It’s Velvet Pillow Season

Pillow people love autumn. As we'll happily tell anyone who'll listen - switching out pillow covers adds seasonal colour and new energy to a room and it's not half as drastic, or costly, as reupholstering your couch. (I am deeply impressed by those fearless souls who recover furniture in bold prints, but I could never do it.)

Only Pillows in the Building

The posh New York City apartments belonging to the characters in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ (now streaming on Disney+ and Star in Canada and Hulu in the US) as created by Production Designer Curt Beech and set decorator Rich Murray, offer a motherlode of design inspiration. Richly layered and expensively accoutred, each apartment is full of ‘I need to freeze frame this for further study’ details. And pillows. So many pillows.

Sting, in his cameo as a rock star and murder suspect, has an invitingly smooshy, velvet pillow-overloaded couch.

Steve Martin’s faded tv star cum amateur sleuth finds love while his patterned pillows clash daringly with his Paul Smith-ish striped sofa.

Martin Short, whose purple coat and always a silk scarf-wearing Broadway director, Oliver Putnam, has the most over-the-top apartment and the best pillows. To whit, a pair of pomegranate-pattern, sheared velvet beauts living on a tufted couch. (My screen cap, below, because for some puzzling reason, the press photos aren’t as pillow-centric as I would like.)

Bold pillows on Oliver’s couch: pomegranates are traditionally a symbol of fertility and abundance.

From the archives: wouldn’t this pillow array and suzani on socialite Jacqui Getty’s bed be perfect in a living room?

Here in the budget-aware real world, we have to rely on our own pillow-finding skills instead of a production design team:

Winners and HomeSense are always a good resource and their Fall 2021 edit is full of on-trend colours. Go early and go often and you will be rewarded.

Put the kettle on and start searching on Etsy for silk Ikat pillows.

Etsy is a great pillow and textile resource. Unlike Oliver’s pomegranates that wrap around the whole pillow, Etsy offerings often have the decorative fabric on one side only, but they are (relatively) inexpensive and it’s easy to find something under $80 Canadian.

I think it was at New York City’s ABC Carpet & Home that I saw my first $400 pillow. And that was years ago. Who knows how much they cost now? Seriously, does anyone know? I could use the laugh.

Upgrade: Deborah Pagani Silver Hair Pin

This large Deborah Pagani hair pin looks like a modern money clip or elegant murder weapon.

I never realized just how embarrassingly susceptible I am to the lure of pretty things until I was stuck at home for months on end with nothing but the internet and a credit card to keep me entertained.

This Deborah Pagani silver plated hair pin (Saks Fifth Avenue) looks like a sculpture or a murder weapon and is a much more elegant hair tamer than a plastic, drugstore claw clip. Its creator, Deborah Pagani, posts calming Instagram videos where she twists her (abundant, never frizzy) hair into a bun before effortlessly anchoring it with one of her heavyweight pins.

After a couple of lopsided results, I think I have it down. I rake my favourite leave-in conditioner through my hair (Rene Furterer Absolue Keratine Repairing Beauty Cream) before I begin to twist, and the result is a satisfying cross between a bun and a French twist. It’s worthwhile remembering that achieving an effortless ‘not trying too hard’ look actually requires some effort. And best of all there is no plastic claw clip in sight.

Rene Furterer’s Keratine Absolue line smooths even the wiriest of wiry hair.

This Skirt Fits Every Body

All photos courtesy of Bleusalt.

Lord love a tube skirt. Narrow enough to look like actual “be seen in public” clothing, but the elastic waist and soft fabric feel like pyjamas.

Navy is the new black.

This Bleusalt tube skirt is on sale right now. I bought it in 'navy’ (more of a midnight blue, really) at the beginning of lockdown last year and only just wore it out this week for the first time. The soft Tencel jersey, spun from beechwood fibres, is sustainable (and just as important) it’s machine washable.

Unlike the lovely model in her crop top (above), I do wear the skirt with a longish, loose shirt that gently (and compassionately) skims over my midsection. Dark blue is a nice change from black and the narrow cut makes it look tailored enough to work with structured fall shoes like lug-soled loafers or Chelsea boots, both of the moment.

Throw on some nice sunglasses and retrieve a proper purse from the depths of your closet and it’s a painless way to help you re-enter polite society.

Walking away from yoga pants.

Your Friday Five #2

The Emmys take place this Sunday (September 19th at 8 p.m. est on CBS) and Jean Smart is nominated for her roles in HBO’s Hacks (above) and HBO’s Mare of Easttown (both on Crave in Canada.) If you haven’t yet watched Hacks, you need to binge all 10 episodes right now. I envy you.

Chanel Baume Essentiel Multi Use Glow Stick in Golden Light, $60, helps you keep a summery radiance straight into fall and prevents that “ghostly and faintly unwell” look from taking hold. This shimmery bronze stick is lightly pigmented so you can apply it with abandon on cheekbones, eyelids, and the bridge of your nose to look instantly better, glowier. And it works for all skin tones (just use a lighter hand if you are English-rose pale.)

But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria by the late Julia Reed should have won prizes for the title alone. This 2014 mix of stories, history and recipes can forcibly yank you out of a bad mood and her easy champagne cocktail of a sugar cube soaked in grapefruit bitters with prosecco poured over could easily become your party mainstay.

Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross is the latest BIPOC-owned beauty brand to come to Sephora and I was curious to try the On the Go Curl Hair Kit , $31, Sephora, to see if its rich products could quiet my frizz. One attempt later and I have coaxed actual curls from straw. And the scent is suitably luxe — light and fresh but sophisticated. Next up, trying the hair Treatment Mask which has a richer ‘could be an expensive perfume’ fragrance. I am all in.

Sure, Issey Miyake’s new A Drop d’Issey, $142, Shoppers Drug Mart, is ostensibly a warm weather fragrance, given its pure lilac central note, but why not wear it to stay in blissful denial about the icy months ahead?

Gucci Westman Loves Jergens Natural Glow Self Tanner

The tubes are not chic, you find them at the drugstore or the grocery store, and yet Jergens Natural Glow instant and gradual self tanners are just so good that even celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman, lover of expensive beauty products and founder of Westman Atelier (my favourite ‘clean beauty’ line, hands down) uses them, as seen in this YouTube screen grab. (Yes, this is the self-same Gucci Westman who did Gwyneth’s wedding makeup, which must be the biggest clean beauty flex of all time.)

Jergens Natural Glow products create a beautiful, authentic-looking tan, come in two strengths (for fair or deeper-toned skin) so you can’t overdo it and the gradual tan lotions are on sale right now at Shoppers Drug Mart, possibly getting cleared off of shelves for winter (which makes no sense, because that’s when we need self-tanner the most.) So I would humbly suggest you go get some immediately.

Your Friday Five

On the last weekend of August, let’s socialize, inspired by this clever, smoke-centric reimagining of Slim Aarons’ iconic poolside photos, shot by Hype Williams for Jay-Z’s Monogram cannabis company.

Bottom row, from left to right: Even if you don’t have a Palm Springs retreat at your disposal, you can still share a fancy drink outdoors with friends. Dunk puréed fruit popsicles (I like local Toronto brand Happy Pops) head first into glasses of prosecco or champagne for cocktails that are festive but not overly sweet. Created at New York’s Conrad Hotel’s Loopy Doopy bar, they’re easy to assemble and are much more than mere Instagram bait.

I often think about the ‘bowls’ of cigarettes’ at Mary-Kate Olsen’s 2015 wedding reception with now ex-spouse Olivier Sarkozy. The 2021 Covid-anxiety version of this has to be offering your guests Ace Valley Pinners in Indica Kosher Kush. These skinny joints come eight to a pack and contain only .3 mg of thc instead of the usual .5 mg. No passing around, everyone gets their own and voilà, you are cooler than an Olsen twin.

Matrix Biolage Coconut Infusion spray, $24, Chatters.ca, detangles and hydrates that unruly mess on the top of your head, turning frizz into beachy waves and infusing hair with a light coconut scent. It’ll be perfect come November for that summery fragrance alone.

Why isn’t eucalyptus more of a standard deodorant scent? Decidedly genderless, this bracing and clean-smelling Caudalie Vinofresh natural stick deodorant, $18.50, Sephora, promises 24 hour protection and is ideal when engaging with others outside in the late summer steam.

If you are hiding inside with the AC blasting, waiting for fall, you should watch '“Shetland” (the first four seasons are available on Netflix) set on the windy and cold Scottish island of the same name. With only a wee bit of violence, it’s mainly soothing, with detective Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) wearing one of his many wooly jumpers, while interviewing suspects outdoors in yet another impossibly beautiful Scottish locale.

Late Summer Refresh

Romy Schneider in fashion’s favourite film, La Piscine

I am stuffing my fingers in my ears to avoid hearing anyone say “August is the Sunday of summer.” There is officially one month of summer left and I plan to enjoy it. You will find me outdoors with friends and (hopefully) with a glass of iced rosé* in my hand. In the spirit of glamorous lounging, here are some late summer pick-me-ups to keep you as looking as cool as Romy Schneider in 1969’s La Piscine.

Products clockwise from upper right: Valmont Palazzo Nobile Fizzy Mint eau de toilette, $240, Holt Renfrew, with notes of crushed mint, lemon verbena and bergamot is like running through the coolest and fanciest sprinkler on a hot day.

Set off tan skin with OPI’s From Dusk til Dune ($10.95, Trade Secrets) a pale, creamy almost-pink polish shot through with glinting blue micro-glitter that cleverly bounces light to mask surface irregularities on your nails.

For an elevated beach read, Ashley Mears’ Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit ($40, Indigo books) is a sharp-eyed but nuanced insider’s tour through the ‘models and bottles’ world of fancy nightclubs, ‘enterprising’ party promoters and beautiful women used as props to lure rich men.

Guerlain Terracotta bronzing powder, $66, Shoppers Drug Mart, now boasts 96% naturally-derived ingredients with a wide shade range in a fine powder formulation that melts into skin for a believable tan.

Summer Friday’s Lip Butter Balm in new Vanilla Beige $29, Sephora) subtly tints lips for a tawny effect to set off darker skin or amplify a tan.

Resuscitate sun and chlorine-dried hair with Klorane’s Nourishing & Repairing Mask with Cupuaçu butter ($14.99, Well.ca) Leave it on for minutes or overnight as a rinse-off mask or warm a bit in your hands and rake through your damp hair as a leave-in conditioner.

* An iced rosé is known as a ‘piscine’ (swimming pool) in France.

Not Going to New York Any Time Soon, So I Bought La Mercerie's Coffee Glasses Online

Roman and Williams Guild/La Mercerie

When we are finally back to normal, I want my first trip to be to New York City, even though three of my favourite shops: Dean & Deluca, Apartment by the Line and the original Barney’s are now gone.

The perfect place to have a galette and a coffee. La Mercerie

Luckily, at the bottom of Soho, between slowly gentrifying Canal Street and Howard Street, sits Roman & Williams Guild, the most beautiful home store with a French restaurant, La Mercerie, in the front. (I so miss eating a crêpe while people-watching-slash-evesdropping.)

I regret not even even buying a small bowl or this little scallop edged bread plate. Photo: Liza Herz

The furniture and housewares at Roman & Williams Guild are so beautiful and so expensive that it’s best not to get too tipsy at lunch because you may start planning how to sneak a $9,000 leather couch across the border. Better to focus on something small and portable. (I really regret not buying this little scallop-edged butter plate the last time I ate there.)

And the glassware! La Rochere’s Zinc glasses, are often available online. With their vertical ridges and softly fluted shapes, they are less purely functional and more decorative than say, a classic Duralex Picardie tumbler.

There’s even a shorter Zinc espresso glass, that Ottolenghi carries in London. Which reminds me, that’s another town I want to visit.

Ottolenghi usually has the espresso glass in stock.

La Rochere’s Zinc glass brings style to your morning coffee.

They also add sparkle to the bar nook in Athena Calderone’s Brooklyn home.

Pro Pedicure Tools & Techniques From Tips Nail Bar

Photo: Vogue Paris

If you were inspired by our last post to give yourself a pedicure, but don’t know where to start, the team at Toronto’s beauty editor favourite Tips Nail Bar has created a professional grade nine-piece Deluxe Pro Pedicure Kit ($75), which comes with all the ‘how did I ever live without these’ tools to bring your feet back from the brink. Just follow the steps on their IGTV video (below, or find it on Instagram in their IGTV under ‘10 Steps to Pedicure Perfection’ and then sit back and admire your handiwork.

Photo courtesy of Tips Nail Bar

The kit contains these professional grade items: a wooden foot file, a stainless steel cuticle pusher, straight edge nail clippers, a nail file and buffer, a 2oz Bodtini exfoliating body polish/scrub, a 2oz Bodtini hydrating silk lotion, 2oz cuticle/callus softener, 2oz 100% acetone and a pair of hydrating foot booties/foot mask.

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Extreme Measures Foot Saver aka The Tips Medical Pedicure

If you’ve watched your feet get into ever-worse shape as a result of aging or even just walking too much because Covid closed your gym (thickening nails, uneven texture, code red-level calluses) there is a pedicure for that.

Tips’ own Naomi Misu and Melissa Pepe have trained in and offer a medical pedicure that I can attest is truly life-changing. (I was rendered speechless by its clock-rewinding effectiveness that borders on magic.)

This medical pedicure can “alleviate the discomfort and pain associated with ingrown toenails, creates toenail enhancements on nails that have been damaged or don’t grow properly, as well as being an ideal pedicure for diabetics, or seniors as the skin is more fragile and requires a different approach and products.”

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These could be your feet!

Pedicure Secrets From Essie Nail Pro Rita Remark

Essie’s Tangerine Tease and Bikini So Teeny

After feeling like a hobbit these past many months, I’m happy to be pedicuring again. Pedicure appointments are up 200% from their pre-pandemic numbers, because freshly done toes make you feel instantly groomed and provide a happy hit of serotonin each time you catch a glimpse of your feet.

But if a salon visit is still out of the question, a DIY pedicure can also provide a happy feeling even if your execution isn’t 100%. After all, your feet are far away, so you or anyone else can’t be inspecting them too closely. (That’s at least one bonus to having failing eyesight.)

As we age, getting glossy, perfect toes may require overcoming such dubious delights as ridges on nails and ever-drier skin. So we asked Essie’s ebullient and super-talented lead nail artist, Rita Remark, how to handle these obstacles (with product recommendations too), as she is a firm believer that you can do it yourself with a bit of insider knowledge.

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Oldish: I understand that you have your own optimal pedicure posture?

RR: For a lot of us it’s common to sit on a chair, and fold ourselves in half like a compact, with our head between our legs and we’re polishing that way. That just makes me dizzy.

When you apply polish with your chest on your knees it’s really not comfortable, so I always recommend you sit on the floor and prop your foot up on a book. If you get your foot a little higher off the ground at a better level, it makes the whole process much easier.

What are your favourite summer colours?

It’s not summer until I have Bikini So Teeny (above) on my toes. It’s beyond sky blue –if you took sky blue and made it neon. And Tangerine Tease is such a bright orange, a traffic cone orange.

Are there any polish finishes you should avoid over 50?

I would absolutely avoid anything frosted or metallic because these shine a light on the ridges. If you want a glamorous look, instead use a glittery polish (small or large glitter bits work) which obscures imperfections on the nail. Other textures that work great for ridged nails are cream, sheer and jelly. Just make sure to always pair them with the ridge filling base coat.

Do you recommend buffing and/or using a ridge-filling base coat?

Essie Smooth-e base coat

A light buff with a buffing block will be helpful for superficial ridges, but it's critical to not overdo it or to buff too often. Once every couple weeks is fine, but too much will thin your nails or cause peeling. 

To conceal ridges, start your manicure with a ridge filling base coat like Essie Smooth-e, $12.99, Shoppers Drug Mart. it doesn't just even out the surface of the nail, it also contains ceramides that lock in moisture for dry nails. 

Any special top coat?

A more voluminous topcoat like Essie Gel.setter $12,99, Shoppers Drug Mart, will fill in any left-over ridges or uneven areas on the nail, leaving a glass-like shine.

When you apply top coat, always use a light touch and make sure the brush doesn’t press into the polish – the brush should just glide down the nail. Just hover and bring it down lightly and always cap the tip, to prevent chips. 

Dry skin seems drier now. But even diligently applying a rich lotion doesn’t seem to do enough.

As we age, our nails, like our skin and hair, have a tougher time retaining moisture. So it's important to use a cuticle/nail moisturizer daily (or many times throughout the day) to keep nails and cuticles soft, strong and beautiful. 

Essie Apricot Nail & Cuticle Oil

I love Apricot Nail & Cuticle Oil, $12.99, Shoppers Drug Mart, because it uses apricot kernel oil which mimics our skin's own sebum so it's absorbed easily without a greasy residue. it also smells delicious which is a great incentive to use it all the time.

And cuticle oil will extend the life of your pedicure because if your cuticles are intact, your polish grows out really nicely.