Town & Country Beauty Director Jamie Rosen: On Applying Makeup & Why Fats are Best For Your Skin

It’s not Woman Crush Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean we can’t post one. Jamie Rosen, Beauty Director of Town & Country, literally glows, which you’d assume would be the case with a beauty director but really, Rosen’s skin astounds.

It was just in time for the recent launch of our Health and Beauty tab that we chatted with Rosen about routines, regimens and of course, how she practices beauty from the inside out. Turns out, fats are the best thing for your skin…need we say more for you to keep reading?

From start to finish, what would be your ideal food day?

A cold-brew iced coffee from Kaffe 1668 in TriBeCa. Then poached eggs in a big bowl of spicy tomato sauce for breakfast. The Poulet Cajun with French fries from Le Bilboquet would be lunch. The sauce is just gilding the lily because I’m pretty sure it’s butter and butter, but it’s delicious. For a snack, it would be the really chewy, almost stale Scandinavian sour candy and black licorice from Sockerbit.

I would make dinner with my sister, maybe roasted whole fish and vegetables. I wish I could do the European thing of going from one purveyor to the next, but it rarely happens that way, so having an afternoon to prepare a meal is a dream. At the moment, Postmates and I are very well acquainted. For dessert, it’s always ice cream. My husband recently accused me of wanting to move to Brooklyn so we could be near Ample Hills Creamery. So I would have a scoop of their honeycomb flavor, and a scoop of the almond cookie from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, with him and our two sons.

How do you practice beauty from the inside out?

I try to drink copious amounts of water. I can see a difference in my skin when I don’t. Most mornings my older son and I make a smoothie with avocado, cucumber, mint, kale, lemon, and dried fig that is inspired by one from Luli Tonix. I am a big fan of blended versus juiced drinks, so I can keep the fiber and mitigate sugar intake.

How does the Town & Country ‘lifestyle’ and perspective translate into your beauty content?

My hope for our section, which is called Looking Glass, and our online content is that it reflects how women—and men—approach beauty, health, and wellness today. It is not about how-tos, or trying every trend, but the things that are really worth investing in, the pharmacy finds, news and essays that are beautifully written, and articles that put this whole world in context – whether that’s how technology is changing makeup textures, or how the study of epigenetics is influencing skincare. I also love a page we do called Beauty GPS, which is about the ultimate things to do beauty-wise (spas, facialists, workouts, etc.) in domestic and international locations, from Washington, D.C. to the Amalfi Coast.

What foods are best for your skin and why?

Fat! Things like avocados and coconut oil help with the elusive glow. They moisturize from the inside out.

What foods are worst for your skin and why?

Sugar. I have a nutritionist friend (the very wise Brooke Alpert) that says that it makes you fat, ugly, and old. That pretty much sums it up.

Your morning and nightly beauty routines

In the mornings, I don’t wash my face. I just swipe on Biologique Recherché P50 toner. It is the only thing I use consistently no matter what else I’m testing. The lactic acid keeps my skin clear. Then, a serum. I just finished and loved the Dr. Brandt Pearl Serum, which is a multi-tasker that addresses a little bit of everything: lines, radiance, even some of my post-pregnancy hyperpigmentation. Next is a cream with SPF and antioxidants. I love AmorePacific Future Response cream with SPF 30 and Caudalie Vinoperfect. Some days I’ll add a few drops of Sjal oil (It’s fancy but it smells like Flintstone vitamins) or Dior DreamSkin on top. At night I do the same thing, essentially, but start with a cleanser (I like Brad Universal Cleansing Gel) and end with eye cream (La Prairie). Once or twice a week, I exfoliate with Goldfaden MD Doctor’s Scrub Advanced. It seems like it shouldn’t be available to the public because it feels like an at-home microdermabrasion. I also love a mask—the Fresh honey one, May Lindstrom’s Problem Solver, Sisley Black Rose, Zelens Transformer, 111 Skin Cellulose sheet, GlamGlow’s Thirstymud…I could go on.

As for hair, I wash it…infrequently. When I do, it’s with Purely Perfect cleansing creme instead of shampoo and conditioner. It’s like a lotion that balances your scalp. I mostly prolong salon blowouts with Cake powder or, if I want more volume, the famous Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. I put on makeup throughout the day at my desk, because I am lucky enough to have a job where that is somewhat acceptable. But if I do my makeup at home, I will use Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint, Tarte Creaseless Concealer or Clé de Peau concealer, Tom Ford bronzer, Pacific Lip Treatment, Kevyn Aucoin Volume Mascara and Dolce & Gabbana brow liner. I have finally made brows a daily thing, and it makes a difference. They frame your whole face.

Words to apply makeup by…

Eye makeup first. Concealer around the nose and the corners of the mouth to erase shadows. And blush, especially one by NARS, By Terry, or Lancôme. It’s underrated.

Five products you can’t live without right now

Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon eye shadow pencil in Bronzed Garnet, Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena perfume, Surratt blush in Cantaloupe, Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet La Flamboyante matte red lipstick (it’s coming out for holiday), and CND Vinylux polish in Svelte Suede (I recently got a manicure with it that stayed on for two weeks – and it’s not a gel).

A few tricks to changing seasons without it affecting your skin…

Oils are your friend.

Where do you love to travel? What won’t you travel without?

I love going to cities (Paris, Rome, Seattle, San Francisco) and walking for hours. I make maps and lists and do tons of research. Now that I don’t bake in the sun, beach vacations don’t have quite the same appeal. I am also that person on the plane slathering on creams and gels, foot lotion and socks. I always bring Yes To Carrots face wash wipes, RMS Beauty pots of concealer, bronzer, and blush, Estée Lauder Zero Smudge mascara (the only one that never leaves dark rings of black under your eyes) and the Valmont Prime Renewing Pack.

A beauty mainstay that hasn’t changed since your teenage years

Bobbi Brown Mahogany eye shadow. Still the richest chocolate brown and the best everyday liner for eyes. Can also be used on brows.

What are your favorite cities for food? What restaurants do you go to in each?

I spend a lot of time in Miami because my sister lives there and we usually go straight from the airport to Jugofresh for smoothies and kelp noodles or to Carrot Express for lunch. It’s a health food restaurant that used to be in a gas station convenience store. Now they have a larger location, still with homemade veggie burgers and kale salads. For something a little more highbrow, the sushi brunch at Zuma is incredible. In Chicago, my husband and I plan our day around eating a late lunch at Avec when they open. It’s just how I want to eat all the time – deceptively simple things like shrimp and za’atar pizza, labne and apricots with falafel, and roast chicken with grains and vegetables. In Seattle, it’s Cascina Spinasse. We tried to Fedex the butter and sage pasta home for our son, but no one would take it!

In the same vein as ‘what is the new black’ in fashion, what’s ‘the new potato’ in beauty?

Botox, fillers, and lasers have become the norm instead of something that only women who identify as beauty obsessives use.

*Jamie Rosen, photographed at Sant Ambroeus West Village in New York, NY by Danielle Kosann. Jamie wears a Vanessa Bruno dress and Francesca Romana ring.

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