Yves Saint Laurent Dessin du Regard Eye Pencil

The key to the Carine Roitfeld look is that less is more: the area of focus is the eye leaving the skin free of foundation and the lips natural. Carine is a YSL girl all the way in choosing her favorite makeup products (unlike Julia who likes Chanel). Since the emphasis of the look is on "le smoky eye" invest in a good eyeliner. In defining her eyes, Carine prefers Yves Saint Laurent Dessin du Regard Eye Pencil in Mink Touch. Her intense look is framed by her strong, dark brows which must be perfectly groomed. Carine uses YSL Eyebrow Pencil in #2 Brown to tame her eyebrows and finish the look—voilà. No wonder her daily beauty ritual takes her ten minutes to complete.

Carine Roitfeld photograph © 2008 Hedi Slimane. All Rights Reserved.

Christian Restoin

To say that Christian Restoin is elusive is a giant understatement. It is more likely to find a photograph of the hermetically sealed Martin Margiela than Carine Roitfeld's baby daddy. Though he and Carine have been partners for thirty years, they are not technically married. Why not? Because Carine, being superstitious (and practical), reasons that this way they will never divorce. Christian, affectionately known as Sisley, formerly owned the apparel company Equipment. Since Carine's phenomenal success in recent years, he has become a stay-at-home paramour which just may make him the world's luckiest man! Now if only we could get some gossip about him...

Christian Restoin photograph courtesy of fashionologie.com
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Christian Restoin photograph courtesy of theshoegoddess.com

Compression by César

Have you noticed the unusual gold pendant that Carine Roitfeld wears frequently? This striking vintage piece is one of a limited series of "Compressions" made by César in 1971 for the jeweler Pascal Morabito. César Baldaccini, usually known simply as César, was a noted French sculptor at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement. He is famed for his radical compressions of materials such as compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish; his expansions such as his polyurethane foam sculptures; and his fantastic representations of animals and insects.

César's early work used junk materials and soldered and welded metal. In 1960 on a visit to a scrap yard in search of metal, he noticed a hydraulic crushing machine in action and he decided to begin experimenting with the element of compression in his sculpture. He selected the cars used for each of his compressions, mixing elements from vehicles of different colors. In this way he found he could control the surface pattern and color scheme of the piece. César astonished art lovers by exhibiting three crushed cars at a Paris show and he became renowned for these compressions. His later works also include sculptures made from molten crystal.

Carine Roitfeld wearing Compression pendant by César photograph by Inez van Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin courtesy of Purple Fashion No. 5

Joseph Altuzarra

Joseph Altuzarra is being dubbed the new boy wonder of the fashion world. A mere 25 years of age, he cut his teeth designing for respected houses such as Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, and Proenza Schouler before creating his own collection. He also admits his obsession with Tom Ford as a child growing up in Paris.

Altuzarra's designs are structured and body-conscious with details that reference the 1940s and the 1980s: ruched dresses in stretch jersey with shoulder pads, pantsuits with slim pants and fitted jackets, asymmetrical lamé and georgette dresses that sexily bare one shoulder with over-the-knee boots.

Of his Spring collection Altuzarra notes, "It's very much for a woman—structured, tailored, clean. It has that Helmut Lang masculine aspect to it and that Azzedine Alaïa aggressiveness." Altuzarra's web site is original, the model is posed exactly the same for each outfit, giving her the appearance of a paper doll being dressed. And yes, the model is one of the daughters of Danielle Steel.

It comes as no surprise that Carine Roitfeld has had her eye on him for some time now. Here she is wearing Altuzarra's ivory drop shoulder seamed coat with pearl mink tails at last season's Dior and Lanvin shows.

Fashion illustration courtesy of Joseph Altuzarra
Carine Roitfeld in Altuzarra ivory coat photograph courtesy of New York Magazine

Pilates

If you want to be a Roitfeld, then you need to have the body to fit the clothes. Although Carine attributes her perfect figure to the fact that she has been blessed with a meager appetite, she also begins her day with Pilates at 8 a.m. every morning. If you have never tried it, you may be surprised at how fast even a few minutes of Pilates practiced regularly will reshape your form.

Combining moves from aerobics and yoga, Pilates focuses on strengthening the core of the body, lengthening and toning rather than adding bulk as some workouts tend to do. I love Pilates but have limited time to work out; the great news is that practicing even ten to twenty minutes every other day can prove beneficial. If, like me, you don't have time or money to allot to the gym, pick up a copy of the new DVD Exhale: Core Fusion Pilates Plus. Each of the routines is only ten minutes long but I promise you will feel the burn and see results. Surely you have ten minutes a day to invest in a slim and fit physique. There are also free Pilates videos available via YouTube.

Carine Roitfeld in python ankle boots photograph source: stylesightings.com