Many companies use interns. Emma, the Daniel Thompson Beauty intern, has very quickly proven to be a very valuable member of our team.
I am always so inspired by young people. They see the world differently and, often, offer such fresh points of view that I am reminded how little I actually know.
Our office recently asked all our staff which great artist inspires them and I was amazed by the responses. Personally I recently discovered Hans Hofman's work and I am planning a trip to NYC to see it in person. Emma, however, introduced me to an artist I had never heard of before and I am making it a point to learn as much as I can about her favourite artist.
So what does all of this have to do with beauty? Well, for me, beauty begins with art. Anyone who knows me knows I adore great art and can spend hours, days even, submerged in art, art history and art appreciation. I have spent hours just sittinging in the Musée de l'Orangerie looking at the 18 metre canvasses of Les Nymphéas and, closer to home, I can never leave the AGO without visiting the most beautiful woman I know: the Marchesa Casati. Her eyes haunt me. Each of these works of art inspire me to create and the results are the beauty products I present to the world.
This season my collection is even called Mineral Artiste.
Below is a copy of Emma's thoughts on Egon Schiele. I thought her words were very inspiring and I wanted to share them with you. All of this from a woman not yet 20 years old. Incredibly insightful if you ask me.
'Art is primordially eternal.'
- Egon Schiele
Aesthetic is fleeting.
How we present ourselves is how we define ourselves.
This is the effect of design. Expression is the portrayal of our souls.
This is art, art is beauty.
Our beauty is ourselves, and we are the epitome of ourselves when we feel as though we have expressed ourselves to our best ability.
This is how art is defined, and this is how we live as artists.
For me, expression has always been a priority. Although because this is a priority, feeling as though I have expressed myself accurately has always been a struggle. When I feel as though I've gotten the look, I feel like I am beautiful. Feeling beautiful is being beautiful.
This is how Egon Schiele lived. One of my personal biggest influences was this expressionist pioneer in fine arts from Vienna. Schiele was a protégé of Klimt, and specialized in distinct and intense lines through portraiture.
As for my own aesthetic, Schiele influenced my thoughts on complexions. After discovering his work, I got involved in the art of contouring. From studying his work, I was able to comprehend the natural lines of the face in a more effective manner.
Somehow from learning how to appear as someone else, I began to feel more like myself.
When we express ourselves, we also express the people who have made impressions on us.
In a way, our influences develop who we are as people.
This is why art is eternal, and beauty never fades.
' The picture must radiate light, the bodies have their own light which they consume to live they burn, they are not lit from outside. '
- Egon Schiele
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