I have quite dry skin and eyes, so I need all the moisture possible. I use a Neostrata Matrix Support day cream and Intensive Eye Therapy; then when I shower, I use Dermafix DermaPolish + Activated Charcoal. I feel like I have great skin now, but it’s been a journey to maintain it. Dr. Fatima Bhabha, my doctor in Johannesburg who specializes in aesthetic medicine, really got me thinking that I need to follow a routine and use sunscreen. I use this Italian brand, BioNike Defence Sun 30 Mineral Cream. On my body, I use Nivea Men All Seasons Moisture Body Cream, and because I have such dry skin I always use aloe vera to moisturize. My grandmother always had the plants outside and would slather me with aloe.
I don’t have a lot of hair to speak of, but when I shampoo I use Dark and Lovely 3-in-1 Shampoo. My hair grows quickly, so I see my barber every second week. He’ll wrap my head in a very hot towel and use a wax to lay my hair flat. When I’m at home I’ll use a bit of moisturizer to keep it down.
I swear by these eye drops called Safyr Bleu. My eyes tend to get red or brown easily, and when I use the drops they immediately brighten and clear up. If I have an event and need to look great, I have the perfect match for my skin tone with Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch in shade B80. It’s a gel and it gives me such an incredible, natural look. To frame my eyes and brows I’ll use a tiny bit of mascara. I’m not particular, but right now it’s Maybelline Lash Sensational Luscious Washable Mascara. On my lips I will use a bit of petroleum jelly with a tiny dab of Rouge Dior in 999 Velvet just for the color. I’ve gotten over the habit of throwing myself into bed without taking care of my skin: I’ll use Johnson’s Fresh Hydration Micellar Cleansing Jelly and Neostrata Cellular Restoration moisturizer.
For fragrance, I use Chanel Sycomore mixed with YSL Black Opium. I went to a YSL launch in Johannesburg and they had samples in a goody bag. My coat still smelled like Sycomore and that’s how I realized that they come together quite well.
Last month, the architect and designer Daniel Valero opened a showroom off an alleyway in San Miguel de Allende’s Centro neighborhood, filling it with exuberant pieces inspired by Mexico’s artisans and natural surroundings. A red triangular table, set with spiky ceramic bowls, sits under a bendy fuchsia wicker lamp. Born in Saltillo, Mexico, Valero studied architecture at Tecnológico de Monterrey and earned a master’s degree in textile design from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris before founding his company, Mestiz, in 2015. When Valero collaborates with craftspeople, he adheres to their traditional techniques. “I try to use the same tools they have always used to create new things,” he says. Mestiz’s wooden pieces are made in San Miguel, while the ceramics are created in nearby Dolores and wool rugs are woven in his hometown. They are open editions, meaning he will make these pieces indefinitely, unlike his unique and closed-edition works sold through AGO Projects, a design gallery in Mexico City. The showroom is open by appointment, and lucky visitors might also get a glance at Valero’s equally colorful studio, located in the same alleyway. From $65 for a small ceramic bowl, mestiz.mx.
Stay Here
In the Cotswolds, an English Pub With Rooms — and a Farm Plot
Thirteen years after he opened downtown New York’s British farm-to-table restaurant the Fat Radish, Phil Winser is bringing his regenerative farming fanaticism home to Oxfordshire, England. Rooms opened this month at the Bull, Winser’s new place within a pub that dates back to the 1400s, located in the village of Charlbury. He and his business partner James Gummer — the duo are also behind the Pelican pub in London’s Notting Hill — both spent their childhoods in nearby towns. While the Bull’s 10 guest accommodations, many with fireplaces and free-standing tubs, invite sleeping in, you’ll want to get up for breakfast: Winser and Gummer are growing vegetables for their tables at nearby Bruern Farms. Local purveyors provide meat and game, which is then cooked over an open fire on the vine-covered patio. Come England’s fall chill, the leather banquettes and low-slung wooden chairs, nestled around two broad fireplaces, will beckon guests indoors. Throughout the stone-clad building, handworked furnishings such as drapery made from English wool and wrought-iron beds accent a pared-back palette of flax and dark wood. Guests are encouraged to get out and explore the surrounding Evenlode Valley or the Bull’s plot at Bruern Farms on foot — the pub’s kitchen will pack a picnic for the occasion. Rooms from about $222 a night, thebullcharlbury.com.
Irene Neuwirth, the jewelry designer known for her many-colored baubles and custom pet portraits, debuted a limited run of equine plates and bowls this past weekend at the Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton, N.Y. The collection was made in partnership with the Los Angeles-based ceramist Anthony Dominici, also a TV showrunner and cousin to Neuwirth’s longtime boyfriend Phil Lord. Dominici took up ceramics about five years ago and makes everything by hand at his home studio, where he throws on a wheel and sculpts whimsical details such as tiny squirrels and snakes. After coming up with the idea during a New Year’s celebration, the two began trading sketches and paintings in March and landed on this first run of 16 one-of-a-kind place settings. In addition to carrots and portraits of Neuwirth’s horses, the plates and bowls feature themes from Neuwirth’s jewelry like gumballs (hers are typically carved from turquoise and opal) and botanical motifs. “I was drawn to the color palette Irene creates,” says Dominici. “I tested all sorts of glazes and clays to try and match the lightness and translucency of her work.” From $600, ireneneuwirth.com.
Eat Here
At a New York Restaurant, a Japanese Artist Serves Up His Prolific Work
More than 200 pieces of artwork spanning the Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura’s nearly 40-year career will be exhibited at the Gallery by Odo, a New York restaurant that doubles as an arts space, starting Sept. 9. It will be the first time pieces across all Tsujimura’s media — spanning ceramics, painting and calligraphy — will be shown in one venue. The gallery’s owner, chef Hiroki Odo, also offers a lunch and dinner menu that pays tribute to Tsujimura’s home in Nara; meals will be served on ceramics made by the artist. “I only create ceramics I would want to use,” says Tsujimura. For some courses, Odo plans to break with tradition in a nod to Tsujimura’s unconventional style: He’ll use a water jar usually reserved for tea ceremonies as a wine cooler, while a teacup typically used for matcha will be repurposed for whiskey on the rocks. “Shiro Tsujimura Ceramics” will be on view from Sept. 9 through Dec. 17, odogallery.nyc.
From T’s Instagram