Bal Harbour

A s celebrity interviews go, beauty can be a touchy topic. You wouldn't think it—in today's image-conscious world creams and shampoos seem like pretty safe territory, but they can reveal a lot about a person's character. Does she layer on serums like she's dressing for a blizzard? Or is she the closet groomer who feigns that she effortlessly "doesn't do much at all"? And there are the actresses who, through their publicists, say right off the bat that they don't do that kind of story, as if beauty was a kind of feminine allergy. After more than eight years of covering beauty for The New York Times—a good part of that interviewing celebrities on their regimens, work which I've since compiled into a new book, Skin Deep: Women on Skin Care, Makeup and Looking Their Best (Abrams)—I'm happy to say that the latter attitude has been shifting. A recent interview with Australian actress Ruby Rose perhaps best captured the new thinking about beauty: "There are people who balk when asked about their beauty regimen because they think 'beauty' is a vain sort of thing. I don't really think about it like that. I consider it all as self- care. I really enjoy the process." It's powerful what a new vocabulary can do. The word "beauty" may be linked to vanity, but "self-care" suggests a dedication to health and well-being. In certain cultures, this has long been the case. In fact, Clémence von Mueffling, a New York-based Parisian who comes from a long line of beauty editors, has a wonderful site called Beauty and Well-Being. Over lunch recently, von Mueffling noted how beauty for French women is the entire experience. "We are all so busy now," she says. "This is just a bit of time for yourself." These practices, or time-outs, can have profound impacts beyond the skin's surface. According to Dr. Amy Wechsler, who is board- certified in both dermatology and psychiatry, self-care rituals can de-stress and boost confidence; beauty regimens can prepare us for a tough day at work or signal our minds to go into relaxation mode. And taken in the sober context of today's news headlines, how lovely is the concept of beauty as a respite? SKIN DEEP Author Bee Shapiro reflects on nearly a decade of covering beauty for The New York Times. 64 BAL HARBOUR PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH LIPPMAN AND ERIN BAIANO s celebrity interviews go, beauty can be a touchy topic. You wouldn't think it—in today's image-conscious world creams and shampoos seem like pretty safe territory, but they can reveal a lot about a person's character. Does she layer on serums like she's dressing for a blizzard? Or is she the closet groomer who feigns that she effortlessly "doesn't do much at all"? And there are the actresses who, through their publicists, say right off the bat that they don't do that kind of story, as if beauty was a After more than eight years of covering beauty for The New —a good part of that interviewing celebrities on their regimens, work which I've since compiled into a new book, Skin Deep: Women on Skin Care, Makeup and Looking Their Best (Abrams)—I'm happy to say that the latter attitude has been shifting. A recent interview with Australian actress Ruby Rose perhaps best captured the new thinking about beauty: "There are people who balk when asked about their beauty regimen because they think women is the entire experience. "We are all so busy now," she says. These practices, or time-outs, can have profound impacts beyond the skin's surface. According to Dr. Amy Wechsler, who is board- certified in both dermatology and psychiatry, self-care rituals can de-stress and boost confidence; beauty regimens can prepare us for a tough day at work or signal our minds to go into relaxation mode. And taken in the sober context of today's news headlines, how As featured in the book "Skin Deep," clockwise from above: makeup artist Bobbi Brown, model Alek Wek and actress Nicole Richie. "There are people who balk when asked about their beauty regimen because they think 'beauty' is a vain sort of thing. I consider it all as self-care." —Ruby Rose

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