We were living in Paris and two years ago we decided to  move the family to New York. We love it here; and always say we have a crush on New York like all the French (laughs). It’s an exciting time for us, we are opening our first worldwide boutique in December. We wanted to open it here in the city. The flagship will be on Bleecker and Grove in the West Village, I love the area.

When I get up in the morning I use Micellar Water, which attracts the dust and leaves my skin fresh. Then I wash my face. Right now I am trying my new cleanser that will be launched in early 2013. I am redoing my cleansing line because I found some new recycled packaging, and want to make it even greener. Then I use my Vine Expert Firming Serum and layer Premier Cru over that as my moisturizer. Under my eyes I put the Premier Cru Eye Cream underneath the Eye serum. I put a lot of layers on like the Korean women do.

Right now I am trying a BB Cream that we are launching in a few months, but otherwise I use the tinted moisturizer. I use Bobbi Brown dark eyeliner on my eyes, Lancôme Hypnôse mascara and NARS Orgasm blush on my cheeks. If I need to mattify my T-zone I use some Trish McEvoy white finishing powder. I don’t use a lot of makeup.

When I arrived here I had lunch with those Upper East Side girls and they all had beige nails. With my dark polish I felt like a gothic, crazy, rock and roll person (laughs). I was eating at Cipriani and at Cipriani it’s all beige.

One of our most popular products is the Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, which is used for brightening the skin and a clearer complexion. When we launched it, it was not a big hit, but then we had two French journalists who made the difference. One was a very heavy smoker and was using it morning and night and her complexion turned rosier and less grey. It became a sensation because all the French women smoke (laughs). The second journalist brought the serum to Saint Tropez during her holiday and she put it on underneath her sunscreen and wrote that her suntan lasted longer with no brown spots. It’s such a great product and after that it became huge.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut

“I am not such a beauty girl. I am very natural; I think I am very French for this. At the same time I am a woman and a Beauty Editor so I have to test some stuff [laughs]. When I wake up the first thing I love to do is spray rosewater on my face. Afterwards I have a green tea then take a shower. I have sensitive skin so for my face I use a lot of La Roche-Posay and Avène—more pharmaceutical products.  For my body I can try everything. I love the smells and textures. I take the time to nourish my skin with lots of Clarins Sérum Corps Peau Neuve it’s  my basic and afterwards I use Aesop.”

“I know American girls wash their hair everyday but I can’t. Since I was young I’ve been told that if I wash my hair everyday it will be too dry so I wash it every other day. I put a lot of oil in my hair before I shampoo it. I’m a Mediterranean woman, from the French Riviera so I love oil. I use the Kiehl’s Amino Acid Shampoo with coconut. I love Kerastase and the brands of L’Oreal Professional. Shu Uemura Art of Hair products have great texture and smell nice. After I wash my hair I use a serum like the one from David Mallet or an Aveda cream for texture so I don’t look like a big head of hair. I never use any blow dryers though. I think when you have curly hair you need to come as you are. In France we have a sentence that means if you want to forget your natural way it will come back fast and strong.”

“I love to wear some splash after I nourish my skin. Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino is amazing. I use so many because for me it is a very feminine and important gesture. It is not so much about the smell because the scents  are very subtle.”

“I only wear a little makeup. I don’t use a foundation, just some powder from Givenchy, Croisière . Now that it is summer I have some tan so I try to keep it. Afterwards I add pink because it can look too brown otherwise with the bronzer. I don’t like eye shadow or eyeliner so much because afterwards I can be a mess like a girl coming home with everything all over. I use a lot of black mascara by La Roche-Posay. I have very sensitive eyes and this one is very gentle. Sometimes I put blue pencil around my eyes just to change it up, but if I don’t use this blue, I use nothing. I think black looks hard on me. At the end of the day if I’m going to a party I’ll wear lipstick. I like a good matte lipstick with a lot of color like MAC Lady Danger. For the day I prefer something more sweet, with color but not too strong.”

“The last thing I do before I leave the house is apply real perfume. I love No.19 by Chanel. I have had it since I was seventeen. It is my first and my all and my everything, my first love [laughs]. Sometimes I use L’eau Froide, by Serge Lutens it means cold water. It is very special because when you smell it, it is very cold but it is hot at the same time.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut

“I only use Clarins [laughs] for sure, for everything! It is the best for me, I am used to it, if I put something else on my skin I am going to have a reaction–even my makeup is Clarins and what I use on my body. In the morning I wake up, shower and wash my face with Doux Nettoyant Moussant then I put on Lotion Tonique for the visage. Next I use the Crème Éclat for vitamins and radiance. Everyday I use Défatigant cream on my eyes. It is great to combat fatigue when I am very tired.”

“What I use on my body is very complicated [laughs]. I use a moisturizing cream, Baume Hydratant on my hands and calves. Then on my thighs I use Tonic Huile, which is the best and it smells so good. When girls are pregnant they use this oil to prevent stretch marks. It is to tonify the skin so I put it there and on my butt [laughs]. On my chest I use something special for the bust. It firms and pushes everything up, but you have to use it for a long time. And you have to do exercises also [laughs]. That is what our grandfather always told us, for him it was the worst for a woman to have her boobs fall down.”

“I use a light foundation to matify my skin so it doesn’t look shiny. Then I use blush and for sure mascara and a lipstick. The most important thing for me is to have some color on my lips like a light pink lipstick. I think I look very sick when I don’t have anything on my lips. And I always use Baume Lèvres Réparateur to keep my lips moisturized.”

“Our grandfather explained to us how to properly apply products. It is not just the products that are important but how you put them on your body. A girl can apply a very efficient cream incorrectly and then it isn’t efficient at all. For example when you put creams on you need to apply it upwards and never rub your face always pat it in.”

“I love pink polish because I have brown hair. I am going to Monaco tonight and am wearing Strawberry Margherita by O.P.I. it is the best, and lasts so long.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut

Photos By: Aimee Blaut

I spritzed and sprayed the morning away with Laurence (trying my best not to get distracted by the shiny objects, ahem — the sexy rings.)

In the end, these were my favorite perfumes:

Pour Elle, Mauboussin’s provocative yet feminine scent with rose and red-fruit heart on a jasmine and gardenia blend. It’s known as their “love potion” and comes playfully topped with a signature ring.

Oriental, a mature fragrance with notes of golden plum, Indian jasmine and red mandarin.

M Moi, my personal favorite (partially because it is a play on my name, Aimee) I’m crazy about white flowers like narcissus – and M Moi combines them with white currant and cashmere wood.

I’ll take all three please! (That’s right, Santa, I do accept late presents.)

Photos by: Aimee Blaut

“ I got into being a fashion & culture writer in an unusual way. I had to take time off of school for back surgery and was terrified to waste a year of my life in recovery. It just so happened that at this time the parents of my friend were launching the fashion magazine DIVA. They asked if I wanted to be an assistant and see if I liked it. We had a lot of freedom and I was promoted to News Editor pretty quickly. It was a wonderful first job in the industry and helped me to develop my point of view.

When the magazine folded its Fashion Editor, Christine Lerche was moving on to become Deputy Fashion Editor at Marie Claire. She introduced me to Marie-Noëlle Demay, Marie Claire’s Fashion Editor-in-Chief. They hired me to create a fashion news page that I write for the magazine every month.”

“My idea of beauty is really fluid. Working for Marie Claire I am exposed to one side of the industry. I am good at keeping an open mind drawing my influences from not only fashion but renaissance painting and cinema as well. Over time I’ve come to learn what becomes me. I’m also very observant – I watch women, how they dress, how they walk, how they move, how they talk, how they do their make-up or not do their make-up… I get inspired by the people around me, and in turn create my own little style drawing from everything I see that I love.

I’m crazy about fair skinned red heads and am drawn to unusual cold beauties. I love a woman who can look great naturally, with hardly any make-up on and still turn heads. Jessica Chastain is my most recent beauty crush. I also love Cate Blanchett, not only has she got perfect skin and a beautiful face, but she has amazing style.”

“When I wake up I’ll spray some Avène Thermal Spring Water on my face. It gently wakes my skin and washes off night sweats. After breakfast I wash my face with Bioderma’s Cleansing Foam and put on my moisturizer of the moment. Next I’ll lightly dab on some of Decléor’s Flower-Dew Moisturizing Eye Gel-Crème to keep my eyes looking fresh. I like to wait a few minutes after this and let my skin rest before I get into my makeup.”

“I never really liked foundation… until I met Armani’s Face Fabric. It was love at first try. I never go without it. I wear it every time I go out and it makes my skin look naturally flawless and dewy. I am minimal with blush and will swipe on some of Guerlain’s Terracotta on my cheekbones. That is about all I do for color : as far as I am concerned, the fairer the better… In terms of my eyes I don’t wear mascara everyday. When I do, I apply Shu Uemura’s Lash Builder as a base to protect and nourish my lashes. It also makes applying mascara a lot easier. I never put anything on my lips (except plain treatments) but I do love to glam’ up my eyes for the evening. And for that, MAC is my best friend. I love their eye liner pens and eye shadows I probably have around twenty different colors.”

”Since summers in Paris aren’t as humid and hot as in they are in the US, the change isn’t too drastic between seasons here. But when I come to NY for the summer my entire regimen needs a revision. To ward off the strong sun I use the Bobbi Brown Protective Face Lotion SPF 15 during the day. I wash my face with Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser twice daily and go to sleep with the Clarins Multi-Active Night Crème on. This is my perfected summer in the city routine.”

“I think that every girl needs the best hairdresser they can find. I found mine at David Mallett. The first time I went there three years ago I felt like my hair had finally found heaven. The salon is hidden in a gorgeous apartment in the 2nd arrondissement. It’s more expensive if David cuts your hair, but the crew working with him is just as talented. They have one look at you and just know what to do. Every friend who listened to my recommendation has become as devoted.”

photos by: THE FORMULA