Celebrity Life

As Chaumet's CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt tells us, bringing the house's 240-year heritage into the modern era is an immense task that amounts to a "daily obsession". But if the new pieces in the Chaumet Joséphine collection are anything to go by, the Place Vendôme stalwart is heading in the right direction.

What kind of woman today does the Joséphine collection appeal to?

First, it’s about a woman with a certain character. Because when you choose to wear a tiara on your finger, you’re making a choice of distinction, a choice of character. You’re sending a message to say you’re not like everyone else and you have a certain strength and a certain personality. But also a sense of virtuosity, grace and beauty, because it’s not for women who want to be too provocative.

It’s a way to set your personality. And then of course, there are two major reasons to become a client of Joséphine. On one side, it remains one of the favourite pieces chosen for a bridal purpose. It’s connected to the initial history of Chaumet, the history of the power and love between Napoleon and Joséphine. And Napoleon is known everywhere, that’s incredible. There’s another type of client on the other side of the connection with the pearls, the coloured stones, something a bit easier and more accessible.

This year, Chaumet's creations have also incorporated sleeker, more modern takes on the tiara. Can you tell us a bit about the new high jewellery?

After many creations that were a bit more tiara-like, a bit more decorative, more visible, more baroque in a certain way, we wanted to enrich the collection with new ways to mix and match, and to go for designs that were slicker, with a more minimalist approach, because that’s also the style of today. We have a feeling that clients today are a little more understated, and we have the capacity to create beauty through a fine line, rather than an accumulation. So one of our high- jewellery pieces, which is sort of a V with a stone in suspension, doesn’t shout about its design. It’s all about balance.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Joséphine collection...

But we don’t mark it that way for two reasons. I always feel that if you start doing anniversaries for everything, then at the end, what’s the meaning in it? Last year, when we did the 240 years of Chaumet, that was slightly different. For Chaumet, our heritage is much longer than a decade, it’s about centuries. Instead, this year, we’re celebrating our connection with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon, which is significant in Europe and in France. We’ve done an exhibition at 12 Place Vendôme that was open to the public which tells the love story of Napoleon and Josephine through 150 different objects, beautiful loans from museums and private owners.

Which piece proved to be the most challenging piece in the collection?

The most discussed and the most debated one was the watch. Because we’re clearly a jeweller, and we’ve focused all our efforts and attention on jewellery. But since a few years ago, we’ve reassessed and repositioned what watches mean for Chaumet. It’s true that with the business of watches within Chaumet, we’ve really tried to be coherent with what the story of watchmaking for Chaumet is as a jeweller. One of our challenges was to look at the market – in the market, 90 percent of watches are round – and nobody’s waiting for Chaumet to create a round watch, because we already have thousands of beautiful options on the market.

We decided on a shaped watch, and it wasn’t very difficult to settle on the pear shape, like an illusion of a diamond. We also faceted the watch’s dial.

How do you balance 240 years of heritage behind a brand and stay relevant at the same time?

That’s really the obsession every single day. How do we continue the narrative, the link to the story? Since the pandemic, we’ve seen clients choose Chaumet because there’s longevity. And so it becomes a daily obsession of ours to convey this message to our clients through different means, including the digital approach, so we can speak to the needs of our audience today. We also go through the traditional channels and have books and exhibitions. I regularly write down on paper in two columns: on one side, how much do we tell the story of Chaumet, and on the other, how do we take a contemporary approach, either through the narrative or through using different tools? I take a step back and ask myself is there a balance? If we’re going too much in one direction, maybe it’s time to rebalance. It’s in everything we do.

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Most of us know Wil Fang as the founder of Cookie DPT and Carbs. To his friends however, he's a bit of a hoarder. From sneakers and collectibles to a budding watch collection, the connoisseur of classic all-American fare tells us about his collecting habits, his quartet of Rolexes and what makes him tick.

Wil Fang will tell you he’s no watch collector – yet. He’s merely starting out, dipping his toes in. But step through the doors to his apartment that’s decked out in all sorts of collectibles – from Bearbricks to the Mr Moncler figurine created by artist Craig Costello and various Louis Vuitton x Supreme items – and you’ll see telling signs that he has the potential to become a very serious one.

That is, if his sneaker collection is anything to go by. Fang has a room lined with floor-to-ceiling shelving, dedicated to housing his 400-plus pairs of sneakers. At a glance, there are autographed Air Jordans, limited-edition Off-Whites, Fear of God, and more. His collection is still growing; he points to a couple of boxes stacked on a Supreme logo-ed folding chair – “I haven’t worn those yet,” he tells me.

Fang’s interest in sneakers grew from childhood – his first pair of Jordans was from his mother, when he was in third grade. He also has a single Jordan shoe, signed by the entire Chicago Bulls team, which he displays in a glass box.

“I even have a magazine signed by Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan after they won 72-10,” says Fang, referring to 1995-1996, when the Chicago Bulls set the record for the most wins in an NBA regular season. “I’m a huge Jordan fan and I always wear Jordans. He was my idol growing up.”

But back to watch collecting: “I’ve had quite a few watches, but I’d say the first serious timepiece I own is this Rolex, which my wife gave me on our wedding day,” says Fang.

The watch in question is a Rolex Submariner, in steel with a black dial and bezel. “When my wife got it for me, it wasn’t crazy expensive,” he continues. “Five years ago it wasn’t even difficult to get, like it is today. Things have definitely changed.”

Rolex was the definitive watch of Hong Kong culture, the ultimate milestone watch that you’d get for a special occasion. “It’s almost like the standard entry-level watch here,” says Fang. “Everyone’s got some sort of Rolex, whether it’s a Sub or a Milgauss – for a lot of my friends here, it’s very normal for them to get a Submariner for graduation or when they land their first job.”

The watch Fang got for himself when he got his first pay cheque, however, wasn’t a Rolex. When he graduated with a double major in mechanical engineering and business management from Bucknell University in 2005, he joined Ralph Lauren and was quickly sucked into the company culture.

“We weren’t required to wear any particular uniform, but as a young professional, you see your bosses walking around in suits and nice watches, and you start becoming part of that culture,” Fang recalls. “And, you know, it’s aspirational.”

And soon enough, his interest was piqued. The first watch he bought for himself with his own salary was a TAG Heuer Link chronograph, which he still owns. “In Hong Kong, maybe it’s not a big deal, but back then, when you’re 22 years old in the States, it’s a pretty nice watch. It was a gift to myself.”

Later, as Ralph Lauren ventured into timepieces, Fang also invested in a dress watch. “It was unnecessarily quite expensive,” he says with a chuckle. “It was a Ralph Lauren watch and I probably should have put that money into something else, but it’s a prototype model. It’s definitely sentimental and I’ll never sell it or get rid of it. It’ll stay in my collection.”

Later, Fang’s work brought him to Hong Kong and, in 2016, he found himself in Taipei with a group of friends launching a fashion retail concept store called DPT. “It was one of those dream-come-true situations,” says Fang. “I’m half-Taiwanese and Hong Kong was home, so I was commuting weekly back and forth from Taipei for
two years.”

It was at DPT that Fang’s sneaker collection really flourished. “I’m a sneakerhead,” he says, enthusiastically. “I’ve had sneakers my whole life, but when you open your own shop and brands send you 50 pairs and you could have your first pick, it was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve made it.’”

Owning the sneakers – and the watches – was only part of the thrill. A huge part of what makes the community so exciting was the hunt for a good bargain, the relationships you build with your authorised dealers, and the full experience of receiving the goods.

“The cool thing about collecting is like, once you have it, you have it, but there’s also a story of how you got them, whether they’re sneakers or watches,” says Fang. “I’ve seen my friends pick up their watches at a VIP house and it’s a great day, you know, everyone’s excited and they come with a bottle of champagne. It’s all part of the process.”

After his wedding Submariner opened the floodgates, Fang picked up a “Panda” Daytona with a black ceramic bezel, an Explorer and a vintage “Pepsi” GMT Master with a faded bezel, explaining that Rolex was an easy entry point to collecting for him. “I like things that are more modern, a bit more subtle and sleek,” he says. “White gold or steel and black. Something that’s very clean and not too flashy.”

“Collecting watches is definitely a more expensive hobby. It’s not like collecting suits or sneakers,” says Fang. “But what I like about it is the community. It’s much smaller, more intimate. I don’t even consider myself a watch collector at this point, but from an interest perspective, I really like the circle. They come from all places – from F&B, fashion, finance, entrepreneurs – you meet so many interesting people through collecting. And a lot of them are successful, so it also gives me the drive and the mentality to work hard in my own businesses too.”

That drive is serving him well. Unfazed by the pandemic, Fang and the DPT Group are launching a takeout pizza business called Carbs – “I’m playing the devil’s advocate,” says Fang.

“Covid isn’t such a happy time but seeing the success of a fast-moving takeout delivery business gives us the confidence that, even in the toughest times, Carbs will be OK.” And how could it not be? Comfort mac-and-cheese, authentic Chicago deep-dish pizzas, fried chicken, and hands-down the best spicy vodka fusilli I’ve tasted. Perhaps as Hong Kong’s appetite for Fang’s goods continues to grow, so will his watch collection.

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Rochelle Humes, Irina Shayk, Naomi Campbell and Millie Mackintosh. These are just some of the names and faces that you’ll find gracing MMC Communications’ Instagram account. Whether they are bathing in 24K pure gold masks by skin wellbeing expert Mimi Luzon or are showing off the impressive before-and-after results of a lymphatic drainage massage by […]

Spring has finally sprung. With the weather quickly changing and as we say goodbye to winter, we have selected a series of must-have beauty products to inspire your skincare and make-up routine this season.

Clarins

Clarins recently released two limited-edition products — a lip comfort oil and sakura fix’make-up — to welcome spring. Taking inspiration from the Japanese Cherry Blossom, Clarins has transformed two of its best-sellers to reflect the milky blush-pink shade of these romantic flowers. The lip oil has a non-stick finish, while the fix’make-up is enriched with organic aloe vera and allantoin to instantly moisturise and soothe the skin.

Sisley

The new So Stretch mascara from Sisley lengthens, separates and sculpts lashes so they’re fully defined and voluminous. Enriched with bamboo powder and beeswax, the lightweight elastic texture of So Stretch instantly extends the lashes to open up the eyes, while the sharping, sculpting and curling properties of Carnauba wax amplify your peepers’ intensity.

Dior

Dior has combined optical science with that of the skin to produce its new Prestige La Solution Lumière Activated Serum, its first brightening, regenerating and light-increasing fluid.

Hermès

Nature and technology combine in Hermès’ new H24 fragrance for men. The scent consists of clary sage, with its inflections of hay and cut grass, alongside a highly distinctive, slightly animal amber base.

Nars

Nars has introduced a custom edition of its Claudette make-up collection, featuring 14 cosmetics inspired by Claudette Nars. The spirit of the collection is rooted in play and creative self-expression, while the packaging is whimsical and fun.

LUMI Beauty

Founded by Kuala-Lumpur and Hong Kong- based businesswomen Chryseis Tan and Carmen Yim, LUMI Beauty creates products that are free of parabens, mineral oils, animal ingredients and artificial fragrances — and come with an approachable price tag. Their hero product, the Vitamin Glow Super Serum, is also among their best sellers.

Giorgio Armani

Imbuing the skin with hydration while clarifying, brightening and refining its texture, Giorgio Armani’s latest reviving treatment lotion Acqua Reviscentalis includes a high concentration of glycolic acid, as well as Myrothamnus flabellifolia extract.

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From revolutionary creams, to make-up must-haves and mesmerising fragrances, here are eight beauty products to add to your collection this month.

Clé de Peau

Clé de Peau Beauté has recently released a new Synactif skincare line, a step-by-step regimen that targets skin tone, texture and contours. Newly formulated with Neem Leaf Extract, the Synactif crème shown here helps to fortify the firmness of the skin.

Greenvines

Greenvines, the leading clean skincare brand from Taiwan, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with new packaging. The brand advocates returning to basics by taking the skin’s natural workings into account and supplying it with natural ingredients — notably water and oil — that are biocompatible, while removing beauty products with unnecessary additives, such as lotions, from the equation.

Caudalíe

Natural skincare brand Caudalíe has released its latest Resveratrol-Lift collection featuring a new- generation Advanced Grapevine Resveratrol patent, an unprecedented combination of vine resveratrol, vegan collagen booster and micro-hyaluronic acid. After one day, natural collagen production is enhanced by as much as five times and hyaluronic acid natural production is doubled.

Dior

Dior Forever Couture Perfect Cushion, the on-the-go, long-wearing and skin-caring foundation, has released a new couture case in a limited edition for the season: the Diormania Gold Edition. The cushion, worn for 24-hours, is an ideal solution for perfecting and refreshing the complexion at any time of the day. The skin is weightlessly mattified and glows with a natural, lasting radiance.

Chantecaille

Chantecaille has released an unprecedented night concentrate that uses gold heptapeptide as its base. Uniquely concentrated for visible impact, the powerful combination of peptides and recently discovered botanicals in this potent booster works overnight to smooth wrinkles, and brighten and replenish the skin.

Byredo

Byredo has introduced a colourful array of its Lil Fleur Eau de Parfum in limited editions, a hand-cream collection in three of its signature scents (Blanche, La Tulip and Rose of No Man's Land), as well as a perfumed altar candle in a black glass silhouette.

Chloé

The Chloé floral atelier has released three new fragrances with accords that complement evocative notes of fresh foliage. Each variety, whether floral, aromatic or woody, has its own scent. True to the floral arts, the different essences can be freely combined to create limitless personalised fragrance bouquets.

Mini Luzon

This 24K Pure Gold Mask can be used one time only or as an ongoing treatment to promote healthier-looking skin. The unique combination of a corrective anti-wrinkle mask with gold leaf provides the skin with an immediate sense of wellbeing, treating redness and fine lines while evening out its tone and promoting a healthy glow.

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In the Dynamic world of the Hair & Beauty Industry, Idealism and Creativity are just as essential as pragmatism and practicality. A balance of these qualities creates an ideal combination for developing a successful company and creating impeccable premium services. The combination of Caring Attitude to each client,  with the salon’s Unique Features and Professionalism, […]

The post Action Hair Salon offers Luxury Ambience and Quality Hairdressing  appeared first on Upscale Living Magazine.

From ground-breaking serums to exclusive facials and fragrances, we've rounded up some of our the top beauty products of 2020.

Christian Breton Liftox serum

Christian Breton's eye priority range has been of utmost help this year. Inspired by cryotherapy, Christian Breton uses cold temperatures to reduce under-eye circles and wrinkles to rejuvenate fatigued eye areas. In particular, the Liftox serum, an eye lifting serum which instantly detoxifies and revives the eye area contains a new innovative formula that neutralises pollutants and strengthens the skin barrier throughout the day. It also contains vitamin C which reduces eye bags and the appearance of the signs of ageing from the very first use.

Dior Gold Edition Couture Cushion

Dior Forever Couture Perfect Cushion, the on-the-go long wearing and skin-caring foundation has released a new couture case in a limited edition for the season: the Diormania Gold Edition. With its 24-hour wear, the cushion is an ideal solution to perfect and refresh one’s complexion at any time of day. The skin is weightlessly mattified and glows with natural, lasting radiance all day long. Now who wouldn’t need that?

LifeHub Hydration Boost Facial

LifeHub’s Hydration Boost Facial uses Iontophoresis (IP), an electrotherapy treatment for deep-cleansing and deep-nourishing of your facial skin. Due to its rapid penetration, your skin is infused with the chosen beneficial nutrients effectively, restoring the natural skin with an immediate radiance boost. This non-invasive treatment is based on the microcurrent ion through high frequency vibration, replenishing human biological energy to help the deep penetration of skin care products. Lifehub uses NCTC + X-DNA serum which contains 37 minerals, vitamins and amino acids that are essential for the skin, resulting in a tighter, firmer and more radiant complexion.

La Prairie Platinum Rare Collection

La Prairie’s Platinum Rare collection rejuvenates the skin like no other. Inspired by the pioneering work of Dr Paul Niehans, also known as the Father of Cellular Therapy, the essence of the Platinum Rare Collection is based on the ground-breaking rejuvenating therapies that were developed at the Clinique La Prairie in Montreux, Switzerland, more than 80 years ago. The skin’s natural rejuvenating power is based on a coordinated effort of skin cells within all the layers of the skin, which creates a network of interconnected processes for rejuvenation. While La Prairie’s previous platinum peptide mainly activated collagen production, the new Platinum Multi-Peptide goes beyond mere collagen production activation to strengthen the skin barrier, improve its moisture balance as well as enhance cellular longevity to keep your skin looking young.

Loubiworld Fragrance Collection

Christian Louboutin has collaborated with Hélène Tran, whose ethereal designs echo both the poetry and humour of each universe. As if pulled out of a magician’s scarlet hat, each bottle lacquered with red is crowned with a fantastical cap, and each fragrance is a personal story from the creator. Our favourite is the Loubikiss, which is an ode to eternal love and is a bouquet of jasmine, tuberose and mask. “Loubikiss is addictive, almost narcotic. It makes its presence known, but there’s a lightness. It’s persistent, but without overpowering,” said Christian Louboutin.

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Accomplished actress, reality (real housewife) TV star, talk show host, clothes designer, New York Times best-selling author, mother to two daughters and wife to actor Harry Hamlin….I want to know where did Lisa Rinna find the time to add another string to her bow. In November, Lisa launched Rinna Beauty – an all-inclusive, 100 percent […]

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Give the gift of self-care this Christmas with our beauty gift guide.

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What to buy? Some gift ideas for Christmas 2020 with some new gifts. Everyone loves a gift for their Travel or make up bag! Here are some ideas for you! Less is more, let your…

Beauty products have been around since the Egyptians, although the industry has certainly evolved. One of the latest trends and my personal favorite change in the beauty world has been the introduction and attention to organic products.  Choosing organic means you are choosing a product that is better for your skin, your health, and the […]

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Drunk Elephant…South African warthogs love it. Sub-Saharan African rhinos love it.  Sub-equatorial baboons have been known to get intoxicated on it. Human beings are consequently being turned on to it. Murala is the taste of Africa. It’s how elephants keep their looks and keep the free radicals at bay. Have you ever wondered why vervet […]

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