http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/fashion/julie-de-libran-shares-her-french-beauty-secrets.html 2016-09-27 20:04:43 Julie de Libran Shares Her French Beauty Secrets The Sonia Rykiel designer doesn’t use soap in the morning and matches her makeup to her mood. === Julie de Libran, the artistic director for Sonia Rykiel, has a knack for knowing what the cool girls want. Her designs have been quite the hit with the international set, an aesthetic that may have been informed by her transcontinental upbringing. Ms. de Libran, 44, was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, but moved to the United States when she was 8. She now lives in Paris. Below, she shares the beauty products and services she will be relying on before the Rykiel spring 2017 show on Oct. 3. I’ve been told you shouldn’t use soap in the morning. It’s too aggressive. Obviously, when I take my shower, I put my head in the water, but I don’t use soap. After the shower, I use a tonic by my epidermist, Then I use the At night, I use one of her cleansers, which are really, really light. I’ve tried many, many things. In New York, I tried peels. And when I was in Korea, I tried all the beauty products there, which are quite forward-thinking. But this is what suits me. I get spots or redness in some places, so having something not so strong works. One thing I’ve learned recently is that taking different vitamins helps nourish the skin. You can go to the French pharmacies here and find a beauty supplement. I find that if I take it regularly, my skin is moisturized from the inside, and it looks as if I’ve gone on holiday. I don’t wear a lot, but what I do is put on a BB cream as a base. I like We just did a collaboration with For me, it’s very important. The gesture of putting on perfume, I love it. One of my closest friends, Daniela Andrier, is a nose, and she made a personal perfume for me, which is wonderful. But I also use one she made for Prada, Infusion d’Iris Cèdre cologne, which is actually a men’s perfume. I like it because it’s not sugary or sweet. It smells like soap. I’ve been using I go to someone else for my color. I’ve been going to him for years — I’m quite what you call “fidèle.” His name is Jean-Luc Fouillade. He used to be one of the Christophe Robin colorists, but now he’s independent. I just follow him around. Joëlle Ciocco has great girls who work for her, and she has some who will come to your home. That’s quite good for my schedule. I have to say, it’s such a luxury to have your trainer or this type of beauty service at home. I also have a great girl who comes to the house to do my nails. Right now I have really short nails in a deep red. It’s so much maintenance to be a woman. I asked my husband the other day if he liked my hair this way or that way. He’s like, “Oh, I just like it natural.” Ha! You think this is natural? I have to pay attention to diet and fitness. Diet, I always try to be attentive. I can be strict sometimes, but I can also really just enjoy. I’m vegetarian. I try to not have sugar. That’s the worst thing for me. And then I exercise. If I’m exercising, then sometimes I can have my cheese and bread and wine at dinner. I also exercise for my head. It’s a way to liberate and get positive energy. I try to run once a week. I do Pilates on the reformer machine. I do Ashtanga or vinyasa yoga. And I have a new trainer who is making me do things I hate, things I did at my American high school, like squats. In France, and all of Europe really, things are changing. There are many trainers and gyms now.