Crystal Renn, Ford model and spokesperson for Evans in the UK, responds: “It is truly groundbreaking that a publication as prestigious as British Vogue is publicly asking designers for a more realistic portrayal of young women,” says Renn, the most recognizable face in plus-size modeling. “This is hopefully will serve as another critical step towards having a better representation of women throughout all categories in fashion; and opportunity which has been granted to me in several of its sister publications. I applaud them.” 

Renn’s memoir, HUNGRY will be published by Simon & Schuster in September 2009. In the book she recounts her personal struggles and successes in the fashion industry and shares an inspirational message about body image, beauty, and self-confidence.

Japan’s top beauty expert and lifelong aesthetician Chizu Saeki reveals some quick and simple skincare techniques from her new book The Japanese Skincare Revolution (Kodansha International, March 2009. $19.95). Available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

The Japanese Skincare Revolution by Chizu Saeki is the Japanese woman’s skincare bible. Auther and beauty guru Chizu Saeki shares with the world, for the first time, the natural, low-cost techiniques she developed over a career spent in the beauty industry. With it, you’ll learn what today’s Japanese women do to keep their skin looking young and healthy.

Here is an interview with Leading Beauty Expert Chizu Saeki Author of The Japanese Skincare Revolution.

Why did you choose the skincare industry for your profession?
When I was 13 years old, I saw Audrey Hepburn in a film catalog, and I was amazed that such a beautiful person could exist. This is what aroused my interest in beauty. I began imitating her looks, and gradually I realized what a wonderful thing it is to become beautiful. I quit the clerical job I had been working and enrolled in a beauty school to help others achieve beauty.

How are Japanese and American women different in their approaches to skincare?
Japanese women generally want to whiten their skin. When I lived in the U.S., I got the impression that Americans are more interested in hair design and don’t get hung up on details-brown spots, open pores, and such. They look to a more holistic kind of beauty.

There’s also a difference in perceptions of aging: the Japanese tend to take a back seat in everything as they grow older, but Americans think about wearing brighter colors, such as red, precisely because they’re getting older. I think they’re better at enjoying life; they’re the ones who believe in beauty that comes with age. That’s a wonderful thing, and we should follow their example.

Many women feel they need to spend a lot of money on expensive cosmetics. On the contrary, you encourage women not to spend a lot of money. What are some inexpensive but effective steps to maintaining beautiful skin?
1. Get to know your skin well.
2. Care about your skin.
3. Desire to be beautiful.
4. Put that feeling into your hands, and use those hands to touch and massage your face and warm up the skincare products you apply to it.
5. Thoroughly remove the makeup you’ve applied.
6. Frequently apply lotion masks.
7. Use serum.
8. Seal it off with cream.
9. Protect your skin year-round.
These points are always the same. Rather than buying a variety of products, I recommend practicing these basic steps, with feeling.

At what age should women begin to be concerned about aging? What basic steps should women take to protect themselves against the hands of time?
Nowadays our skin is at higher risk of sunburn due to global warming and destruction of the ozone layer. Growth generally stops at around age 25, and if you want to stay there, you need to take proper care. If you so wish, you can keep from looking a day older even into your thirties and forties. Different people live in different environments, eat different foods, and live different lifestyles, but my advice to everyone is to take preventative measures. Protect your skin from the elements regardless of age and, when you’ve reached a certain age, give it nutrients by feeding it serum. There’s really no set age at which you should start caring for your skin. Know your skin and incorporate what you feel you need. To young people, though, I’d like to warn against excessive use of skincare products. Your skin is still well balanced as it is, so don’t rely too much on cosmetics. Use lotion masks, protect your skin, and please do moisturize it.

Is there one beauty tool that every woman should have?
Your will and your hands. It’s your own hands and the desire to be beautiful that will do the magic. Don’t think that simply using cosmetics will make you beautiful; be responsible for your own face, and use your hands to the fullest. How much value you draw out of a product is really up to you.

Photo Credit: (c) Hirokazu Takayama.

Any quick and easy tips on how to defy age?
Well, always thinking “quick and easy” leaves everything half-baked. How you use your time is up to you, and it’s important to make skincare a part of your lifestyle. But when you only have so much time and can’t do everything, the most important thing is to eat-in a balanced manner. Your skin’s luster is dependent on your physical health. If your body isn’t well nourished, neither is your skin. Cosmetics help you take in from the surface what you can’t take in orally, but your beauty really comes from what you eat. Eating only what you feel like eating can give you a lopsided diet, and your body, never mind your skin, will be a wreck. There’s a lot of information out there nowadays on healthy eating. The key is to be conscious of what and how you eat, and to continue eating in a balanced way. I always make an effort to eat moderately. I have yogurt, tomato juice, and fruit every morning, and I make a point of eating things in season. Small efforts like these go a long way.

Why is it important to massage and tone muscles in the face?
Just as our bodies age internally over time, so does our skin-although of course there are factors other than age acting on the skin. The face is especially vulnerable because of all the muscles, as you can see from how wrinkles in the face run both vertically and horizontally. Massages help the muscles stay in shape, keeping your skin looking young and healthy.

Does your regimen also work for men?
I believe so. There are a few differences between men’s skin and women’s, including the amount of oil secretion and thickness, but they’re basically the same. So, man or woman, anyone can perform my regimen and benefit from it.

Cosmo’s Sexiest Beauty Secrets:The Ultimate Guide to Looking Gorgeous is Published by Hearst Books, a division of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc November 4th, 2008.

Each month, millions of young women turn to the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine for advice on how to look and feel their absolute hottest.

Now Cosmo is coming out with the definitive get-gorgeous bible-Cosmo’s Sexiest Beauty Secrets. This stunning 192 page book serves up hundreds of insider tips and tricks on everything from scoring a flawless luminous complexion to creating sex-kitten hairstyles to working the latest make-up trends. Packed with beautiful images, the how-to instruction is presented in a fun, fresh, and visually-engaging way.

And since Cosmo editors are experts in what men find alluring, there are plenty of pointers on that topic too, including: the secrets to silky, touchable hair, come-hither eyes, and kissable lips. Plus the scents that’ll drive him wild (in a good way!).

Also in here: Decadent at-home spa ideas that advise women how to pamper themselves like a pro (no appointment necessary). Of course every beauty junkie is bound to make a misstep now and then, so Cosmo includes crucial tips for overcoming common beauty blunders.

It’s easy to see why any young woman looking to kick her sex appeal up a notch will find Cosmo’s Sexiest Beauty Secrets an indispensable resource.

Just as Space NK began in the UK, so did author Kathleen Baird-Murray, who is best known for her time as a Beauty Director for Tatler Magazine. In her new book, Face Value, just out this week at Borders, Kathleen brings together the best of beauty, plastic surgery and publishing.

While a work of fiction, Kathleen takes inspiration from her days in the beauty department at Tatler, providing an insight into her “beauty closet”-from the labels, products, tips and trends that we all crave to make ourselves beautiful.

Last night Space NK honored Kathleen with a cocktail soiree and book signing, celebrating the launch of Face Value and the world of beauty.

Kathleen Baird-Murray.

Notable attendees included: Georgina Chapman, Keren Craig, Pascal and Sarah Dangin, Tierney Gearon, and Jane Larkworthy.

From the team who brought you Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell comes this must-have companion to the movie millions have been waiting for. This sleek hardcover volume gives reader exclusive entrée into the world of Sex and the City: The Movie.

In addition to a storybook-style telling of the film, the book includes mouth-watering bonus features not available anywhere else: behind-the-scenes stories from Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, star and producer Sarah Jessica Parker, writer and director Michael Patrick King, as well as producers and other key cast and crew members; a guide to the movie’s multi-million-dollar fashion closet, including insight from costume designer Patricia Field; and an insider’s tour of the movie’s many locations, some of which have never before appeared on film.

All of this behind-the-scenes information is accompanied by more than three hundred stunning, luscious, full-color images. SRP: $29.95. Availabe at amazon.com.

The New Science of Perfect Skin book is the definitive guide to deciphering cosmetic industry hype and using the most up-to-date products and innovations for beautiful skin at any age.

The ultimate beauty bible, The New Science of Perfect Skin arms consumers with the tools they need to navigate the dizzying array of claims made by cosmetics companies, and to create a personalized skin-care regimen using the best products. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in developing and testing products for brands like Estee Lauder and L’Oreal, Dr. Yarosh sets the record straight by telling  readers which skin-care ingredients actually stand up to rigorous scientific testing.

Dr. Daniel Yarosh assesses every type of beauty treatment-moisturizers, sunscreens, self-tanners, peels, exfoliants-and tells readers which ingredients to look for, what’s new in each category, and what to expect on the market in the near future. He also delivers the inside scoop on how to read product labels, debunks popular anti-aging treatments, and recommends specific products that effectively address the full range of concerns, including wrinkles and even skin cancer.

Daniel B. Yarosh, Phd., is widely recognized as a pioneer in the science of DNA repair. He and his laboratory, AGI Dermatics, are responsible for inventing ingredients for such brands as Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, and Shiseido. His products and cosmetic innovation have been featured widely in the media, including ABC’s World News Tonight, Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Newsweek, SELF, Allure, and Good Housekeeping.

Daniel B. Yarosh PhD is also the creator of Remergent, a skin care line.

Ever wondered what’s it like to have your personal team of beauty experts, advising you on how to look and feel knock-out gorgeous every day? Or have you ever questioned what exactly goes on inside the creative minds of beauty industry heavy-hitters?

In Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin, and Hair from Beauty Authority Melissa Schweiger fashion and beauty journalist and former Sephora beauty editor introduces to you the people behind some of your favorite brands and fills this book the beauty secrets usually reserved for insiders.

Price: $27.95.
On Sale: 4/15/2008/
Formats: Hardcover.

Alas and Piggott photographed a series of intimate portraits of today’s most inspiring contemporary icons, traveling to New York, London, and Paris in search for their personal muses.  Subjects include: Selma Blair, Jennifer Lopez, Lil’ Kim, Gisele Bundchen, Stephanie Seymour, Christie Turlington, Benjamin Millepied, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, and Stella McCarthy to name a few.  Available at Amazon.com, $375.      

In Bobbi Brown Living Beauty Book Bobbi Brown shows us how to skincare and makeup can instantly make you look fresher and better, step-by-step makeup instructions, nutrition and fitness tips, and inspiring quotes from celebrities and countless beautiful women.  Bobbi Brown Living Beauty book comes in a hardcover and 224 pages full of beauty secrets and tips.  Cost: $29.99.