Garance, I have extremely curly hair, much like yours. I’m wondering what products you use seeing as you seem to have the non frizz zone down to a science. Please share your secret!!! Magen.

Magen, hello! The goddess with the thrown together bun curly hair is talking to you. Okay, here we go…

It’s true, I’ve tried everything and I’ve realized two essential truths:

1/ Every head of hair is different and so what works for me isn’t necessarily going to work for you.

2/ Every location is different and the water and air (humidity levels) in any given place can completely change the texture of your hair.

So, it really comes down to you trying everything and adapting what works. For me, since getting here to New York, my hair has exploded. My curls are ten times crazier than they were in Paris and frizzies are my daily nightmare. Here’s the battalion of products I use just to calm my hair hysteria:

• Shampoo

- The Shampoing à la Moelle de Bambou by Leonor Greyl is my favorite. I feel like it thoroughly nourishes and protects my hair.

• Conditioner

- I tend to go with whatever’s here as long as it softens my hair. Right now, I really like Bumble and Bumble’s Let it Shine. Because really, what’s more important to me is :

• Leave in Conditioner

This is just crazy in my cabinet. I’ve got a million of them. My two favorites are:

- Creme with Silk Groom, by Kiehl’s : whenever my hair is just too crazy. This balm adds considerable weight to the texture and shine and is great for days when I don’t have time to really style my hair. It calms everything down and gives me some nice bouncy curls. Be careful not to put too much in though or it can get greasy.

- One of my all time favorites whether I’m in Paris, New York or Timbuktu (Never been, but you know what I mean), is the crème Oleo-Curl by Kérastase. It works great anywhere. It’s a lot lighter than the one from Kiehl’s and is so great when I have time to dry my hair because it gives it some nice curls without weighing it down. My hair is soft and shiny and not at all greasy.

And just because I’m always testing out new things, I bought some Moroccan Oil (haven’t tried it yet), the Supershine Moisturizing Cream by Oribe (tried it, sooo good), Brilliant Glossing by Fekkai (awesome) and still a million others that I’ll tell you about if I get good results.

One last thing… When I put my hair up (which is often), to avoid little frizzes escaping out, I spray a little shot of Elnett hairspray. And for really bad hair days, last time I talked to you about my dry shampoo.

There you have it, all my favorite products. Everything here I’ve used for years so go give ‘em a try.

Outside of that, I’ve recently discovered a cool new trick, I like to wash my hair in the evening. I dry it quickly and put in some leave in conditionner and I don’t know why but after a night on the pillow, my hair is super soft and not frizzy at all.

And there you go Magen! I hoped I answered your question? That’s it for my anti-frizz science!

What about you guys? Do you have any advice for curly hair that works for you?

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Other entries from the Reader’s Mailbox ?

What’s the perfect pant length?
How to wear black nail polish?
How to put together a functional (and fabulous) wardrobe?
How to take care of your eyebrows?
What do you think of juice cleanses?

And of course, if you want to ask me a question, you can do it here. Big hugs!

Translation : Tim Sullivan

I love Preetma’s style. Why, you ask?

Pffff, you ask so many questions. I think it’s because she is surprising. Like take here, for example… This is the first time I saw her. It was at fashion week last September.

Which brings me to the following conclusion, and fasten your seat belts everyone to this theory of fashion and style from Professor Gaga:

I think you can’t create your own style by trying to conceptualize or reproduce someone else’s or some celebrity’s or some movement whatever it might be (Minimalist? Retro? Rock? )(Believe me, I’ve tried them all)(You want me to do a post about all the styles I’ve tried?)(Oh man, yeah, I gotta do that. I’m laughing just thinking about it.) but just combine the things that you love and let your ideas have room to roam (even if it means having days where your look ends up being totally catastrophic. Yep, I’ve had those too.)

And even if it’s a floral skirt and a pair of Creepers, well, why not?

By not being like everyone else and listening only to your taste, you make your own style. And one day people will copy it !!! Yep. That’d be way too cool.

Don’t you go thanking me now. But I know. I’m a genius.

No but seriously, you know what I mean? (Not that I’m a genius, but this whole thing with individual style?)

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On that, if you want to hear more of my fancy theories on style and fashion, I’m giving a talk on Monday at F.I.T. and it’s open to the public. If you’re in New York, put it on your calendar!!! I’ll get you more info ASAP.

Translation : Tim Sullivan

Caroline’s career is really interesting and I’ve wanted to talk to you about her for a long time now. Not only because she’s as funny as she is brilliant, but also because her career path was anything but linear.

By the end of the interview, she’ll tell us how she went from finance to the front rows of the runway shows, what it means to be streetstyle blog darling and what an adventure it was to take on Tank, an independent art and fashion magazine based in London.

All that, plus this look that I just adore (a hoodie plus those dangly earings, so cooooool!), it’s getting a little out of hand today on this here blog. Ooookay! Come take a walk with Caroline!!! Big hugs!

I moved to Texas and helped with the acquisition of Snapple for Dr. Pepper. Then they moved me to Singapore, where my mom was from. There I worked on a financial services client and…that’s when I decided I hated financial services! I didn’t want to be reading books about mortgages on the weekends!!

…I wanted to read fashion magazines. So I asked my old firm to move me to their London office, and I got back into retail with Boots. (Editor’s Note : Woh, I guess you shouldn’t be afraid to move when starting your career!)

I met Masoud Golsorkhi, the founder of Tank, through some mutual friends. He was looking for someone to help him run the business at the time. I was quite young and naïve and so I thought, “Hell, why not? I’m going to give up a really well paying job and become an entrepreneur in fashion publishing.”

How would you describe what you do at Tank?

On top of all of that, we have a dozen of clients through our consulting agency, Tank Form, at any given time. So it’s shooting an ad campaign or developing a web shop, which we just did for Vivienne Westwood.  We also do custom magazines for brands like Levi’s.

How do you feel about covering celebrities in magazines?

For us, celebrities are famous architects or interesting artists or people who do interesting things, it’s not necessarily the People or the US magazine celebrities that we go for.

The internet is so fast and economical…why do you continue to do print?

The thing is, nobody really knows what the right business model for online is.  So I think our biggest challenge right now is figuring out what is the right business model for online and for print.

And now…  Time to interview the celebrity !!! You’ve always been one of my favorite people to shoot for the blog! How has becoming a street style icon affected your work?

I think the biggest impact has been around helping Tank and BecauseLondon, getting people either interested in it again or to discover it for the first time.

You have to remember there’s a bigger picture. If you can read a newspaper every day and have a bigger perspective than the fashion bubble that exists, you become much more aware that fashion isn’t your whole life.

You’ve been in Vogue quite a bit recently, what are the perks and the pressures of being a public figure?

I know a lot of young people who are eager to start their own magazines. What advice would you give them?

Just sticking to your point of view and making sure whatever you put out has a very specific point of view. And that the people you work with really share that point of view.

That, and getting a great team. We have 22 people in our studio now. But you need a great publisher, you need a great creative director, and you need a great editor. Those 3 people will see you through years of ups and downs.

What is your biggest dream for the future?

Well, I would like to be the next SI Newhouse (The chairman & CEO of Condé Nast).  But, I want to be the next SI Newhouse with an on-line and print marriage that’s future proof.

—–

Ok ! So I think you know a little more about her work – I find it super cool… Well maybe it’s because mine is a little bit the same (except we’re much less than 22 at Garance Dore Studio !).

If you have other questions for Caroline, you can ask them in the comments or on Facebook, I love to bother her with my million questions. And if you want to know more about other careers, fashion or not, just make your suggestions ! I am listenning !

Have a great day !

Check out my other career posts here !!!

After hearing all the hullabaloo about the Clarisonic brush (that vibrating facial brush), “My skin is softer than ever!!!” “I’ve never had pores so clear!” “I love my brush so much I take it to bed with me!!!” I ended up going to Sephora to see for myself…

As soon as I walked in, the Clarisonic stand jumped right out at me. It was as shiny as can be. Right smack dab in the middle was the brush, with the soft allure of a nightstand sex-toy on its throne. I walk up, feel its bristles. Wow, it really is so soft. I make it vibrate. Hmmm, good vibes.

I grab a sales clerk:

“What do you think of this thing? Is it a little to abrasive? What product do you use it with? I have shiny skin and my one and only goal in life is to get my skin to be matte. Would this work for me? And do the little bacterias sit around and multiply in the bristles?”

This is what she says:

“Oh no no no. I love this thing. It’s not abrasive at all! Just feel the brush, touch it, TOUCH IT!!! It’s so soft. You can use it with your usual makeup remover. And just for total disclosure, I have shiny skin too. I bought one and well, look at the result!!! HOW GREAT IS THAT!?!?!”

Surprised, I smile at her with wide eyes. Total disclosure – I was amazed by just how shiny her skin was, like, you could see it from across the store: Her skin was shiny, I mean shiny, like really really shiny!!! Worse than a glazed donut. And if that’s what it does… Euhhhh…

I leave empty handed, a little disappointed, but still a little intrigued.

Ok. It was time to give a call to my skin savior, my skin’s best friend, the guru of my happy pores, the person whom leaving behind in Paris is my biggest regret in life… My dermatologist, the dear Doctor Marie-Catherine Planté.

Right off the bat, I ask her what she thinks of Clarisonic. She doesn’t seem too convinced (remember, she was the one who told me to stop using water), tells me that she’s going to look into a few things, and a few days later, I get an e-mail from her… Here’s a quick synopsis:

“Bonjour Garance,

I took a look time to study this skin torture device! Like I told you on the telephone, I’m going to have to put myself in the con-column against this machine.

So. Keep it simple: Your skin,when it comes to your face, have sebaceous glands that secrete sebum, a little greasy film that protects it. By continually destroying this sebum which is a normal bodily function and a protector, you’re putting your skin in danger.

The more we scrub the skin, the more it thickens to protect us.

It’s the same with exfoliation. It’s paradoxical, but it actually makes the skin thicker. So you think you’re refining the texture of the skin, you’re actually doing the opposite. And all the tiny little cavities and other lesions will burrow deeper which can end up giving the skin a grainy looking appearance. The skin will become like a memory foam mattress!

I think women should respect their faces like they respect their Louboutins : no water, no brushes, no abrasive products.

Talk to you soon Garance!”

Well. I think I made up my mind… I will stick to my essentials.

Whet about you, what do you think ? What is your favorite way to clean your skin ?

PS : A big thank you to Dr. Planté!!!

Translation : Tim Sullivan

Noooo wayyyyyyyyyy! That’s not chocolate!!! It’s style! Look at those prints. All you want to do is buy all of them just so you can coordinate.

Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away. If you live in New York, maybe you know these super trendy Mast Brothers chocolates made in Brooklyn by two very bearded men and distributed to all the chicest coffee shops in NYC. When I first saw them, I was just a little annoyed by those $8 tablets that danced around in all my favorite places. And since I’m more snobby than the snobbiest of snobs, I snubbed them.

Well, as you can see, the chocolate won : one day I saw the bar with the fancy anchor design and I couldn’t resist all of the beauty in the packaging. I bought one, had a taste, and really, the blend of chocolate, salt and almond made me fall head over heels. Like Rachel Zoe said, I died.

I suppose I should add for full disclosure that I’m totally addicted to chocolate, so it doesn’t take much. At the Studio, there are some who understand that bringing me a bar of chocolate is the best way to bribe me. So all that said, last time I was in Brooklyn, I went looking for this goodness at the source.

Here’s a few photos of their awesome boutique (and you can see their chocolate “factory” in the background, which is far less frightening than Willy Wonka’s). And on that, I’ll let you go.

I have to go ease my chocolaty conscience with some yoga.

Translation : Tim Sullivan

It’s super interesting.

I’m sure you’ve all heard that there will be no Céline show this season : Phoebe Philo, the famous artistic director for the brand, is expecting a baby in April and so has decided to replace the show (which has to be something terribly stressful) with an informal, intimate presentation.

We don’t know much more (and that’s how it should be), but the first reaction I had, personally, was to be super pleased by the strong message sent by the designer. After the downfall of designers in recent seasons, to see someone take the risk of actually giving herself a personal life, it shifted something for me… Something really hopeful.

We already knew that Phoebe Philo took a break between Chloé and Céline to take care of her kids – which potentially helped her develop her professional life as well if you consider the incredible comeback she’s had for the past four seasons. She also had the entire design studio move from Paris to London so she could stay close to her family.

And it’s just so cool how at all the shows, her parents are always there, right in the front row. Her way of navigating her professional and personal life is really inspiring.

Okay, all these sentiments are sweet and all, but I’m curious to see what happens with this Céline “no show.”

Some people say choosing not to show could put the brand at risk. In that case, if this “pause” for Céline results in some sort of loss of momentum – with people losing their jobs for example – will everyone point the finger at Phoebe Philo?
A friend was telling me about a story in the French newspaper Libération : there was a study showing that ethnic criteria, which used to be the first professional discrimination factor, has shifted back (yeah!), but the first factors now are gender and maternity / pregnancy (ouch).

As we can see, it doesn’t take a lot to scare the markets and the recruiters. So to cancel a show…

Tell me, what do you think of Phoebe Philo’s choice ?

Translation : Tim Sullivan

When someone told me that Solange Knowles was going to be the DJ for our party tonight at Tiffany, I practically fell out of my chair* : “Hoooow cool is thaaaat! She’s so cool we have to meet her!!! This is the perfect opportunity!”

And that’s how we ended up at her place in Brooklyn yesterday, taking a look through her closet, talking design and music (when she asked me if I wanted her to do a special dedication for me for the party, I didn’t know what to tell her – I feel like I’m about to become a lost cause when it comes to music.) and so it was a totally inspirational trip.

The colors and prints she surrounds herself with (in the picture, she’s wearing Marni pants and a vintage blouse), her haircut, and even the way she does her makeup… I’d been following her on her Damn Blog and she didn’t disappoint!

With that, I’ll stop with the superlatives and let you go. Scott just got back from two weeks and Europe and I’m so happy to be next to him again, finaaaaaallyyyy!!!

I’ll take some photos at the Tiffany party, I promise! Big hugs!

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* Yep, seriously… There were screams. There were shouts. I danced around the apartment. And I just about fell out of my chair. And that’s how it goes when I’m super happy. When I’m a little PO’d, I’m calm. Super calm. So yeah, that happens rarely.

Translation : Tim Sullivan

Here is a video that was taken during our Tiffany shoot. You can upload your own moments of love on Instagram using the #truelovepictures hashtag with the Tiffany filter…ahhhh…Valentine’s Day is soooon!

Oh, and by the way, I just opened my YouTube Channel…subscribe to it! There will be more to come there soon! ;)

There are certain women you see all the time on my blog, and that’s just simply because they inspire me the most.

Take Elisa for example. During the fashion weeks, I can always pick her out in a crowd. She’s the queen of color blocking and has the most feminine tomboy look I’ve ever seen. I just love it. That said, I wondered what she would say if I asked her the same questions Emmanuelle Alt was asked (that interview about Emmanuelle’s staples really stuck with me and I find myself going back to it all the time, and it even dates back to the 90s! Truly a timeless woman…) It was super last minute and she was in the middle of a shoot (Elisa is a stylist) but since she’s just such a dear heart, here’s what she responded…

My Top: a silk shirt buttoned all the way up, in any blue or turquoise shade.

My Bottom: Men’s shaped trousers that are a bit short at the ankles. My favorites are vintage Chloé from the Phoebe Philo period.

My Jeans: I have to say I have just recently started to wear jeans (I discovered them while I was pregnant) but my favorites now are a pair of skinny, but not too tight at the ankles (I hate that-I call it the leggings effect), beige Zara ones! I have worn that so much they are falling into pieces : (

My Evening: I’m always swearing on silk! Whatever it could be…a blouse with a pair of shantung masculine trousers or a Dries Van Noten silk dress (I’m obsessed right now with an emerald green one…)

My Intimates: La Perla for their amazing bras and Intimissimi panties, invisible ones: no stitching, no elastic bands, perfection!

My Coat: Mmmh I have too many and I love to change it all the time… But I would say my essential for this winter, and I’m really wearing it all the time, is a suuuuper light and incredibly soft blue-grey Fendi. It has a pretty classic shape, it’s knee length, with a hidden button.

My Bag: It’s the same as the coats … I don’t really have one in particular but in my wardrobe there are for sure essentials to have:

-One clutch bag or an envelope-shaped one.

-A really big one, like a shopping bag shape, a cabas in French, where you can put your life in it and mine includes a baby, so I always need enough space to put toys, etc…

My Shoes: Well, you know I’m a shoe freak… I don’t even know how many pairs I own…but for essentials I would definitely say:

-A pair of flat derbys, like the Fred from Louboutin.

-A pair of Repetto Zizi.

- A pair of very extravagant, very high heels like Pierre Hardy.

My Accessories: I love and live for accessories so they are definitely an essential for me! What I could not live without are belts, scarves, and necklaces!

My Watch: I don’t wear one, I make them go crazy… But if I would it would be a Chanel one, the small one with the chain bracelet.

My Glasses: Love sunglasses! My essentials are a pair of KBL’s.

My Scent: A very old Sicilian perfume called Zagara, it’s made from oranges and lemon trees flowers, and jasmine flower. I can’t live without it!!!

My Blonde: Platinum blonde always! Very cold tone, almost white! My Hair is always done by Karin Bigler, a wonderful hair stylist with who I work with a lot. She comes to my house or I go to her, since I haaate going to hair salons!

My Lip: Bright matte orange from Mac.

My Skin: Natural, I only use Bare Minerals and Nuxe gold oil.

My Inspiration: My inspirations are sooooo many! Art, photography, movies, vintage, nature !!! I do not really have icons but I do have a great great admiration for Coco Chanel and Wallis Simpson…

And there you have it!!! To close, here’s a quick Elisa tour… Big hugs!

Elisa in the photobooth at the Palais de Tokyo…

Elisa at Claus…

Elisa with Giovanna, Italia Poweeeeer ! (In a Lahssan trench, a young designer who makes amazing trenches.)

Elisa before she went all crazy platinum blonde.

A quick look at her shoe collection that I took for Vogue a million and a half years ago…

Translation : Tim Sullivan