COVER STORY

76

36 HAUTE MOVES

Hot wheels and yachts from Lamborghini,

Bugatti, Wally, Nuvolari

Lenard and Nautor

48 HAUTE TRAVEL

The most spectacular beach hotels

56 FASHION

Louis Vuitton: Tourist versus purist and how the brand is celebrating its 200th anniversary

76 HAUTE BEAUTY

The best sunscreens on the market and why the chin is the new cheek

256 SCENE

The hottest Haute Living events of the season

264 PHILANTHROPY

Denise Rich celebrates 25 years of her Angel Ball

FASHION56

26

HAUTE TIME

COVER STORY DRESS: Oscar de la Renta SHOES: Jimmy Choo BEACH TOWEL: Louis Vuitton RINGS: Jennifer Fisher and Dezso WATCH: Hublot BRACELET: Cartier

DRESS, JACKET AND HEADBAND: Gucci BAG: Loewe SHOES: Manolo Blahnik SQUARE RING: IVI Jewelry OVAL RING: Acchitto BRACELET: Cartier

There are many words I could use to describe Naomi Watts, but the one that feels most apt and less obvious is “unflappable.”

The summer morning of our interview is a testament to her tranquility. Not even Mercury in retrograde could take the blame for all of the smoke alarms in her Tribeca home simultaneously deciding to go off at once (nor the workers stomping in and out trying to remedy the situation). Meanwhile, her rescue dog, Izzy, is zooming around, chewing things, getting into trouble. Trying to find a quiet place to think — never mind to talk — seems virtually impossible. Yet here she is, calm and quietly elegant, flawless in a simple black jumper, all casually tousled flaxen locks, minimal makeup (lipstick, blush and eyebrow pencil) and glowing, radiant skin.

Damn Watts and her perfection. Sigh.

I kid. But hey, this very imperturbability is partially why the two-time Oscar nominee is so successful. She doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and whatever she does, she does with conviction. Which is, essentially, the reason we’re Zooming in the midst of her current state of chaos: devotion and dedication to her non-movie-related role as acting cofounder of clean beauty retailer ONDA.

ONDA Beauty was first conceived in 2016 by her friends and business partners Larissa Thomson, a former fashion editor, and Sarah Bryden-Brown, a journalist, author and start-up founder. They began doing pop-ups in private homes, educating beauty enthusiasts on the efficacy of nontoxic ingredients, before launching their online collective of cult products, which has gained slow and steady traction. A brick-and-mortar boutique on West Broadway (albeit with a totally Tulum feel, in line with the translation of the brand’s name, Spanish for “wave”) soon followed, as did a second location in Hamptons hot spot Sag Harbor and a third in Sydney, Australia. By then, their small but mighty collective had blossomed into the go-to digital space for natural beauty needs, with an ever-evolving rotation of hot new (and sometimes completely unheard-of) products.

Watts became a convert during ONDA’s early days, after having forgotten her toiletry bag at home during a weekend visiting Thomson in upstate New York. Rummaging around her friend’s medicine cabinet introduced her (organically) to a new world of green and clean.

Turning to nontoxic products was an evolution her routine would have likely undergone regardless, given that she’s always been into natural and unprocessed things. “I’m a child of the ’70s, and I was raised by a woman [British antiques dealer and costumer/set designer Myfanwy Edwards] who was burning her bra, baking her own bread, making her own clothes and only eating whole foods — brown bread, brown rice, brown flour. Everything was health-conscious. So this became my natural comfort zone,” she says, adding, “I was raised on those things, so even when I crave foods, what I want is mostly healthy.” (She says mostly because she was raised in the United Kingdom and has an affinity for distinctly unhealthy British crisps, known elsewhere as potato chips. “I have my guilty pleasures as well!” she declares.)

And while the partners are still plotting to expand both nationally and globally, the pandemic temporarily thwarted their plans for a more consistent rollout. “We had literally just opened the doors in [London’s Notting Hill neighborhood] — it was still in its infancy — and unfortunately, because [the city went into quarantine three times because of Covid], it was more than our little baby could handle at that point in time. Sadly, we had to close the doors, which was heartbreaking. It was possibly our most beautiful store.”

Which isn’t to say that the other locations aren’t stunning. The busy Sag Harbor location in particular has a darling “great village” vibe, full of driftwood touches and with white walls. In addition to its slew of skincare and haircare products, the boutique also focuses on superfoods, pet products and sexual-health items. Each destination has a different in-store treatment menu, as well. What sets Sag Harbor apart is its intuitive readings with psychic Christina McMahon: cool and unusual treatments like energy healing, a CBD wellness massage and wood therapy are available at both New York locations.

And so, despite the British boutique’s closure, ONDA isn’t going anywhere (though Watts does say another international location isn’t in the cards for the time being; instead, an American opening in a smaller city will likely be the next move). Watts is choosing to look at the big picture in relation to her business. “If there is any silver lining of what happened in the last year, it’s that people are now thinking more consciously,” she says. “They had that moment of pausing, and in that moment reflected on what they’re putting into their system. The consumer is examining the label and saying, ‘What’s the whole story? Not just the ingredients, but who are the founders? How was the product made?’”

She adds, “There was a period in time where people were feeling, ‘It’s all about digital only,’ and there’s a lot of truth to that. People do want to get their hands on things in the easiest, fastest way. But at the same time — and again, from Covid — I think people are looking for that experiential vibe: to be able to get into a space, feel the charm and connect with people. I think the beauty of a small boutique experience is really valuable right now. It’s special, and we’re proud of that. We also have an educated staff who take their time explaining why each product is the right fit for each person’s unique needs.”

Like all of us, the 52-year-old actress has her perceived imperfections, as well as things she’d prefer to focus on enhancing over others. “I’m big on eyebrows,” she notes. “That’s my one thing, because I’m quite fair, and sometimes I’ll even color them.”

She’s a makeup girl in general, which is a good thing, given the nature of her day job. Beauty has always been a big part of her life. Getting glam for red carpets and putting on pancake set makeup comes with the territory, although because this is her reality, she chooses to streamline and simplify her typical daily routine. “I am into makeup, but I like to give myself a break when I’m not working, because obviously it’s nice when your skin can breathe,” she admits. This is why her ride-or-die ONDA products tend to be lighter and fresher, like Beauty Counter’s Dew Skin tinted moisturizer and pal Monika Blunder’s Blunder Cover all-in-one foundation/concealer.

Constantly trying out new products has its benefits, clearly, yet Watts is pragmatic about her choices. “During Covid, there was definitely a drop in makeup sales, with everyone staying home or being under a mask and not being able to try things on when you did go into a store. But now we’re seeing it come back. Everybody’s ready to put the lipstick back on and put some color in their cheeks.”

She includes herself here, but she also confides that her personal beauty journey begins within. “Feeling truly connected to my center is always going to make me feel like the best version of myself,” she says. “Yes, having great hair and makeup is going to make you feel better, but truthfully, beauty starts from the inside. Being comfortable in your own skin is always the best way to feel your most beautiful, I think.”

It isn’t always easy to get to that comfort level, but she says she does so by “just having my head right, which, obviously, is a day-by-day thing. It’s not like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m in a great space, and this is how it’s going to be every day.’ There’s always going to be a new set of challenges thrown at you, and it’s how you deal with them that creates a ripple effect.”

If her home situation seems temporarily chaotic, it’s not even remotely close to Naomi Watts’s past year — or the one that’s coming, for that matter. Like all of us, she’s been enduring some pandemic-related life changes. (However, like hardly any of us, she seems to be shooting more films than ever, too. Covid-compliantly, natch.)

“I mean, there were ups and downs. And obviously, I’m a whole lot more fortunate than lots of people, but of course I still struggled,” she says. “There was just that feeling of being disconnected from your loved ones, the not knowing, the anxiety — how long is this going to last, when am I going to get to see my family and friends, the stuff that everyone went through. I had many days where I was feeling the weight of things. Because I share custody with my ex [actor Liev Schreiber], not being with my children [sons Sasha, 13, and Kai, 12] at times was difficult. We tried to keep it so that we could share things equally, which is what we always do, and be close to each other in proximity, so that if the kids did need to come and go, they could. We set it up like that, but it was definitely hard, especially in the beginning.”

There was more. “Trying to operate websites for school Zooms was next-level. I’m in my 50s and I’m not super tech-savvy, so I was definitely struggling in the beginning. But then you understand it better, and it is amazing — the human resilience and how we can adapt. But you do fear that there are long-lasting effects, especially for middle schoolers. This should be the time where they start spreading their wings and moving away from their parents, and they literally got their wings clipped. So there was some anxiety. But the way through it was baby steps, putting one foot in front of the other. Asking myself, ‘How are we going to get through this day?’ The answer was, ‘Don’t go too far ahead, because that’s when the problems can seem insurmountable.’”

But work, well, she has no complaints there. Nor has she ever, really. She made her acting debut at 18 in the Australian film For Love Alone before pursuing a career as a model and fashion editor. But it wasn’t until she moved to America and scored the lead in David Lynch’s 2001 neo-noir Mulholland Drive that she made her Hollywood breakthrough. Other massive roles in films like 2002 horror movie The Ring and 2005’s King Kong remake, as well as the stunning Alejandro González Iñárritu–directed 21 Grams and 2012’s The Impossible, both of which earned her Oscar nominations, soon followed.

And now she has not one, not two, but three projects in the pipeline, all of which are slated for release within the next year. There’s the thriller Lakewood, which follows a mother, played by Watts, who desperately races against time to save her child from an active shooter as authorities place her small fictional American town on lockdown; Infinite Storm, which takes on the true story — its basis is Ty Gagne’s article “High Places: Footprints in the Snow Lead to an Emotional Rescue” — of a mother, nurse and mountain guide whose solitary trek up Mount Washington led her to the daring rescue of a stranger; and Goodnight Mommy, a remake of a 2014 Austrian horror film about two brothers who suspect something is horribly wrong with their mother.

And while all of the films had strict Covid protocols and small casts, that she could choose to do them in the first place was essential. “I feel like I was definitely at the point where I was wanting to get back into the game and let those creative juices flow again, and I was super grateful to be able to,” she says.