“I used to do a lot of very Russian things, but not so much now. Like, in Russia, we used to put mashed fresh strawberries on our faces. It’s funny—you look like you just came out of a peel that went horribly wrong because you’re all red. But you lie with it on your face for fifteen minutes, and then afterwards, your skin looks all refreshed because strawberries have iron, which is absorbed into your skin. Another thing I used to do when I was younger—I would wash my hair with a mixture of oatmeal bread and milk and a raw egg. This sounds really crazy, but you mash it all together, rub it over your hair, and you leave it on for ten minutes. Then, you wash it off. And your hair becomes really healthy and it actually grows quicker. Sometimes, I’ll take my godchildren to the Russian Baths in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It’s very authentic—they give you some salt and you rub your body with it, and then you rub honey over that and then sit in the steam for as long as you can stay in a hot room. It opens up your pores and makes your skin smooth; it’s really, really great… But, you know, you need time for that; I don’t have that anymore. Between work, renovating my apartment, and getting ready for a baby, I only get to treat myself every once in awhile.
Now, I mostly go to a Russian beautician named Elena at Soho House New York—she’s the best. Russian beauticians are so thorough, and they’re so good at doing all the beauty treatments: manicures, pedicures, facials. And Elena’s my girl; all the Russian fashion girls go to her. I always do a traditional facial, then a massage, and then I get a mask. The great thing is that while your mask is working on your face, Elena goes to your feet and massages your feet—it’s such a good surprise. Then, she goes back to your face, takes off the mask, and gives you another massage; you’re in there for like an hour and fifteen or twenty minutes.
My skin routine is pretty simple. Every morning I splash my face with ice-cold water. That always comes first. It’s really good for your skin because it makes your pores smaller, and your skin gets tighter. Then, I’ll use Natura Bissé Oxygen Cream, which Elena at Soho House turned me onto. It has a very nice texture and a good orange-y smell…I used to use the Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Day Emulsion SPF 15, but I’m liking the thickness of my new one. For eye cream, I like Kenzo Ice-Cold Eye Cream. I keep it in the fridge—I always keep my eye stuff there because it creates a cooling effect that feels really nice, even if it doesn’t make puffiness go away… You can dream that it helps do that. [Laughs] After I do my creams, I’ll go over my face with sunscreen. I use a ton of Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion SPF 30, or I’ll use the Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 70, when it’s hot. I wear sunblock every day on my face. In the summer it’s especially important. I’m worried about staying young—you know, wrinkles! I’m a creature of habit: if I find something that works, I’ll just keep using it. So that’s what happened with these sunscreens…and Kiehl’s Creme de Corps. I discovered it at Barneys—Kathy Phillips, the beauty director at Vogue China, when I was working for them, told me about it—and I’ve been using it ever since for my body. It’s really milky and silky and moisturizing. My husband [Cosmo] likes it, too!
In the evening, I use Estée Lauder Soft Clean Lotion Toner before I go to bed. If I have a lot of makeup on, I’ll wash my face with soap first—any soap. But if I don’t have a lot of makeup, I just do a toner and put the Natura Bissé cream on after. I know it’s bad that I don’t use a cleanser, but the toner gives me the illusion that I’ve cleaned my face. [Laughs] Once a week, I do use an apricot face scrub I got from Walgreens. I guess I’m very easy and straightforward about brands—if it works, it works. I’m fine! A lot of things I either get from the drugstore or Duty Free. I actually discovered my toner very randomly at Heathrow airport, where I pick up a lot of my beauty products. I travel a lot between London and New York because of work—I have three offices, in Moscow, London, and New York, for Allure Russia and Tatler, so, as the Fashion Director, I’m constantly going between those cities for shoots, covers, and beauty stories. During the winter, I also always apply Shiseido Advanced Essential Energy Hand Nourishing Cream before bed.
As I said, I’m a creature of habit. For example, I like taking baths and I discovered the incredible Sel de Bain Perfume Bath Salts at the Ritz Hotel, where I stay when I go to the shows in Paris. So now I have tons of bottles of the bath salts—I just take them with me when I come back to New York. I’ll literally bring the number of days that I stay there in bath salts. [Laughs] I also really love African shea butter—it’s a really intense, natural moisturizer. When your skin is really, really dry, you just put it on and it helps pretty quickly. Or, if your lips are cracked or super dry, just put this on overnight, and the next morning you wake up, your lips are amazing. Apparently it also helps to relieve pain, but I haven’t tried using it for that. Another good moisturizer I always use is Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Gloss—I always keep one in my bag.
For makeup, I only have a few things, which I keep in a little Roland Mouret bag. First, Make Up For Ever HD powder, just to dust over my face so it doesn’t get shiny when it’s hot; I have a little Shu Uemura brush I use to put it on. Then, some eyeliner for when I go out and want to do a smoky eye—either the Nars Kyoto Pencil or the Graphblack Technakohl Liner by MAC—and Lancôme Hypnose Mascara. Also, YSL Touche Éclat, which I just dab under my eyes and around my nose, and if I want to do a big smoky eye, I add on to the eyeliner with black Nars Zardoz Cream Eye Shadow. But I’m really not good at doing makeup on myself, so I don’t do it that often.
Even though I don’t have curly hair, I love Bumble and bumble Curl Conscious Shampoo…My hair is a little wavy! [Laughs] When I was living in New York in 1998, I used to cut my hair at Bumble and I started using their products—I loved this shampoo, and I’ve used it ever since. I don’t use any conditioner, just that shampoo. I guess I’m kidding myself, still waiting for my hair to start getting curly.”
—as told to ITG
Anya Ziourova photographed by Emily Weiss in New York on January 16th, 2013.
