#my compliments to the chef (aida)

[dt75artblog]

saias (to be made into a standee in the future)!

[shaunstoffer]

Tokyo was my last stop for my Japan trip and I had some reservations about going. I was growing tired of big cities, debating an over-packed itinerary, and was worried about being overwhelmed by a city even bigger than my old home of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. So, just I stuck with my instincts: check out a neighborhood a day at a time, relax at night, and just ride the wave. It was also the first time I decided to stop taking so many pictures after I ended up with over a thousand pictures in just two weeks. I had become repulsed by the number of people flailing selfie sticks and cameras around and not simply drinking in the sights and sipping on the moment. I couldn’t count how many time I saw crowds fighting over a picturesque moment but not actually sitting down and enjoying it. As a result, I vowed to travel for me, not for likes or views – best decision I ever made.

Conveyor Belt Sushi: There’s a few different ways of indulging in this delightful activity. One is by electronically ordering on a digital menu that’s something like an iPad, the second is directly ordering from the chef where you’ll likely need to brush up on your Japanese, and the third is the simple grabbing the plates as they come. The issue with this method is that generally speaking, all the good dishes get grabbed right away while the less desired ones get leftover, endlessly revolving around. Therefore, if you’ve seen a dish more than a few times it’s probably not the cream of the crop. Tsukiji Fish Market: I came to Tokyo’s famous fish market solely to see the sales of giant tuna and other fish to vendors. Little did I know the only way to see this live auction is to arrive at 4:30am to purchase tickets in person, which are limited to only 120 total daily, and the auction is a silent auction which only runs from 5am to 6:15am. Therefore, if you’re not determined to visit, like I wasn’t, it’s best to simply enjoy the food market. It’s smaller, more crowded, and definitely more exposed to the elements like rain or sunshine than the Osaka or Kyoto markets but I stumbled upon a fancier, underground, affliated restaurant which met my requirements to dine in. They spoke zero English nor had an English menu and I was the only foreigner. That’s when I knew I needed to eat here but I had no idea what to order, so I just started pointing at pictures and saying in Japanese, “one please”.National Museum of Emerging Science and Engineering: I was disappointed with the museums in Tokyo and spent a day visiting around five or six. Mitsuo Aida Museum, National Museum of Modern Art, and Idemitsu Museum of Arts were among some of the ones I visited. The prices were a bit expensive averaging at around 1000 yen a ticket ($9), the museums often lacked English translations for many pieces so often times I was looking at literature or art pieces where I couldn’t even understand what the title was or any of the prose, and most of the exhibits were relatively small and a bid redundant. There’s nothing really exciting to me about a room full of small, clay pots or untranslated scrolls that I can’t understand.Crown Shisha: I grew a craving for Japanese shisha in Osaka and had a regular urge to satisfy it in Tokyo. Why? Because it wasn’t illegal, wasn’t very expensive, and didn’t leave me with a bad hangover in the morning. I could relax, enjoy, and meet new people over a bowl of the good stuff. By dumb luck, I happened to book a place to stay that was a few minutes walk from Crown Shisha. It was owned by a Japanese lady and run by a few Indian gentleman who spoke Japanese and English on top of their native tongue fluently. I ended up making friends with the staff and some of the regulars and ended up going nearly every night. The one downside was when the bar closed they all went to the clubs until the the crack of dawn. I have a bad reputation of losing control in clubs. Meaning I’ll spend all my money on bottles, I’ll get drunk as a skunk, and plainly I’ll party as hard as I can with whoever I can till the sun comes up. Needless to say, I was very tempted to join in on their festivities, but managed to summon the resolve to say no whenever invited. Odaiba and the Little Statue of Liberty: I was told this man-made neighborhood island was a place that couldn’t be passed up. People came for the shopping and the restaurants but I came for the architecture and the views.

  Sleeping Pods: I figured I’d try something new and try out staying in sleeping pods which are exactly what they sound like. Many joked that it felt like sleeping in a coffin but to me it was more like what I imagine a space pod would be. I’m mildly claustrophobic, so I initially thought I had made a huge mistake upon first seeing my “room” but after entering it ended up feeling surprisingly cozy, like a warm cave or tent almost. They come equipped with a light, AC fan, and WiFi so it was really not a terrible experience although I wouldn’t revisit the idea again as it’s not exactly easy to bring a lady back from a bar – wink wink*.

  Ginza: Ginza was the neighborhood I decided to stay in. Everyone told me it was the Times Square of Tokyo. God help me I should have known it was filled with overpriced international brands and restaurants that were selling the same quality dish for twice the price you could get down the street. That being said, I loved how the streets glowed at night and I never ran out of options on where to eat.

  Taco Bell, Hooters, & Red Lobster: Mock me if you will but I hadn’t come across these restaurants since leaving America well over a year ago. It was a funny flip seeing locals treat fast food quesadillas and boneless lemon pepper wings like foreign delicacies. I will however never forgive Red Lobster for discontinuing those damn delicious cheese biscuits!

    World Cup: I came to Tokyo during the world cup and left right before Japan was eliminated. People in Japan are avid soccer lovers and were wearing fake Afros, foam fingers, and jerseys to sports bars all over the city rooting for their team. That being said, they aren’t hostile or excessively belligerent like other countries can be. They simple want to drink, cheer on their team, and go home which is the way it should be.

Imperial Palace: Little did I know that the only entry is through escorted tours which must be applied for well in advance and little of the actual palace is accessible to the public. Instead, most opt to admire from afar as well as go to the East Gardens which is flourished with nature and free to visit.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: As I’ve said before, during the summer you won’t encounter a big variety of colors but everything is SO green!

  Earthquake in Osaka: I encountered my first earthquake early in the morning in my hostel in Osaka. It woke me up but I was too naive in my half-asleep stupor that I started yelling at my bunk mate above me to shut up and quit shaking the beds. After going back asleep I awoke to news that an earthquake had struck and I had pretty much slept through it. Needless to say, I owed my bunk-mate a highball.

Luckily for me, the first week I made it to Taiwan, my new home, I encountered another earthquake at the bar. The bar was relatively full and out of nowhere the entire building shook for a few seconds. I’m the only one who jumped up and got into a fighting stance out of sheer instinct because I didn’t know what was happening. Everyone just paused until it stopped then resumed what they were doing like nothing happened. Culture shock at its finest.

To Taiwan: I nearly didn’t make it out of Japan as I was entering Taiwan on a 3-month tourist pass where travelers are sometimes required to have an exit ticket to show proof of exiting the country within the allotted 90 days. I didn’t because I was moving and upgrading my visa to an ARC working visa which is much easier to do in person than through emails, mail, and phone calls abroad. After a solid ten minutes of being polite, calmly and honestly explaining my intentions, the immigration, which consisted of four younger Japanese ladies, allowed me to enter with merely a gentle warning. Turns out a smile, a wink, and compliments can get you through a lot of pickles.

  Exiting Japan: Tokyo Tokyo was my last stop for my Japan trip and I had some reservations about going. I was growing tired of big cities, debating an over-packed itinerary, and was worried about being overwhelmed by a city even bigger than my old home of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

[orlandoskincare-blog]

Cassandra Grey, Founder, Violet Grey

“I had a very unconventional childhood. I grew up in San Francisco and my parents were hippies-my father isn't really anymore, but my mother very much is. We lived in a Quaker community and on a Native American reservation and I lived in a tipi for a year. But my whole childhood was spent trying to get to New York. I got here and worked for nine years as a creative consultant before I married my husband and moved out to Los Angeles. I did a lot of creative consulting, advertising, and influencer marketing. With everything I did, I was always really into image making and the creativity with hair and makeup-the theater of it. So when I moved to LA, the glamour and the aesthetic of Hollywood really fueled what I wanted to do with Violet Grey.

I always knew I was going to start a company in my early 30s. I wrote the business plan for Violet Grey when I was still living to New York but I didn't start it right away when I moved to LA. First, I had this little studio on Melrose Place because I felt I needed to learn about the industry and become more of a credible authority in beauty. The studio was the size of a little apartment and I would work with stars who had new movies coming out and build brand books for the whole event tour they were about to go on. The books told a story about who they were from the perspective of hair and makeup and style and jewelry… That's when I was exposed to a lot of the makeup artists and hairdressers that I still work with today.

Hair and makeup artists are the new chefs in terms of influencing people's purchasing decisions, so I realized there was a real opportunity in content and commerce and beauty specifically. Because there wasn't really a trusted source of beauty e-commerce yet, and I was working every day with the real authorities. A brick and mortar was also a crucial part of that because it's an integral part to how we tell our story. Everything we put in front of people we consider content, including the store and the products. The big initiative right now for us is to pull back the curtain and to really show people our shoppers, our clients and show them our process and our struggle to find the best of the best.

SKINCARE Since working with Violet Grey I've changed my skincare every three months. I like to be able to try things. Typically, I can't believe how good my skin looks because you go through maybe a week where you might have a reaction to it but then it starts to work. Recently, I was using this French pharmacy regimen that the makeup artist Violette put together for me. It was a 12-step routine and she had to label everything for me because I would forget what was what…but I liked it a lot! Particularly Embryolisse because of the smell and it works on everything. I put it on my body and my face, so I have to buy a lot of it.

Right now, I'm using Royal Fern almost exclusively. His products are great-our customers love it. He has a Phytoactive Cleansing Balm that I use at night and it helps the other products work really well, followed by a great anti-aging serum, which it's never too early to start using. And step three is his Rich Cream for winter. If I switch out anything, it's for the Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser. It makes my skin feel so clean, like nothing is on it but not dry. I'm addicted to it and use it with my Foreo once a week.

There are a few constants in my routine. Like, my favorite sunblock is from Révive-it's the only one that I don't have a bad reaction to. Omorovicza's Queen of Hungary Mist is really addicting. Amanda Lacey's products are really great, particularly the Miracle Tonic which is great on an oily t-zone. Vintner's Daughter is as amazing as everyone says it is, but I heard you weren't supposed to use it during the day because it's active and works better at night. And the greatest lip balm I've ever had is the La Prairie Eye and Lip Balm, and I try never to run out of it.

Violet Grey actually launched the Ziip Nano Current Device exclusively and the founder's, Melanie Simon, story is really amazing. It was created by an aesthetician who used to work with Aida Bicaj and Biologique Recherche. She was the only one on the West Coast who did that, so a lot of people saw her for facials. The Ziip is essentially the evolution of the Biologique approach to microcurrent technology, and you can use it at home on yourself. I like to do it when I'm watching TV. Normally, I do a program that works on diminishing fine lines, but there are a bunch of different settings because she's intent on helping everyone, whether you're looking at wrinkles or acne. She just showed me one that you can use to plump your lips! It only lasts eight hours, but it's really amazing. That's why I always keep it in my purse.

MAKEUP When I do my own makeup, it's almost always the same kind of look. I use Koh Gen Do Foundation because it makes me feel like a new girl. Then I use a Charlotte Tilbury or a MAC palette on my eyes. And I use Boy Brow. The best mascara I've ever used is from Serge Lutens, but it doesn't come off so you need to buy the matching makeup wipes to get clean. Sometimes I'll get my lashes done, but the Serge Lutens Mascara makes them look just as good.

For concealer, I've learned you need to have a bunch of them for different reasons. I have Cle De Peau, Chanel, and RMS and I authentically use them all. The Cle De Peau is pretty thick, so if I'm having my picture taken I'll use that-but it feels a bit too thick for during the day. Then RMS Un Cover-Up feels nice for everyday use. Then the Chanel Éclat Lumière I think is great for when you have under eye circles. That's the essence of what we want to do at Violet Grey… Out of 20,000 concealers, how do you know which ones to pick and for what?

BODY I just started taking baths actually. January Jones told me she takes like two baths a day and gets a lot of things done in the bath, so I started thinking that I have to start doing that. It's hard, because you need a lot of patience. We're also starting to curate more products for that kind of experience. My favorite soap is from the Carlyle Hotel-it's a comfort thing, and because bar soap feels fancy. And then I exfoliate a lot. I'm a little bit like a doctor fanatic so I read a lot of doctor books. Most of them say that it's very important for your circulation and lymph nodes to do some sort of daily circulation. I'll use a rough cloth and do it all over my body in the shower. Other than that, I'm a very quick shower-er.

After the shower, I use the African Botanics Firming Botanical Body Oil, which is amazing to firm the whole body. Then I just started testing Legology Air Lite Legs, which is supposed to tighten and lift the legs. Or I'll use the something like the Cle De Peau Body Lotion or the La Mer Reparative Body Lotion. The La Mer I used while I was pregnant to help prevent stretch marks. It's good, obviously all the time. Then I do spray tans every 10 days at home. I tried to do a self tan but it was too dangerous.

HAIR I've always had really short hair-for most of my adult life, I had a pixie cut. I might have to do that again because you feel really cool and people always compliment it. When I was pregnant I had grown my hair out because it grows really fast when you're pregnant. There is an awkward phase when you grow it out, so I got extensions to get through the mullet stage. The thing about extensions is that to look really good, you need someone to really do your hair all the time. Jen Atkin would do mine, and she still cuts my hair while it's long. But for short cuts, I got to Lea Journo at the Beverly Wilshire. She cuts men's hair, so she does a really good job.

For products, I use the Beautiful Color and the Magnificent Volume lines from Oribe. I'm also using Jen Atkin's Treatment Masque from Ouai. I use a lot of her stuff lately. And I love Leonor Greyl because it's just great for your hair. She made coconut oil chicer. Coconut oil is the best thing ever. Eat it, drink it, you can really do anything with it. It's not a trend! If Lauren Hutton uses it all the time, you know it's not a trend.”

-as told to ITG

Cassandra Grey photographed by Tom Newton in New York on October 14, 2016. Hair by Matt Fugate using Kerastase Paris for Exclusive Artists Mgmt. Makeup by Kira Nasrat for Violet Grey.