The Beijing Trip: Day One

[HI, EVERYONE. I'M IN HONG KONG WHERE I CAN FINALLY ACCESS THE LANCOME BLOG! THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT COMMENTS. BEIJING WAS AMAZING. IF YOU'RE IN HONG KONG, WE'D LOVE TO SEE YOU THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE LANCOME BOUTIQUE IN FESTIVAL WALK.]



Bye, San Francisco. Michelle sleeps most of the flight, lucky girl. I try to sleep a bit, but wind up reading most of the flight. The movie selection is terrible for a 12-hour international flight! I was hoping to catch up on the 2010 movies I missed. Oh well.



A day later, we arrive at the sprawling Beijing Capital International Airport. I’m scanning the arrivals section for our driver when suddenly we hear, “Hello, Kerry! Hello, Michelle!” It’s Jerome, the head of PR for Lancôme China. He and his team have come all the way to the airport to greet us in person. How lovely. We don’t know this today, but by the end of the trip, we will both adore Jerome and be genuinely sad to say goodbye. Slender, funny and fashionable, Jerome seems to have learned everything he knows about America from “Sex and the City” and “The Amazing Race.” He quickly establishes that his favorite SATC character is Samantha. We pile in our min-van and head to our hotel, The Opposite House.



The Opposite House is so fabulous. If you ever visit Beijing, don’t stay anywhere else. It’s airy, modern, filled with art and populated with fashionable young Beijingese and visiting Westerners. I'm really amazed. I had no idea what to expect in Beijing, but this wasn't it. Maybe this isn't representative of the entire city, but there is a lot of energy here.



Each member of the bell staff has a cool hairdo and wears Adidas Sambas. Fonzi, with his John Mayer hair, is assigned to me and my suitcase. “Fonzi? Like ‘Happy Days’?” I ask. “Yes. It’s my nickname.” I love the hotel, but what blows my mind is opposite Opposite House. An indoor/outdoor luxury shopping mall called The Village. There’s Balenciaga, Balmain and, coming soon, Lanvin and Isabel Marant. Holy high roller. It’s like Vegas. Where is all this money coming from? I knew there was a luxury revolution underway in China, but I didn’t expect this.



Jerome takes us to dinner at China Grill, a restaurant on the 66th floor of the Park Hyatt Beijing hotel with panoramic views of the sprawling city. Dinner is nice, but I feel body slammed by the jet lag. Back in the mini-van, I yawn uncontrollably. Jerome has kindly kitted out my room with Lancôme makeup and skincare, incuding my fave, Secret de Vie. I brush my teeth, wash my face and slather on a luxurious amount of moisturizer. I’m more miserly with it back home because it’s so expensive, but all that airplane air is killer on your complexion. I look at the latest version of our itinerary and see the next four days are PACKED with editor meetings, magazine shoots and a big Teint Miracle event. We are going to be busy, but we’re excited to be here, thousands and thousands of miles from home. I log on for a quick look at Facebook and Twitter and IT’S BLOCKED! Oh my. No social media for a few days. My head hits the pillow and I’m asleep within seconds.



Photos: Michelle at the airport, soda machine, statues in the hotel lobby, Jerome checking on the Teint Miracle event location, The Opposite House lobby.

Meet The Fashion Show's Laura Brown!

Have you checked out Season 2 of Bravo's "The Fashion Show"? The show is even bigger and better this year thanks to a cast shuffle that brought in the incomparable Iman. The delightful Isaac Mizrahi is back for another season and Harper's Bazaar editor Laura Brown was promoted to a full-time judge. The Lancôme PR team loves Laura, who is as funny as she is fashionable, so we thought we'd do a little Q&A with her. Enjoy!



How did you get involved in “The Fashion Show”?

Harper's Bazaar–my day job–is the magazine partner for “The Fashion Show,” and I am the staffer most desperate for attention.



How was Season 2 compared to Season 1?

Season 2 is like night and a new day from Season 1. Firstly, we've been Iman'd, and she is both a fashion icon and a hoot. Isaac is being his wonderful self and giving the designers his wisdom, and the designers themselves stand a real chance of being successful in this industry. And, of course, they make great TV.



How do you like being on television?

I love it, actually. The constant need to think on your feet is a shot of adrenaline (the tequila of hormones). Still learning about my best side, though. I'm betting on the left.



What is the best part of your job at Bazaar?

Having ideas that seem totally inconceivable and then somehow making them happen. Glenda, my boss, gives you the freedom to think big. Looking back at some of the things we've done, I still can't quite believe it came together. Hmm, what else? Free lip gloss and borrowed shoes.



Is there a cover girl you’re dying to get? (And why?)

We are lucky that we've had all the big girls on our covers at some time or another. I'd love to do a solo cover with Kristen Stewart sometime next year, though (we did her with Rob Pattinson last year). I think she's such a cool girl, and she's really growing into herself.



Who is funnier? Iman or Isaac?

Both. Honestly. It's like “Laugh-In,” even when we've been shooting for 12 hours. Iman is so blunt, she's hysterical, and quite British in her humor (which, as an Aussie convict, I enjoy). Isaac was just born funny.



Who does your makeup for the show?

I had an assortment of lovelies do my makeup for the show this time–I think they did a great job (but you tell me¬high-def is horrifying).



Who has a better makeup artist? You or Iman?

Ha! Nice try. Iman will freely tell you she has a whole glamour infrastructure. I just wing it (which might be the reason why I occasionally look confused).



We heard you’re a big Lancôme fan? True or false?

It's not a lie. I slather my face with any sort of Secret de Vie or Génefique I can get my hands on. I don't look 15 yet, but any minute now.



What is your favorite Lancôme product?

This fabulous matte red lipstick called Color Design Red Haute. All the girls at Bazaar are obsessed with it. A really true red, and it really stays on. Actually, they should rename it Tenacious Red.



Best beauty advice?

Sleeeeeeeeep. Vitamin D–be it in sun or a supplement. And, when all else fails, dim light. ;)

Do You Take Good Care of Your Skin? Plus, A Customized Skincare Giveaway!

Back in August, we invited several beauty editors to our boutique for a preview of Oscillation Powerfoundation. Andrew Sotomayor, our fave mua, was there to do the demo and the editors' makeup. One of the things we couldn't help but notice was that every editor had a great complexion.

Were they born that way? Maybe, but this is a group that takes care of its skin. They have skincare regimens, many of them stay out of the sun, etc., etc. I know a few who took Accutane in the past to deal with bad acne.

Then there's blogger Julia Coney of All About The Pretty. Julia (above top pic) has the most amazing skin I've ever seen in my life. Celebrities would kill to have what she has. But boy does that girl work for it. I did a little interview with Julia that I've been meaning to run forever, but in the meantime you can check out fellow blogger Felicia Sullivan's post on Julia and her routine.

Here are a few simple, universal skincare rules. How many do you follow?
--Limit your sun exposure.
--Wear sunscreen.
--Don't smoke.
--Drink a lot of water.
--Wear moisturizer!
--Take off your makeup before you go to bed.

Sandy Linter, our beauty at every age expert (above bottom pic), has another great piece of advice. You should not use the same skincare you were using 10 years ago. Your skincare needs change, so make sure to update your product.

Sandy's a huge fan of Absolue Lotion, so I recently switched from Secret de Vie (which I absolutely love) to that product. I was kind of dying to try it because she uses it on all of her celebrity clients. (I know. Lame reason.) I have to say it's a very cool product. It leaves my skin very glowy and it does something miraculous with my makeup. It's almost like my makeup sticks to it like a primer and lasts longer. Maybe Sandy can weigh in with a comment later.

Anyway, because we're all skincare junkies around here in the P.R. department and we really believe in our skincare products, let's do a giveway. To enter, tell us what skincare advice you follow or any advice you'd like to share. We'll pick one post at random and that person can pick any two items from our skincare range on lancome-usa.com. Please post by Sunday night. Good luck!