Ayla Beauty: radiance inside and out

Glowing guest and darling skincare consultant, Nora Decemberle, at the Ayla Beauty store opening party.

This small shop in Pacific Heights was once a carriage house and is next door
to San Francisco's Healing Arts Building.

A couple of months ago, I was at the hairdresser's flipping through C Magazine, and saw this blurb about Ayla Beauty and was intrigued by the description of customized skincare consultation and hard-to-find beauty products without harmful ingredients. On the website, the link for "Get A Kit" immediately caught my eye. For $20, including shipping, I filled out a detailed questionnaire about my concerns and goals for skincare and I was sent six samples handpicked for me. Fun! Even though the experience was online, it felt very personal. A couple of days after I submitted the questionnaire, I received this email:

Hi Lesa, 

I'm excited to be your Ayla guide. Contact me whenever you need product recommendations or advice about skincare in general -- I'd be delighted to help.

Here's a list of the items you'll find inside your package, which shipped today. 

Elave Age Delay Cleanser: An anti-aging, exfoliating cleanser containing glycolic acid that gently rejuvenates dull, clogged, or dehydrated skin

Sentara Plump Effect Bio-Relaxing Serum: A deeply hydrating but completely non-greasy serum that plumps up wrinkles with a combination of seaweed, ginseng, and hyaluronic acid

S5 Restore Cream: A fast-absorbing, cushy cream that’s clinically proven to increase skin’s moisture content, reduce wrinkles, and drive away dullness

VOYA Me Time: A seaweed-infused lotion for Balanced to Dry skin that plumps and firms as it provides antioxidant protection and boosts radiance

Suntegrity BB cream SPF 30: Our favorite BB cream, this one combines moisturizing, anti-aging, priming, and skin perfecting benefits in one product along with some of the best sun protection you can get.

You'll also receive a card with tips for testing new products as well as a suggested AM/PM regimen. Some of our samples are hand-filled (we want to provide the perfect product matches for you, even if we don't have ready-made samples available). Because they're only labeled with the product names, you may want to refer to our website for any additional usage instructions -- you'll find all of that information on each product page I've linked to in this email.

For a dose of extra exfoliation you can leave the age delay cleanser on for 2-3 minutes and gently rub off with a damp muslin or washcloth. I chose two moisturizers for you as I thought you might like to compare. You can alternate between the two of them at night. The BB Cream should give you enough moisture during the day but if you feel a little dry, of course feel free to add a dab of either moisturizer to the cream.  

Finally — I'm a big believer in caring for skin from the inside out as well. Here are some tips that might be helpful for you:

1. Taking omega-3 supplements can help keep your skin balanced and radiant, and it will help with age-related inflammation, too (which can be linked to acne). My favorite brand is Nordic Naturals, which is sold online and at Whole Foods.

2. We love nutritionist Ian Marber's straightforward approach and unique recipes. You might enjoy reading our interview with him on anti-aging nutrition.

3. Dr. Jeannette Graf also did an interesting series of interviews with us on boosting radiance in skin from the inside out. You can read them here and here.

I hope you find something in your kit that you love! Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions. Otherwise, I'll follow up with you in a bit to see how things are going.

Nora 

nora@aylabeauty.com

Then a couple days later my samples arrived, nicely packaged in a drawstring muslin bag.

Oops, I realize this photo has a mix of my original samples, plus a few I got at the opening party.

 But you get the idea!

With this detailed card from Nora:

Then I was emailed an invite for "Champagne, chocolate, raffles and radiance" at the opening party for the Ayla store. Of course I had to go - champagne, chocolate and beauty products!?!!- a few of my favorite things, plus I wanted to meet the owner Dara Kennedy and my beauty buddy Nora. I already felt like I knew them. When I arrived at 1825 Bush Street, I walked past the tiny building tucked in the side of the Healing Arts Building, but once I found it, I entered a hubbub of happy vibrant women.

Kerry Wall was the beautiful representative of The Organic Pharmacy. Started by a homeopathic pharmacist in the UK, the cosmetic line only uses the best carefully chosen pure ingredients. Kerry gave me a little makeover and I course I had to buy a few things. I couldn't resist their makeup line "Organic Glam". It's not an oxymoron in their hands.

Dara is on the far right answering the many questions and making recommendations. 

Dara with happy clients. 

Many products to sample!

The Organic Glam products I purchased that I've been enjoying everyday since. 

Roger Vivier: the shoes and the women who love them.

Books are my weakness, especially beautifully photographed art and fashion books. Luckily I share this addiction with fashion friend Karen, so we loan our expensive books to each other. Admittedly, it's a bit one-sided as Karen has a bigger book collection and loans more to me. She's so generous in fact, that I recently gave her this beautiful book, Roger Vivier, for her birthday and after peeling away the clear plastic that sealed it (proof that I hadn't read it first!) and oohing and ahhing at the photos, she immediately handed it back to me as a loan. I sheepishly accepted, but I want to get this posted asap before guilt sets in.

Vivier collaborated with Christian Dior from 1953 to 1962.

The book is not only stunning to look at, but it is a pleasure to read with heady essays by French writers like Virginie Mouzat and Olivier Saillard and interviews with Vivier fans Cate Blanchett, Catherine Deneuve and brand ambassador Inès de la Fressange.

 

Catherine Deneuve and Inès de la Fressange in 2012.
Both wearing Vivier's buckle shoe,  designed forty-five years ago.

Roger Vivier's career spanned sixty years. And the shoes tell a consistent and cohesive tale of excellent design. I'm not suprised to learn that Vivier studied sculpture at Paris's Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1924. Shoes at their best are small sculptures. From the beginning, he designed shoes for the royal and the famous. Coronation shoes for the Queen Mother and Queen and stars such as Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Marlene Dietrich. 

"Comma" heel. Spring/Summer 2005 collection. Designed by Bruno Frisoni.
Frisoni has been Vivier creative director since 2002.  

Credited with designing the first stiletto heel by using a stainless steel shank, he named his heels like a sculptor names his work: Fuyant (fleeting) 1954, Toupie (spinning top) 1955, Egtrave (bow stem) 1958, Choc 1959, Virgule (comma) 1963.

"Choc" heels, 1959. 

Catherine Deneuve famously wore his black patent leather shoes with large gold buckles in Luis Bunuel's film Belle du Jour, forever associating them with sexy allure. Vivier originally designed them for Yves Saint Laurent's Fall/Winter Mondrian collection 1965-1966. The style still thrives today.

Ecume des Modes shoe, designed by Bruno Frisoni,
Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2009-2010.

French journalist Virginie Mouzat contributes to the book with her essay A Martyr by Consent : "At this phase in the construction of feminine representations, high heels — in France, we call them talons — read almost like undergarments that we wear in plain sight and knowledge of everyone around us. In some ways, wearing them is almost like wearing lingerie for the feet. For those with a weakness for shoes, the same shiver runs down their spine whether they happen upon a closet full of high heels or a drawer filled with women's lingerie. Something on the order of the profane occurs. Fetishism? The word burns the lips. Of course, that does have something to do with it. And the displacement of the libido onto this accessory not only burn the lips, it also burns the credit cards. Wearing talons is like consensual martyrdom, and this consent confers upon the act the pleasure of its ambivalence, whether we want it to or not." J'adore such highbrow philosophizing about heels!

Cate Blanchett wearing Prismick flats, Spring/Summer 2012.

In the book, there is an interview with Cate Blanchett and Bruno Frisoni. When asked if she can tolerate wearing uncomfortable shoes, Blanchett says, "If I'm only walking down the red carpet or if I'm doing a photo shoot, absolutely. But not in everyday life...That's what I love about my Vivier shoes. They are sculptural but they are really wearable. Shoes are, to a certain degree, fetish objects. I think in some designer's hands, they can work with the cruel side of the fetish rather than the exotic, exquisite side of the fetish—the exquisite is what Bruno does at Vivier.

Blanchett sums it up: "There's a kind of glorious eccentricity to them yet they are still so effortlessly chic."

The archive room, maison Roger Vivier, 29 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. Looks like it could use some straightening and wouldn't I love the job of doing that!

This nose runs in my family

Photo taken at ArtPadSF 2013 by 7x7 magazine

I got a good and very sensible question from friends Marleen and Naomi on my ArtPad post. They asked me what I wore to the event. It's a reasonable question, but it raises a multitude of issues for me. There is only one photo of what I wore and it's the one you see above and I don't like it. It's easy for me to go around photographing other people, but when it comes to showing photos of myself, my monkey mind goes on parade. All those self-sabotaging thoughts come out with the big guns blazing. 

I was flattered when the 7x7 magazine photographer asked us if she could take our photo. She suggested that I turn and look at Matt, which I did. Why oh why did I agree to that? I HATE my profile. I'm very self-conscious about my nose. It's too prominent! It's too long! And it's got a bump in it! I don't remember NOT being self-conscious about it. Every so often, someone makes a comment. I once had a fellow on a first date tell me "If your nose were smaller you would be merely pretty, but with it you are handsome." Gee thanks. We did not have a second date. I've considered doing something about it, but my loved ones protest. It's an idea I still think about.

I really feel like I'm exposing myself by posting that photo above. And if a friend posted it, I would seriously consider not speaking to them again. The silly thing is, while it's hard for me to see my own profile, others see it all the time. So who am I kidding? Vanity, vanity.

And strangely enough, as I was scribbling this story down, I remembered something. But it was such a faint memory that I wasn't sure if it was true or I made it up. I remembered hearing once that my mother had a nose job. Feeling very curious, right away I called my Aunt Caryl to ask her. My mother died at age thirty-eight, so Aunt Caryl is the keeper of the family stories. She said "Of course! Don't you remember?" I might've been about four or five at the time, so I don't. But this new knowledge has a certain power to it. If my mother had a nose job, then it's ok if I have one too! It's not like I'm running out tomorrow to stick my nose under the cosmetic knife. But I'm thinking about it...maybe...sometime? 

But back to the original question. I liked the outfit I wore. Not that you can see much of it because I'm layered in a leather jacket and scarf. Don't let the tropical pool and palm trees fool you, the San Francisco evening wind is chilly. I wore my favorite shirt, a vintage Christian Lacroix. It's a jersey knit so it's a good fit and it has a beautiful Sonia-Delaunay-Japanesy-artful print. And I wore my dark red coated denim Cop.Copine jeans with black pointy Lamberston Truex short boots. Luckily, along with this nose, a sense of style runs in my family too.

My favorite shirt. Lacroix! Lacroix! (I feel so Ab Fab saying that.)

ArtPadSF: Where You Smile at Art and Art Smiles Back

Matt's 16-foot aluminum sculpture, "Telophase" has a perfect poolside presence.

Weekend before last, The Phoenix Hotel, with its cool LA-in-the-50's vibe, hosted ArtPadSF for the third year. And each year hubby Matt has shown sculptures with the gallery marx & zavaterro. This year was just as fabulous as last year, but with even more art and visitors. Nearly 10,000 attended over the four days, looking hip as they cruised the thirty-five galleries, each in it's own motor lodge room. We went the opening VIP night (it's not often that artists are treated like VIPs; our cocktails were free and in glass, everyone else had to pay and got plastic!) Then we returned on Saturday for more schmoozing and viewing. What follows are some photos from both days featuring some flashes of style.

Looking super duper dapper and sharp as a tack! 

The darling photographer from 7x7 magazine. 

Proud gallerists with great color. 

Me wanty! Elegant lace-ups. The wearer generously shared the fact 

that she found these Ferragamos at Goodwill!

Uber fabulousness. Luke of the gallery Unspeakable Projects.

On Saturday, Luke made me think of Diana Vreeland's "Why Not." Why not tie a white chiffon scarf to create a statement-making bow? And gallery director Mauri Skinfill rocks rompers like nobody else. 

Handsome happy couple. They proudly told me that their son was one of the exhibiting artists. 

It's not often that one gets to lounge poolside in SF.
And one would almost think they were in Palm Springs, except for all the black!

What's in Your Sniffsonium?

Matt's illustration of the Sniffsonium. I sure do love having an in-house artist.

The "Sniffsonium" is a term coined by hubby Matt and we all have one. It is that internal sanctum where we store our memories and emotions related to certain smells and scents that we've experienced in our lives, proabably from day one. Matt also calls it a Smellatorium, however that sounds like the place where not-so-pleasurable smells go to be cremated and entombed. Although, that could serve a purpose too.

There's nothing like the sense of smell to send our memory reeling back years and years to a specific moment in time. A familiar scent can evoke the person, the place and the feelings associated with that one scent. And it happens in a split-second. With a direct link from our olfactory receptors ("vacuum" as depicted above) to the limbic system, our reactions to smells occur in an instant. And as the limbic system is the part of the brain that deals with emotions, memories are conjured like a genie out of a bottle, literally in the case of perfume.

The sense of smell is so important to me and it's one of my life's great pleasures. It's fun to be taken by surprise by a scent and experience a memory unbidden. But it's also wonderful to know that I can make the memory happen by using a particular perfume or lotion. And it's startling when that doesn't. When I've had a cold and head congestion and I can't smell, I experience a momentary panic. It's like someone suddenly turned the lights out.

As I examine my Sniffsonium, these are the scents that come to mind:

Estee Lauder Youth Dew: This powdery, exotic scent is the smell of dressing up to go out. It was the signature scent of my grandmother and all six of her sisters. They each had the little faceted bottle filled with the brown-as-bourbon elixir on their dressers. With a whiff of Youth Dew, I'm instantly sitting between my grandmother, Bootsie, and Aunt Myrt in the backseat of Aunt Dot's Cadillac going out to a fancy lunch in New Orleans.

Jergen's Original Scent Cherry-Almond Hand Lotion: This is a comforting smell for me. The sweet, slightly candy scent of this brings back similar memories as above. All my aunties used it and a bottle of it was always sitting on the bathroom counter. I can rub a little on my hands today and feel my aunties near me.

Old Spice: The scent of my gravel-voiced but sweet-mannered Uncle Irvin.

4711 Cologne: The dry citrusy scent used by my grandfather. The one and only scent he ever wore.

Hawaiian Tropic Suntan oil: The smell of summer (and sun damage!)

Guerlain's Shalimar: I was eighteen when I smelled Shalimar for the first time and it was a revelation. I learned that scent can open a new sexy and exotic world.

New Orleans French Quarter: There is a damp, old wood, crumbling brick, spilt beer, bourbon splashed root-like musty smell that doesn't exist any other place.

Petrichor: It was such a pleasure when I  learned there was actually a name for the smell of the air right after it begins to rain. I remember playing outside in the hot Louisiana summer afternoons and suddenly it would begin to rain. The dusty asphalt street was so hot, steam would rise sending up a sweet and earthy smell.

And there are so many more...

So, I would love to know, what's in your Sniffsonium?

It's a Coat and an Art Piece!

Sporting my new coat. 

I'm attracted to apparel with a unique, original, artful edge to it. And if it comes with some history or story, then I'm completely charmed and entranced. Like my Hermès Pony Express scarf designed by postal worker Kermit Oliver. (Just realized I haven't written about that yet. I'll do that!) And if that clothing item is signed by the artist, hanging on the rack, fits and is ready for me to take home, then I'm sunk. I might as well just hand over my credit card and stop all the silly "should I or shouldn't I."

Which is what happened when fashion friend forever (BFFF) Karen alerted me to an article she saw in the Style section of the San Francisco Chronicle back in January. Artist, Ann Hamilton, designed and made available for sale a denim coat that was part of a larger bi-coastal art project.

Hamilton created an installation, "The Event of a Thread" at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, from December 5, 2012 to January 6, 2013. In the cavernous hangar-like space, Hamilton hung at one end floor-to-ceiling white billowing curtains and at the other placed tables where actors in denim coats (!) read, wrote and sang, while in the center of the space, 42 swings with seats large enough for two people hung from the ceiling. I didn't see the installation, but I can imagine that it was a wonderful, sensation to glide through the air and be a participant and an observer at the same time.

Ann Hamilton's installation at the Park Avenue Armory. Photo by C.T. Jeanson

Before this, Hamilton did a residency at The Workshop Residence in San Francisco during the fall of 2012. Located in Dogpatch, created by longtime San Francisco art activator and philanthropist Ann Hatch, to give artists and designers a place to create usable and affordable items and a shop in which to sell them. During her residency, Hamilton designed and had manufactured in Oakland, this slightly military uniform-like coat, reminiscent of a gentleman's redingote from the 1800's.

Front of the coat.

Back of the coat.

1819 Costumes Parisiens,
man in redingote

The initial batch of 200 coats sold out, but Karen put our names on the list for the next run and as soon as they were ready we went down to The Workshop Residence just to "look." Long story short, they didn't even have to put it in a bag for me. I wore it out of the shop, instantly enjoying the feel and drama of the back flare when I walked. And I'm so happy to know about this place now. It's a very exciting well-run creative beehive with many great ideas.

This is the darling Katie McCracken who runs the gallery shop and helped me with my coat purchase.

The shop with cool well-priced creations by artists with past residencies, like Jennifer Morla, Aurore Thibout and Dirk Van Saene.

A signed art piece that I can wear? And it's practical too? Yes!

Gala Opening: Museum of Craft and Design

The new location for the Museum of Craft and Design just opened in Dogpatch, on Third Street between 22nd and 23rd Streets in San Francisco.

Any invite that starts with "gala celebration" is the invite for me. Champagne corks popped and a DJ spun while platters of tasty hors d'oeuvres were served at the opening of the new Museum of Craft and Design last Friday night. The crowd of craft and design devotees mixed, mingled, oooh'd and ahhh'd at the art.

Founded in 2003, The Museum of Craft and Design was previously located on Sutter Street near Union Square. It's terrible to say, but as much as I am a fan of craft and the support they give to the design community, I didn't make it to that location very often. This new location is fabulous and has great karma. Now called The American Industrial Center, it was previously known as The American Can Company and many an up-and-coming artist, designer and photographer back in the day had a studio there. (Including hubby Matt.)

And the neighborhood, Dogpatch, was a bit of a no-man's land until a few years ago. Now restaurants, galleries, wine bars and super creative clothing stores (MAC is a constant source of inspiration) have established themselves there.

Now, back to the celebration. First the art...

Three artists opened on the gala night. One exhibit was Arline Fisch: Creatures From the Deep. Arline Fisch (perfect name!), known for her textile and jewelry designs, knitted and crocheted with copper wire to create this delicate sea life. It was so tempting to reach in and try one on my wrist, but I could only oogle through the acrylic case.

Using the same copper wire, Fisch wove these sparkling jellyfish.

The second exhibit was Rebecca Huchinson: Affinity, an on-site installation. A beautifully quiet and contemplative piece.

Not quiet at all, the main exhibit was Michael Cooper: A Sculptural Odyssey, 1968-2011. Cooper creates perfectly and intricately crafted works of wood and metal. His imagery is everything from pistol-toting tricycles to fantasy motorized vehicles to elaborate kinetic political statements.

Then the well-dressed gala attendees...

Fierce-looking Anna Appleby wearing fab Jean Paul Gaultier boots and skirt. 

MCD staffer, Sarah Wininger. Love the lace dress, boots and dark purple tights. 

Eyeing Michael Cooper's very Finish Fetish tricycle, this lovely woman wears that flowered pillbox hat so well. It's perfect with the pink check and floral print. And the bright blue skirt gives the outfit edge and punch. 

I had to include her beautiful smile. 

And this dapper gentleman, Stevens Jay Carter,
wearing a scarf of his own design. 

And the shopping...

This is a well-curated shop! I'll be making another visit soon.