As I write this post it is a Saturday evening. Earlier in the day I went for a massage and then met up with girlfriends for lunch. I didn’t wear any makeup to the massage, because I knew any makeup I wore would get smudged. After a blissful (and much appreciated) massage I went home as I had some downtime before I needed to be at my lunch date. I was dressed nicely but wondered if I could be bothered to put any makeup on to meet my friends. Maybe I could get away with not wearing any and go with a real ‘no really I’m not wearing any makeup ‘ look.

I went to the bathroom mirror to assess. Now it’s not that I’m horrified with what I look like without makeup- not at all. I don’t have a negative self image. It’s just that I didn’t look polished. There were faint dark circles under my eyes (from lack of sleep) and tiny veins that show themselves on my cheeks (that have always been there). My eyebrows were just a little sparse. All in all, I was looking a bit wan and thought I could use some color.

I thought about the friends I was about to meet. They are two very close friends and I hadn’t seen them in a while. We were bringing our babies and planned on dining al fresco as the weather was nice. I looked at my outfit- I was dressed nicely enough- white long sleeve top with embellished gold shoulder, black trousers and ballet flats… No, I couldn’t let this nice outfit go to waste.

There are times when I feel perfectly fine going out of the house without makeup on. More often than not, however I wear le no makeup look. I believe one’s makeup should be in correspondence with their outfit. If I am wearing a tracksuit and plan on hiking with friends and then having lunch, I would probably only wear mascara and clear lip gloss. If I were going out in the evening and wearing a black dress and heels, I would amplify my le no makeup look by donning either the defined eye or the defined lip. But for this lunch, I needed something natural, effortless and quick, as I was running out of time!

I whipped out my makeup bag and 5 minutes later (not exaggerating) I applied a 5 minute le no makeup look.

Here’s what I did:

Applied Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer spf 20 in Nude on my face. This one step does so many things- moisturizes, conceals and provides sheer, natural looking coverage (not to mention sun protection!)

Filled in my sparse eyebrows with Lorac eyebrow powder in brunette.

Curled my eyelashes and applied mascara. I love Chanel Inmitable Intense mascara- it provides volume, length, curl and separation... amazing.

Patted on Benefit's Posie Tint gel blush with my fingers

And lastly applied Chantecaille lip gloss in Love

Voilà. It only took 5 minutes, and in exchange I received an afternoon of looking polished. When I feel pulled together and well groomed, I can go about my day with more confidence. Just by touching up the unevenness of the skin and adding slight color and definition I felt perfectly comfortable chatting and laughing with my girlfriends and our babies under the afternoon sun.

I would love to know… what is your version of le no makeup look?

And to continue the theme stay tuned for next week's post where I interview Chanel makeup artist Shadi Molavi on the perfect red lip…


Pictured above is the head of Athena in marble dating back to 160 - 150 B.C. Wouldn't you love to know about her beauty routine? She is featured at the Getty Villa in Malibu...

For the past 7 years I have worn Stella by Stella McCartney as my signature perfume. I have a lot of affinity for Stella- for me, the fresh rose fragrance is not too heavy and not too light , but à la Goldilocks and the three bears, just right. Over the years I have worn other fragrances- for special occasions or when going out in the evening, but Stella was the scent I chose to wear on my wedding day, and, subsequently most every other day of my adult life.

Then this Christmas we had some house guests- my brother-in-law and his new girlfriend came to stay with us for a week. This was my first time meeting his girlfriend- she is a nice woman and we hit it off. One day I went into the guest bathroom to change out the towels and freshen up their room. While doing so I spotted a bottle of perfume on the bathroom counter in amongst other cosmetics of my guest. I moved in closer and confirmed my suspicion. My brother-in-law’s girlfriend also wore Stella.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. I will not lie and say I wasn’t slightly disturbed. After all a perfume is a calling card of sorts, and a very personal one at that. Was there room for two people in the family to wear the same signature scent? I relayed my concerns to my cousin over the phone the next day. She said I was crazy and needed to calm down.

Now obviously I know that many other women wear Stella... it is a best selling scent after all! And I also know that the same perfume will not smell the same on different people- body chemistry can change the dynamic of the fragrance (Which is probably why I didn’t notice it on my brother-in-law’s girlfriend in the first place- I just thought she smelled good!)

Perhaps I was overreacting. Maybe I didn’t need to find a new signature scent… But the following morning when I went to adorn myself with the fragrance I paused while looking at the familiar deep purple bottle. I began to ruminate on the concept of a signature scent. Is one supposed to wear their signature scent until the day they die? Or does one change it up every decade when they analyze where they are in life? I picked Stella as my signature scent in my early 20s. My life is dramatically different now than it was back then. Does Stella aromatically encapsulate all that my new life has become?

Of that, I'm not sure... but I aim to find out!

Gradually over the next few months I will share with you my thoughts and notes on fragrances I’ve tried in the search for my new signature scent. Hopefully, at the end of this journey, I will find a new perfume to call my own.

What am I looking for? Something a bit more niche (less commercial) and unique. A scent that is moving and evocative. Not too bold, but rather something I could wear every day. A fragrance that my daughter will smell in 20 years time and think of me...

I would love to know… what is your signature scent… and is it time for a change?

Perfume flasks from ancient Rome, dating back to A.D. 200 - 400 are pictured above. They are featured at the Getty Villa in Malibu


Also, I am featured this week in Black Is the New Black. Click here for the link, or visit: www.thenewblackisblack.com to read my thoughts on style...


The Daily Connoisseur is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Before this week's post begins, I would like to send my hope and prayers to the people of Japan. If you are looking for a way to help (and are in America) you can text REDCROSS to 90999 and $10 will automatically be donated from your phone bill and go towards the relief effort in Japan...

And now for this week's post...

In my ongoing quest to not tell every person I come in contact with my life story (i.e. cultivating an air of mystery), I have been doing a lot of experimenting. Every day is an opportunity to cultivate an air of mystery and for me it really does take daily practice. One must become comfortable with silence when amongst other people, and learn how to cope with it- in a way that is specific for you.

There is a neighbor of mine who is quite mysterious that travels a lot and is often out of town. He has his air of mystery mastered because whenever I see him he alludes to his travels but does not tell me what he does for a living (and, as the French do, I would never think to ask). But inevitably when he asks me how I am I say something lame and unmysterious and laugh shrilly. Not because I am interested in him particularly, but because this is what I do with everybody. It is a malady of mine.

So one day I decided to practice cultivating my air of mystery with my mysterious neighbor. I saw him while I was taking Gatsby out for his morning walk. I had the baby strapped to my chest in the Baby Bjorn, and Gatsby on his leash. It had been a particularly long night of not sleeping with the baby (teething) so I employed one of my techniques of ‘looking presentable always’ by putting a long coat over my pajamas. I must have looked silly because it was about 80 degrees outside and there I was in a winter coat complete with baby and dog- but never mind. At least I wasn’t in my pajamas.

This is how our conversation went:

“Hello,” said the mysterious neighbor (from here on out known as MN)
“Hello”, said I (from here on out known as DC for daily connoisseur)
MN: “How are you?”
DC: “I’m great, thank you. How are you?”
MN: “Life is treating me well. And you are you happy?”
DC: “Yes, very. I haven’t seen you recently, you must have been traveling”.
MN: “I have. Doing a lot of traveling and a lot of work”.
DC: “How wonderful. It was lovely to see you”.
MN: “And you”.
DC: “Good bye”.

Now keep in mind this conversation was peppered with looonnng pauses- which was excruciating for me. But I stuck with it and was rather pleased with the result. Nothing of substance was said, but in these particular circumstances, things of substance aren’t generally said anyway. I have a close circle of friends who know my life story and day to day occurrences, and with whom I can have substantial conversations with, but for relative strangers and passers-by (like my neighbor), I would like to remain mysterious.

That’s why this exercise was very important for me. Normally at the first sign of silence I would have laughed shrilly (i.e. uncomfortably) and said something to my neighbor about the weather or apologized for my appearance or made a joke about how the baby is teething and I am a zombie on 4 hours of sleep. But I just stayed with it. Good for me…

I would love to know… how is your air of mystery coming along?



The folded arm figures pictured above date back to 2,700 B.C. and are quite mysterious in their own right. Scholars have conjectured they could represent everything from concubines, to ritual dancers, to goddesses and symbols of fertility. They are featured at the Getty Villa in Malibu.

This post comes by request from Shelley, who writes:

I know that quality over quantity is the way to a French woman's wardrobe. You read in loads of places about spending the most you can afford on various pieces. My question is, how do you decide how much you can afford? All your savings? What's left at the end of the month? A portion of your clothing allowance? How does one set the clothing allowance and how does one decide what proportion of it will go for a given piece? I think this is important info for a world gone mad with spending.

This is such an excellent question. Of course, everyone is different as we all have different budgets. I think the first thing to ask yourself is- what is your clothing allowance? If you’re not sure, it’s time to calculate one. So many of us (in the past, myself included) just spend here and there with a sort of wishy-washy idea of what our budget is. We roughly do the math in our head and then at the end of the month when the credit card or bank statement comes we think What?! How did I spend so much??

Tally up all of your monthly expenses: mortgage or rent, car payment, health insurance, bills, groceries, emergency fund, entertainment (such as books, films, plays) retirement savings etc., and generally whatever is left is discretionary and part of that can be your beauty and clothing allowance. For many of us this usually isn’t very much. The important thing here, however, is to be brutally honest with yourself. Is what’s left $30? Or $300? Either way, you can work with it.

Now that you have a capsule wardrobe, you won’t need to go shopping as much anyway. Gone are the days where you overspend on clothes and feed into the clutter of your closet. From now on your purchases will be well thought out and most everything you add into your space will be quality, investment pieces. So here is where Shelley’s question comes into play.

Let’s say your monthly wardrobe allowance calculates to $100. You have assessed your wardrobe and you come to the conclusion that you could really invest in a high quality trench coat. You don’t have one, have always wanted one and can see that there is a gap in your wardrobe for such a thing. You picture yourself in a gorgeous, camel colored trench- with the waist cinched in- belt artfully tied and collar jutting out just so, traipsing down a cobblestone street, or perhaps canoodling in a café... with Johnny Depp... in Paris! (OK this fantasy just keeps getting better).

But don't get carried away too quickly- first you need a trench coat. So what constitutes quality? Of course you would love a Burberry trench. There is no doubt about quality there- but that will run you around $1,000. And with your monthly $100 clothing allowance, you would have to save up for almost an entire year for that without buying anything else. If that is feasible for you, then make that your goal. If you can't see yourself saving for 10+ months, then set your sights on another quality item that is less expensive. Let’s say you find a chic, French minimalistic trench coat by A.P.C. (one of my favorite brands- and the make of my own trench coat). Their coats will run you around $400. You could realistically save your allowance for 4 months and purchase one. Or you could go the J. Crew avenue- where a nice trench will probably cost you around $250. The choice is yours. Either way, you are going to get a quality product as long as you take care of it.

What I wouldn’t suggest doing is buying a really cheap trench out of frustration (unless you’re desperate and are literally caught in the rain without a coat). While it is OK to get cheaper versions of most things, for something like a trench coat, you really do want quality (Remember coats, sunglasses, cocktail dresses, handbags, shoes and jewelry should always be quality- the rest can be less expensive). And if you end up buying a poorly made trench, you will probably have to replace it next season and in the end, spend more. So take your time to find just the right one and save up your money while you do so- you won't regret it.

In short, the final message is to scale your purchases to your budget to determine what quality means for you- ultimately allowing you to live a quality life- one within your means.


Shelley, thank you for your question. I hope I answered it for you!


If you have a question you'd like me to address on this blog, please leave a comment or email me @ jenncouture (at) gmail (dot) com

Above, pictured from my recent trip to the Getty Villa, are gold Italic necklaces dated between 500 - 400 B.C.


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I must share this with you. As you know we subscribe to the Financial Times out of London. It’s really an excellent newspaper and their weekend edition is superb- particularly their Life & Style section, the House & Home section and their magazine How to Spend It. There are always thought provoking articles on art, food, fashion and a rather interesting column called Lunch with FT where they interview some person of note over lunch and also provide what was ordered. (I love knowing what people have for lunch and things like that. In fact, one of my favorite pastimes when standing in line at the grocery store is to observe what other people buy- it is very telling!). But I digress.

The first place I go to each weekend is David Tang’s column in House & Home. Sir David Tang is a business man (behind the famed Shanghai Tang stores, among other endeavors) that divides his time between Hong Kong, London and China. He runs an advice column on the subjects of “property, interiors, etiquette, home, parties and anything else that might be bothering you”. Not only does Mr. Tang possess a rapier wit, but his first class opinions on the above subjects are refreshing and unparalleled. I ran across the below question one week and found his answer to encapsulate everything I’ve ever expressed regarding only using the best things you have. Regard:

A reader writes:

In our household, Saturday breakfast is the sacred meal of the week, enjoyed at home around the kitchen table. My girlfriend makes an effort arranging the glassware in a certain order. I then have to rearrange the order of the glasses. This upsets my girlfriend, as she argues that caring about such trivial things at our own breakfast table, with no other company present, is petit bourgeois. Please advise.

Mr. Tang’s response:

One definition of a gentleman is that he uses his butter knife when dining alone. I tend to agree. I always succumb to my pair of ivory chopsticks and my best crockery and cutlery and linen whenever eating alone. Caring about how things look only when there is an audience is precisely to be petit bourgeois. I am very much from middle-class stock but I hate most of its ingredients. So you should insist on getting your breakfast table right, and observe to your girlfriend that by practicing the best, you won’t become phoney when you are joined by the Joneses and the Smiths.

I really couldn’t have said it better myself! When you use the best things you have and 'practice your best' on a regular basis, you slowly train your habits and your palate to appreciate quality. Those that save their best things for company are missing out on living a quality life and are, it has to be said, petit bourgeois.

I would love to know... are you using the best you have on a daily basis? Or are you saving your best for later?


I recently visited the Getty villa in Malibu and took some photos of Greek and Roman antiquities. The Greek wine vessels and implements pictured above are in silver and date back to 350- 300 B.C. It looks like the ancient Greeks appreciated fine tableware as well...


The Daily Connoisseur is now available on Amazon Kindle

For this special Thursday post I thought I'd give you a glimpse of some of the extras in my 10 Item Wardrobe- many of which are investment pieces. Investment pieces can mean different things to different people- it all depends on what you have in your fashion budget.

Trench coat by A.P.C.

I love this coat. It is so well constructed and will probably last forever. It's a classic French cut and goes with everything...


Black Wool coat by J. Crew

I got this for our trips to London. J. Crew gives you the option of ordering coats in various thicknesses (I believe they call it 'thinsulate') depending on how warm you need to be... this one is very warm!



Grey blazer by Banana Republic

This is not an investment piece but it just a wonderful and versatile blazer. I recently wore it with black trousers (from my 10 item wardrobe) and a white silk tank to tour a potential preschool for my daughter and felt very pulled together.



Black sweater blazer by BCBG Max Azria

I really love blazers because they can dress up any outfit- especially jeans. The gold buttons add a special touch...


Black cocktail dress by Alexander McQueen

This was a present from Mr. Connoisseur from one of the collections right before Alexander McQueen's tragic death. Here I'm wearing it to the Project Runway premiere with Romi... I'll cherish this dress forever.



Royal blue cocktail dress by Temperley

This dress has such a regal feel. I wore it to a winter wedding in London last year. The fabric is very thick and luxurious and the jeweled bow brings me joy...


Black satin peep-toe pumps by Dolce & Gabbana

These shoes are classic, sexy and will go with most of the dresses I own, making them a wise investment.



Black leather medium height heels by Ferragamo

These shoes are great for when you have a daytime event that calls for heels and you don't want to go too high, or when you might be on your feet for a long time. They are so comfortable and very well made...



Black nubuck ballet flats by London Sole

I love these shoes and wear them all the time- they are comfortable and stylish and perfect for daytime.



White leather embossed faux-snakeskin handbag by London Sole

This is a great tote for summertime and the leather gets softer and more supple with each use.


Black leather doctor's bag by Monserat de Lucca

I love this bag and have had it for almost 3 years now- I will probably retire it soon and search for a new signature bag. I've always loved the quilted Chanel handbags but they are not in my budget yet... one day!



Tortoise shell wayfarers by Zooey Deschanel for Oliver Peoples

These are my signature shades- I love them so much I wish I'd bought two pairs!

I would love to know... what are your investment pieces?



The Daily Connoisseur is now available on Amazon Kindle

The following are my thoughts and observations on the experience of the 10 Item Wardrobe:

Opening my closet in the morning makes me happy. Not only is it wonderful to see my items hanging so luxuriously in their own space (not jam packed next to each other) but it makes me inordinately happy to not wonder what to wear for the day. There are so few options, the choice only takes me a minute to figure out. Also, having a clutter-free closet boosts my mood. (It must be the feng shui of it all).

My desire to shop has not been strong. I did not expect this reaction in the slightest. I thought that after the first week with my 10 item wardrobe I would be begging for someone to take me to Nordstrom’s. Not so. There is something marvelous about having so little hanging in my closet- I am not in a rush to drop a lot of money and fill it up with clutter anytime soon. I know the urge to shop will return, but when it does I am hoping that I will peruse the shops with a very discerning eye and not over-purchase.

When I do go shopping I note that shopping is freeing. I normally never leave a shopping trip without purchasing something. I am interested in more expensive, quality pieces. I am more comfortable with window shopping for research purposes and not purchasing. I know that the next purchase I make will be a high quality choice and that I need to take my time to find what that is.

Acknowledging when an article of clothing is past its prime becomes easier. Last week I spotted a woman, who was wearing leggings, bend over and hug an acquaintance. She was in a room full of people and when she bent over she revealed three rather large holes in her leggings that exposed her backside! Clearly this is a woman who could benefit from analyzing her wardrobe. If she did so, she might have realized that her leggings were past their prime and could have avoided such an embarrassing situation. This poor woman’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’ has scared me into analyzing my own wardrobe. For example, I noticed that one of my favorite ‘extra’ shirts, a grey t from Splendid, was starting to look a bit sad. After one too many washings, it hung on my body in a very unflattering shape and just looked a little worse for wear. I believe the pre-10-Item-Wardrobe-me would have ignored the fact and stored it away just because it was kind of expensive (for a t shirt), but the post-10-Item-Wardrobe-me recognized that for my little grey t, retirement was imminent- and I got rid of it!

The ability to mix and match your clothing and create many possibilities is of the utmost importance. You should be able to pair almost everything together in your 10 Item Wardrobe- this is the only way to stave off boredom, eventually grow to loathe your clothing and utter those familiar words “I have nothing to wear!”

If you choose your 10 Item Wardrobe carefully, you literally force yourself to only use the best things you have and over time you become accustomed to it and can trick yourself out of ‘saving your best for later’.

To preserve your nice clothing while doing housework or other chores, wear an apron around the house. This was Madame Chic’s secret to keeping her clothes looking fresh while simultaneously taking on a lot of housework and cooking.

Getting behind in doing the laundry or dropping off the dry cleaning is not really an option- which can be a problem if you’re having a hectic week. I had a week where I got very behind with household chores (laundry included) and was ‘running on empty’ with regards to my wardrobe. I had to pull some items from my reserves to get by. Also- dropping off dry cleaning must be coordinated so that all of your dry cleaning is not out at the same time. If you do not have the laundry/ dry cleaning routine under control, adding more than 10 core items (20, for example) is probably the best solution.

If your fashion budget is on the lower end, avoid over-spending on the core items of your wardrobe. Purchase the best that you can afford (which I will explain in greater detail in a future post entitled: Quality Wardrobe- How Much to Spend) but you do not need to make all of your 10 items ‘investment pieces’. Save the big splurges for the following items: coats, shoes, sunglasses, handbags, cocktail dresses, jeans, watches and jewelry. These items will last you a long time so quality is of the utmost importance. Also if the above mentioned items are quality, they can really dress up a moderately priced outfit and make it look quite expensive.

If you are still feeling resistance towards the 10 Item Wardrobe but are curious about its benefits, try it out the next time you go on vacation. Scale your packing towards the length of your trip. For example, if you are going away for a long weekend, only bring 2 or 3 outfits. If you are going away 2 weeks, try packing your own 10 item wardrobe. You will experience the same benefit of doing the challenge in your own home and will have much less luggage to tote around (always a good thing).

With regards to maintaining and going forward you should adapt over time for what is right for you. If you are doing the experiment to the letter and are only using your 10 core items and you are having a wardrobe revelation carry on! If you find that you need to add more pieces into your capsule wardrobe to make it really work for you, then that is OK too. The exercise is extreme and even though Madame Chic and her family truly employed the 10 Item Wardrobe- it might not be right for you. Hopefully, going forward, you will take the best that this challenge has to offer by becoming more discerning towards the clothing you bring into your wardrobe. You will look at your wardrobe like you look at your home and not allow clutter into it. And ultimately, you will get one step closer to defining your true style.

I would love to hear your thoughts and observations on the 10 Item Wardrobe...

I recently visited the Getty Villa in Malibu and took some astonishing photos of ancient Greek and Roman antiquities, which I will be sharing with you in the weeks to come. The Marbury Hall Zeus is pictured above, dating back to 1-100 A.D.



The Daily Connoisseur is now available on Amazon Kindle

Mr. Chris Cox is the style-guru, writer and editor behind Easy and Elegant Life where he inspires men (and women) to lead a luxe, calme et volupté lifestyle. His current projects include working on the Easy and Elegant Life book as well as developing the Icon Collection- custom clothing based on designs from the golden age of Hollywood and menswear. Here he shares his views on the perfect capsule wardrobe for a gentleman.



I am pictured above in England. Mrs. E. reminds me of this whenever I pack. Nine pieces of luggage.

As you can see, packing light wasn't always my talent. I still struggle to do it right. But, having carted that many clothes through Europe for eight months, I began to realize that you could get away with far fewer clothes as long as they made sense when mixed and matched.

So, what ten pieces, not including accessories, outerwear and shoes, would I choose to live with exclusively?

1) Midnight Blue Double Breasted Suit. Worn on its own with the white spread collar shirt, cufflinks and a solid tie, it is as formal as you'll need short of a tuxedo.

2) Subtle Plaid or Check Sportcoat. To wear with jeans or khakis, the trousers from the blue suit or grey flannels. Dresses up or down.

3) Grey Flannel Trousers. Always appropriate with a blazer (wear the coat from the suit), or a shirt and sweater.

4) Blue Jeans or Khakis. Jeans wear harder. Khakis go more places. The sweater or sports coat dresses them up.

5) White Oxford, Button Down

6) Blue Oxford Button Down. Both just get better with age. The sartorial equivalent of comfort food.

7) White Spread Collar, French-cuff (double cuff) Shirt. Formal and good-looking. It can be worn with the grey flannels and a blazer or the suit.

8) Striped Shirt, Moderate Spread Collar. To dress down the formality of the double-breasted suit and to add interest to the sports coat when you've a spring in your step.

9) V-neck Cashmere Sweater (red, light grey, navy, purple or black. Whatever catches your fancy.) Warmth without weight, delightful to the touch. Wear it as a scarf if you have to.

10) Dinner Jacket (Tuxedo). You will be amazed at how easy it is to get into events if you're properly dressed. If you can't afford to have one custom made, buy vintage and have it tailored. Brits will tell you that an old dinner jacket is smarter anyway. You'll need a vest or cummerbund, bowtie, braces and a dress set of studs and cufflinks to kit yourself out properly. Chosen properly, the cufflinks can be worn with your French-cuff shirt. Simple gold links are best suited for double-duty.

Now I recognize that the assignment didn't include accessories, but there are just a few I'd like to mention that will take you far.

1) A great scarf

2) A subtle bowtie. I like one with spots or stripes. Slip it into the pocket of your sports coat and you're always ready if you are required to wear a tie to get into a restaurant. With the suit and the white spread-collar shirt, you're ready for cocktails at the most swellegant establishments.

3) Several white linen or cotton handkerchiefs. Use one as a pocket square.

4) A good watch. I know that everyone has a smartphone, but a watch is one of the accepted forms of masculine jewelry. Choose a classic. I love a tank watch on a leather strap. If you go in for a sports watch like a Rolex or Omega, don't wear it with your dinner jacket. Unless you may have to make a fast escape into the water... .

5) One pair of cordovan penny loafers in oxblood.

6) One pair of darkest brown lace-up shoes.

7) One pair of black plain toe or captoe oxford shoes.

8) Waterproof overcoat. In camelhair, navy, grey or black. Have the wool waterproofed at the dry cleaner. Or choose a classic trench or Mac.

9) Either an umbrella or a waterproof fedora.

10) A pair of leather gloves to match your coat.