Boris Gorjan Test

Dress: H&M

Top: Vintage. Skirt: Hollister.

Top: Vintage.

So for the past month I was in Paris. Needless to say, there are much worse places to spend 4 weeks.  It’s such a beautiful city with so much life, how could you not be in love. This is one of the test shoots I did while I was there. I met the photographer, Boris Gorjan, and the makeup artist, his wife Dasha Grozdanic, at their apartment in Bellville. They were so sweet and easy to work with.  As we were starting makeup I saw a jar of coconut oil on their shelf.  Being a big fan of the stuff I asked what they used it for (as there are endless uses). “Everything” they replied. Moisturizer, makeup remover, baking, you name it. I soon found out that they are very into the eco-friendly, organic lifestyle. So much so, that Dasha’s makeup kit is more than 90% non-toxic. She told me about how using cosmetics with lots of unnatural ingredients can have all sorts of nasty side effects and consequences.  I’ve heard about the importance of using organic, safe products on your body before, but when it’s presented to you in a way other than beating you over the head with it as she did, it’s even more effective. I’m not really educated enough on the subject to be giving much advice. But I know I can’t be the only one who feels the synthetic residue of some cosmetics just sitting on top of your skin and clogging your pores, instead of nourishing it, like it should. It just seems to me that you'd want the best for your skin, as you won't be getting a new one. And the best doesn't always mean the most exclusive or expensive. If you’re interested in green, eco-conscious, or for that mater health conscious, body products, I highly recommend her blog (see below). It has lots of great articles that explain green makeup on an interesting, but easy to get “for dummies”, level. 

The park we shot at meets all your wildest Parisian dreams (as challenging as that may seem). It was high up in some hills, so we had a beautiful panoramic view of the city. We could see the Eiffel tower in the late afternoon sun. There were kids playing soccer, little old ladies strolling arm in arm and so very many picnickers.  When you see the locals spreading out a blanket and enjoying some nice cheese, bread and wine in good company, its enough to make anyone want to drop everything and just profiter de la vie too.

Now, as for the clothes. We didn’t have stylist so I just brought a bunch of my stuff and we also used a dress of Dasha’s. Once again H&M impresses us with their ability to create something, classic, refined, good quality, timeless and splurge worthy, without ever making us have to. If only I’d had more time to hunt down another… * sigh * I’ll probably live. For the other shot’s we paired vintage tops of my mom’s with basic California ripped up bottoms of mine. Once upon a time when I was a snotty little tween (I’m a teen now, there’s a difference), my mom offered me these ancient (older than me at least) treasures, and I, being the mainstream brainwashed, daring to be different but only while conforming, kid that I was didn’t appreciate these at all. I don’t look back at that and kick myself at all!! :P So fast forward a few years. I found them again, I loved them, I took them. She’s never getting them back!

Since my lovely enlightening talk with Dasha I decided to try to minimize the amount of harmful synthetic products in my beauty routine. I’m still using my Clarins cleanser, Clinique eye cream and Rosebud (can anyone really live without it?) lip balm. But I replaced my Neutrogena exfoliator with sea salt, Clinique facial moisturizer with olive oil and Vaseline body lotion with olive oil. I also kept my tea tree oil cleansing pads, but those are super hippie/whole foods/tree hugger-ish so I think I’m safe. It been a few weeks now and I’m really loving these changes! I like the sea salt a lot more because it’s grainier and cuts to the chase: exfoliating, no colors, smells or frills. The olive oil’s been great too. I don’t see a big difference on my face, but it has a wonderful aroma, and I feel like my skin just drinks it up, like its really safe and wholesome, instead of a heavy cream just sitting on the surface. It also works great if you want to give yourself a nice calming little face massage at the end of a long day (soo relaxing). I’ve always been a big fan of using oils on your body because it seems easier to rub in, smells nice ‘n natural and gives you that attractive “yes I’m a Greek god, why do you ask?” sheen.  Something else that’s really great about using the same stuff on your body as you might on your salad is that its way easier to find. For example, I’m going to Argentina this week. Where would I find Clinique and Neutrogena? Beats me. On the other hand, where might I find olive oil and sea salt? Uum, where wouldn’t I! Seeing how well this has gone, I think I’ll keep using natural, around the house ingredients in my beauty Routine. Any suggestions??

Links to their websites:

http://www.borisgorjan.com/

http://www.green-make-up.com/