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. Grace Coddington, 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, and waltz into the New Year with your head way up. You read the Best Beauty Tips of 2016—now, it's life advice.
"When it comes to you hair nobody knows it better than you and your mum. Do what matters to you and what makes you comfortable. Because at the end of the day, your hair is yours." —Leomie Anderson, Model
“Makeup is my love—I'd never do anything else. As we're talking, I'm getting older and older, but I'm working. The thing is, you have to keep moving.” —Sandy Linter, Makeup Artist
“I had this boyfriend and I guess I was 14 or something, and I had an older sister and I kept saying, ‘Oh, I’m so in love. I’m so in love.’ And she kept saying, ‘Has he kissed you yet?’ And I’m like, ‘What’s that? What’s that?’ And she says, ‘Well, you know, if you make yourself more attractive, I’m sure he’ll kiss you. You should put some lipstick on.’ So she lent me her lipstick. It was probably 1955, something like that... The color might have been something like a pearlized pink. Anyway, I put this lipstick on, and my boyfriend arrived at the door, and I got my first kiss. And I fainted! I was so working myself up for it that... I mean I didn’t completely go unconscious, but weak at the knees. I felt that was fainting. But lipstick did the trick for me, obviously!” —Grace Coddington
“Personal style for me is having really beautiful skin. I’m not one of those girls who’s going to say I don’t wear makeup because I do, but I love the idea of being barefaced, so that’s what I generally try to achieve.” —Claire Thomson-Jonville, Editor In Chief, Self Service
"You gotta have nails that can do some damage. I know we want our nails to look good, ladies, but you never know when you’re going to need to claw someone’s eyes out.” —Aubrey Plaza, Actress
“I’m trying to hold onto everything right now and be happy about that. I'm riding my bike home every day, and I'm still going out and dancing, even though I'm pregnant. I'm eating normal, healthy, organic food, but I'm also eating pasta. I don't think anybody should push themselves to not eat any carbs or sugars—I think your quality of life suffers. Maybe you'll get thinner, but I don't think it's worth it.” —Ditte Reffstrup, Creative Director, Ganni
“Collaboration has been really important in my career, and somewhere along the line, I was told that the the most important thing ever is to just be nice. People really don’t want to work with people they don’t like. There is no reason to. If you want to play the primadonna diva card, go elsewhere.” —Fern Mallis, Consultant
“One thing I have to say is that it’s really great to get the opportunity, but you need to keep it. That’s the hard thing. I didn’t want to rely on the brand [Burberry] to take me anywhere… I always knew I had to grow with the brand and continue to keep pace with them. You never want to be piggy-backing along with something and not contributing anything. I've always believed that doing my own thing helps me be more valuable to everyone I work with.” —Wendy Rowe, Makeup Artist
“For my 52nd birthday, I got another line on my neck. I told my husband, 'It's not that bad!' And know you what he said? 'It's even sexier.' You know, I'd rather be in shape and have great skin. I think that's more attractive—besides beauty, just opening your mouth and having something to say!" —Joanna Czech, Aesthetician
"I don't understand plastic surgery. You know, there’s something really wonderful to growing old and keeping yourself upright. There really is! It doesn’t have to be the worst thing in your life." —Betty Halbreich, Personal Shopper, Bergdorf Goodman
“I think that living is also a process similar to a digestive process. We ingest moments in our life and we keep the good stuff we need, and we excrete what we don’t need. It’s a constant process of change and input. We’re constantly being fed.” —Fernanda De La Puente, Founder, CómoComo
“I tend to think that if you can get through middle age, and you develop the face that you were born to have, it usually looks better than the face that you've changed. But it's very weird to sit in fashion shows and be the only person with lines in your forehead.” —Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director & Chief Fashion Critic, The New York Times
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to say this, but I actually interned at Into The Gloss back in 2013—and I was the worst intern that anyone has ever had at any publication in New York City. It was my first internship while I was at NYU, and I didn’t know anything yet… One time I went off and took a really long lunch and came back to my manager saying, ‘You can’t do that, like ever again.’ Which I think is really funny and just goes to show that you can be the worst intern but still get the job. ” —Brennan Kilbane, Assistant Editor, Into The Gloss
“It always goes back to being polite to people. Caring, listening, knowing it’s not just about you or me… Be nice, be thoughtful, and above all try to be helpful, respectfully firm, and inspiring.” —Helen Steed, Creative Director, Glossier
“So many people don’t know what to do with their lives. And I think the passion also makes you keep going because you love something so much that it doesn’t matter that you're eating rice for months or you have a dollar in your pocket for days. Your dream is not what you can do today. It’s for the future.” —Paola Kudacki, Photographer
“I shaved my head when I was 18 and I was bald all the way up 'til last year. Only recently did I start growing my hair back. I like the idea of being bald because it made me feel free and I felt like a rebel. It was very empowering to me to be bald but still be a woman and still be hot.” —Parris Goebel, Dancer & Choreographer
“If you’re in New York, and you’re in a café and someone’s drinking a coffee 200 meters away from you, you’re going to end up smelling like Santal for the rest of the afternoon. It’s like an occupational hazard living in New York, that smell. It gets stuck on you.” —Ilona Hamer, Stylist
“But even if I don’t want to wear makeup, I will always put on lipstick and eyebrows. Eyebrows are indispensable. I think actually in a film I always sit with my makeup person and talk about how the most important part of the look is the eyebrow. Much more important than the eyes themselves.” —Catherine Deneuve
“There is nothing more seductive than red matte lipstick. And when I go out, my makeup is all about seduction.” —Violette, Makeup Artist
“If I'm wearing red lipstick, it's because I have a zit—the best distraction method.” —Emily Ferber, Editor, Into The Gloss
—as told to ITG
Photos via ITG.
Read our best beauty tips from the past year this way.
