Cashmere Aura

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I spent this past week in Paris. Paris is different in the fall than New York. She turns a beautiful tone of grey, softness in the sky, everything becomes sort of fuzzy. It was cold for the first time this autumn and I found myself wanting to be wrapped in cashmere and bathed in that perfect Parisian light that angles through the windows glowing off the surfaces of skin and disappearing into folds of fabric. Matching my current mood and experience completely was Donna Karan’s Cashmere Aura perfume. I have been a fan and a client as one of her photographers, for many years. Donna Karan represents the kind of woman I strive to be. Independent, confident, successful, world traveled, strong, elegant and most of all… a New Yorker.

But here I am in Paris, exploring the light and exploring new sides of my creativity, taking the time to really feel confident about who I became in New York, what all the hard work was for, and where I want it apply it in my work moving forward. I’ve been making notes about attributes about myself that I can now come to say define me. One of those is my love for scents. I am always perfumed. It’s a daily ritual for me. My hair is scented, my sheets are scented, my baths are scented, my candles are scented, whatever it is about my senses that loves the taste of good food and a beautiful painting also loves a beautiful scent.

I change my perfumes based on the weather. I change my perfume based on my mood. I apply the scents to my neck, behind my ears, on my chest, behind my knees, on the inside of my ankles and always before bed and most certainly on my way out the door. In all the apartment buildings I’ve lived in New York, I’ve always had neighbors comment to me how they loved the way I smelled and always knew when I had passed through the halls that day. That aura that we leave behind, that delicate piece of our existence.

This is a new fragrance in my collection sent to me by Donna Karan. In its luminous rose gold bottle, this mini art sculpture is inspired by the work of Donna Karan’s late husband which is something I’ve always found so touching about her perfumes. The notes are a bright and sparkling balance of modern florals with cashmeran, coumarin, vanilla, sandalwood accord, cassie absolute, ylang ylang, orris accord, sparkling aldehydes, Italian bergamot, and orange oil. A perfect projection for essence of a woman, confidently feminine, and her aura into the world.

My days in Paris were marked in my memories by this scent… and I hope a little piece of my aura was left behind. Below are images captured from moments of my life where I found the intimacy of perfume, skin, light, and life beautifully enraptured in creating the scent of a woman.

donna_karan_cashmere_aura_004donna_karan_cashmere_aura_003 Continue reading “Cashmere Aura”

Flowerbomb

For over 10 years Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb has been an exploding sensation of floral delight for passionate, energetic, independent and stylish women all around the globe. They asked us to create a Cinemagraph for this special anniversary evoking the power of rose and the release of that intoxicating scent on a warm summer rain shower they have managed to capture inside a bottle for us to enjoy day after day.

The scent which conjures up provocative femininity and a creative spirit is a modern interpretation of a female warrior, sweet but theatricality strong. A floral dance of freesia, jasmine, and centifolia rose balance with amber and patchouli make this perfume forever iconic.

#Flowerbomb #FlowerbombBuzz #ViktorandRolf

This Cinemagraph was sponsored by Viktor & Rolf

A Provence Playlist

Driving around the South of France is transportive enough visually, but nothing finishes an experience like the sound of music. Romantic, timeless, and sprinkled with French, here is something to take you to this place where oceans of roses bloom and everyplace you go looks like a fairytale

More Playlists!

Autumn Days || Rainy Days || Summer & Wine 

Renoir’s Garden || Winter Mornings

NARCISO Eau de Parfum Poudrée

In a delicate skin toned bottle, fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez created a new perfume inspired by sensuality. The sensuality of skin, the delicacy of fragrance, the seduction of memory evoked through scent. True to the designer’s cosmopolitan and minimalistic style, the perfume has a mature femininity. It’s a sophisticated confidence which to me is above all things, sexy.

NARCISO Eau de Parfum Poudrée is velvety, powdery musk. A floral bouquet of Bulgarian rose and white jasmine balanced with a woody vetiver and cedar.

“With the original NARCISO fragrance, I wanted to create an extremely sexy fragrance. NARCISO Eau de Parfum Poudrée captures feminity and its core in an even more seductive way. It is both tender and powerful – and immediately addictive.”

– Narciso Rodriguez

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Discovering the world of Diptyque

Celebrating 34 years of the french perfumer Diptyque.

Candles are a nightly ritual for me in our home. It not only perfumes the air into a story of that moment in time but it creates an ambiance that soothes my soul. Everyone looks more beautiful bathed in candle light and no room is complete without it. One of the best gifts I love to receive is that of a beautifully scented candle. Like in the above photograph, Kevin slipped this Fig Tree Diptyque candle under the Christmas tree for me, which I have saved to burn in June when figs are in season. It smells of summer and her grassiness, reminding me of my happiest moments in France each time I light it.

I recently had the opportunity to interview their very French and chic creative director, Myriam Badault, at a pop-up Bazaar at The Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn. 34 is a signifiant number for the brand I came to learn. It is the address of the starting point for Diptyque, the original store in Paris at 34 Saint Germain founded over 50 years ago and which still stands to this day. The name Diptyque actually derived from the structure of this store’s two facing windows. Voilà! But that’s not all – I came to find out that this brand is so much more than beautiful perfume candles.

Founded in 1961 by three friends: a painter, a set designer and an interior designer, they originally created printed upholstery fabrics. Soon after opening the shop they expanded their wares to become a sort of stylish Parisian bazaar, selling found objects from around the world with amusements of discovery from their artistic endeavors. It wasn’t until 1963 they began producing candles and perfumes in 1968 which the house is so known for today.

Celebrating 34 years of the french perfumer Diptyque.

Continue reading “Discovering the world of Diptyque”

CHANEL N°5 L’EAU

When I think of CHANEL, naturally I think of France and, more specifically, I think of Paris with her white walls and perfectly designed boulevards. But CHANEL is more than one place. It’s more than a fashion house, it’s a lifestyle. If you could live CHANEL, what kind of woman would you be?

You’d probably be the kind of woman who understands heritage, craftsmanship, quality, and artistry. You are confident and current, timeless and unforgettable, you possess a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’… You definitely possess a bottle of CHANEL N° 5 (and so did your mother, and possibly her mother). Perfume, like memories, can thread together our lives, taking us to places like a mystical time traveling fairy. I know, one day, the smell of fresh garden roses will remind my children and my grandchildren of me long after I’m gone. I hope those memories bring back love.

As all things CHANEL does, its perfume is created to perfection, with the highest quality ingredients, and is, of course, made in France. There is no place better in the world to manufacture perfume than on the beautiful French Riviera in Grasse, the cradle of French Perfumery since the 17th century. For over 170 years the fields you see depicted in this story have been owned by the same family, who have passed down knowledge from generation to generation; grandfathers working side by side with sons and grandsons. You can feel the heritage and deep rooted love walking the lanes of endless roses. For the past 30 years CHANEL has had a sole partnership with this family estate. It is here where they recently brought us to experience the 5th interpretation of CHANEL N° 5 called L’EAU, or water in French. According to CHANEL,N°5 L’EAU is not a cologne. Nor is it a diluted version of the original fragrance for, at CHANEL, each variation is a genuine olfactory creation. N°5 L’EAU is the N°5 of today. A composition under the banner of modernity, with freshness as its leitmotif. L’EAU, for water is essential. L’EAU, in praise of simplicity.”

When I arrived to the property I was struck with the overwhelming scent of roses. It was truly the most intoxicating smell I’ve ever experienced. Pure, intense, lovely; it completely wrapped around you, like being covered in nature’s kisses. Nothing will ever compare to the scent of those fields. I walked for hours among the rows of pink roses at different stages in their delicately blooming life span, the perfectly French light dancing warm and golden set against a blue sky. It was ideal bliss. Off in the distance, the chateau sits, proud and historic, like a fairytale from my childhood storybooks. I was, to put it simply, in heaven… even the photos can’t do it justice this time.

The new fragrance is wonderful. It’s timeless like the original N° 5 but modernized perfectly. Less musky, more vibrant. Less suited, more feminine. It’s all I wore while on my journey through Provence, and what I wear at home to travel back to this place… my heaven on earth.

Something that my friend, artist, and archaeologist Jean Pierre Soalhat said to me on my recent visit to Provence, “Our future is inside of our past.”  I believe this quote truly represents the heritage of Chanel’s brand, their perfumes, and certainly the driving force behind behind L’EAU, modernity guided by tradition. The memories that a perfect scent creates, reflect moments in our lives, the lives of our loved ones, memories that lead into our future and last forever.

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The May Bloom: Rose de Mai

40-50 tons of roses are produced in a season, handpicked by farmers. The blooms begin the last week of April and throughout the month of May.  At first light, every morning at 7am the buds will begin to bloom, two days after they have opened up their beautiful petals, they must be picked. The lifespan of one rose bush is 15-20 years.

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“And then, like a second wind, you can already hear the rustle of flowers. It sounds like the whisper of trembling tulle. Rose melds with oxygenated jasmine and a new fraction of ylang ylang, more modern than ever. You are plunged into the heart of the bouquet with a delectable dizziness that gives the impression of contact with each petal, its velvety touch, its fleshiness, its delicate lace, its changing shape.” -The house of CHANELCHANEL_No_5_LEAU_05 Continue reading “CHANEL N°5 L’EAU”

B.Balenciaga

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How does perfume emerge into the world? I recently tried Balenciaga’s newest creation by creative director Alexander Wang, called B.Balenciaga. The frosted bottle reminded me of a block of ice, perhaps a place where all creative ideas are frozen and then as they emerge into fruition begin to melt away, slowly, as ice turns into liquid.

As winter descends upon us I look forward to the spring, the thawing of ideas, the emergence of beautiful florals and that mossiness of the forest damp from the melting snow. But until then, I’ll take this scent made for women like me: romantic and modern, delicate as a flower and as strong as ice.

PS-  peek behind the scenes of this cinemagraph

Keith Haring + DKNY

I shoot a lot of amazing things for DKNY, from Fashion Week to new products, along with being one of their “Core Girls”. This was a really fun shoot we did at Ann Street Studio to celebrate their new fragrance for DKNY’s Be Delicious Art Collection inspired by Keith Haring. Like most New Yorkers, I think of Keith Haring as such a true New York artist. He was inspired by the city, used the city as his canvas and through that, found a unique and powerful voice. It makes sense that someone whose art was full of energy and color and so closely tied to New York would, even years after his death, find a collaboration in DKNY, such an energetic New York brand.

We took inspiration from them both, painting a mural in Haring’s style at the studio, keeping it simple and graphic, her red lips evoking his famous red heart and letting our model be young and free and a tad 80s inspired. We even drew from another famous New York City moment you might recall with Marilyn Monroe…

A celebration of art, youth, and all things New York in head to toe DKNY!

Featuring the artist’s iconic images the new DKNY Golden Delicious Art, Fresh Blossom Art and Be Delicious Art Inspired by Keith Haring feature a twist on each of the original scents.

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The smells of Florence

When you walk into the Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a beautiful scent wafts in the air, one that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years… Everything made here is an all natural, hand-crafted work of olfactory art, instructed by aged artisanal recipes.

For myself, I chose Tabacco Toscano, a light tobacco-scented perfume with touches of vanilla and amber. It’s the most popular scent among Florentines, and you know… when in Florence, smells as the Florentines do!

  Continue reading “The smells of Florence”

Be Delicious

Perfume is such a personal signature. I love how I can pass a stranger on the street and they smell like my first boyfriend, or when someone is wearing my college perfume and all of a sudden I’m taken back to that time in my life and I can remember things so vividly. My wedding day perfume, which I wore throughout our honeymoon, instantly takes me back to that day whenever I put it on now for romantic occasions. I love that: being able to remember a feeling, a moment, a time in my life just through the delicacy of scent.

By now you know my affection and long-term creative relationship with DKNY. I was looking at the Be Delicious bottle at the studio and I thought it could be fun to show visually the beauty of perfume… the way the glossy liquid swirls and how the light dances. If you know DKNY’s Be Delicious you know its main note is apple, fittingly so since DKNY is all about the BIG APPLE (see all the references now?). I love the opportunity Cinemagraphs give us to make things come to life and celebrate beauty even in small ways.

What is your favorite perfume? Do you change what you wear depending on the weather, your mood, your style that day, or where you are traveling to? Should you have one scent forever or should it change as we change in the course of life?

A Drop of Rose

Is there anything lovelier than receiving a dozen roses?… burying your nose into the classic & romantic fragrance is like hearing a nostalgic love song. A new perfume, “A Drop of Rose” by pureDKNY, allows you to enjoy that delicacy and romance all day. Whereas a bouquet will fade in time and the fragrance will become a distant memory, the perfume will leave you wrapped in pure rose essence.

You love the roses – so do I.

I wish the sky would rain down roses, as they rain

From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?

Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on.

They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet;

and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!

Roses by George Eliot

A Drop of Rose by pureDKNY is available here