Arizona Muse For Vogue UK February 2012

Can you ever have too much Arizona Muse??

I'm so bored with winter.

So seeing Arizona Muse working bright

exciting color for spring

is like a breath of fresh air.

And as always,

she is superb.

Shot by Patrick Demarchelier,

styled by Lucinda Chambers

in fun shades, cropped tops and high waists,

Bakelite jewelry and retro inspired designs

offset with a little rockabilly twist

by hairstylist Neil Moodle

and bright engaging makeup by Hannah Murray.

Can you feel it??

Vogue UK February 2012

 Little Miss Sunshine

All Roads Lead To Pacetto Blog

I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven when I found this blog!

Chelsea Christensen is an American girl who moved to Italy to be with the Italian man she loves.

She has a business called Italian Postcards (click here for her Etsy store)

and she blogs about my favorite subject, life in Italy.

I can spend hours reading and re-reading her posts, and in fact, I do.

Here is a pre Christmas blog from All Roads Lead To Pacetto,

but I do recommend that you click the link at the bottom and go to Chelsea's blog, see what time it is in Italia, and start scrolling.

Mi piace....

Flavor of the Month

The flavor of the month at Grom gelatoria is panettone! If you had not yet had the pleasure of panettone let me give you a quick description. It's a orange flavor sponge cake with candied fruits baked inside. It was first made in Milan and takes 3 days to make because the dough is actually cured like sourdough. It's traditionally eaten at Christmas dinner for dessert with a sweet sparkling wine, and the the next day for breakfast with hot chocolate.

The panettone gelato starts with a dense creamy orange base infused with chunks of candied fruits. It's delicious. I would say that the only thing missing is the crunchy sugary crust which is for me the best part.

Follow All Roads Lead To Pacetto here
Check out this interview with Chelsea in Italy Magazine

Skin Obsession - New Year's Resolution

In the beauty game, probably the very best New Year's Resolution you can make,
and adhere to, is to take care of your skin.

image by Eric Cassee

Nothing makes a bigger impact than a great complexion.
You can have mad skills at doing winged liner or a fierce smoky eye, but if the complexion wearing it is looking substandard, the whole look falls down.
Conversely, you can be totally challenged at makeup trickery, but with beautiful skin, some good eyebrows and a killer lipstick, you can look and feel like a million dollars.
Here is an overview of some of the basics:

 Girlfriend's Guide To Great Skin

1. Get your skin analyzed.
Whether you go see a facialist or have the girls behind the counter check your skin, get a opinion from someone in the know.
Frequently people make the wrong assessment of their skin type, and consequently use all the wrong products.
Most commonly I see girls using  products for oily skin, when at best they are normal/combination, thus stripping the life out of their skin.
A little shine on the nose or through the T Zone doesn't mean you're oily. It pretty much makes you normal.

2. Get The Right Cleanser For Your Skin Type.
You need a cleanser that will dissolve makeup and give you a good, deep clean.
Unless you are oily or acneic you probably don't need a foaming wash cleanser. Look for a gentle cleansing milk that doesn't strip the skin.

3. Exfoliate.
Most skins benefit from regular exfoliation.
By removing the dead surface cells regularly, you are left with glowing, fresh skin.
Personally I'm not a huge fan of exfoliating scrubs, as I always think they are scratching the baby skin underneath. I prefer enzyme masks that dissolve the glue that holds dead skin cells to the surface. I also get my clients using the Clarisonic daily. I couldn't live without mine...

4. Apply Moisturizer. Liberally.
If you want youthful looking skin you have to treat it right. A big part of that equation is using a good moisturizer, and using it liberally.
I see girls smear the tiniest amount across their cheeks and think they're done.
Not so. You need to apply a decent amount and really massage it in to your entire face.
Just imagine all the bits you get will look pretty, and all the parts you miss will get totally ugly.
Only apply moisturizer where you want to look pretty...

5. Use A Facial SPF. Every Single Day
Don't fall for the "my moisturizer/foundation/powder has SPF in it" routine.
If your products do have SPF in them, consider that a bonus. But after moisturizing every morning, use a freestanding facial SPF of at least 30. I use SPF 85.
And again, only put it on the parts you want to look pretty. Don't bother using it on any bits that you want to look like either a weather beaten old cowboy or a 100 year old alligator woman.
And don't forget your neck and chest.

6. Take Off Your Makeup Every Night.
Cleanse your skin every night.
Period.
Think of all the pollutants in the air that your skin has been exposed to throughout your day, and imagine your left over makeup holding them tight against your face. Also imagine the dirt and grime of the day filling up your pores. Gross. Clean it.
And follow up said cleansing with serums and nighttime moisturizing products, depending on your skin type and needs.

7. Clean Your Makeup Brushes.

Ideally once a week clean all the makeup brushes you've been using.
Oils and bacteria build up in dirty brushes and can lead to a variety of skin ailments.
On shoots we clean every brush, every time, but at home on your own brushes you can get away with a weekly cleaning of most brushes. (clean more frequently if needed).
Use a very mild soap or baby shampoo and lukewarm water. Reshape and lie brushes flat to dry.


8. Change Your Pillowcases.
At least once a week change your pillowcase. More frequently if you are noticing problems with your skin.
Often an unclean pillowcase can be contributing to breakouts.
Silk pillowcases are thought to prevent sleep creases on the skin. Whether that is true or not - who knows? But they certainly feel lovely.

9. Cleanse After The Gym.
After working up a good sweat (or even a not so good one) make sure you cleanse your face and re moisturize. Try to avoid working out with makeup on if possible.

10. Shelter Your Skin From The Sun.
Keep your face out of the sun.
Wear hats with brims to shade your face, ears and neck.
Wear big sunglasses to shade your eye area.
Supple, beautiful, luminous skin and direct sunlight don't go together. Its really that simple.

Model Katie Bunn
Photographer Eric Cassee
Hair Will Zecco
Makeup Corinna Cooke

Skin Obsession Vogue China January 2012

If you're going to feed a new year obsession,

it might as well be a skin obsession.

The key to any look really being fabulous

is an amazing complexion.

Unless you are a genetic mutant

it takes work.

Tons of work.

Maybe I'll do a girlfriend's guide to great skin tomorrow.

But for now

Vogue China January 2012

Skin Obsession

photographed by Jem Mitchell

Model Lily Donaldson

Christian Louboutin At Home In Aswan

A few years ago I had an amazing vacation in Aswan.

I loved it.

I also love Christian Louboutin.

Reading about his retreat in Aswan in Elle Decor

I could feel the magic.

Well, in my mind I could anyway...

Want to escape to the banks of the Nile?

I do

Hanging lantern in Louboutin's dining room

From Elle Decor

written by Ruben Modigliani

all images by Ivan Terestchenko

French shoe designer Christian Louboutin lives between two worlds. 

One is the realm of fashion and star-studded events—the signature red-soled stilettos he creates make regular appearances on international red carpets. 

The other is a private retreat nestled in the desert near the Egyptian city of Aswân, 

not far from the banks of the Nile. (The ruins of an ancient temple stand within walking distance of his house.) Louboutin comes here throughout the year to design new collections, rest, and practice yoga.

Louboutin's desk at his Aswan home. Inspiring non?

Once a craftsman’s workshop, the building is made of earthen bricks, 

employing a technique that has been used in Egypt for thousands of years. 

Louboutin added an additional floor and a rooftop belvedere with views of the surrounding desert. Construction wasn’t easy: In this area, temperatures can fluctuate rapidly, and building materials are often scarce. “A thousand times I thought I was going out of my mind,” he jokes.

The rooms are decorated with pieces Louboutin has collected on his travels: 

Uzbek embroidered fabrics, Moroccan rugs, handmade furniture from Cameroon. 

The waxed terra-cotta floors invite barefoot living. 

Still, the heart of the home is the open-air courtyard, with a fireplace that blazes through the cool desert evenings. 

Moroccan rugs and Bedouin cushions in the center courtyard

Among so many traditional furnishings, one piece is a reminder that we’re in the 21st century: the ultramodern telescope on the roof, trained on the stars.

bed draped with a traditional suzani from Uzbekestan

Moroccan dining tables inlaid with zelige, a type of tilework

Add caption

See more at Elle Decor


P.S. Could Ruben be a descendent?? Intrigued!

New Year, New You, Juvederm Tear Trough Fill

I spent a hearty amount of time over November and December at the Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale,
observing and learning about the magic that is the injectible face lift.
These days girls and women can put off going under the knife, instead opting for the less invasive, less expensive, medical artistry that comes via a needle.

The crucial factor here is that you must go to someone completely brilliant in the field. Any yahoo can shoot you up with botox, and leave you looking perpetually terrified, or give you overinflated fish-lips, but a true medical artist will give you a face that moves and has expression, will give you back the glow of youth, and do it in such a way that no one will know you've been "enhanced".
You absolutely must do your research to find a truly great practitioner, or, if you are in or near Arizona, I've done it for you - go to the Blume Skin Centre.


Whether it be with the mother of the bride, an actor or a socialite, I was constantly escorting clients into the Blume offices for a little fine tuning, be it facial revolumizing, subtle yet exquisite lip enhancing, a little fine line and wrinkle removing, or the fastest road to youth I have ever seen, the Juvederm Tear Trough Fill.

Very few doctors will do the Tear Trough, as it is such a delicate and refined procedure.

image via makeupdict.com

To get an understanding of what is going on, you need to understand how light and shadow work.
When you are young the area under the eye has volume.
Its full and rounded, and light bounces off of it, making you look awake, alert, and youthful.

As you age, (and really this starts in your early 20's) you start to lose volume under the eyes, from the lower lash line to the upper cheek bone. You see a pronounced dip under the eye, which creates shadow and leaves you looking tired and older than your years.

Any place on your face that has craters or troughs, whether they be lost under eye volume, or the depths of a fine line or wrinkle, will suck up light and create a shadow within itself,

 making itself look bigger and more menacing, and making you look older.
When you fill these dips with injectable products like Juvederm, the surface area becomes smooth again, and light bounces off it, making you look younger.

When it comes to the under eye area, women typically pile on lighter shades of concealer,
trying to lift out the shadows and make the area look brighter and more alive. When the volume disappears under the eyes, the skin starts to sag a little, so now you have a whole lot of makeup on saggy skin, which not only is never a winning combination, but also makes you look even older.
Vicious circle, non?

A Juvederm Tear Trough Fill is a very quick and comparatively inexpensive procedure which lasts anywhere from a year to 2 years.
The procedures that I have watched have used less than one syringe of Juvederm for both eyes combined.
Dr Blume is nationally reknowned for his subtle lip enhancements, so with my clients he puts the remaining Juvederm into the lips, imperceptibly enhancing and redefining the lip border, ever so slightly fleshing out the pout.


The results are immediate. And spectacular.

Boys do it, girls do it.

They are also pain free, via topical numbing cream.

When your eyes have been refreshed you wear much less makeup. The skin looks brightened, the eyes look awakened. Its magic.

Before

after

before

after

You can find the Blume Skin Centre online at www.BlumeSkinTreatment.com

Anja Konstantinova For Lovecat #3

Here's a great way to start a new year!

Anja Konstantinova for Lovecat issue # 3.

I've blogged Anja's shoots before

but never realized how short she is!

5'4" is so short for a model,

but she is so incredibly fierce

I doubt anyone cares.

The world is full of pretty girls with great legs,

but not many have eyes that can suck you in,

make you believe,

tell you a story.

Anja has that magic.

But in a little body.

Photographer Sybil Steele

Styled by Mandy Shadforth

Hair and Makeup by Ashlea Penfold