Thoughts on where you should be cleaning (but probably aren't), where you should never use a certain brand of soap, and the moisturizer that kept Miranda Kerr from getting pregnancy stretch marks.
Cleansing
Andrea Mary Marshall: “I swear by Epsom salt baths twice a week. They make my skin flawless. I put a pound of Epsom salt in lukewarm water—not hot—to detoxify my body. I read about Stephanie Seymour doing Epsom salt baths when I was 16, and I’ve been doing them ever since. [Laughs]” [The Top Shelf: Andrea Mary Marshall, Artist]
Liv Tyler: “If I had to go to a big event, a couple hours before I’d take a crazy-hot bath with tons of salts and oils. I love Kneipp Joint and Muscle Mineral Bath Salts; they’re intense. But I do more than that—I take a couple of baths a week where I use a whole box of Epsom salts and either a bottle of hydrogen peroxide or a packet of baking soda. Equal parts salt and hydrogen peroxide. It makes you sweat all of the toxins out and all of the bad stuff. I learned about it from a hippie-natural-amazing pediatrician, actually, for when kids get sick.” [The Top Shelf: Liv Tyler]
Rachel Antonoff: “I love the smell of Irish Spring soap. It’s amazing, but I found out I was destroying my body with it. It’s really harsh, and, I might as well just say it—you cannot use it on your vagina. I went to see my doctor because I was irritated and I was like, ‘Something terrible is happening.’ She asked me what kind of soap I was using, and when I said, ‘Irish Spring,’ she looked so horrified, and told me that I can’t use it down there. So I figured maybe I shouldn’t use it on the rest of my body either, even though it smells like heaven. I switched to Dove, and then I use some of this lavender crap: Dead Sea Essentials by Ahava Calming Lavender Shower Cream. That has been helpful. But I still keep Irish Spring around, just for the smell.” [The Top Shelf: Rachel Antonoff, Designer]
Moisturizing
Harry Brant: “I’m super into a beauty ritual. Like, occasionally I’ll put on Clé de Peau Body Cream, Lubriderm, or Vaseline and Saran Wrap myself. Here’s what you do: you put it all over your arms, hands and feet, put on a pair of socks and then you wrap your arms and your elbows, and then… you go on a jog. [Laughs] Seriously, it just makes your skin so freaking soft, like you wouldn’t believe.” [The Top Shelf: Harry Brant, Student]
Garance Doré: “I use Kiehl’s Creme de Corps for my body. It is the best one, and I have tried a lot of them. It just leaves a glow on your skin and it stays. And because it doesn’t have a strong scent, it’s good when you’re going to use perfume—the smells don’t layer on top of each other.” [The Top Shelf: Garance Doré]
Miranda Kerr: “Actually, I used the rosehip oil throughout my entire pregnancy and I don’t have a single stretch mark—I had a ten-pound baby! It’s really nourishing and full of antioxidants and essential fatty acids.” [The Top Shelf: Miranda Kerr, Model]
Mouth care
James Hardwick: “This is like the highest high of oral hygiene: you can make your own mouthwash with hydrogen peroxide and water–it works really well and foams up like a European dance party. Plus, it doesn’t burn like most brand-name mouthwashes, which dumb your taste buds for hours and ruin fresh-squeezed juice every time. DO NOT buy cheap hydrogen peroxide for internal use. I used to do this, but I then I learned these ‘home use’ hydrogen peroxides are stabilized with heavy metals that can accumulate in your body and are all around no good. For lil’ cuts and scrapes and for cleaning sinks, the 'home use' stuff works well. But to make mouthwash, you should definitely use ‘food grade.'' [The Baking Soda Beauty Routine]
Ranjana Khan: If you clean your skin and your mouth well, you'll smell good and you will look bright. When it comes to personal hygiene, people don’t take care of their tongues. To have a white-coated tongue when someone’s talking to you is so unattractive. So, I use a tongue scraper every day. My son’s girlfriend introduced me to the Luster Premium White Whitening Light System. If you do it seven days in a row, it really whitens your teeth and makes a difference. You know when you see someone who's had their teeth whitened and you wonder why they look younger.” [The Top Shelf: Ranjana Khan, Jewelry Designer]
Fragrance
Francis Kurkdjian: “Don't rub [your fragrance]! Rubbing hits the skin and accelerates the evaporation, the course of the perfume. It's like hitting fast-forward on a cassette tape. And I think having just one perfume is nonsense. It’s denying the modernity of woman. You can’t always wear the same suit or the same evening dress. To me, it’s like a wardrobe: you should have everything from lingerie to a tuxedo, but always feel whatever option you choose... It’s not about smelling the same—it’s about feeling the same; you feel good. Even though the perfume can be a statement and strong, you need to have space between the skin and your mind so your perfume becomes you and you don’t become the perfume.” [The Professional: Talking Scents with Francis Kurkdjian]
Liv Tyler: “I put little drops [of C.O. Bigelow Musk Oil] on my fingers and put some under my arms and in my belly button. My dad taught me that—if you put it where you heat up, the smell stays with you.” [The Top Shelf: Liv Tyler]
Food
Karl Lagerfeld: “Beauty—or the desire to be beautiful—is in itself a dangerous motivation [for a diet]. Someone (I forgot who) once said, ‘Does the person who loves someone for their beauty really love them?’ So don’t focus on beauty... a respectable appearance is sufficient to make people more interested in your soul. It is the sum of our experiences that makes us interesting, and having been through a time in your life in which you were in a bad place (or what you perceived as a bad place) physically, can be useful. It can even be necessary.” [Book Club: The Karl Lagerfeld Diet]
Fernanda de la Puente: “I really work in the psychology of eating—meaning how we relate to food, what our eating patterns are, what we are doing while we’re eating. Are we spacing out on Facebook while we’re eating, half there? Are we present with our food? That’s the best first step to evaluate—people usually already know what to eat and what not to eat. Like, green juice is good for you, or you shouldn’t be eating fried or processed food; it’s common knowledge. But, at the end of the day, why isn’t your healthy eating working? Often, it’s because we have this obsessive relationship. Women have it more than men because we have a tendency to want to bring things in, even anatomically, to fill a void.” [Dramatically Different: Fernanda de la Puente]
Topaz Page-Green: “What you consume is so important. When I think about it, I never, ever get sick in the winter, and I swear it’s because of Nutribiotic GSE Grapefruit Seed Extract. Every morning I’ll have a few drops of it in some juice—it’s very concentrated vitamin C. I’ll also put a few drops of Mushroom Wisdom by Mai-take D-fraction, for immune support. If you use these things every day, flus and colds won’t make a dent on you. I also drink Natural Calm, which is an anti-stress drink with magnesium. I have a teaspoon at nighttime, not instead of wine, but in addition to. [Laughs] I will eat anything I can to pack in antioxidants. I like coconut water for electrolytes, and I take tons of supplements. A lot of beauty and health starts with what you’re taking in.” [The Top Shelf: Topaz Page-Green, Founder, The Lunchbox Fund]
Fitness
Esther Gauthier: “Aqual cycling is really similar to an indoor cycling class, except that it happens in a pool, so you also get the benefits of working out in the water. The water is up to your waist, and you pedal toward the water resistance, and all the while the water gives your legs a natural massage. This little massage helps to drain your entire lymphatic system, breaking up your body’s fat and eliminating cellulite. It takes a little time—it’s not overnight—but I’ve almost completely gotten rid of my cellulite. I think the pool is very therapeutic, both mentally and physically. You leave the classes feeling really rejuvenated, and you’ll sleep like you have never slept before. Imagine how you feel after a day at the beach, or after you go swimming—that relaxation of being close to the water and feeling like you really, really used a lot of energy. It's blissful.” [The Face: Esther Gauthier, Founder, Aqua Studio]
Key Son: “Depending on a person's structure and proportions, running may or may not be beneficial. I have to actually see them and find out whether they have predispositions to putting weight on in their lower bodies, or if they have longer or shorter torsos compared to the length of their legs. If a person's legs are on the shorter side, I’ll usually have them walk instead of run, because muscles develop quickly in the legs, and can bulk. For walking, I recommend 30-45 minutes to start with, two to three times a week, and then maybe build up to an hour, three to four times a week, at a very consistent pace, just under jogging. And never, ever with incline. You don't want to build the calves, either.” [The 'Walk, Don't Run' Exercise Theory]
Roger (anonymous NYC gym-goer): “I don’t love shorts on women—unless you’re a freakin’ supermodel with ridiculous legs, of which there are tons, and when I see them, I’m like, ‘Damn, that girl is rocking those shorts,’ but for the most part, it's just not the most flattering look on most of us.” [Working Out, Looking Good]
Chelsea Leyland: “Aerobox, it’s where all of the models go.” Ed. Note: It’s where Jake Gyllenhaal goes, too. [Shadowboxing with Jake Gyllenhaal]
Nudity
Emily Ratajkowski: “I was born in London, but I grew up in San Diego, and now live in New York. Growing up, my family spent every summer in Mallorca and Ireland and my mom, who is an English professor and a hippie, was always topless at the beach. And when I was little, I was always naked on the beach and around the house. I never felt there was this sexuality that was immediately tied to nudity. I thought, 'This is a body and it’s beautiful.' Yes, of course a naked body is sexy, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I developed early, and it was awkward because people would say weird things, but my mom taught me to never apologize. She always said, ‘Just love yourself. That’s all that’s important.’ I don’t think there has to be anything dirty or gross or objectifying about nudity. It’s not so black and white.” [The Top Shelf: Emily Ratajkowski, Model]
Gisele
Tracy Anderson: “Everybody wants Gisele’s butt. She’s pretty timeless.” [The Professional: Tracy Anderson, Fitness Entrepreneur]
