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Welcome to Beauty Diary: Seven days of getting glam with an industry insider. From publicists to professional makeup artists, this is a week in the life of someone who lives and breathes beauty.
- Only got an hour and a half of sleep on the plane so I'm dealing with some serious jet lag face. Dabbing a little of Stila's
- Cappuccino pitstop. Very excited about the Dries Van Noten show today. I'm still pretending to be French so I swipe on another red lip (I brought four different options), this time in Short Circuit by Nars.
- Stopping by the Proenza Schouler exhibit at Le Bon Marché department store. Not only is it great to see the clothes from so many different collections all in one place, but it's also the perfect excuse to pick up a Laura Mercier
- A selfie at the Proenza exhibit next to the cube installation. There are three of me!
- Got some sleep so I'm feeling better. My makeup routine for the day (and every other day that I'm not jet lagged or sick) is pretty quick and minimal. Bobbi Brown
- Picked up some snacks for the house. I'm staying with my generous friend Diane in the Marais. There's barely any time to eat in between shows so it's good to have things you can take on the go. I love France's answer to the baby carrot.
- I'm finding that the fastest and easiest way to get around town is the metro, plus a lot of walking (and the stairs at Diane's). I'm considering this my workout while I'm here.
- Last season, Rick Owens blew everyone out of the water with his show full of step dancers. This time he went with a mix of "real women" on the runway as well, which I loved. This woman's bone structure is insane.
- It's definitely time to wash my hair, which I hate, because it looks so poofy right after. I try and do it every other day—sometimes less frequently. I like this shampoo by Malin +
- Kill some time by popping into & Other Stories, which is basically H&M's little sister. I buy a navy cashmere beanie and marvel at the store's beauty section—the nail polishes are so bright and cute.
- Time for the Martin Margiela show. Definitely the most eclectic crowd of showgoers so far—lots of different hair colors and out-there silhouettes. The clothes are an intriguing mix of feminine menswear, but the big attraction is Kanye West,
- Dinner with some folks at KCD and a few other editors at Le Braisenville. Being a vegetarian in Paris hasn't been hard so far, but I found it sort of amusing that the waiter brought out a plate of shaved Parmesan cheese for my third course. Meeting my
- My ode to Paris. The art is an intricately cutout map of the city by Diane. It inspires me to take a break from the red lips and go with Chanel's Venise instead, which is kind of a dark rosy brown.
- Sat next to Eva Chen and Alexis Bryan Morgan from Lucky at the Acne show. Eva's always got the best nails, and her blue manicure here is no exception. And Alexis has the prettiest skin—I don't think I've seen the woman with a anything
- My other seat mate, Leandra Medine, aka the Man Repeller, and I compare sneakers (hers are Saint Laurent). White sneaks are huge this Fashion Week, especially Stan Smiths. Actually, pretty much everyone in Paris is wearing them. Maybe I should s
- Kenzo starts at 10 a.m. and have just enough time to shower and get there, but no caffeine, to which I am an addict. Kenzo to the rescue—ladies dressed up in cute little cigarette girl outfits are walking around and passing out coffee and caramel p
- I love how Kenzo has the models line up up at the end so you can take pictures. The colors in this collection were great, and it seems like the ideas were more sophisticated yet still sporty. And they gave me coffee!
- An editor friend tells me about City Pharma, one of the best places in the city to buy all those French drugstore beauty products everyone is always going on about. Naturally, I head straight there when I get a break.
- Makeup artists, editors, and models are always raving about Bioderma cleansing water,
- Dinner with a friend after the (excellent) Chloe show. She caught me trying to figure out how to get home on my phone, since I have no sense of direction. Were I have lost said phone during this trip, I'd still be there, wandering around the 18th s
- Start the day off right with scones and a cappuccino at Merci, a very cute cafe and store a few blocks from the apartment. One could argue that this isn't the healthiest breakfast but, hey, I'm in France, where the butter is supremely good.
- It's a lightish day of shows for me so I explore the city some more, à pied. Saint Laurent is tonight so I wear a pair of black ankle boots in tribute (though they're Laurence Dacade).
- Stop home to gather my show-going essentials: a Moleskin notebook, a new pink pen from Merci (a friend told me these were awesome, and they are), and Make cosmetics' matte/dew compact. The latter is genius, as one side contains a mattifying gel and
- The set at Saint Laurent incorporated so many mirrored beams, which rose from the floor in pairs as the show started, like the gates of a bridge. So elegant and chic. Is it bad that I checked my shine level in one afterward? Good thing I bought that matti
- Get to the Chanel show, only to find that the Grand Palais has been completely transformed into a giant Chanel-branded shopping center, stocked with every product you could ever imagine. It's so good it breaks my brain. There's even a beauty
- Karl takes his bow with Cara Delevingne. She looks very tan. I love the hair throughout the whole show—it's sort of a high-end take on a dread-locked gutter punk style, with a ponytail that has strips of fabric woven through it. I contemplat
- When the show ends we are told we can take the fruit and vegetables, but everyone wants to loot the place. Security guards rope people off as they walk out, but I manage to steal some gummies that are shaped like little Chanel No. 5 bottles and classic 2.
- Sorry, I couldn't resist! The Eiffel Tower is just so beautiful at night, and such a fitting way to end the day.
Fashionista co-editor in chief Stephanie Trong chose quite the week for her Beauty Diary: Paris Fashion Week. The New Yorker hit the ground running, dealing first with jet lag face before diving into a week loaded with fashion shows, French dairy products, and Adidas' re-released Stan Smiths.
After the jump, her charmed week in Paris mixing cult-status French pharmacy beauty products with her standby travel favorites. Plus, cameos from Karl Lagerfeld to Leandra Medine's feet.
· All Beauty Diary posts [Racked]
· A Week Of Beauty With Lucky Magazine's Laurel Pantin [Racked]
· Manicurist Holly Falcone Ditched Fashion Week For Cape Town [Racked]
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