I’m super excited to share with you my interview with Sports Illustrated Swim and Victoria’s Secret model, Jessica Pérez. Jessica is one of eight young models competing in the international Sports Illustrated 2011 Model Search and has been in the lead with more than double the votes until today. The winner is guaranteed a spot in the 2012 swimsuit edition! Jessica is from Costa Rica, and has lived in Ecuador and Honduras, before moving to the US. Jessica comes across as a very smart young lady with an incredible sense of humor and passion for life. Add all these to her stunning looks makes a perfect receipt for a rising star.

Sports Illustrated Swim and Victoria’s Secret model, Jessica Pérez

Marta Walsh: Where do you call home?
Jessica Pérez: Hmm… that’s always a tough question for me because my parents live in Ecuador so that’s where the house that I call ‘home’ is, but I feel that Costa Rica as a country is my ‘home.’ I also feel New York is home since this is where I have my apartment.

Jessica Pérez

MW: How did you get into modeling?
JP: I was shopping in Soho with a friend and we were standing outside of H&M when Calvin Wilson, who used to work at Trump Model Management, approached me and told me he thought Trump Models would really like me.

MW: How did your participation in the International Sports Illustrated 201 Model Search come about? Which other exciting modeling projects are you working on?
JP: I was on a job for Victoria’s Secret shooting with Walter Chin and he told me that he also worked with Sports Illustrated a lot. He thought I was an ideal girl for them, so he called SI and told them about me. A couple months later, SI called my agency asking to meet me in person and a few months after that, casting asked me to participate in this contest.

MW: What advice can you give anyone interested in pursuing a career in modeling?
JP: I have a lot of advice! First is to take your job seriously and act professionally. Also, treat modeling not only as your career, but as your business–know what’s going on with your finances at all times and be good about saving money when you can. Oh, and at least try to finish high school before pursuing it. Having an education will only make you smarter about your career.

MW: What does it really take to make it as a supermodel?
JP: I think it takes a lot of dedication, hard work, calculated decisions, and a passion for being in front of the camera.

MW: What’s in your makeup bag (makeup and skincare & other)?

JP: Some people are shoe people, others are bag people, I am a cosmetics queen! I absolutely LOVE cosmetics.

Ok, so here are some of my favorite things:

Kerastase Nutritive Gloss for the hair: I love the smell of Kerastase products and I find most of them to be light on the hair but still work really well.

Bioderma makeup remover: This is great for your skin; it doesn’t dry it out at all and really removes all the makeup from your pores.

Replenix CF serum: I use this at night; it’s supposed to help with rejuvenating skin.

Aveeno SP15/Oil of Olay SPF15: I always use a daily moisturizer with SPF 15 to delay wrinkles!

Laura Mercier concealer: I think this is one of the best brands for concealers/foundations.

NARS The Multiple: I love products that have more than one use; I use this as a blush, lipstick, and sometimes as an eye shadow.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter: This is great for the body, it leaves your skin looking and feeling moist but not greasy.

Clean & Clear acne wash: I use this every day in the shower to help prevent breakouts.

I could probably go on forever so I’ll stop for now!

Jessica Pérez

MW: What does beauty means to you?
JP: Beauty means feeling good about yourself, having confidence, and being good to other people. I think from modeling I’ve learned that an attractive person can suddenly look so ugly to you if their personality or the way they treat other people isn’t pretty.

MW: Who are your favorite designers and how would you describe your style?
JP: I love VPL, Marc Jacobs, Catherine Malandrino, and Chloe. I think my style is very low-key, casual, and a little bohemian. I like bright colors and colorful patterns a lot.

MW: How do you really keep in shape?
JP: I work out mostly with my personal trainer Justin Gelband and I also do yoga and I run. Mato Novakovik, another trainer of mine, taught me to like running, which I thought would never happen!

MW: Which movie you’ve ever watched on a date?
JP: Be Kind Rewind—I had a really good feeling while watching this movie and it made me laugh so it was a good one for a date.

MW: Madonna or Lady Gaga?
JP: Madonna hands down—I grew up listening to Madonna.

MW: What one or two things some people may not know about Jessica Perez?
JP: I felt really unattractive for most of my youth and I used to be debilitatingly shy as a kid…I think my parents still can’t really believe how I turned out. Also, I still don’t know how to drive a car!

MW: What and who inspires you in life?
JP: My parents! They are such hard workers and honest people, they are also incredibly intelligent but enjoy life so much. They both have a lot of energy and seem a lot younger than they are; they like to have FUN and I admire that.

MW: What’s next for Jessica Perez?
JP: Oooohhh!! I’m not sure, I guess I’ll have to be patient and wait and see?! I have recently been exploring the acting world a bit so I’m curious to see how far I can take that. As far as the modeling though, I hope to continue working a lot and traveling and becoming a better person and model.

It was a pleasure to interview Jessica Pérez thank you xx

I’m super excited to interview for the second time the ever so gorgeous supermodel and business woman Molly Sims. My first interview with Molly was in April 2010. Molly is the creator of an exquisite jewelery collection called  Grayce by Molly Sims which consists of timeless classic jewelry pieces without breaking the bank. Just in time for the holiday season I interviewed Molly Sims and picked her brains on what’s hot when it comes to jewelry, her most memorable holiday childhood memories, makeup bag, super modeling, the Grayce for Molly Sims Holiday 2010 Collection, and future plans. BTW-there will be a 3 day Christmas sale on Molly Sims ‘s jewelry holiday collection from December 14th -16th, 2010, don’t miss it loves:)

Molly Sims supermodel and founder of Grayce By Milly Sims jewelry line

Marta Walsh: Are you planning to be home for the holidays?

Molly Sims: I will be in Miami with my family. My brother had a baby so we decided to have Christmas there every year until I have children of my own.

MW: What’s your favorite part of Christmas and the holiday season? What are some of your rituals?
MS: My favorite part of Christmas and the holiday season is being with my family and friends. My mom and I always make red velvet cake and Christmas cookies and she always ends up yelling at me when I make the cake wrong.

MW: What are some of your most fond Christmas memories from your childhood?
MS: When my brother and I were younger we each got to open one present on Christmas Eve. My brother is older and I remember how he would wait at the top of the stairs from 2AM-5AM every year and he would threaten me that if I snuck down early I would get switches in my stocking.

MW: What was the inspiration behind the new Grayce by Molly Sims jewelry items you’ve created for this holiday season?
MS: It is an ode to deco, the past and the future. I loved the use of black and crystals for this collection.

MW: Which item from the new Grayce by Molly Sims holiday jewelry collection is a must-have?
MS: The Multi Strand Chain and Crystal Necklace (graycebymollysims.com) is amazing because you can wear it on its own, but it also looks great layered with longer and shorter statement pieces. It is effortless and so versatile.

MW: What makes your jewelry line Grayce By Molly Sims different than others?
MS: These are pieces that you will have in your wardrobe forever. They are timeless pieces that reflect both the elegance of the past and something modern for the future.

MW: Why did you decide to design jewelry. Where did your passion for jewelry design come from?
MS: The reason I decided to design my own jewelry line was because my mother collected jewelry for the past 30 years. When I first started modeling and acting, I kind of got known for wearing her vintage pieces on the red carpet, at shoots and in everyday life, so it just seemed like the right thing to do. I love it and it’s a passion I have had for the past ten years. I feel that jewelry can change a look just as much as clothing can. I build looks around jewelry instead of clothing dictating the look.

MW: What advice can you give us on how to wear our jewelry this holiday season and have all eyes on us?
MS: It’s all about jewelry sets this year. I have a piece in my HSN line, the Cyrstal Cross Pendant with Crystal Station Necklace. You can wear it a myriad of different ways. The necklace can be worn as a bracelet or you can add charms to it. What’s great about it is that it has a gorgeous sparkle for the holidays.

MW: Aside from your fabulous jewelry creations what’s one thing in your makeup bag?
MS: I love Laura Mercier Translucent Powder.

MW: What advice can you give anyone who is aspiring to become supermodels and survive the industry like you did so brilliantly?
MS: I would tell them to stay focused, find a great agent and have great people surrounding you. Also, never take no for an answer.

MW: How would you describe your style?
MS: My style is usually one of the four “Grayce girls”: Gypset/Bohemian, City Sophisticate, Glamour Girl, or All-American. I am always mixing and matching. I will never be too trendy, always classic. Fashion gives you the ability to play dress up.

MW: What’s next for Molly Sims?
MS: I am hoping to get back into TV next year, just trying to find the right comedy project.

I would like to thank Molly Sims for taking the time to interview with me. We love you xo Marta Walsh.

Anyone interested in the modeling world and fashion should watch This Model Life documentary series, first aired on channel 4 in the UK back in 2003. The documentary follows several models amongst them Erin O’Connor who at age 24 was already a fashion world icon, as she travels to Paris for the prestigious couture fittings and rehearsals.

L TO R: Erin O’Connor and Daphene Selfe

Standing 6″5 in heels, Erin has been described as a ‘freak of nature’ but to designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Valentino she is the ultimate muse. Daphene Selfe who at age 70 at the time was probably the oldest fashion model in the world. See loves, put any beauty and age-ism rules you might have in the garbage and open your mind to a world of possibilities. You will feel liberated. Other models featured in This Model Life include: Ruth Crilly and Anna Donne. The show is timeless and depicts a very realistic view of what’s it like to be a model and survive the ever evolving fashion world.

Aéropostale is celebrating real, everyday teens across the country with the launch of their Real Teens 2010 contest. Seeking new faces for their fall ad campaign, teenagers (you) are encouraged to tell their story on www.RealTeens2010.com and share what it means to you to be a real teen living in today’s world for the chance to win.

The top 87 finalists (based on peer voting) will be judged by a panel of industry celebrities to find the 8 Real Teens winners who will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship and the chance to be featured in Aéropostale’s Fall 2010 marketing campaign. Judges include Ann Shoket, Editor in Chief of Seventeen and former judge on “America’s Next Top Model”; Taylor Gildersleeve, Actress “Haute and Bothered 2”; and many more!

For more information, head over to RealTeens2010.com.

I’m so excited to share with you my interview with one of the greatest supermodels of all time, Carol Alt. Any of you remember Carol featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1982? I was too young to remember but I do know I really loved her at NBC’s 2008 The Celebrity Apprentice, with Donald Trump. On that show, Carol came across as not only a very beautiful woman but also very smart one. A type of woman I look up to.  Carol is all about raw food and has a great book about the raw food lifestyle called: the Raw 50 (with David Roth forwarded by Nicholas J. Gonzalez, M.D.) I’m also very excited to let you know about Carol’s skincare line called: RAW Essentials.

If you are into green and clean skincare products you might want to learn more about Carol’s skincare line. I personally love the RAW Essentials Raw-finish Rigorous Face Scrub, RAW Eeentials Raw-juvenate Eye Recoup, and RAW VITA Eye Serum (image below).

In this interview Carol Alt talks about how did it all begin for her in the modeling world and some of her most memorable moments of her career. What led her create RAW Essentials and what makes it different than the rest. Gives advice to anyone interested in a RAW lifestyle and RAW food diet. Reveals what’s in her makeup bag. Gives word of wisdom to aspiring supermodels. And future plans.

Marta Walsh: Your career as a supermodel and actress is undeniably impressive. How did it all begin? What were some of your most memorable moments of your career?
Carol Alt: Oddly, my career kicked off right after a breakup with a boyfriend at the time! I was spotted waiting tables during my freshman year at Hofstra University, where I was enrolled in Army ROTC. The modeling opportunity was the perfect excuse to get off of Long Island and embark on an adventure.

I had always been raised to rely on my brains, not my looks, so my parents were skeptical at first. My mother had been a model and always placed a high premium on my education. They made me promise that I’d go back to school – but once that first check from Elite came, I made the decision not to go back. Things really took off in an incredible way.

The modeling profession offers you so much. It’s really what you make of it! It’s so hard to choose just a few moments. From doing the Sports Illustrated Winter Issue to shoots in Africa to shoots on Mount McKinley in Alaska – there have been so many!

MW: What drove you to create your own skincare line: RAW Essentials?
CA: Necessity is the mother of invention. No one had a clean skincare line without chemicals. I made the decision to live the cleanest life I possibly could and to function in as clean an environment as possible. That includes what I’m putting in my body and what I’m putting on it. RAW Essentials grew out of my desire for a pure, results oriented skincare line that I could use every day.

MW: What makes RAW Essentials skincare different?
CA: We don’t fib! When you see a RAW Essentials label you know you’re getting exactly what we promise – pure, effective products, made without synthetic chemicals.

MW: Which products from RAW Essentials you just can’t live without?
CA: The Raw-covery Facial Revive Wash, Raw-vitalize Anti-Aging Night Face Cream, and Raw Vita Eye Serum. The eye serum is Vitamin A packed, which is basically a natural form of Retin A. It’s so incredible, I can actually feel it working as soon as I put it on. I use the night cream during the day for extra moisture – my skin loves it.

From left: The Raw-covery Facial Revive Wash, Raw-vitalize Anti-Aging Night Face Cream

MW: Which new RAW Essentials products are you inspired to develop in the future?
CA: I’d love to have a glycolic wash – we’re working on it, but again, the challenge is that it has to be raw, has to be cold-pressed to pass the test. It has to meet the standard of being raw and also delivering superior results, just like the rest of our products.

MW: What advice can you give to anyone interested in a RAW lifestyle and diet?
CA: Start slowly! And, make a list of your favorite foods and look for what I like to call “raw cousins” – keep an eye out for products labeled unpasteurized, dried, cold-pressed. I love brands like One Lucky Duck and Good Stuff by Mom and Me. They both have delicious raw snacks.

MW: What can we find in your makeup bag?
CA: Because I travel so much, I have a toiletry kit permanently packed. You’ll find:

Head pHirst Shampoo and Conditioners
Jason Organics Toothpaste
LuMESH Lip Gloss – so moisturizing and it lasts!
Ready to Wear Mascara – doesn’t smudge, but comes right off when you’re ready!
RAW Essentials Raw-covery Facial Revive Wash, Raw-vitalize Anti-Aging Night Face Cream, Raw Vita Eye Serum, and Raw-fresh Facial Toner.

MW: What advice can you give to young girls who aspire to be supermodels?
CA: Eat well and take good care of yourself. I wish someone had told me that earlier! I realize now that I could be healthy, look fabulous, and have incredible energy by eating raw, rather than depriving myself of anything.

MW: What is your philosophy about beauty?
CA: Keep it as clean as possible – both in terms of the formulations of the products I use, but also in the overall look. I’m pretty much a lip gloss and mascara kind of girl. Clean, simple, pure.

MW: What is your favorite: city, movie, and restaurant?
CA: Rome – The architecture, the color of the air and the sky. It really has it’s own special kind of light. Plus, it’s so easy to eat raw there!

I just saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and it had a real impact on me, something about the cycle of life being the same whether done forward or in reverse really struck a chord.

For raw restaurants, I love Pure Food & Wine in NYC. I also love sushi – there are just so many options.

MW: What one or two things some people may not know about Carol Alt?
CA: I’m an intensely spiritual person, that’s probably a little known fact. And, that my work is my passion and my hobby all rolled into one. I genuinely love what I do.

MW: What is next for Carol Alt?
CA: I am focusing a lot on RAW Essentials and on expanding the line into makeup and hair care – I want a complete line to address all beauty needs. I also love producing and I’m eager to do more of that. Generally, I’m someone who really “meets the moment.” I’m constantly moving forward and changing what I do. If I see a need for something, I go to it.

I recently interviewed IMAN for Beauty Interviews about her new Global Chic Collection which is sold exclusively on HSN. I couldn’t resist and ask her advice to young girls who are aspiring models.

And this is IMAN’s advice: ”First finish school and then have a plan and strategy if modeling doesn’t work out; not all beautiful girls can become models”.

IMAN, one of the most beautiful supermodels of all time, is the Global Ambassador for Keep a Child Alive (www.keepachildalive.org) an organization that provides ARV drugs for children and their families who are affected with AIDS in Africa.

IMAN also created the I Am African Campaign that braught together celebrities such as: Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Bowie, Richard Gere, Alicia Keys, Heidi Klum and Seal. The I Am African Campgin mission was to make us look and think about the human condition and to remind us the human race does originate from Africa hence we are all Africans.

IMAN is also the founder of IMAN Cosemetics.