1) Avocados 2) Oily fish 3) Red fruits and vegetables 4) Seeds 5) Apples and apricots
The wonder food fights aging among other skin woes. “Avocado is the best, it is rich in glutathione, which protects the body from toxins and is the most powerful antioxidant.”
Fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines are great weapons against aging and dry skin because they contain essential fatty acids, which keep your face hydrated and fresh-looking according to Peer.
“These are high in antioxidants,” Peer says. “So berries, red cabbage, red peppers, red grapes and red tomatoes, for example, are the best.” They help promote clear skin and even skin tone.
“When people eat nuts they tend to go for salted cashews, not healthy raw nuts,” she explains. “Seeds and raw nuts contain the vital oils our skin needs to fight dryness.” Peer says seeds also have skin-clearing vitamins and minerals like zinc and magnesium.
“Apples are rich in oxygen and peptin, which help reverse sun damage. And apricots are rich in beta-carotene and lipocene, which both protect the skin from age-related cell damage.”
Face time: The top five skin-friendly foods
MFW favs: Cuffed denim
Problem solved: Hangover helpers
Q: “Can you recommend any products that are good for sprucing up my face when I’m hung over? I don’t want to show that I’ve had a rough night in the office.” -Poppy A: “Drink two glasses of water with fresh orange pulp. Next, gently apply a rejuvenating 3 Lab Perfect Mask,” says New York-based dermatologist Dr. David Colbert, who counts Rachel Weisz, Naomi Campbell and Tina Fey as loyal clients. His book, “The High School Reunion Diet,” hits stores this January. “Or make your own by heating a fresh wet thin cotton washcloth briefly in the microwave, applying it to your face and then adding a layer of Neocutis Bio-restorative skin cream. No one will know you had three martinis the night before except your liver.”
Interview: Tamara Mellon talks Jimmy Choo for H&M
You’ve long lived in the world of luxury. Was it difficult to create an affordable collection for the masses that still maintains the ritzy aesthetic of Jimmy Choo? The H&M customer is slightly younger yet we wanted to stay true to what Jimmy Choo is. There’s always a rock chick there, but also a sense of elegance. The Jimmy Choo autumn ‘09 collection had a big Debbie Harry and punk rock chic inspiration with leopard print, neon, studs and dynamism. So that was our starting point. For H&M, you can see the trickle down effect. We were not sure at first whether we could use real leathers, studs, crystals and rivets, but when we found what was possible it completely exceeded our expectations. Prior to the H&M collaboration, had you ever shopped at the store before? I have certainly bought a few pieces from H&M in the past. They do great everyday basics that are still on trend for the wardrobe. What advice would you give to shoppers who want a more expensive-looking wardrobe, but on a budget? Invest in accessories. You can always modernize your look with key accessories. Did you approach the ready-to-wear design differently from the way you approached the shoes? If so, what were the major differences? When Margareta van den Bosch approached me with the idea of doing ready to wear as well as the accessories, I thought it would be a great opportunity to create the full look of a Jimmy Choo woman. We first designed the shoes and bags and then followed with the clothes. You could say the clothes are the “accessories” to the shoes and bags. When approaching the clothing collection I first thought , “What would I wear with the shoes and bags?” And Margareta was keen to do a party collection with the launch being in November. We created a fun, accessible collection to reach a young customer with a fashionable and independent spirit. Do you have any dates in mind for a formal ready-to-wear launch of your own? We have no plans to do a ready to wear for Jimmy Choo main line. You’re personally known for having a Hollywood kind of glamour. Do you ever slum around in sneakers or sweat pants? Do you own a pair of Uggs or fuzzy slippers?
But is it really blackface? A note about that Paris Vogue story.
“I would say no. But anything that is even suggestive of blackface, rings a bell. Does that make it offensive? That response is up to the individual reader or viewer,” says John Strausbaugh, the cultural critic and author of the book “Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult and Imitation in American Popular Culture.” “They could have painted her any color. They could have painted her green but they knew they were choosing black. But is it blackface? That’s the great enigma that is at the heart of blackface performance since the early 1820s and 1830s when you had mostly Irish, poor guys imitating black musicians,” he adds. Only, it is now 2009. Intellectually, it would be too easy to lump the fashion spread in with that heavy, back-breaking piece of baggage that carries Al Jolson, Bert Williams and the N-word. But our notion and experience of race and racism is too subtle and complex to interpret the photos in such a superficial way. The work is clearly coming from a different place than racist mimicry. Lara Stone is also painted white in the same story (most news articles have failed to run those photos.) The American photographer, Steven Meisel, meanwhile, also shot Vogue Italia’s all-black edition. Surely, he wouldn’t be so obtuse as to alienate an entire segment of people in such a simple way. Whether or not the story is an attempt to court controversy is another matter. But it’s clear this is a case of an artistic statement gone all kinds of haywire (whether the statement works is up to interpretation). But when is it art and when is it blackface? And is art that blurs the blackface line always a horrible, racist thing? Bethann Hardison doesn’t think so. “Presumption is an amazing thing and perception is an amazing thing,” she says. A longtime model agent, Hardison became an activist figure in fashion during the ’80s when she established the Black Girls Coalition, which eventually crusaded to convince fashion brands to hire more models of color for their ad campaigns. Two years ago, she spearheaded the movement to promote diversity in fashion that lead to the Vogue Italia black edition among other milestones. 
Hardison recounts how she canceled a public one-on-one panel she was planning to have with Naomi Campbell in New York this week. The two were going to talk about their experiences as black women in the fashion industry, but quickly called it off out of fear that its intention would get lost in Blackface-gate. “People would misconstrue our panel as being a reaction to that story. When really all of the misguided anger surrounding the article is just a distraction from more meaningful dialogue. We didn’t want our message to get distorted,” she says.
“We’re trying to promote long-term change regarding diversity,” Hardison says. Strausbaugh, meanwhile, thinks its great that people are talking, period. “We have this thing where we think, ‘If I don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist.’ But it’s good to have people talking about these issues in public,” he notes.
NYFW and MFW favorites: Color vs. black
Boys club: Movember Man
The month of Movember is rapidly approaching. No, that wasn’t a typo, Movember. Around the world, men will be growing mustaches of all manner of descriptions, to help raise awareness of Prostate Cancer. So we thought we would put together a quick guide to “tache” (as we like to call them in England) perfection. 1) Pick a style. These can range from the rather elaborate connoisseur (think circus ringmaster), to a short neat block of hair, which spans the width of the upper lip, known as the Major. Try to find a moustache style that compliments the structure of your face by asking a stylist at a men’s grooming salon or checking out celebrities who have similarly shaped faces. 2) Now, just because you’re growing facial hair doesn’t mean you have to regress to outright hairy Neanderthal status. Keep things trim and tidy using Tweezerman’s moustache scissors and comb. This will help you clean up any unwanted strays and random adolescent-looking offshoots of hair. 3) Maintain facial hair hygiene with the help of Jenulence Natural Beard shampoo and conditioner. This will give your moustache a healthy shine and prevent your reaquaintance with yesterday’s sundries. Cleanliness is especially important if you have a dense moustache as the skin beneath your facial hair may become dry and flaky, and nobody wants to be associated with an unkempt man –let alone kiss one. 4) Finally, try Clinique Beard Control Formula, which will keep the hairs soft and fine, and your skin well refreshed. And should you wish to shave away your newfound masculinity, this product will ensure a smooth operation.
Wedding stuff: No one wants to go broke being your bridesmaid
In addition to myself, about four friends of mine are planning weddings. The common theme among them all seems to be “budget chic.” Who wants to break the bank getting married? And who wants to be that annoying friend who expects the wedding party to go broke participating in The Big Day? I personally am not going the bridesmaid gown route, but I’ve been suggesting Two Birds to my newly engaged girlfriends. Ariane Goldman created the ingenious line after growing tired of shelling out money for bridesmaids dresses that were only going to end up buried in the back of her closet, never to be worn again. The concept is one silk jersey dress (inspired by Norma Kamali’s Infinity dress) that comes in two lengths (short and long) and can be worn 15 different ways (wrapped, knotted, twisted, you name it). The idea has gone over so well in the U.S. and Australia that Ariane is launching it in the UK this winter. That’s mostly because the dresses are pretty affordable as far as bridesmaids options go at €180 and is versatile enough to wear to whatever girls’ night, cocktail party, or office holiday fete you’ve got on your calendar. Bonus: The dresses don’t require any fittings.
OMG: Have you ever tried these things?
