BEAUTY BEAT

FREEZE FRAME

From the land of the northern lights comes the latest glacial shift in cutting-edge skin care.

By Beth Landman

hen Sarah Kugelman, founder of

Skyn Iceland, first traveled to the Nordic region, she was stunned by the glowing, youthful aura of its residents. “I was amazed at how beautiful everyone’s skin was,’’ she recalls. How did these northern beauties manage to freeze time in such an unforgiving climate? By mining their natural resources, of course.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

“When ice melts from glaciers, it runs underground, picks up trace elements, and deposits them into thermal springs,’’ notes Kugelman. “When you turn on the shower there, it is thermal water. You can absolutely smell the sulfur.’’

Kugelman dug deep to learn more, and found through her research that the plants growing in Iceland—fed from this nutrientrich soil and water—were also particularly robust. “The soil is rich in volcanic minerals, so the plants have incredible potency,’’ she explains. Wouldn’t it be great, she dreamt, to bottle it all and apply those resilient qualities to the skin? Kugelman wasn’t alone.

NORDIC RENEWAL

Julie Macklowe, wife of real estate scion Billy Macklowe, had a similar epiphany when she traveled to Switzerland. “I saw the Swiss Alpine

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

rose, which blossoms for four weeks but keeps regenerating and lives for over a hundred years,’’ explains Macklowe in awe. “The rose’s stem cells are super active and great collagen stimulators.’’ It inspired her to launch Vbeauté, a skincare company that uses the rose to great effect in its myriad products, along with seven other potent plants from Nordic lands.

PURE PORES

Sharon Garment, a prominent product development consultant and former executive at Estée Lauder, points out that this Norse-bound swing is driven in no small measure by the greater inclination toward chemicalfree cosmetics. “More brands are embracing the value of these northernsourced ingredients because they are natural, not synthetic,’’ she notes. “People are demanding more performance from their products, and these ingredients are concentrated, pure, and efficacious. The theory is that if they can stave off environmental onslaught, they can protect human skin, as well.’’

Indeed, Skyn Iceland, which also employs angelica archangelica, among other hearty plants, and Vbeauté are among the many in-vogue lines harvesting northern plants, flowers, and berries in pursuit of more perfect skin. These include Lumene, which uses wild ingredients grown in extreme conditions, including extracts from cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, spruce, pine, and peat, Face Stockholm, Cuvget, and La Prairie’s Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Collection. “There is a breed of ingredients that grow in snowy regions,’’ explains Kugelman. “Because they have to grow in such a short amount of time, they are hearty and potent.”

SOAK IT IN

Skyn Iceland and others also make good, hydrating use of the area’s clean, pure alpine water.

“Water is essential for skin and an important component in most of the skin-care products,’’ explains Tiina Isohanni, vice president of Innovations and Development at Lumene. “Here in Finland, we do have the purest water available on Earth. It is shown in several studies in different universities and research centers.”

beautyclockstoppers

WHAT’S OLD RENEWS

Top Manhattan cosmetic dermatologist Paul Jarrod Frank says that while further testing needs to be done to actually prove the products’ efficacy on humans, “These ingredients support the heartiness of living things in tough environments, and contain concentrated forms of antioxidants and peptides with powerful anti-ageing benefits.’’

Perhaps the romantic association with the beauty of alpine and arctic countries—as well as the people who inhabit them—is based on more fact than fancy.

Now, if we can only harvest their genetics… PRODUCTS

VBeauté Evidence Eraser ($24)

Alpine rose and rosemary extract wash away daily grime (vbeaute.com).

Lumene Time Freeze V-Shaping Serum ($30)

Anti-gravity peptides and lingonberry extract smooth your jawline (ulta.com). Skyn Iceland Relief Eye Cream ($45)

De-puff and dewrinkle with this potent potion of arctic botanical stem cells (skyniceland.com).

Badura Ladylike Mini Bag ($1,550)

The perfect purse to fit all of your necessities and beauty products. It is super stylish, too (shop.badura.it).

beautyroots

HUE ARE YOU? YOU?

Hair color game changers from the pros to help you

do you. By Jeanne Muchnick

hanging the look of your tresses with a kick of color is a sure-fire way to a sense of red-hot renewal. It’s also the path to test-driven proof of what works and what doesn’t. But how can you master the tricky task of homing in on the perfect hue?

One rule of thumb: Hold up two fabric swatches to your face–one gold, one silver. If gold looks better, try warmer colors like reds, golds, coppers, and golden browns. Silver means you’re a “cool season” person, so think ash browns or blue-blacks.

Also take into consideration eye color, explains Robert Allen, owner of Robert Allen Salon and Spa in Fort Lauderdale and Sunny Isles, Florida. It’s the “true navigator in bringing out your best,” he says.

The bottom line: For the best look, stick to your palette. Darker skin, darker tones. Lighter skin, lighter tones. For the perfect match, Allen says, stay within two levels of your skin tone. “Two levels lighter or darker will complement your skin tone,” he says. “You want to show contrast while also framing the face.”

In other words, if you’re fair skinned with blonde hair, go for cooler, icier colors, advises Marco Pelusi, owner of Marco Pelusi Hair Studio in West Hollywood, California. Dark skinned with dark hair means adding warmth in the form of highlights such as caramel shades.

Those with medium complexions and brown hair have the most freedom to play. They can go either warm or cool in the form of red or gold highlights, or go for an overall color change, he says.

Season is important to consider, too. Many women choose deeper, richer shades in the fall, darker in the winter, and brighter and lighter in spring and summer.

And while staying within your color family is important, there are options for experimenting, thanks to the range of glazes and highlights offered by hair-care pros.

Allen’s best advice? “Always stay true to yourself, but let a professional look at you objectively before you move forward.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

Christian Louboutin Silky Satin Lip Colour in Rouge Louboutin applies medium to full coverage in one stroke (available in 36 shades, $90, christianlouboutin.com) Marc Jacobs Beauty The Free Spirit Style Eye-Con No. 20 Plush Shadow is an entire palette of metallics, mattes, and sheens ($99, sephora.com)

Artis Elite, Mirror, 10 Brush Set and Elite Mirror Collection Compact Brush Holder ($350, $190, artisbrush.com)

Kjaer Weis Cadeau Makeup bag can also double as a clutch; available November 20 ($205, kjaerweis.com) Jo Malone London Cologne Collection comes with fi ve favorite fragrances ($115, jomalone.com)

India Hicks Black Hibiscus Candle provides the scents of sea air, oranges, and Earl Grey tea ($54, indiahicks.com)

Coach Shearling Rucksack is great for toting all your daily tools ($550, saksfi fthavenue.com)