Insider Insight: Aerin Lauder

Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder Heir & Businesswoman.

If you're here reading this, there's a strong chance you've tried, if at not least heard of the release of AERIN, the high-end, highly-anticipated release of Estee Lauder's granddaughter, Aerin Lauder's, own cosmetics line. AERIN is currently exclusive to Harrods and Selfridges London (also available at their online stores for the rest of us who don't live in the capital) and features simple and high-end, high-quality essentials with a few hints of seasonal shading thrown in. I've raved about the beauty that is Aerin before and her stunning office when the new collection was just news. I stumbled across an interview with site ITG  from September, which has just made me love her more; its refreshing to hear that her first experiences with makeup are similar to many of us ladies, even if her grandmother was Estee Lauder...

"I’ve always been fairly classic, fairly traditional. Everyone always asks, ‘Did you ever rebel? Did you dye your hair blue? Did you wear black nail polish?’ I mean, of course, there have been episodes when you wear weird-colored lipstick… But generally, I think I was pretty much the way I am now. I stick with what I know, makeup-wise. Just because something is on trend doesn’t mean you have to embrace it. You can look at it and admire it, but that doesn’t mean you have to wear black nail polish or red lipstick. If you feel comfortable in what you’re wearing, you’ll look your best, and I think that’s a really important idea. Sometimes, whether it’s fashion or beauty, things are on-trend and they look beautiful on the runway, but when I apply them to myself it doesn’t look the way it should.

Beauty was always a part of my life. I always joke that I’ve been in the beauty business for 42 years, because my earliest memories are of my grandmother [Estée] putting makeup on, or spraying perfume, or mixing foundation with cream. I always wanted to be a part of the family business—I always loved it. I remember seeing piles of magazines with red tags in them, marking all the Estée Lauder ads. I didn’t know anything different because everywhere, all over her house, would be red-tagged magazines, so I just assumed they came that way. The first time I saw a magazine without tags I was like, ‘Why does it look like that?’ [Laughs] The beauty industry was always a part of my life, and I think it’s something that I just innately love because if you don’t love it, you can’t do it.

Insider Insight: Patti Wilson

Patti Wilson, Stylist.

A look into her life, beauty secrets & hero products...

“My mom is from Trinidad, and I was raised in New York—Queens. I’m into minimalism right now, so I’ve been dressing very Rad Hourani. I style his shows, so I’m totally into him, I love his aesthetic. I kind of match my beauty look to what I’m wearing, and I think the minimalist thing has creeped in. Every day I use a flat iron on my hair, and lots of Redken Glass 01 Smoothing Serum while I’m doing it. It’s expensive, but we always try and call it in or find places where it is really cheap. I wash my hair once a week with Mane ‘n Tail shampoo, and flat iron it every morning. I hate if it gets a little bit of wave, and this just seems the simplest way to manage it. I work with a lot of hairdressers for shoots, so I don’t have to go through the process of finding the right things—they just tell you what’s good.

For my skin, I use Perricone MD Cold Plasma. It’s too expensive, but it just feels good. I use it morning and night. I’m really into skincare—it’s important. I use Nars Gentle Cream Cleanser, the Balancing Toning Lotion, and then he has this brightener thing that I kind of like. I know it sounds weird, but it just makes you look really bright. It’s not really a lightener, it’s a brightener: Nars Brightening Serum. And theHydrating Moisture Cream. The jars are so massive, I told [François Nars] he has to stop. [Laughs] I’ve known him for 15 years, and I do all of his campaigns. I have been to his house in Tahiti, it’s amazing. He’s got everything, and the boat is right there…I have some soaps from Tahiti, like Tahitian coconut, which I use in the bath.

Insider Insight: Caroline Issa

Caroline Issa, Fashion Director at Tank.

A look into her life, beauty secrets & hero products...

When I started working at Tank, I decided to let my hair grow out. It was a bad phase; I had this little mushroom on my head. Literally nobody saw me for my first two years at Tank because I was just like, ‘There’s no way I’m being introduced to anybody looking like this,’ until it grew out into a normal place. Now I have loads of hair, and I don’t deal with it very well. I’ve been using Super Sleek Smoothing Shampoo from Ojon; it has macadamia nut and other oils in it. And my hair stylist Angelo Seminara turned me onto this amazing organic oil, OI from Davines, which I put on when my hair is wet. And then I’ll do a bun or a braid, and slick back all the frizzies with L’Oréal Paris gel. Right now, I’m growing my hair out because I’ve decided what my September look is going to be: stick-straight and really long. When I get to New York for fashion week—because it’s really a very New York thing—I’ll get a normal New York blow dry, which you just can’t get in London—there are no blow-dry bars. And then I’ll probably cut it in October.

This is as much makeup as I can handle: mascara, eyeliner, and a red lip. I don’t have anything on my skin. Yes, I’m totally lucky, but the thing is, I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my entire life, I don’t drink huge amounts of alcohol, and I have a Chinese mother—that, I think, is my advantage. My mom does not look a day over 45, and she’s 65. Asian skin is amazing. My dad is Lebanese-Iranian, so the mix of all these crazy cultures together has been really helpful. I mean, I have a glass of wine every night, but because I’m half-Chinese I just can’t hold my alcohol very well, which means I’m a really cheap date, but I think it probably helps the skin situation.