2016, we hardly knew ya. (JK—bye!!!) Sure, the past year was full of misfortune and hardship and some truly crummy moments. But looking back at ITG's trove of interviews, it wasn't so bad. Bobbi Brown, Catherine Deneuve, and hundreds (literally! Hundreds.) more iconic and aspirational ladies graced this website and gave us a hundred more articles of wisdom. If your 2016 was a wash, that's OK. Tuck some of their words into your back pocket, maybe Amazon Prime a couple of their product recommendations, and waltz into the New Year with your head way up.
“This is me giving away all my secrets but I love an oxygen serum. I don’t even know if it works—maybe it’s a placebo thing—but it makes my skin feel so much plumper.” —Martha Hunt, Model
“One of my more controversial opinions is that I think that eye cream is the biggest scam of our time. Under-eye hydration is very important—but you can do it with your normal moisturizer.” —Brennan Kilbane, Assistant Editor, Into The Gloss
“I might also use Tom Ford's Eye Defining Pen. If you want to do liquid liner and you aren’t confident that you can really do the perfectly straight line, put a pencil underneath it first. Then the liquid is very forgiving and it’s not stark if you make a little mistake.” —Sandy Linter, Makeup Artist
“My mascara is YSL Effet Faux Cils because you don’t need to double-dip. Whatever is on the brush is gonna be the right amount. I worry about germs sometimes, so the less I have to dip, the better.” —Alyse Archer-Coité, Director of Culture & Programing, A/D/O
“I would love to say that I take incredible care of my skin with all these different products, but at the end of the day I clean my skin, I never go to sleep with any makeup on, I make sure that I exfoliate enough, and I make sure I'm moisturized always. Everything in my beauty routine has to be fast, and absolutely edited.” —Susan Lyne, President & Managing Partner, BBG Ventures
“After I dry my face, I use a glycolic acid pad. Either the Cane and Austin 20% Glycolic Acid or the Pixi Glow Peel Pads that are also 20% glycolic but a lot cheaper. Then I use Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant. I love it, love it, love it. It makes your skin so much smoother. Then I wait 20 minutes before I add the Paula’s Choice Retinol Cream. [Laughs] I know it’s a lot but I’ve worked my way to all of this! It’s not for beginners.” —Ashley Weatherford, Associate Beauty Editor, The Cut
“The lipstick I always use is Full Kisses and it’s quite moisturizing. I mix it with a Kevyn Aucoin The Flesh Tone Lip Pencil…I don’t have it in my personal makeup bag though. I keep it in my kit because I use it on everyone.” —Wendy Rowe, Makeup Artist
“Benefit makes this body balm that's like a pressed cream, and I love adding a bit on the cheekbones. It's the best highlighter, just light with a pink undertone.” —Emi Kaneko, Makeup Artist
“I’m in 10,000 meetings all day long and people are asking so many things of me, and using a mist is like a time out. I have three that I alternatively love—Living Libations, Shiva Rose, and Herbivore. I make everyone come into my office and I spray their faces too.” —Ulla Johnson, Designer
“So yesterday I had a Kérastase mask on my hair all night long! My conditioner is Kérastase, and I try to shampoo once a week. But every morning I wet my hair and apply some conditioner. And I don’t brush with a brush, I put my fingers through it.” —Noémie Lenoir, Model
“My favorite foundation is Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Fluid Foundation, applied with a Beautyblender. It's hardcore stuff. But it's amazing for under-eye bags or blemishes or dark spots that you get when you age. Talk to me in 10 years when you need it, you'll be all Kevyn Aucoin'd out! ” —Jen Atkin, Hairstylist
"I always follow the same regimen before I go out, starting with the Institut Esthederm L’Osmoclean Deep Pore Cleanser. I need to do all my skincare before I get into the makeup, and I am obsessed with this brand—my skin changed when I started using it.” —Roxane Mesquida, Actress
“Every morning I drink lemon juice. It’s not so much that it cleanses anything, but I do think it’s very good for your skin and the whites of your eyes.” —Catherine Deneuve
“On my lips I just do a little bit of liner, just a color silhouette. I don’t want to tell anybody about this lip liner because it’s the best one, but I’ll tell you—it’s the nude pencil from Prestige.” —Elsa Hosk, Model
“One thing I like to do in the bath I picked up from Spa Castle…all the ladies in the communal Jacuzzi shower area always have these small exfoliating pads that are very fine. You go there and all these ladies are helping to scrub each other and it’s so cute!” —Angela Dimayuga, Executive Chef, Mission Chinese
“I also love the Jade Roller for my under-eyes for puffiness in the morning and on my jaw. It helps with inflammation and it’s cooling. I think it’s an alternative for women who don’t want to do Botox or fillers because it stimulates collagen.” —Jenni Kayne, Designer
“Because it’s so dry at the studio, I keep an array of moisturizers and facial mists in my desk at SNL. Everybody is always like, ‘What’s that smell? Why are we hearing little spray noises?’ I have the Naturopathica Lavender Honey Balancing Mist and the Glossier Soothing Face Mist. I have all these little tricks that I do to try to make myself feel like it’s been a new day, even though I’ve been working for 24 hours straight.” —Aidy Bryant, Actress
“It’s really more about the hairs you leave than the hairs you take. Sometimes it’s just using a little bit of pencil to fill [your eyebrows] in and they look great, rather than tweezing them to look perfect.” —Kristie Streicher, Co-Owner, STRIIIKE
“My secret is that I have a big jar of Extra Balm from the lab that I use on my body. I'm not sure what that would cost, but it's amazing.” —Bobbi Brown
“Last year, I traveled more than usual, so I’ve really improved my travelling beauty routine. The biggest thing I learned is to bring masks—they actually make a difference. I don’t mask on the plane, though I do moisturize a lot, pretty much starting as soon as I turn off that air vent that blows down on you from above.” —Claire Knebl, Managing Editor, Glossier
“Exfoliating before you put on makeup just makes a perfectly smooth canvas—you might have a little scab that developed over a zit or some flakes building up, and makeup isn’t going to sit nicely on top of that.” —Annie Kreighbaum, Executive Editor, Glossier
“If it’s important to me to have perfect nails, I won’t do them without Smith and Cult's Basis of Everything and Above It All. Not only will your manicure not chip for seven days, your manicure looks new for seven days.” —Emily Ferber, Editor, Into The Gloss
“Detergent is bad for your hair and bad for your scalp and it is the cause of why you need to use conditioner and why you need to add stuff to give it some body... It's this cycle. If you don’t use detergent on your skin, why would you use it on your scalp? Your scalp is even more sensitive.” —Michael Gordon, Editor In Chief, Hairstory
“Eve Lom's Dynaspot is the best if you have a spot. It takes the redness out and brings things to a head because of the clay drawing it out. I have this infrared mask for when my skin breaks out, which I think works. I really believe in light therapy—my facialist, Monica Watters, uses microlight therapy. I just feel like such an idiot when I put it on and that’s what I love about it.” —Chelsea Leyland, DJ
“The Kérastase Masquintense really helped define my curls because it tamed the frizz. And I still use it to this day. Now I consider my hair as my signature. It’s part of who I am and actually helps make me feel confident. I embrace it 100 percent.” —Pauline Maynard-Denery, VP of Product Marketing and Development, Glossier
“As far as skincare, I grow aloe vera plants in my backyard and extract the gel out and just do a mask once a week. I’ll do it overnight and wash it off in the morning. It’s not too greasy, you don’t feel it on your skin, and it just refreshes everything when you wake up in the morning.” —Loza Maléombho, Designer
“When I do get a breakout, I use one of Kiehl's oldest products—their Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion. A makeup artist recommended it to me and I switched to it from Biologique Recherche P50.” —Enikö Mihalik, Model
—as told to ITG
Photos via ITG.
