We speak to four industry figures about their personal 'go-to' solutions for inner and outer beauty, and why it reflects their own definitions of what beauty truly is
We've firmly arrived in autumn, and with seasonal changes comes the opportunity to set new intentions. And setting intentions in a beauty routine can take us far beyond ‘skin deep’. Ask anyone about the idea of beauty and you’re bound to receive a mix of answers.
How can you define a world-spanning topic that changes according to period, location, ethnicity and social construct? We speak to models, artists and figures in the beauty industry to understand their own personal 'band-aids', and in turn, what beauty means to them.
Vanessa Anelä: Free dancing
"My definition of beauty is a deep honoring of your inner landscape," says Vanessa Anelä, a Danish model of Samoan Polynesian origin. "Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of quick fixes. It takes practice and consistency."
Scroll through Anelä’s social media and instead of a 10-step skin routine, you’ll find her sharing her strength and vulnerability through ‘free dancing’, which sparks engaging conversation amongst her community.
She declares, "Dancing, that's when I feel the most beautiful."
In western culture, we after often taught beauty from a superficial point of view, so it can be easy to overlook that it´s not all about keeping up surface appearances.
Anelä adds, "I believe beauty radiates from the inside; the more we let go of defining what it's supposed to look like and embrace what we are, we become beautiful.”
Violette Serrat: Intentional makeup
Violette Serrat, a French-born, Brooklyn-based makeup artist, and founder of an eponymous brand, wrote in a recent dispatch of her much-loved newsletter, ‘Why I Don't Contour’: "Beauty, to me, is something that moves you deeply. It has nothing to do with the eyes and everything to do with the heart. Consequently, mood-thinking helps us listen more deeply to ourselves and can turn makeup into an intentional act."
As the first step in your beauty routine, seize the moment to overlook your feelings and senses. If you constantly enter a space of negative thinking, no beauty product in the world will make it go away. Chasing something that can't be achieved will leave scar tissues, and it can trigger body dysmorphia or disordered eating.
Even some of the most celebrated beauties have confessed to spiralling into harmful self-talk. Supernovas like Bella Hadid and Zoe Kravitz talk about it openly on their platforms. Becoming friends with the ego, and accepting the ebb and flow of mental health, is easier said than done.
Moods change with the seasons. Skincare and cosmetics should be a tool to live through them, not to remake your face – and instead of neglecting your flaws, celebrate them.
That's when it becomes more than a topical fix.
Amelia Hoy: Liquid reset
Amelia Hoy, an American/Danish actor, elaborates further on the topic. "Beauty is storytelling that, often unexpectedly, can cause a pause or shift in what we are doing, if even for a second. Nonetheless, my band-aid is a bath, shower, dip in the ocean, or even a glass of water. Water somehow restarts the system."
Skin is the largest organ in the body – it can be a good indicator of overall health and lifestyle issues, and it's worth caring for.
Amanda Norgaard: Yoga and meditation
"To me, it's energetic," explains Amanda Norgaard, Danish model and founder of Illumination, a virtual house offering a nouveau twist on the ancient tradition of Kundalini Yoga.
"It's the light of the heart, shine of the soul and a pair of present eyes,” a regular at Copenhagen Fashion Week having modelled for years - stumbling on the yoga path while working in New York.
Just back from her summer digital detox, "I always seek to go inwards, reminding myself of the magnificence of life within me,”
“My go-to is Kundalini Yoga and meditation, which includes breath-work to get the lymph, glands and emotional waters moving. “A bonus, she says, ending our conversation, “it does make the skin, eyes and face radiate."