"I remember reading teen magazines growing up, and not feeling like anyone in them. I wasn’t blond—then; I didn’t have a boyfriend. That's when I had that idea to make Sassy, a magazine that would be for the kinds of girls that I felt like I was. I didn’t want other girls to go through what I was going through. I wanted them to feel cool with themselves the way that they were... It’s the one good idea I’ve had in my career, and I just keep doing it again and again in different mediums: creating a space where women can support each other in a judgment-free zone, and be themselves completely. That’s Sassy, that’s Jane, and now that’s xojane.com and our beauty site, xovain.com.

When I was the Editor in Chief of Sassy, I’d get flack from parents about stuff they felt was inappropriate to be saying to teenagers. The thing I would hear a lot was, 'If you were a parent, you would look at it differently.' I always had that in my head: ‘How will I feel about this if and when I’m a parent? Will I be saying the same kinds of things?’ My daughter, Charlotte, is ten now, and it’s amazing to finally have a tween. I want to tell her things exactly the way I would say them in Sassy. I like to expose her to everything. But, we’ll see how it turns out. She’s more into makeup than I am. She and a friend of hers got into wearing a full face of makeup when they were about seven—I would let her put it on and go around the neighborhood. I remember one day we were walking and someone said, 'Oh, you were at a face-painting party!' I was like, 'No… That’s just what she likes to look like.' I don’t believe in waiting for a certain age for anything: ear piercing, first date, whatever. I don’t get it, but that’s just me. I think kids know when they’re ready for things. What’s the harm in wearing makeup and playing around with it? People would say, 'Well, it’s not her, it’s how other people would perceive her or treat her.' I don’t know. I call myself the World’s Worst Mom, and Charlotte even jokes about it.

I didn’t get into makeup until my junior year of high school, when I went away to Phillips Academy Andover, a boarding school. I wasn’t like anyone at Andover. I was a scholarship kid. I might have arrived with a tiny bit of blush from the drugstore and maybe mascara, and I though that was 'wearing makeup.' That was the formative experience right there. Within the first couple of weeks, one of the girls in my dorm started to make a list of the pretty girls in the school. I was really dumbfounded. I had never heard anything like it. I was thinking, 'We’re all pretty.' I actually really believed at that time, because I had come from an upbringing where it was all very positive. My mom, an artist and a hippie, would talk a lot about beautiful women that we would see, but there wasn’t one beauty ideal. It was some inner-beauty or confidence she was responding to. I try to celebrate other women’s beauty in that way with Charlotte.

My first year at Andover, I felt like a loser. People didn’t know I existed and I was really depressed, so all I did was study. It was terrible. That summer I did a horrible—in retrospect—makeover on myself. I started wearing a ton of makeup and doing my hair, for hours, to look like Farrah Fawcett. When I went back to school, people thought I was a new student. I just went with it. I was like, ‘Why not? Why even remind them that I was that girl from the year before?’

Makeup was my crutch and addiction well through college. I wouldn’t go out without it. I even missed an exam one time because I didn’t have enough time to get ready. I went to Oberlin, and that was not the vibe there at all, but I was so stuck in that way of thinking. But it was taking away from other things I wanted to be doing, so I started toning it down. Just a little bit less, a little bit less, a little bit less. By my junior or senior year, I was little bit more easy-going about it, and now I’m very laid back.

I’m so not attached to what I look like now. Those years of obsession, checking myself in the mirror, like, twenty times a day, got it out of my system. Now, I’ll go out with my daughter, and she’ll be like, ‘You have toothpaste on your chin.’ I won’t have even looked in the mirror.

On a regular day, I won’t necessarily wash my face. If I didn't put any makeup on it the day before, then there’s nothing that needs to be washed off—that’s the way I think of it. [Laughs] I learned that from Genevieve Herr, the amazing makeup artist. She’s older than I am, and gorgeous, with amazing skin. She just doesn’t wash her face. If anything, she uses a little water. I was like, 'I can do that.' When I do wash my face, I love Tracie Martyn Amla Purifying Cleanser. It doesn’t fuck anything up and you don’t feel like you’re taking layers off of your skin or drying stuff out. I was given the Clarisonic, and I haven’t used it yet, but I will.

To moisturize, Murad Rapid Collagen Infusion makes my skin feel baby-smooth. I don’t know that it makes my skin look that much better, but I use that with Tracie Martyn’s Shakti Resculpting Body Cream on my face. One, it smells great, and two, it moisturizes without having any residual shininess or that oil-slick thing. I don’t know about the 'resculpting' part—I’m not really concerned about my body, but I am pretty concerned about my face. Clearly, I like Nu Skin NaPCA Moisture Mist because it’s almost gone. It’s an amazingly moisturizing spray that, again, leaves no shine or anything. I don’t like to feel like there’s something on my face, so mists are the kind of thing I can get behind. The Hydrating Antioxidant Mist from Kinerase is good, too. Courtney Cox, who’s an old friend of mine, was the spokeswoman for Kinerase for a while and she was giving me all of that.

If I’m getting my picture taken or have an event, I’ll use Tracie Martyn QuickFix Eye Pads. For someone who doesn’t take the time to do a lot of things, I actually take the time to do these because the collagen on them really works, and you can put them anywhere, not just under the eye. I cut them in half to get more out of them because they’re big.

I love products, but generally, I believe that how good you look is directly related to what you’re putting into your body. I drink apple cider vinegar on a regular basis. One of my beauty writers has amazing skin, and she told me that’s what she does, so I started drinking it, too. I also noticed that I look better when I mix this powder called ProGreens into juice and drink. I can see a really clear difference right away.

Makeup-wise, I wouldn’t say I’m really good at doing my own. I wish I felt more confident about it, and maybe it’s because I wore terrible makeup during high school, but I have other people do it now. I’ll even let anybody else on staff do it. At the beginning of Sassy, I would wet the makeup sponge and then I apply a little foundation with it. That was my 'thing.' Moving into Jane in my thirties, I started having Genevieve do my makeup. She would go do Anna Wintour’s face every morning at six. I slept late at that time, so she would come over to my place after—not every day, but as many as I could justify. She has an amazing trick that I call ‘butterfly fingers’ because she applies makeup with these really light, small taps of her fingers. I want to say that I learned that stuff from her, but I just knew I could get her to do it if I needed it. I do nothing to myself. It’s a preference and priority thing, because I consider working a more valuable use of my time.

For someone who doesn’t use many products, I use about ten on my eyebrows alone. I feel that full and thick brows make a huge difference now that I’m older. Anastasia Soare came and did my eyebrows at one point. But when I do my own, I always use the little stencil in the Anastasia Brow Express and fill it in. It totally works. The Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ash Blonde is perfect. I mix it with a Vincent Longo pencil, and then I’ll put the wax on after.

On my eyes, I apply MAC Shadowy Lady with a sharp-edged brush if I’m going to do any kind of liner, because it’s not too harsh and it’s not black. And I’ll put Vincent Longo Medium Number 2 Camouflage Cream under my eyes or wherever there’s redness. I’ll also wear a little MAC blush.

Before getting my picture taken or going on TV, I stretch out the sides of my mouth as hard as I can with my hands. It gives me a nice, wide, Julia Roberts kind of smile—you know, the smile when there’s a gap between the sides of your mouth and teeth? That’s my favorite look. I especially try to stretch the top lip because it gets a little fuller. On my lips, I wear Edward Bess Deep Shine Lip Gloss—his products are amazing. And I always carry a few different lip balms with me, like Laura Mercier’s.

I’m not good about accepting an invitation to an event that’s coming up in an hour. I like to have enough advance notice to schedule an appointment with the hair and makeup person I most want, and time to use my Far Infrared Sauna. My sauna has moved with me three times. I first tried it in the L.A. office of my amazing holistic doctor, Dr. Charny. You have to be careful to get exactly the right kind—the ones that Scientologists use when they’re detoxing. Tom Cruise donated a bunch of them to the rescue workers after 9/11 to get all of the toxins out of their body. It works with or without heat, but it gets up to 170 degrees. Your skin gets an incredible glow, and it makes you feel like you’ve been sitting out in the sun. The way that I understand it, it cleans you from the inside out, heating you like a microwave. I haven’t done it in a couple of days, but you can really see a difference.

When I have something really major coming up, I’ll go see Tracie Martyn. If I had the time, I would see her once a month, but I usually end up seeing her two days before a big event to get the Red Carpet Facial. She also has an LED bed that I try to take advantage of. That’s so right up my alley. It helps with mood and dry patches. What else...I’ll go get laser treatments for the bags under my eyes, which have come up pretty recently; it’s an aging thing. I don’t believe that anti-aging products do that much, but I’ve gotten every possible kind of laser treatment, because I can really see the difference.

When it comes to my hair, I’m particular about products. I won’t even use hotel shampoos and conditioners when I’m traveling. I always bring whatever brand I’m using at the time. I like these Oscar Blandi shampoo and conditioners because they really hold the color. Depending on how healthy my hair is, I can usually let it air dry, but I travel with my own blow dryer. Last year, I was going to England a lot for work, and, of course, I was bringing my blow dryer with me. I didn’t realize that the wattage is different there, so it actually fried my hair. I was like, 'It’s working so fast here. This is amazing!' Then I came back and my colorist, Kyle White at Oscar Blandi, said, 'What did you do to your hair?' It took a while to figure out the culprit. After I dry my hair, I put in Sheer Gloss or Hair Serum.

For fragrance, I have a bunch of Kilian perfumes, and sometimes I’ll steal my daughter Charlotte’s Love’s Baby Soft. Otherwise, I use a locally made fragrance that I bought at my yoga studio. It’s a hippie-dippy scent by Givescent.

The thing that changes me the most is exercise. I do Pilates three days a week and I do yoga as often as possible, because it calms me down and helps me put things in perspective. If I had time to do yoga every morning, I’d be more chilled out, feeling better, and not taking things too seriously. Plus, it has this Botox effect, making little lines disappear. I couldn’t believe it. For a quick aerobic workout, I also spin. I can get it done in 45 minutes, but then my mind is spinning after. It’s just about what works for you, everyone is different."

—as told to ITG

Jane Pratt photographed by Emily Weiss in New York on April 9, 2013.

Because it's Monday and we don't want to work yet.

[1] Cotillon "Votive Flower" Cover Art, [2] Jerry Hall, [3] Faye Dunaway, [4] Madonna, [5] Miranda Kerr, [6] Shana Zadrick, [7] Sharon Tate, [8] Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell, [9] Photographed by Gene Laurents, [10] Tatjana Patitz, [11] Winona Ryder, [12] Natalia Vodianova, [13] Suzy Parker.

How do you make a dress look cool? Here's how:

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Exeter Printed Silk Crepe de Chine Dress: If there's one designer who you can rely on for "sweet with a twist," it's Mr. Jacobs. I still own my first "big girl" purchase: a frayed denim miniskirt and pinstripe blazer from Marc by Marc's firt collection back in the year 2000. (Have you any idea how many babysitting jobs that took?) Actually, it's about time I pull those out and put them back into rotation... In the meantime, let's talk about this dress. It's got all the cheekiness of a slip and the unexpected fabric play (irridescent silver panels) of a MJ collection/Vuitton confection. And it's on SALE.

2. Ann Demeulemeester Leather Open-Front Ankle Boots: A few years ago, you couldn't walk from your desk to the bathroom without walking by at least two girls wearing some version of Ann D's clunky, chunky sandal/heel. They've since been knocked off left, right, and center but there's still something spot-on about the real McCoy, especially when paired with a girly dress. They're the perfect way to toughen up while still giving a little bit of height. After all, those legs gotta look good.

3. Illesteva Frieda Round-Frame Matte-Steel Sunglasses: If, like me, you have your sunglass "shape" figured out and don't want to stray from the path that best suits your face, I urge you: mix it up. Try round. Just try it. (Abbey Lee Kershaw, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I swear.)  Like changing your part, it could make you feel like a new woman in the best way possible.

4. Chantecaille Lip Chic in Rose Délice: A Barneys "makeup  guru" turned me on to Chantecaille's Lip Chic (in Tea Rose) back in 2012, which I slowly wore down to a tiny nub and eventually lost, but it's since been replaced by the slightly more punchy Rose Délice. It's not quite a lip balm, not quite a lipstick, and though the color calls to mind the look of your mouth after several layers of Benetint, it's definitely not a stain. It's kind of like... a light layer of just-tacky-enough-to-stay-put moisture, with a magically skin-tone-enhancing tint.

5. OPI's When Monkeys Fly! Nail Laquer: It's always a pleasure seeing W beauty director Jane Larkworthy backstage during fashion week, but I was especially excited to bump into her at Rodarte in February. "WHAT is on your nails?!" I asked, taking her hands in mine and holding them closer to my (wide, hungry) eyes for closer inspection. The polish, which she wore layered over her gray manicure, is less of a polish and more of an arts-and-crafts project made easy: giant octagonal gold paillettes, medium opalescent specks, and barely-there silver glitter suspended in a clear base that you have to sort of art direct as you paint. I know because it's taken months to track down a bottle, and I just painted my own nails (and two of Nick's) to a round of applause from the office. That nail polish thrill of discovery is a real thing of beauty, isn't it?

—Emily Weiss

It’s summer (or will be in t-minus one week)! A/Cs have been turned on. Your neck is getting a bit sweaty when walking down the street/waiting for the subway. Bars and apartments are getting a bit too stuffy for beautiful, long, free-flowing hair cascading down your back. The summer may offer the opportunity to show off the perfect beach hair, but if it’s really humid and you just can’t deal with strands sticking to your skin, why not venture off into the wonderful world of braiding?

When it comes to crafted hairstyles, there are few things more beautiful than an artful braid. You may be thinking, “Well, there’s the normal braid, and then there’s the French braid, and that’s about it, right?” Wrong! Broaden your horizons! Technically, sure, every type of braid is really a variation on a theme (take a few strands of hair, cross them over some others, and then keep going until your fingers bleed, you lose feeling in your arms, or you run out of hair), but there are seemingly endless versions: the standard pigtail braid [45], the single French braid [59] (not just for stuffy WASPy girls heading off to play tennis), the French-braided pigtail [9], cornrows pulled back into an updo [47], cornrows braided all the way down [36, 68] (add some beads at the end to really get the party started), the twisted braid [51], the knotted braid [27] (first introduced to us by the Braid Master—real name: James Pecis—on Bambi Northwood Blyth), the inside-out braid, the milkmaid braid [1], what we’ve deemed the "Reverse Heidi" Braid, and oh-so-many more. Keep it simple, á la a very young Kate Moss and her face-framing twists [22], or go. effing. crazy.

We understand your hesitation: braiding may look intimidating, but perhaps with summer Fridays starting and school letting out for the summer, you have a little more time on your hands now. So why not take a few moments, find some inspiration above, watch a YouTube tutorial or two, and braid like there’s no tomorrow (and when tomorrow comes, test out something new)!

[1] Carmen Kass, [2] Naomi Campbell, [3] Penelope Cruz, [4] Kristine Frøseth, [5, 6] Natasha Poly, [7] Tanya Smart, [8] Dasha Popova, [9] Dorte Limkilde, [10] Ginta Lapina, [11] Liu Wen, [12] Backstage at Viktor & Rolf Fall 2013, [13] Tyra Banks, [14] Xiao Wen Ju, [15-21] Kate Moss, [22, 23] Twiggy, [24] Solange Knowles, [25-29] Aline Weber, [30] Kate Bosworth, [31] Backstage at Viktor & Rolf Fall 2013, [32] Zoe Saldana, [33] Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh, [34, 35] Lara Stone, [36] Bo Derek, [37] Veronica Lake, [38] Sigrid Agren at Valentino Spring 2013, [39] Josephine Skriver, [40] Rihanna, [41] Rayanne Graff in My So Called Life, [42] Patti Smith, [43] Alys Hale, [45] Azealia Banks, [47-49] Daria Werbowy, [50] Magdalena Frackowiak, [51] Julia Stiles in Save The Last Dance, [52] Joni Mitchell, [53] Harley Viera Newton, [54] Hanne Gaby Odiele, [55] Gwen Stefani, [56-58] Frida Gustavsson, [59] Fendi Fall 2013, [60] Edita Vilkeviciute, [61] Backstage at Valentino Fall 2013, [62] Backstage at Erin Fetherston Fall 2011, [63, 64] Elle Fanning, [65] Chanel Iman and Cara Delevingne, [66] Brigitte Bardot, [67, 68] Beyonce, [69] Alicia Keys, [70] Bambi Northwood Blyth, [71] Megan Fox, [72] Backstage at Alexander Wang Spring 2010, [73] Backstage at Kenzo Fall 2011, [74] Lauryn Hill.

If teen rom-coms have taught us anything, it’s that every seminal encounter between a heroine and her love interest starts from the ankles and pans up (Christian meeting Cher in Clueless, Laney Boggs’ makeover debut in She’s All That, Amanda Beckett’s—aka Jennifer Love Hewitt's—first day of school in Can’t Hardly Wait, etc). But what exactly are directors telling us? That a woman’s legs, rather than her face, are the real focus of a first impression? Between the beach weekends, pool parties, and denim cut-offs that round out a summer, our gams will do a hefty amount of parading in the coming months—suffice it to say we’re not taking any chances. So, heeding Hollywood's advice (never an amazing idea, but stay with us), we’ve been treating our legs as we would our face by shaving them like one. And who knows how to shave a face better than dudes (and dads)? Here are the products we’re borrowing from ours:

For a hydrating shaving cream that isn’t accompanied by a father-like fragrance—or that of a middle school girl, for that matter—we prefer the unscented, sensitive-skin friendly Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel. At $4.29 a pop, it’s surprisingly not bottom shelf, comes in a non-offensive navy and beige can, and is marketed to men (though it was shelved in a gender gray-area at the drugstore). Let it be known that Aveeno is not overselling this product when it says it will work into a “rich” lather. Its frothy white foam is thick enough to reveal where you’ve already shaved, and what you’ve missed, without suffocating your pores. Added bonuses? It boasts the ability to soothe razor bumps and features oatmeal...making it the ideal segue to breakfast? While this shave gel certainly doesn’t hydrate as well as a lotion, it did mean that our legs weren't screaming for after-shower moisturizing...but if Arianna Huffington has time to moisturize, I guess we do, too.

But when it comes to smooth legs—or smooth anything you want/need to shave, who are we to judge—everything hangs on the razor. And as far as the Gloffice is concerned, NYC-based startup e-tailer Harry’s makes the best we’ve come across (with a price tag that won’t burn your retinas). We’re partial to the Winston (yes, that’s Harry’s Winston, and we’re beginning to think the allusion to the legendary jeweler is intentional). The German-engineered razor’s chrome handle feels as aristocratic in your hand as it looks in your shower, and that slight curve at the joint where the handle meets the razor (the thinnest we've seen) makes said razor just glide along your skin. This sucker gives an extremely close shave. It’s priced at $20, and refill blades will run you $15 for a pack of eight, but this is money well-spent. Harry's products are also for men, but, like we said, they use it on their faces. So they're definitely fit for your stems.

Look, we can’t promise that this one-two punch will turn your life into a romantic comedy with a beautiful yet quirky female lead, but the signs are kind of everywhere—even Rachel Kushner’s latest novel, The Flamethrowers, likens calves to “large, blank faces"—and you certainly won’t regret treating your legs with a little respect. And with Father's Day right around the corner, it's likely that few things will make your dad happier than knowing he finally taught you how to do something right (even if you can’t change a flat tire).

Illustrations by Karleigh Sherman. 

Yes, dear readers, it is Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s birthday. Not to go fan-girl on you guys, but we love ourselves an Olsen twin. And it’s likely that our morality index was shaped by the eight years we observed Michelle Tanner on Full House. And their business acumen! They went from peddling their own flesh and blood for less than a dollar to producing, and selling out of, a $34,000 backpack. It’s simultaneously hard for us to believe that they are already and only 27.

But what’s most impressive, really, is the amount of style they’ve managed to pack into less than three decades. These girls have navigated the ropes from tween icons to mainstream moguls to, most recently, the minimalist designers of choice for the upper crust. Nowadays, their daily ensembles so chicly toe the line between “I couldn’t look cooler” and “I might be a cat lady" (Ashley donned what can only be described as an orange aura to this year's Met Gala). So, in honor of their big day (conveniently also #TBT), we're looking back at the beachy waves [34], tank tops [21], matching metallic suits [11], and jet-set style (ahem, small round sunglasses [4]) that won us over from the very start.

This is really an opportunity to reacquaint yourselves with why you should never ever scramble eggs with a fork—thanks, Billboard Dad—how to solve a mystery with the Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley series, how to play matchmaker (and throw a stellar food fight) with It Takes Two, and how to make the most of the Witness Protection Program with Our Lips Are Sealed. Most of all, cop some style, because you know what, overalls are back. Until then, enjoy 53 of Mary-Kate and Ashley's best looks.

I have never truly suffered from acne but I have also never been very confident about my skin. If I am lucky, I go a week or two without giving it much thought…but that is rare. Short of going on Accutane (which I’ve considered), I’ve tried everything, including minocycline (which I DO NOT recommend) and ProActiv. I have also seen half a dozen dermatologists and many more facialists. I am willing to spend money on my skin, but not for things that don’t work. For the past year or so, my friend Stella Schnabel repeatedly advised me to see her “lady.” I was tired of being disappointed in my skin and afraid to hit another (expensive) dead end. After seeing Stella’s own complexion dramatically improve (actually, she had me at “My facialist, Isabelle, did Jacqueline Onassis”)—and with an eye towards my impending wedding—I decided the time had come to head uptown to Advanced Skin Care and really get a handle on things.

I knew I was in good hands after my first consultation. Anna, Isabelle’s colleague and a co-owner, recognized several problems with my skin—linked to medical conditions that I hadn’t even told her about. My liver function is sluggish for someone my age (due to a pretty bad eating disorder suffered during my teen years). I also have wacky hormone levels due to an ovarian cyst (I had it removed late last year). These issues, combined with over-active oil glands and moderate stress levels, were causing my pores to clog and become inflamed. This happens very easily, and it has been, and will continue to be, a slightly uphill battle. One Anna and I are willing to fight.

Now, after five facials over six months, my skin is an entirely different story. By the date of my wedding, over Easter weekend, I looked good and felt like I’d finally gotten a handle on things.

More than anything, Anna helped me understand my skin: why it acts out, how to prevent problems, and what to do when they do occur (without being aggressive). For example, because of my liver issue, Accutane would do way more harm than good for me. Anna and I have a long-term plan, a big part of which is consistently taking probiotics. I take Natren Healthy Trinity capsules, available at Whole Foods. What else?

Day and night, I clean my face with Bioderma Crealine H2o Ultra-mild Non-rinse Face and Eyes Cleanser—the only thing I kept from my previous regime. At night, I follow with the Epicuren Clarify Cleanser. I also take CosMedix Clarity pills, morning and evening.

I moisturize, day and night, with a combination of Epicuren creams; I mix a few together based on how my skin is feeling. If my skin is dry, I use the Colostrum Cream. I always use lots of the Brazilian Propolis Lotion because it is not only moisturizing but anti-inflammatory, too. In the past, if my skin was oily, I would refrain from using any cream at all, which apparently is a huge mistake because the oil is a sign that the skin is trying to correct itself.

In the morning, I use Epicuren’s Zinc Oxide Sunscreen, which actually works as a moisturizer on its own. And throughout the day, I spray myself with Osmosis Clear Facial Conditioner; I keep it in my handbag.

Twice a week, I use the Knutek Omega Peel to exfoliate. This product is magic: you put it on as a gel and, in 30 seconds, it turns to liquid. Then you scrub it off with your fingers in circular motions and watch as all the dead skin comes off.

As needed, I use the Epicuren Bulgaricum Probiotic Mask Powder, which is a topical probiotic mask—you mix the powder with Epicuren Aloe Vera Calming Gel and it becomes a paste. It dries on your skin after about ten minutes and then you wash it off. Easy. If I do get a blemish, I use Epicurean’s Drying Lotion.

It may look like a lot of work on paper, but there is a lot of freedom within my regime. And when I travel, I simplify. None of these products—save the Colostrum Cream, which I don’t use every day—are too terribly expensive and they never seem to run out at the same time, which is helpful.

I recently had my makeup done by Aaron de Mey (lucky me) and he immediately noticed the improvement. Turns out he is also a client at Advanced Skin Care. Aaron was sent there by his friend, the model Trish Goff. Edita Vilkeviciute, Karolina Kurkova, Maryna Linchuk, and Emma Watson also frequent the quiet midtown offices. The so-called "spa" looks more like a doctor’s office, which I find reassuring—I don’t need to be pampered, just fix me! That said, manicures, waxing, laser hair-removal, body wraps, and massage are all on offer. And I will say Isabelle does a mean eyebrow wax.

Floored with my own results, I sat down with Advance Skin Care founders Anna Antal and Isabelle Anton for a chat about how their practice came to be.

Anna: I am from Transylvania, where skincare was an excellent profession. I studied at the Anna Aslan Institute in Bucharest and I came to the US as a political refugee in 1981.

Isabelle: I am Georgian. My grandmother had a pharmacy where she made all kinds of products: creams, lipsticks, rose oil, everything. During the Bolshevik Revolution, they became poor and she could no longer have her beauty products sent from France. When I went to University, I studied chemistry. But when I came to the US, my degree didn’t count—this was in 1977—so I decided to go into skincare. I got my license and started working at Georgette Klinger. I worked there for 9 years, and that is where I met Anna. My clients in the '80s included Jacqueline Onassis. She always came with her big scarf…so elegant and quiet. She always brought books for my kids.

Anna: Georgette only hired Eastern European aestheticians. She was from Czechoslovakia and she really brought the Eastern European skin care approach to the US. I think our aesthetic and approach came from our time with Klinger…but skincare has changed a lot since then. In the past five years even…came, for example, 'skinceuticals.' There has been so much research and development in the industry to create products that actually change the physiology of the skin. In the Klinger days, everything was topical. Now, they are going beyond skin deep. We can regulate skin aging from the inside. Like the Clarity pills I gave you.

Everything you see here in this case is a 'skinceutical.' They create a visible difference in your skin—not just moisturization but transformation. And all anyone talks about now is anti-aging. Now, we have two kinds—the internal aging on a cellular level and then environmental causes. Here, we emphasize tackling both. The first step is always to clean the skin regularly. We remove the toxins, so that all of the active ingredients we use can penetrate much better. Anyway, things are so different than they were when Isabelle and I started. But this is why I called our company Advanced Skin Care. I am always reading, going to conferences, staying on top of the new technologies. When we got together, the day spa industry was just rising up. We were really one of the first... Despite our age, we know that you cannot exist in this industry if you don’t keep up.

Isabelle: But we are always adding, not replacing. Keeping what we already know from all these years about the skin.

Anna: Our priority is to find the root of the problem. We are changing the physiology of the skin…cell function. And this is how you tackle aging, intrinsically and extrinsically.

Isabelle: I have very dry skin myself. But even in my age, I am producing my own oils because I take a lot of supplements to aid this.

Anna: Diet is also very important. There is a test, the Alcat test, which can tell you which foods are causing irritation/inflamation. We know that aging is inflammation in the mitochondria. So now I know, having taken the test, that gluten is not good for me. Rosacea, for example, is generally a dietary issue. People with this problem, I advise to avoid irritants such as caffeine and spicy foods.

Isabelle: Irish people often have this problem. We also advise them to keep everything at room temperature, even their showers. Nothing acidic. Nothing too hot or too cold.

Anna: A lot of the skincare brands we use here are focused on carriers. For example, we carry Osmosis which uses Zinc Finger Technology. Using this technology, they can actually penetrate very deeply into the second layer of the skin. If people start using products like this early on, and they have the financial capability to keep using them, they will produce more collagen on their own and age more slowly.

Me: But I must say that even within my budget, you have changed my skin drastically in three sessions over 12 weeks. I have spent about $200 each time.

Anna: In your case, we are tackling oily skin and that is less expensive to treat. Because you have oily skin, you will actually have a better time with aging. But we have skin lines here for any condition.

Isabelle: We have always used Epicuren, which is based on enzymes. We've been using it since 1992.

Me: What do you think of Accutane?

Isabelle: Well, it is being widely recalled. Now they are really only giving it to males. It has very serious side effects. And we see people who use it and then, a few years later, the problem returns. We try to avoid this approach.

Anna: Our approach is also deeply customized.

Isabelle: I could never tell you what kind of facial you will need over the phone. And each time you come back, your facial will be slightly different.

 [1] Tom Guinness and Rachel Chandler Guinness; [2] Rachel Chandler Guinness and Haider Ackermann; [3, 4] Advanced Skin Care photographed by Rachel Chandler Guinness. Advanced Skin Care is located at 140 West 57th Street, Suite 3C, New York, NY 10019, (212) 758-8867.

Maybe I shouldn't, maybe it makes me smell like a teenage girl/pastry/both, but every morning after I get out of the shower, I slather myself with coconut body lotion. Whenever I wear it, I find myself smelling my arms all day—weird, but true.

It's kind of embarrassing to procure—I'm a 29 year-old dude, after all—but the cashiers at C.O. Bigelow, which makes my current favorite version, don't seem to think it's strange (they're on 6th avenue in Greenwich Village, a few doors down from a place called "Fantasy Party," so they probably see much more insane shit). Anyway, coconut lotion: I think there's an undeniable sensory connection between coconuts (and lotions, generally) and vacation and being tan. Beyond that, the sweet, toasted scent of [artificial] coconut, not to mention skin that smells sweet and toasted, just makes me feel good. While C.O. Bigelow's version is a bit thicker than the bottle(s) of Skin Trip I used in high school, it absorbs within a minute (this is very important in a body cream; nothing's worse than lotion sitting atop your skin), and the scent is subtle—like a joint at a Justin Bieber concert, it's there if you're really looking for it. More than anything, you smell clean, fresh, like a sorority girl in Cabo on the first day of spring break. Ahh.

—Nick Axelrod

"I was born and raised in Stockholm, and now I’m a sales assistant at Acne. I’m not a natural redhead, unfortunately—I’m actually very blond. But I felt like, between my blond hair and pale skin, I was disappearing. The red gives me more character. My eyebrows are also blond, and really thin. I like their natural shape, and sometimes I think it’s nice to keep them bare, but when I want to exaggerate them, I use a brown eyebrow pencil from Face Stockholm.

Today, I lined my eyes with MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy on the top and bottom, then I filled in the top line with a black shadow from Too Faced to make a cat eye—I just wet a brush and paint on the shadow. I also added a glittery brown eye shadow from MAC. I just put on a light coat, for a bit of a gold shine, but you can also apply it very heavily to get a dark, dark brown. I’m very much into glitter and high-contrast at the moment. Glitter is amazing. I want it on everything.

My mascara is Diorshow Black Out Mascara in Rich Black. It’s very good for my lashes because it’s not too wet, it lasts, and it’s very, very dark."

—as told to ITG

Linnea Sennerholt photographed by Emily Weiss in Stockholm, Sweden on June 5, 2013.

Let us be the first to admit that the number of brushes that exist for a single makeup product, technique, or finish can be overwhelming. Sephora carries nearly 100 eye-brush options alone. And once you pull the trigger on a specific shape, material, and brand, what exactly do you use them for? Well, that’s where Marlena Stell aka Makeup Geek comes into play.

In her video, "Top 10 Makeup Brushes Every Girl Should Own,” Stell talks about the essential brushes that, yes, every girl (or boy) should have, what they're used for, and how to use them. (We already know how to clean them—thanks Jeanine!) While we're all for a good finger smudge, we've learned from experience and from makeup artists backstage that using a brush can make all the difference, whether in the visibility of your foundation or the crispness of your eyeliner. Stell tends to favor her own line of products, but she does admit that most brushes resembling Makeup Geek's examples will be totally fine alternatives. We’ve always felt that MAC knows what’s up in the brush category, but many a company produces excellent brush work, so if you’ve found one you love, no need to switch it up. (And, also, tell us your favorites in the comments. Please.)

First, a cheat sheet of her essential brush picks:

1. Flat Stiff Brush

2. Stiff Dome Brush

3. Pencil Brush

4. Soft Dome Brush

5. Bent Liner Brush

6. Duel Ended Lash Brush

7. Blush/Contour Brush

8. Cheek Highlighter Brush

9. Foundation Stippling Brush

10. Flat Foundation Brush

BONUS!: Beauty Blender

Take a look at Makeup Geek’s video and discover why using a foundation brush to apply eyeshadow is a rookie move:

[1] Photo by Emily Weiss backstage at Rochas Fall 2012; [2] Photo by Emily Weiss backstage at Thakoon Fall 2013.