I am super uptight about oral hygiene so when I wake up I brush my teeth right away. Usually I’ll do a light spritz on my face with an Evian Spray and then I work out. After I get back from the gym I wash my face with Cetaphil. I’ve been using it for a hundred years; it’s the most amazing cleanser in the world. My grandmother’s ninety years old and she’s been using it forever and has amazing skin so that has always stuck with me. I use a Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado and recently started using a new moisturizer, Clinique Moisture Surge. It’s really good and only thirty dollars a jar, which is pretty incredible. In the winter I like the La Prairie Caviar Cream when my skin is dry.

When it comes to cosmetics I am very low key. Lipstick is my number one product; it’s my armor. No matter how crappy I feel or how much I hate my outfit I always put on some lipstick and it can change everything. I am not a brand loyalist and have about fifty different tubes. I’m wearing Estée Lauder, Fuchsia Velvet and I have a Clarins red that I have been obsessed with forever. I just got into a dark lip from MAC and am loving it. I am making it my mission this year to learn how to wear eyeliner. I just have never figured it. I am determined to master a nice little cat eye and winged flip. I’ve been wearing DiorShow mascara forever, that’s my go to.

I try to wash my face every single night; I hate to go to bed with any makeup on. Moisturizing my hands is really important to me. Hands are the telltale sign of how old a woman is, I am fanatical about keeping my hands youthful looking. I use L’Occitane hand cream and sometimes I sleep with cotton gloves. I put Vaseline on my lips every single night. I hate the feeling of dry lips.

I chopped all my hair off in October for a shoot for Glamour. It was down to my waist and cut more than ten inches off, it was so scary. It was a huge move for me after having long hair for years and years.”

Photos by Aimee Blaut in New York

The Lips: For the brave, wearing just a simple black lip can elevate your look to instant punk status. At Moschino Cheap and Chic they painted on MAC’s Lipmix with a lip brush to achieve this glossy perfection.

The Eyes: Charcoal eyes are a must. Since spring is in the air, I went for a lighter take on the typical black liner and mixed in an architectural element. You can recreate this edgy look at home in a few simple steps:

(1) Draw a small dot one centimeter below your bottom lash line, in the center. Draw the second dot about two centimeters away from the outer corner of your eye. When you look at the two points, there should be a slight incline.

(2) Connect the dots with MAC kohl liner in Feline. You can do this in one straight line or by making small connecting dashes. If you need to steady your hand, place your elbow on a table.

(3): Add a small angled line to intersect the first one.

(4): Clean up with Q-tips and eye makeup remover, fixing any smudges. Make sure to apply some light powder to the areas where you used makeup remover, so that it won’t cause the rest of your makeup to smudge later.

The Nails: During The Ramones’ heyday, black chipped nails reigned supreme. To glam it up a bit, go for a glossy black and with a popping neon hue on only a few of your nails.

The Hair:  Joan Jett’s choppy mane might involve losing some inches, but for a less drastic measure, add a little color. For lighter-haired folks, Manic Panic makes an easy-to-use dust on color that washes out at night. Darker-haired ladies have a bit of challenge in this department, but clip on extensions are a great temporary option. Balmain Hair sells amazing clip-on’s that take to hair dye really easily.

Photos by: Aimee Blaut in London

When I wake up I splash my face with Anne Semonin Marine Tonic, it’s the best product. It feels like something fresh from the sea is waking up my skin. Then I use Anne Semonin Olgio Pure cream for hydration.

My mother is South African and we have these pills that we call African potato. They are a combination of African roots that support your immune system. So I take this every morning with some hot water and vitamin C.

I start my makeup with Lingerie de Peau foundation from Guerlain, it’s very delicate so it doesn’t look too heavy. I love the scent—all the Guerlain products smell amazing. For blush I use either Fred Farrugia or MAC. I always have a lipstick of the moment (laughs) my current obsession is Merlot by Laura Mercier. I use DiorShow mascara and that’s it.

Fleur D’Oranger is my thing, it’s such a delicate scent.

At night I clean my face and use three drops of Anne Semonin Precious Serum. In fact Anne Semonin says that you should never use cream at night and I think she is right, it’s good for your skin to breathe a little. And of course I put Eight Hour Cream on my lips before bed.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut in Paris

Monday morning started early at The Row. I headed backstage to check out the makeup before I had to run to a fitting.

The makeup by Sunday Riley was fresh and flawless. They used a palette of nudes applying minimal mascara and a taupey brown highlighter on the eye.

More from Day 5 to come!

xx, Nastasia

NYFW MODEL DIARIES DAY 4:

Sunday was a pretty light day for me. Malan Breton was my first show at Pier59 this season.

backstage everyone glued to their iPhones. . .

The makeup drew inspiration from old Hollywood glam like Marilyn Monroe. The lip and the eye were emphasized. They used a deep red lipstick, liquid eyeliner and falsies to play up the drama.

After the show I headed home to rest for a busy Monday.

xx, Nastasia

NYFW MODEL DIARIES DAY 3:

The morning after the blizzard!

My first show of the day was Ruffian. The look was Victorian with a blood red lip and a red smokey eye.

The MAC color palette

Obsessed with the amazing nails by MAC (especially the veils)

Since I couldn’t make it in time to Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony, the lovely Carolina Amaris of Lurve Magazine checked out the backstage beauty  for me.

MAC  key artist Mark Carrasquillo designed a bad girl look cutting their false lashes in half to add some edge.

It was a serious sixties movement. Each girl had her own unique hairstyle that reflected her personality, I love how it turned out.

Backstage with Opening Ceremony’s Humberto.

The shoes were so good.

My last show of the day was for Israeli designer Alon Livne at Lincoln Center.

The makeup look was clean with hints of metallics to catch the light. Our hair was tied up into armored buns.

After the show I caught up with some friends before heading out for the night. See you tomorrow. . .

xx, Nastasia

NYFW MODEL DIARIES DAY 2:

I started off day two of NYFW with the Redken team. We did a shoot in the morning before I headed off to the shows.

I loved the side braided crown they created for my first look.

After the shoot I rushed across town to Lorry Newhouse where I was walking in the show. I love the side part they did on all the girls. After the show was done I hopped in a cab and headed to Milk Studios to shoot backstage at SUNO.

When I arrived backstage Xiao Wen was getting her nails done.

The makeup look was fresh and romantic. The main focus were the eyes with earthy red tones (cream and powder eye shadow by MAC) blended in. They opted not to use mascara or lipstick and to apply an extra coat of moisturizer to the girls for a dewy look.

Codie Young had an army prepping her.

After the show it was off to bed before another long day tomorrow.

xx, Nastasia

NYFW MODEL DIARIES DAY 1:

My NYFW kicked off with the Surface to Air show.  I loved their signature ‘go home’ sweatshirt paired with the dark lip.

Backstage I found my look for the show.

And that’s a wrap for day one.

xx, Nastasia

iPhone photos: By Nastasia Ohl

“My relationship to beauty and aging is problematic at the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever felt really comfortable in my own body and skin and that colors my view on fashion and beauty a lot. I don’t own my body; I live in my head. Maybe I owned my body when I was ten or eleven but it doesn’t feel like its mine. It is probably the feminine thing that I find annoying. After eleven you become a woman and you get breasts and hips and I never wanted to deal with that at all. I want really straight proportions. I’m not one of those women who say I love women and the female form. If you’re a designer and a feminist you’re supposed to cherish women. I don’t think my clothes are sexist and in that sense they are feminist, they don’t make women into objects. Women who dress for men won’t buy my clothes. Every designer says they are designing for a strong independent woman who knows their style, but that’s really bullshit. The best customer is someone who has no self-esteem, no idea of her own style and lots of money.

I used to use a lot of red lipstick at the end of the eighties and early nineties when the House clubs were big. Back then you couldn’t really wear anything on your face or eyes just bright red lips. You had clear colorless mascara as well. I just started wearing red lipstick again.

In the main line (Atelje) I work with grander themes like porn or God or violence things like that. The Back collection is more of a style than based on different themes every season. I have to start with something that I dislike and then turn it into something that I do like. This collection I worked with work wear which I always found a bit itchy and couldn’t stand and now I cant get enough of it, that’s how it sort of works for me (laughs).. I don’t know any other way.

I had normal people in my shows for many years, and it wasn’t like I was on a crusade or wanted to make normal people feel better, I had no interest in that. It was because I thought it was more beautiful because it was more interesting to me. In the end I realized that people didn’t really see the clothes because they thought it was so strange I had normal people and my strange music. I’ve gotten used to models now, they are a blank canvas and I realize that. 

Sometimes I don’t have any idea at all about the beauty look for my shows, so I talk with the stylist and makeup artist about my inspiration and they sort of give me an idea. I tend to not like a heavily made up face. Its either eyes or lips for me. I don’t like when the makeup and hair take over and distract from the clothes.”

Makeup Artist Ignacio Alonso designed the look with Anne-Sofie for the BACK show. They went for an old fashioned “lady look” working with layers of powder to get a matte finish. The lips were also layered starting with a base of MAC cult lipstick Ruby Woo. To add warmth to the lips they applied orange and red blush along with the MAC Pro Red lip pallet.

Photos by: Aimee Blaut in Stockholm

Victoria’s Secret, Showstopper, $14;  Stila, Tesoro, $22; NARS, Holly Woodlawn, $26; Sisley, Rouge, $55; NARS Cruella, $24

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

“When I wake up in the morning I eat a snack and drink a cup of tea. Then I head out for a run followed by the gym or pilates. My beauty routine starts out with Cetaphil moisturizer and then RoC under eye serum.”

“For makeup I use Chanel Sheer Illuminator or Makeup Forever’s HD Primer, but only if I will be wearing makeup all day. Next I use some Bo-iing concealer by Benefit and Bobbi Brown Pressed Powder in white. I line my eyes with black pencil liner and then use Estee Lauder’s Lash Primer Plus. I alternate between Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes mascara and Maybelline Great Lash, the one that comes in the pink and green bottle. And finally I use MAC liquid liner to make dots and lines around my eyes and I’m done.”

“My favorite beauty brands are Make-up Forever, Bobbi Brown, Benefit and MAC. I can’t live without eyeliner, candy corn and raw nut mix.”

“When I think about beautiful memories I often think about a walk that my grandma (Bear) would take me on as a child. We would leave her house and walk up the road past two different cemeteries and then turn left onto a hidden dirt path that wound through the forest. It led to an open field of daffodils and an abandoned wooden shack. She’d tell me that ‘Old Man Lochi’ had lived there years before.”

“My favorite salon is Dop Dop. My friend Cesar is the creative director there and is the only person who can get my hair this shade. Cesar and his team also do amazing work on my fashion shows.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut

“I am a big believer in less is more when it comes to beauty, especially with my hair. I feel like the less I do to it, the better it looks. I try to air-dry it and I use Moroccan Oil shampoo and conditioner — they also have this amazing mask that makes my hair looks shiny and awesome. I cut my hair myself and color it myself…. I know that is the one thing they tell you not to do [laughs]. I was blonde for a while but went back to darker hair, which was nice for the winter.”

“I feel like makeup can clog my pores so I use Bare Minerals, which I love — it’s light. I love a little blush; that is probably my one thing that I always put on. I use Bare Minerals in Warmth and then I have another one they make that is a little peachy. The peach is great for the summer when your skin is a little sun-kissed. If I am going to work, I usually just do that and add mascara.”

“I like to vamp it up when I go out and do a smokey eye or eyeliner. I like to play with complimentary colors. If I apply a pencil with a bit of purple in it, the green in my eyes comes out and I notice that I get a lot more compliments than when I wear black.  Also red lips are the one thing that is so easy and you automatically look ready to go. I just recently discovered this MAC lipstick called So Chaud. It’s matte and looks very Sixties when you put it on. I prefer lipsticks that are orangey for my skin tone.”

“I’m really into old grandma tricks and love the idea of using stuff in your kitchen to take care of your skin. I shower cold every day as it is good for circulation and keeps your skin flexible. Afterwards I use coconut oil, which is the best to moisturize with.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut

“I wake up in the morning and have my green tea which I think is good for my skin. Then I start putting my Avène, it’s like a fresh water. Then I clean myself and use my cream of Avène. I was not using Avène before but it was recommended and I like the smell.”

“I am a big big fan of perfumes, my best are: Annick Goutal, Jo Malone, Diptyque and Creed. I have all the different kinds but I never use commercial ones. I always try to look for something very special, perfumes avec des fleurs. I just found a new one that I like with white flowers. I change them a lot because I like to go back and smell them. It’s like a film, it reminds you of everything, the person, how, where-it’s funny. I love that.”

“I like the Laura Mercier concealer because it comes in a box with two colors. Since my skin is a little bit dry I use another one that is more creamy from the pharmacy, La Roche Posay. I use a bit of black on my eyes, but very natural. I’m not so much about mascara, just on stage. I use the Burberry one they offered me. I try to be very natural, never looking like I have too much on.”

“Sometimes during the day I wear lipstick but at night I always wear lipstick. I use CHANEL, which I love and I really like the smell of their lipsticks. I’m using also MAC, which stays on all night long because it’s makeup for shows — that’s what I use on stage.”

“I use Bioderma to take off my makeup at night and then Avène spray again. I use some special stuff from the dermatologist, but I don’t even know what is it, but it burns [laughs]. I also use a cream which is pretty crazy, it’s for when your skin is being bad. It’s not really working right now, because I’ve been drinking a lot of wine [laughs].  Then I go to bed and hope that when I wake up something’s going to happen.”

Photos by: Aimee Blaut