Julia Frakes

Julia Frakes
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Julia Frakes

“I paint every other nail—I don’t know if it’s my seven-year-old self coming out who just can’t make a decision, but I’ve kind of been doing that forever. I get them done at A Spa on Irving Place or Sakura, which is on 1st street right near The Juice Press. It’s always a good time to read The New Yorker. As for nail polishes, I love Priti NYC and SpaRitual. They sell SpaRitual at Great Jones Spa—they have a lot of pretty colors, I especially like their top and base coat. I also like the grayish 'greige' colors going on— Essie and Chanel have some great ones. I love Uslu Airlines—they sell it at Colette in Paris, it’s pretty radtastic, I’m all about it. They do these weird collaborations with Bernhard Wilhelm, Rika, Ed Banger, Headman and a lot of fun people.

I feel like I go through massive doses of wearing makeup, not from my own doing, but from shoots and whatnot, so I’m constantly in ‘skin detox’. Of course I don’t have any problem with having tons of makeup on—believe me, I’ve worked with Pat McGrath, Alexa Rodulfo, Alice Lane—and they can do my makeup any day, I’m not complaining! But hypothetically speaking, I only put on makeup once a month because I’m not too good at applying it. But I do get a lot of my makeup and skincare products from my mom’s store in Pennsylvania— Jane Leslie & Co.—she carries a lot of great lines like L'Artisan Parfumeur, Santa Maria Novella and Bond No. 9. When I do wear makeup, I love to wear Santa Maria Novella lip gloss and Korres eyeliner in all different colors. I also wear Korres mascara and RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, and Josie Maran’s line—I love it because I have sensitive skin and her ingredients don’t irritate me. And of course I love Penhaligon’s fragrances—they’re an old English perfumery and are sold at Aedes de Venustas in the West Village. I especially love their Lily & Spice and Bluebell—they smell delicious.

So I don’t really wear any make-up on a day-to-day basis, but I do take care of my skin. I’m more into skincare. In the morning I love Dr. Alkaitis cleanser, and then I’ll do the Jurlique cleanser, and the Dr. Alkaitis day cream. I just try to keep my regime as organic as possible. Another skincare line I love is Sprout Wellness—they’re all-organic and really great, you can buy it at One Lucky Duck in Gramercy Park and Chelsea Market. At night I basically use Jurlique’s eye-makeup remover and their purifying foamy cleanser for oily skin. I’m a bit prone to blackheads so before bed I put on Dr. Alkaitis toner or Sprout toner, followed by the Jurlique eye gel. I stay away from night creams because I think they’re too heavy for my skin. I also try to get facials when I can—ideally I’d get them all the time—but I probably only manage to find the time once every 2-3 months or so. I like Paisley at Great Jones Spa, I get the Dr. Alkaitis facial which no longer exists, so you have to get the signature facial and specially request only Dr. Alkaitis products. Otherwise, I’ll do my own makeshift facials; I like Jurlique’s purifying masks and replenishing masks and Kiehl’s Rare Earth masque—it’s made of Amazonian white clay.

For my hair, now I use Tela Organics products—they’re sold at Barney’s and they have a little store on Little West 12th Street; their shampoo is almost comparable but not quite as good as the kooky Austrian and German shampoos I’ve used, but I really like their shampoos and conditioners. Laurie Foley at L'Atelier de Laurie has been doing my color for about two years or so. Earlier this year it was dyed white-white-blonde. I had Laurie dye it for me—I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it—but she had to use color remover and everything so my hair was completely stripped, so I try to do deep-conditioning once in a while. Before she moved, I used to try to coordinate my hair appointments so that my best friend, [model] Ali Michael, could have her hair done also—when you’re getting your hair done, it's always nice to have someone you can say, ‘Oh my god,’ with; otherwise you end up internalizing everything. When I was with Ali, at least I could have someone to pass the time and be crazy with.”

—as told to ITG