flavor makes me feel like I can take a deep breath and start the day with a clear mind,” she says.

The how-to: Healthy fats and a well-rounded blend of herbs make this a potent wake-up elixir.

1 T of your favorite Pure Potion
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. hemp seeds
1 date
8 oz. hot water

Put all ingredients in a blender, and blend until creamy and frothy.

 

The post Trying to Kick Coffee? Here Are 7 Alternative Ways to Fuel Your Morning High appeared first on Vogue.

Summer Vacation Starts Now! 9 Citrus Perfumes for the Ultimate Sunny Escape

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citrus

Soaking up other peoples’ vacation photos is one of the upsides of Instagram—a flash of vicarious living that can spark a change of scenery, not to mention a well-timed change of scent. For me, that moment arrived last month, when newlywed friends set off for the Amalfi Coast: land of azure waters, dramatic cliffside backdrops, and legendary, palm-size lemons. It was as though the screen were scratch-and-sniff, so strong was my craving for a bracingly crisp citrus cologne. Could there be a more perfect summer perfume—zippy and seemingly fresh-squeezed—to snap you out of jet lag or accompany you onto a salt-sprayed sailboat? And so we’ve rounded up the best and brightest fragrances of the season, threaded with notes of lime or Calabrian bergamot, mandarin or grapefruit. Topping it all off with an Aperol spritz (orange slice as garnish, naturally) is only fitting.

 

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In Praise of the Butt: A New Photography Book Celebrates 50 Women (and Their Best Assets)

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Photo: Kava Gorna

What is it that magnetizes the camera to certain subjects again and again for a unified body of work? Sometimes it’s the body itself. In her new book, 100 Cheeksthe New York photographer Kava Gorna trains her lens on a single, sculptural aspect of the female form: namely, the butt. The concept is a simple one. All fifty women—including Jemima Kirke, Pamela Love, and others in her wide circle of friends, collaborators, and downtown acquaintances—wear a treasured pair of Levi’s, and the crop is tight: The course of study here, as writer (and subject) Thessaly La Force playfully explains in the introduction, is “epic booties.”

“There’s no one standard of what the perfect proportion is,” Gorna says over iced tea at a Soho café, her ripped-up Ksubi jeans inviting in the early-summer breeze. While body diversity wasn’t the expressed goal of her five-year project, the resulting portfolio is nuanced and individualistic, with silhouette, pose, and denim wear-and-tear creating loosely sketched portraits. (Images of the other 100 cheeks—the subjects’ faces—accompany intimate, atmospheric descriptions at the back of the book.) “I wanted to photograph women that I knew and was inspired by, in the hopes of inspiring people to be self-confident with themselves,” Gorna muses.

Love can second that. “I’ve always felt like my butt is too big for the rest of my body,” the jewelry designer confesses with a laugh, “so it was interesting to be in a situation where you had to be proud of it.” During her portrait session, the two women climbed to the roof of Love’s studio for an iconic Manhattan shot with the Empire State Building—only to discover that a new high-rise had suddenly intervened. In the end, Love supplied the scenery, reclining like a modern odalisque in Levi’s she retrofitted with the denim company Re/Done.

Gorna’s eye for shape and volume isn’t lost on Joana Avillez, whose illustrations grace The New Yorker and Apartamento, and whose rear view sets orange-tab jeans against white flat file cabinets—an unconventional portrait of the artist. “She sees women’s bodies and the way she wants you to pose,” Avillez says of the photographer’s ability to capture light and stoke a sense of daring.

While the gaze is unmistakably female (at least on Gorna’s part; forthcoming copies at Karma, Saturdays, and Urban Outfitters will catch the eyes of both genders), the project is hardly restrained in sensuality. Between some sartorial choices—Edward Scissorhanded jeans; high-waisted, high-cuffed shorts—and a few provocative up-tipped angles, this is a bold celebration of the derriere. “I think we need more women telling other women that it’s sexy,” says Kirke, who embraced unvarnished nudity—“no flattering lighting, no flattering poses”—as Jessa on Girls this season. When she was growing up in the ’90s, “the message was that you shouldn’t have a fat butt, and now that’s completely changed, which is awesome,” Kirke adds, explaining that she’s surveying her curves in the mirror in her underwear as we speak. Now, “the world is very butt-centric.”

Indeed it is, between Beyoncé’s thigh-baring bodysuits, a coalition of Instagrammers with a certain selfie specialty, and a spate of glutes-minded workouts. Gorna gets it. “There are, like, five types of leg lifts that I do—they kick your butt so hard,” she says of her at-home routine, which is augmented by a fifth-floor walk-up. Also partial to an old-school leg lift: Daphne Javitch, another 100 Cheeks subject, who, as the founder of Ten Undies and now an integrative nutritionist, has given a lot of thought to body positivity. “When you go to a beach in Brazil”—where her husband is from—“old, young, tall, short, fat, thin women are all wearing the smallest bathing suits,” she says. “It’s empowering to see that when we look at each other, we’re not as critical as we are when we look at ourselves.”

Gorna is bringing that same spirit of openness to her assignments for the revamped Playboy. “I think it’s an interesting challenge, now that the nudity is presented in a totally different way. And I love that they are not obsessed with retouching,” she says, noting that her own photos, shot on her Contax G2, are largely presented as is, save for stray shadows and such. “It’s really exciting to have the body be the body.” We’ll toast—bottoms up—to that.

100 Cheeks, by Kava Gorna, $35; kindredblack.com

 

The post In Praise of the Butt: A New Photography Book Celebrates 50 Women (and Their Best Assets) appeared first on Vogue.

5 Delicious Vegetable Grill Ideas That Will Make You Forget About Meat

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grilling

When mulling over meatless options for the long season of outdoor grilling, it might seem strange to poll an Argentinian. After all, in that South American nation, land of gauchos and steer, it’s not uncommon to roast an entire cow for a 200-person wedding, or, say, a visiting prime minister of China, as chef Norberto Piattoni did in his four years working alongside Francis Mallmann.

While vegetables aren’t exactly the base of the food pyramid in Argentina (meat and starch invariably dominate, explains Piattoni), the rising chef has encountered his fair share of produce over the past three years in the United States, where a stint in Los Angeles sparked a love affair with the Santa Monica farmers’ market and time in the kitchen at San Francisco’s Bar Tartine fueled an interest in old-school methods of fermentation. “Everything is going back to the roots of cooking,” he says, and “cooking with fire is elemental.”

It’s also a culinary through-line for Piattoni, who grew up with regular asados in his hometown of Federación. Later this fall, that lifetime of grilling experience will culminate in a new restaurant in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, where he’s designing “an homage to an Argentinian fire pit, with a plancha, a grill, and different options of cooking using a wood-oven stove.” In the meantime, you’re likely to find the chef stocking up on lighter fare at the Union Square and Grand Army Plaza greenmarkets. “In this part of the year, spring and summer, you have all these beautiful vegetables in the market. Having a fire basically gives you a chance to put everything there—leeks, scallions, kale, corn,” he says.

With that in mind, Piattoni has singled out five favorite ingredients to grill now, as shown off in these unfussy, of-the-moment recipes. (He favors the Argentinian method, where hot coals and ashes transferred from a wood fire supply the radiant heat, but an American-style grill, with flames beneath the grate, also works.) For more immediate gratification, seek out his summerlong pop-up at Bushwick’s Fitzcarraldo, where you can sample the smoked-tomato vinaigrette, below; or sign up for tomorrow night’s alfresco dinner at Pioneer Works, where you’ll find whole beets buried in the glowing coals.

Summer Squash
“I was cooking the other weekend in upstate New York, and we made this dish: It was farro with charred summer squash, with lots of herbs and lemon,” Piattoni says. His preferred method of cooking is largely hands-off: Nestle the whole squash in the coals until it’s lightly charred, then wipe off any ashes and coarsely chop. (You can also split the squash in half, brush with olive oil, and grill cut-side down.) To finish off the salad, toss the squash and farro with lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. “And all the herbs you can find, basically—it’s summertime,” he says. “Mint, for sure, and parsley and chives.”

Cherry Tomatoes
How do you give a crisp green salad the savory heft of, say, brisket? Smoked-tomato vinaigrette. “It’s just the flavor from the hickory that we use. It’s pretty tasty,” Piattoni says. (We can vouch for that.) The how-to involves a simple, layered setup: First, spread hickory chips inside a stainless-steel hotel pan, then stack a second perforated pan on top; inside that, set little dishes filled with cherry tomatoes. Cover and set over hot coals, letting the tomatoes smoke. They’ll emerge browned and a little wilted, at which point you can peel, de-seed, and puree them in a blender. “For the vinaigrette, I’m using this rosé wine vinegar, roasted garlic, salt, pepper, and oil. That’s it!” he says. Pair with a handful of greens (he singles out the speckled Castelfranco radicchio), marjoram, and a dusting of bread crumbs.

Peaches
“Another thing that’s really good to grill right now is peaches,” Piattoni says, pointing out their versatility in everything from salads to uncomplicated desserts. After halving the fruit and removing the pits, cook them cut-side down in a cast-iron skillet or directly on the grill. “Season with some vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and mix it with arugula or serve it with basil and cheese, like burrata or stracciatella,” he suggests. Skewing sweet? Stick with the classics—vanilla ice cream or mascarpone cheese with a touch of cream—along with mint and pistachios.

Eggplant
“Eggplant is something I like to char, so I throw it right in the coals,” explains Piattoni. As with the summer squash, you’ll want to wipe off the ashes before slicing it lengthwise in half. Next comes a drizzle of garlic oil, herbs like marjoram and oregano, and salt and pepper; “maybe some sherry vinegar for some acidity,” he adds. The garlic oil can be made one of two ways: by gently warming a clove or two of garlic in oil “and let it kind of confit,” he says, or by chopping it finely and infusing it overnight. (If you’re doing the latter, strain out the garlic if you’re planning to store it for more than a couple days.)

Sweet Corn
On the cob, grilled corn is a backyard barbecue staple. “It also can be a really easy and really summery salad,” Piattoni says of the candy-like kernels. After removing the husk and cornsilk, brush the cob with oil before grilling, to give extra depth of flavor. “You don’t need to char it,” he notes; you just want it to brown slightly, coaxing out the natural sweetness. When the kernels have been sliced off, combine them with halved grape tomatoes, torn basil, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.

 

The post 5 Delicious Vegetable Grill Ideas That Will Make You Forget About Meat appeared first on Vogue.

#TBT Fitness Edition: Vogue Editors on Their Earliest (and Cutest!) Exercise Habits

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workouts

What is the #TBT phenomenon all about? Showing off your most adorable—and sometimes most endearingly awkward—childhood photos, sure. But when you narrow the focus to fitness, the resulting images offer a window into matters of health (as in Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative), culture (is that a Flashdance-inspired sweatshirt?), and gender equality (with more and more sports open to girls).

Those impressionable early years also happen to be a smart time to introduce lifelong passions and skills, which makes a case for adding, say, rowing, running, and ronds de jambe to the usual three Rs. With that in mind, the editors of Vogue have mined their photo albums for exercise-minded throwbacks that capture where a love of swimming, soccer, and high jumping was born. Even if a few pursuits invariably failed to take off—we can’t all grow up to be ballerinas or basketball players—here are the valuable lessons that still resonate today.

The post #TBT Fitness Edition: Vogue Editors on Their Earliest (and Cutest!) Exercise Habits appeared first on Vogue.

4 SPF Face Mists That Won’t Mess With Your Makeup

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spf face mists

Doctor’s orders, we know: Apply and reapply sunscreen for the best chance at UV protection. It’s easy enough to forget at the beach, with waves to catch or books to settle into. Then there are the routine days around town, when you leave the house with a slick of skin-saving SPF, only to find yourself, hours later, basking in the sunshine with your avocado (or rutabaga) toast. Is that morning shield still working for you?

Good question. Chemical filters break down with sun exposure (less likely if you’ve camped out in the shade of the office), while physical blocks wipe away with perspiration (easy enough on a sticky subway ride). Either way, the wise move is to cover your bases anew, and there’s a fresh class of sunscreens for the job: SPF face mists. Cooling in summer, kind to makeup, they bring a level of ease to what used to be a greasy chore. “The more user-friendly we make sunscreen application, the better people are going to get at using it,” says Miami dermatologist Joely Kaufman, M.D. Not only is a spray more sanitary on the go, Kaufman points out, it’s also a convenient way to coat areas like the backs of the hands; otherwise, she adds, “people hate putting cream sunscreen on because it gets on your papers or your steering wheel.”

Gary Goldfaden, M.D., another dermatologist in sunny South Florida, emphasizes the mists’ supersmooth application. “Studies have shown that particles in spray formulas are so small that they can effectively coat the uneven surface of the epidermis better than creams,” explains Goldfaden, who recommends topping off every hour in direct sunlight; look for non-aerosols for the environment’s sake, he notes. Given that the proper dose of a mist can be hard to gauge, Kaufman suggests sticking with your first line of defense and treating these as midday refreshers—and with many produced in handbag-friendly sizes, that’s simple enough to do.

 

The post 4 SPF Face Mists That Won’t Mess With Your Makeup appeared first on Vogue.


Meet the New Floral Oil That Will Radically Change Your Skin

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blue

It’s easy to be a skeptic in the beauty world, where every ingredient is prefaced by the word It and every berry called a “super.” But once in a while, something comes along that holds people’s attention for a little longer—where the blend of efficacy and sheer visual impact sets it a cut above the rest. Case in point: the startlingly aquamarine floral oil called blue tansy. Distilled from a North African flower (its nickname is Moroccan chamomile), the raw material has become a favorite among small-batch skin-care makers—and not just because it looks like it splashed out of a David Hockney pool painting.

May Lindstrom, founder of a namesake Los Angeles–based line, says the floral oil was under the radar when she first came across it in a botanical book about a decade ago, but its inflammation-taming properties piqued her interest as someone who has long battled flare-ups of eczema and dermatitis. When formulating her products, she incorporated the ingredient into her topaz-color face balm, The Blue Cocoon. Nourishing for everyday use and “medicine,” Lindstrom says, for those with sensitive skin, the balm also passes along blue tansy’s reported aromatherapeutic benefits: “What it does for the outside, it does for the inside. It’s anti-anxiety for your skin,” she says.

Julia Wills and Alex Kummerow, the couple behind Seattle’s Herbivore Botanicals, sought out “ingredients that would be balancing, anti-inflammatory, and still hydrating,” recalls Wills, who, given her combination skin, made a particularly good test subject for blue tansy. It wound up being the standout component in the line’s Lapis face oil. Blue tansy also lends its name—and soothing qualities—to the brand’s gentle resurfacing mask.

Between the season’s muggy outdoor air and drying blasts of air conditioning, blue tansy’s equilibrating effects might prove to be just what your summer skin is looking for—and when vacation is in the rearview mirror, those relaxing vibes promise to come in handy, too. Above, eight ways to incorporate the flower into your routine.

 

 

 

The post Meet the New Floral Oil That Will Radically Change Your Skin appeared first on Vogue.

Yes, Helmet Hair Can Be Chic! Stylish Riders Share Their Best Tips

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helmet hair

Is there any better advertisement for city cycling than watching a fashion editor speed away from a runway show on her bike, while the rest of the scrum jostles for an Uber? A clean getaway is always chic—but, when it comes to helmet hair, a clean arrival can be more elusive. As one Vogue.com writer (anonymity requested; the shame!) tells me of her risky riding, “Basically I have such flat and unfortunate hair to start that extra sweat and flattening seems like a nonstarter.” When it comes to avoiding said helmet, she’s not immune to finger-wagging: “My mom totally scolds me every time I see her.” Of course, the merits of protective headgear are indisputable, as we’ve already witnessed in wince-worthy accidents during this month’s Tour de France. To prove that style and safety need not be mutually exclusive, we’ve polled a fashionable set of helmet-abiding cyclists (and one ne plus ultra scooter devotee) for tips on arriving in one well-coiffed piece.

Which brings us to that exemplar of effortless French girl hair, Caroline de Maigret, the model and music producer who zips around Paris on her black Peugeot. Her trick for an instant refresh “is to pretend my helmet is difficult to take off, so I have to bend over,” she explains (note: her oft-photographed helmet—as much accessory as protective measure—is made by Ruby). From that upside-down stance, “I flip my hair so it doesn’t look too flat,” she adds, emphasizing her hard-and-fast rule: “Being safe is more interesting than any hairdo!”

The Citi Bike–riding publicist Celine Kaplan has even found certain advantages to the precautionary measure. Under her gold Cyclechic version, she often wears a large braid to lay the groundwork for loose waves. “My helmet acts like a salon dryer,” she reports, adding that a spritz of Christophe Robin’s rose-scented mist lends extra lift. Plus, she says, “I am really into the bed-hair look.”

Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, Vogue’s Style Editor at Large, agrees. During her teenage years, she explains, “I did find that sometimes helmet hair, especially on freshly washed hair, can add the perfect bit of grit and sweat, and it almost looks like a deliberate textured blowout.” (She admits she may not be a poster child for helmet adherence of late, but she did just order a matte black one from Tokyobike.) Designer Lela Rose goes a step further, tying on a scarf over her hair before she straps on her helmet. “It seems to keep things in place a bit more,” says the year-round rider. And Vogue.com Photo Producer Sophia Li prefers another summer-appropriate distraction: “I bring a straw hat along for the ride and throw it in the basket of the bike,” she says of her quick swap.

Of course, it’s not squarely a women’s issue, though Vogue Senior Editors Taylor Antrim and Corey Seymour can get away with merely raking their fingers through their hair upon dismounting (the latter, who parks his bike near restaurants with large plate-glass windows, sneaks a glance in the makeshift mirrors). Of the two kinds of helmets, Seymour explains, the “dweeby, super-techie” ones let in more airflow near the scalp, while the “cooler-looking—and safer for city riding—helmets give your hair the full-on helmet press.” Not that Seymour is complaining. The last time he biked without one, a young child swerved in front of him, sending him airborne—and to the hospital for eight stitches along his scalp line. “I would have traded helmet hair for this option on any day,” he says. To which we say: Happy, and safe, trails to all.

 

The post Yes, Helmet Hair Can Be Chic! Stylish Riders Share Their Best Tips appeared first on Vogue.

A Toast to Mocktails! 3 Pregnancy-Approved Coolers From a New York Bartender and Chic Mom-to-Be

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summer mocktails

In moments of high stress, who among us doesn’t yearn for a stiff drink? Natasha David, co-owner of the Manhattan cocktail destination Nitecap (with Death & Co founders Alex Day and David Kaplan), knows the feeling. This week, the two-year-old bar is in the midst of a whirlwind move and reopens down the street on July 18. “It’s been super-fun to do six months pregnant,” David says with good-natured irony. “I wish I could drink a real drink!”

Leave it to the veteran bartender, who has logged time at celebrated eateries Maison Premiere, Maialino, and Mayahuel, to come to her own rescue with three summery recipes created for Vogue.com. Mocktail making comes naturally to David; she’s long made it a point to offer more than bare-bones seltzer or lemonade to mothers-to-be, so they “feel like they’re part of the party,” she explains. It helps that Nitecap has a well-stocked arsenal of alcohol-free ingredients. “We’re always using fresh, seasonal things to make syrups or infusions,” she says.

Of course, other aspects of her job have been challenging of late. “Basically, to prove that I was a badass, I really wanted to bartend until the day I popped the baby out,” David says with a laugh. However, between upset stomachs and a pinched sciatic nerve that made standing difficult, she’s temporarily retired her post behind the bar. Then there is recipe testing. “We just did an entire menu launch, and I actually came up with quite a few drinks without physically tasting them myself,” she explains, adding that the process helped her to trust her instincts with flavor. “The rumor about how you develop super-smelling when you’re pregnant is absolutely true,” she insists. “I feel like I could smell things in spirits that I’ve never smelled before.” She put that sharpened nose to work—together with tasting notes from her husband, Jeremy Oertel, another noted bartender—when finalizing the wine list.

The shift into pregnancy has left its mark on David’s natural-beauty routine, which includes Dr. Hauschka skin care, Schmidt’s deodorant (“It actually works”), and generous applications of coconut oil: “So far, no stretch marks—knock on wood!” It also informs these three recipes. Spring Fling, with a base of caffeine-free hibiscus tea, skews acidic in its flavor profile. “What really helps my morning sickness is something that’s super-citrusy,” she says, “so the idea was to create a fruity and refreshing drink, but with a lot of tartness to it.” The second, a twist on a Pimm’s Cup that she calls Garden Variety, features vitamin-rich carrot juice and fresh ginger, which “for a pregnant woman is like a miracle! It automatically makes you feel better,” she says. The last, Stop Time, is an homage to the margarita, “the one drink that I am missing most,” David confesses. Her take, with earthy cilantro and a hint of jalapeño for spice, is a worthy stand-in.

 

Summer Mocktails
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Garden Variety

Photo: Courtesy of Natasha David

 

Garden Variety

 

2 slices cucumbers
3 oz. fresh carrot juice
1.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
0.5 oz. ginger syrup

Directions
Muddle the cucumber slices at the bottom of a shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the shaker; add ice and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a wineglass with crushed ice. Garnish with a cucumber slice and a fresh mint bouquet.

*Ginger syrup: 1 part fresh ginger juice to 2 parts organic cane sugar. Combine in a blender until sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes).

 

Spring Fling

 

1 strawberry
3 oz. hibiscus tea (chilled)
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup
Splash seltzer

Directions
At the bottom of a shaker, lightly muddle the strawberry. Add all ingredients expect the seltzer to the shaker; add ice and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a double rocks glass with ice and top with a splash of seltzer. Garnish with a lemon and strawberry wheel.

*Simple syrup: Equal parts organic cane sugar and water. Combine in a blender until sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes).

 

Summer Mocktails
Expand

Stop Time

Photo: Courtesy of Natasha David

 

Stop Time

 

2 slices raw jalapeños
2 sprigs fresh cilantro
3 oz. fresh pineapple juice
2 oz. fresh lime juice
2 oz. simple syrup

Directions
At the bottom of a shaker, muddle the jalapeño and cilantro. Add the rest of the ingredients to the shaker; add ice and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a pineapple half-wheel and 3 pineapple fronds.

 

Nitecap reopens July 18 at 151 Rivington Street; nitecapnyc.com

 

 

The post A Toast to Mocktails! 3 Pregnancy-Approved Coolers From a New York Bartender and Chic Mom-to-Be appeared first on Vogue.

How a Plus-Size Model Broke the Body Mold and Started a Cult Skincare Line

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land-of-women

For those of us who grew up dreaming of pared-down lingerie—and resorted to snipping bows off so many frilly bras—Land of Women is a kind of quiet oasis. When the New York underwear label, founded by plus-size model Mckenzie Raley, introduced its debut six-piece collection in late 2013, the cuts offered sly takes on the classics (including a sans-underwire bra that accommodated up to a D cup), and the one-note palette was direct. “We stripped it of color so the actual women would shine through,” Raley, radiant in said black, told me over coffee last week. “Now we want to do the same thing for skin care.”

True to that spirit of understated cool, Land of Women Skin launches today with three everyday essentials: a face oil laced with musk, a moisturizing rose balm, and a cuticle oil. Packaged in low-profile (and UV-protective) black glass, the trio is designed with the traveler in mind, as seen in the oils’ easy-to-apply rollerballs. The extension into beauty made sense, “because it’s all these things that are closest to a woman,” says Raley, who credits her education in beneficial skin-care ingredients to posing for brands like H&M and Levi’s. “The cool thing about modeling is that it’s an ongoing internship. I always connected with the makeup artists because they’re so passionate and so health-conscious.”

Raley carried those lessons into her products, which began as personal experiments before she partnered with a small lab in Berkeley, California. Loaded with nourishing naturals (squalane, rose hip oil), they project the same bien dans sa peau ease that her triangle bras and high-waisted briefs do—an effortless sense of well-being that also courses through LoW’s images, with castings that cut across size and age barriers. Here, Raley speaks with Vogue.com about her passion for skin care, the enduring influence of Isabella Rossellini and Anjelica Huston, and why plus-size campaigns should leave out labels.

 

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Photo: Stas Komarovski

What does Land of Women mean to you?
I wanted to create a name that all women could relate to, and it inspires this image of a woman who is very liberated. Even saying Land of Women, it makes you want to run through a field. I look at old photos of Isabella Rossellini, Anjelica Huston in the ’70s, even Grace Kelly stripped down, and makeup—aside from editorial, of course—didn’t seem like their main focus, and neither did hyper-femininity. They wore what they wore in their own way, and that’s exactly what I wanted Land of Women to be.

What prompted the shift into beauty?
It’s a huge passion project. I love skin care, and I’ve always kind of made my own cosmetics. To me, it was most about what ingredients made my skin happiest, and then I did some alchemy of my own, figuring out what’s oil- and water-soluble.

With so many skin-care lines going 100 percent natural, was there any hesitation in using petrolatum in your rose balm?
There are a lot of opinions about petrolatum. The one we use is in its purest form; it’s medical grade—they use it on patients in hospitals. It’s not a scary word to me. It’s also an incredible emollient. Ultimately, this is what skin care is all about. You choose what you like, and that’s what resonated.

And then the two oils round out the collection.
They all live together. Recently I went to Colorado, and the air there is incredibly dry, and my skin was screaming for attention. I used the face oil to use as a base, and then the balm worked for those dry patches when I was skiing or sleeping. A great thing about the balm is it creates this immediate glow—even when your skin is really dull. And the cuticle oil: To have healthy hands, for any woman at any age, is really lovely.

Any other beauty essentials? You told me once that you’re a fan of SK-II sheet masks.
Oh yeah! Who isn’t? I love Laura Mercier. The oils, the tinted moisturizer—I’m obsessed. There is this lanolin egg-white soap [by Victoria Scandinavian Soap] that is the best soap I’ve ever used; I’m really loyal to that. And I really like RMS—the concealers and cheek stains. I customize so many things. I’m a big eyebrow freak with getting the shape right, and I’ve actually crushed different eye shadows so it’s the perfect shade.

As someone who seems comfortable in her own skin, did you ever have body hang-ups?
I think every woman does. Sometimes I’ll look at things in a certain way and think, I could lose five pounds. The great thing about plus-size modeling is you can be a 10 or a 14—anywhere in between is game. I’m Scandinavian; I’m built a certain way. I’m never going to be a size 6, and that’s fine! I’m stoked. I’m at a good point in my life.

Are you sensing a shift in the modeling world?
Yeah. We’ve never shot a double-zero model, and with the exception of removing one tattoo, we don’t retouch, either. We recently did an awesome shoot with girls who were, I think, size 8, 10, and 12. It’s just more relatable. It’s happier. I think the biggest way to make a statement about size is to not mention it. Don’t say plus-size shoot. Just shoot her like you would shoot anybody else!

You’re just as apt to buck age norms. I’m thinking of that gorgeous silver-haired model.
Yazemeenah Rossi. She’s incredible; she just exudes contentment. What’s missing in the lingerie market is age! It’s youth-obsessed. Granted, she’s in incredible shape. It’s important to see that this woman can also wear this bra.

Wow! Talk about empowering.
Yeah! I just want to, like, go upstate and live in Eileen Fisher and my Land of Women bra and braid my hair at night. That sounds so relaxing. [laughs] 

 

 

The post How a Plus-Size Model Broke the Body Mold and Started a Cult Skincare Line appeared first on Vogue.

Meet the New Brooklyn Perfume Shop That’s Bottling Cool

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ds and durga

I am three steps across the threshold at D.S. & Durga’s new atelier in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, and already David Moltz is calling out from the back room, “Do you want to come smell this rose? It just bloomed!” Following his trail through the glass doors and into the sun-drenched yard, I find the perfumer crouched over a bright pink blossom that seems to dwarf the tiny rosebush. “Lemony,” he says as I lean down for a whiff. “I think it’s named after Paul McCartney.”

Of course it is. Launched in 2008 by David (the nose) and his wife, Kavi (the designer), D.S. & Durga is known for transposing lyrical stories—often riffing on music and literature—into layered, imaginative scents. Born of the indie maker movement and initially stocked by local boutiques and concept shops, the brand has emerged as an influential player in the niche fragrance world. The namesake line is in the midst of an ultrachic rebranding, exchanging the original botanical illustrations for graphic type wrapped around cylindrical bottles. The rest of the output includes the Hylnds collection, inspired by the myths and landscapes of Scotland and Ireland; offbeat candles (one pays tribute to a diesel-fueled 1985 Mercedes); and collaborations with Linda Rodin and El Cosmico, the free-spirited hotel in Marfa, Texas.

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Photo: Courtesy of D.S. & Durga

After fielding more than a few emails from fans inquiring where to find the full lineup, the couple now has a definitive answer: on the white lacquered shelves of their first-ever showroom, where viewings this summer can be arranged by appointment. Starting in September, they’ll also hold regular Saturday hours, though visitors will still need to look for Kavi’s custom-designed neon iconography in the window, in lieu of traditional signage. Surveying D.S. & Durga’s works-in-process, as with all artist’s studios, is one of the singular appeals of the new space. “I walk around Brooklyn all the time with our kids, and we know where all the flowers are,” David explains of the neighborhood tours that have sparked a series of flower-copy perfumes yet in development. “This year I made a really realistic wisteria, and I’ll show you the honeysuckle that I’m working on,” he says, picking up a bottle with a winsome hand-drawn label. “It’s really close, but it’s slightly metallic.”

In addition to that silvery honeysuckle scent, you’ll find other experimental creations on the shelf, including one that pays homage to the “plastic-y grape” smell of cassette tapes, and another featuring fossilized amber from the Baltic Sea. If you take a liking to one, David can price it out and custom-blend a bottle. In the meantime, there are plenty of ready-to-wear scents to choose from—chief among them, the three just-launched perfumes, complete with Kavi’s striking architectural boxes. Radio Bombay, what David calls a “deconstructed sandalwood,” imagines an old tube amp that heats up and releases “little puffs of peach and coconut and musk and cedar.” Rose Atlantic is a green oceanic twist on the East Coast’s Rosa rugosa, with a nod to “Sinatra and the summer wind.” And White Peacock Lily “smells like the real crazy, spicy lily,” he says. “It took me months to go back and forth between real lilies and this and add in all the strange little notes.”

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Photo: Courtesy of D.S. & Durga / @dsanddurga

Which is why the Bed-Stuy studio, with its airy backyard, is especially promising. “We want to have as many fragrant plants as possible,” David says of his hope to build a living scent library, adding to the geranium, juniper, lavender, and velvety purple heliotrope that are already there. “We’re thinking of doing a deck and putting ivy and honeysuckle and rose climbers on it,” he adds. The two plan to use the space to host events that blend perfume and music (David is a longtime musician). Till then, the studio’s deep collection of vinyl will supply the soundtrack—and, just maybe, some fittingly eccentric olfactory inspiration.

D.S. & Durga
1192 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn.
Open by appointment and, starting in September, on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

 

 

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The post Meet the New Brooklyn Perfume Shop That’s Bottling Cool appeared first on Vogue.

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