Quote from this short interview of Helmut Newton (there is a picture of a nude lady next to the interview, just in case you were reading my blog at work, instead of working.)

I remember the first time my husband opened Vogue and said: “but, it’s better than Playboy!” Sure, jewelry editorials are much more efficient when the model wears only the jewels. Newton’s pictures weren’t sexy, they were sexual. It was porno chic even before porno chic. With a certain amount of bad taste too, but self-conscious bad taste. You’d need more than a little self-conscious bad taste to carry around fake hair and stick them onto overshaved models (this hair, such a discovery at the Newton Foundation in Berlin!)

I know, I know, I’m kind of focused on the most outrageous part of his work (although I could have mentioned the portrait he did of LePen too). But that’s what comes first and the most vividly to my mind when I think about Newton.

What about you, what does Newton mean to you?

-via kottke.org

If I chose to be a makeup artist mainly in the photography field, it is because I am in love with pictures. What a wonderful thing to be a part of the creative team that makes great photos!

I am not a crazy makeup addict (I have been one though). My obssession is… books! Especially books of photography. How could I resist the urge to share one of my latest discoveries:

Véronique Vial is a French photographer settled in Los Angeles. In this book, she’s picturing female celebrities in their homes early morning. When I bought the book, I thought it was about random people. I am not a gossip addict, but I actually enjoy seeing those actresses and models from a new perspective. Some seem to have a hard time getting out of the bed, some amazingly not (well, Sigourney Weaver seems rather energetic!)

The black and white photos are simply beautiful. Often, the setting is rather messy (some didn’t tidy their room before the picture!), but it works! The result is tender, delicate, fresh and never intrusive. It shows feminity on its most simple side, far from the games of seduction.

The portraits of Daniela Rotelli, Emma Thomson, Patricia Arquette (divine!) et Reese Witherspoon (see below) are among my favorites. There is a story behind every picture. And I even felt like reading the texts. It doesn’t happen to me so often with photo books.

This book also has a masculine companion. I must say I am curious about it, even if I am generally more into the female form of beauty. Ok, there’s Vin Diesel taking a shower, looks promising. (Oops did you actually read that?)

A link to the photographer’s site (where you can see more photos from the book).