Our Opinions Uncensored | 21 Questions with Alice > Part 2
/We’re getting personal this week! Jess and Suz answer questions submitted by YOU - our beloved listeners and followers. This week’s episode can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or Google Podcast.
Last May we did an episode where Jess and Suz answered questions from our listeners. It was a popular episode - and somewhat polarizing as opinions sometimes polarize! Have fun with us as we cover a new set of 21 questions!
A few notes:
Sue and Jess weren’t given the questions in advance (Cori compiled everything). This means, that some details were sparse. But, we’ve done the homework and added those in (with links where possible).
We are not sponsored, affiliates, or getting any kind of commission with any of these mentions or links. This is just our uncensored gift to you! Enjoy!
Q: Where do ya'll shop for professional dresses?
Jess: Probably Nordstrom. I love anything Vince. I’m not a super feminine dresser in terms of ruffles or puffy sleeves because they feel a bit like a costume to me. I prefer a more edited look. more straightforward. I have a hard time finding things I love love, so I’ll often order a bunch of sizes and shapes online to try it on in my own space and then return what doesn’t feel right.
Suzanne: Mine are pretty random. I love shopping vintage and I’m usually sparked by a pattern. I love color combinations and patterns that feel a little more outlandish. I usually stumble upon things and collect them as I go.
J: I can’t wear a pattern. I feel like the clothes are wearing me.
S: I’m totally cool with that!
J: I try! I’ll put on a dress with a pattern and Adam will say, “I can’t even see where your boobs are.” But, Suz, it’s 100% your personality. You’re an artist and and you look like art. I mean - it makes me feel sad that I’m sitting here in a white shirt and Suz is wearing a really colorful vest, fun red glasses, and blue nails. That’s what makes us such good friends.
S: The yin and the yang!
Q: What is your skincare routine?
S: I’m going to let Jess take that because she’s more dewy than I am. I compensate with a red lip.
J: Sue does have an awesome lip! She’ll often say, “My one true beauty is my lip.” You’ve mastered the lip in terms of what will stay on with a mask or through lunch. Why don’t you talk about your lip?
S: You’re avoiding the skincare question, but I will. I’ll talk about the lip. Okay, I just pulled out my makeup bag so that I could tell you the colors. I love NARS velvet matte lip pencil in the colors Dragon Girl and Riot. The matte doesn’t look too glossy and doesn’t wipe away. I’ll layer Dragon Girl and Riot (both great reds) with a bareMinerals long wearing lipstick in Saffron. I love the orangey tone because it makes me look less serious and I’m not a serious person. Is not business time, it’s fun time!
J: That’s really nice of you to share! Thank you! I can see in your makeup bag that you have about 17 pencils, so thanks for sharing the best.
S: Yeah, of course. People always say, “I can’t get away with that”, but you can. You just put it on your lip.
J: Well, you have a great set of lips.
S: Yeah, but there is no time like the present. You can get injections or whatever. And one pro tip for days when you’re really tired, is to throw on a lip. People will be so focused on your lip that they won’t pay attention to how tired you are. I can be a mess, but if I have a lip on, I feel put-together.
J: Speaking of injectables, have you injected your lips, Sue. I just have to ask for the people!
S: No. And, whatever people want to do to feel beautiful is up to them, but I love Iris Iris Apfel’s take on this. Shel was asked if she’d had any work done and she said, “Why would I do that? I wouldn’t look like me!” So, I’m taking that approach. I want to age like Iris.
J: Okay, so guys….you’re going to know how high-maintenance it is to have 45 year-old skin. If you want to take the extra steps to boost your glow, over-the-top, these products absolutely work for me. I need to say that I have medium to dry skin. I’m not a girl that’s ever had a pimple. I’m a lizard and I live in the desert.
Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem-Cell Mask
This is like a gel and they said that if you put it in the fridge at night, you can wash it off in the morning. But, if I put it on in the morning for even 10 minutes, I feel glowier.
Boost LED Face Mask by The Light Salon
It’s crazy. You’re going to look like Hannibal Lecter. You’re going to velcro that sucker on the back of your head for 10 minutes and it will firm your skin, tighten lines, and makes you glow like a baby angel! It’s an investment at $500 USD, but I will tell you that this really helps me with where I’m at in my station in life. I mostly do this at night, but if I do it in the day, it’s like, GAME ON!
Sea Buckthorn Oil by Living Libations
This is a cleanser and moisturizer. It’s a beautiful orange liquid and it’s just a really lovely, natural oil. To use, you pump it 4 times on a cotton pad, rub it on your face, run that same cotton pad under water, and then wash your face with that same cotton pad. You will glow.
A vitamin C concentrate is great for lines and wrinkles. If there’s one thing to invest in, I would say it’s this.
LUMIÈRE Illuminating Eye Cream by NeoCutis
This is my favorite eye cream - it’s illuminating and tightening. I don’t really struggle with darkness under my eyes or puffiness, but it does tighten things up.
If I want to feel a little bit more tan in the fall and winter, I’ll use this product. I just put 2 drops in my moisturizer and put that on for a glow. I wear the light/medium and it’s not very dramatic. This is a great pro tip!
Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream
This is my daily and it has some SPF.
I love, love, love Shiseido. It’s Japanese and one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the univers. I use a lot of their stuff, but they have a foundation that is lifting and it’s amazing.
Clarins Extra Firming Neck Cream
Okay, one last thing. If you are aging, like me, Clarins has a product for your neck. If you feel like your neck doesn’t look very youthful (I was feeling really self-consious about mine). They have an extra firming cream for your neck and décolleté. This has been one thing that has just made my neck look so much younger.
S: I will add to that - Gold Bond actually has a really great neck and chest firming cream that’s awesome. I saw it online somewhere and bought it a few weekends ago. It’s been great. And that’s at your drugstore!
J: Sorry that was really long. Cori was rolling his eyes over here. Oh my gosh. So many steps. How embarrassing, but we do get asked that a lot!
Q: Where do you get your hats?
Cori: This one is for Jess because people always see you in hats.
J: Every time I’m in another city shopping (even if it’s Park City), I go into the hat shops. You have to try them all on. There’s not an easy answer to it. The one that people always ask about is one I got last winter in Palm Springs in a hat shop on old main street. It’s made by a brand called Scala and is probably under $100. But every time I go anywhere, I shop hats. I bought a hat in Boston that I had to pay a luxury tax on - it was like $250. Make it your thing if you want to wear hats to make it your take home. Also, I’m from the 90’s, so I love huge hair. Hats make me feel like I have huge hair.
S: And old, dapper men are always like,”Nice hat!”
J: Yes, older gentlemen love hats! They always compliment me. Such a great trick and it takes little effort.
Q: What is your favorite space in your home and why?
S: I love my living room. It’s so comfortable and I love my big pink rug. My old fireplace. My ceramic collection. And, it’s not a room, but I love my art collection. I can go around and stare at them all day.
J: I didn’t think about my own house. I was thinking about Suzanne’s house while she was talking. I love Suz’s bedroom. She has this brass shelf with clothes folded on it and boas, scarves, and hats hanging off the edges. It’s so romantic. They should shoot movies at Suzanne Hall’s house.
Okay, one of my favorite things about my home is the transition between rooms. I love sitting in my entry and looking at my office beyond. The way they transition is just pretty to. me. I have this moment at night when I go to turn off my porch lights and I feel like it’s a New York brownstone moment. I have this dark, old door and these old art glass side lights that I designed because it was something I always wanted. That one moment has a historical feel and is different from the rest of the house.
S: I love your kitchen! I love sitting at your banquette. It’s so comfortable and it’s prime real estate because you can see your entry, your family room, and the kitchen all in the same view.
Q: How did you know Interior Design was your calling?
S: Originally, I wanted to do Interior Design because my older sister wanted to do it. I looked up to her and thought she was so cool. She didn’t end up doing it and she lets me do it for her now. In High School, I took Art classes and Interior Design classes and loved them. I did internships and knew that was what I wanted to do, so I went to Utah State and into their Interior Design program. I was a hippie of a teenager and hung glow-in-the-dark stars from fishing line from my ceiling. I hung a hammock. And I loved how I felt in that space that was my own. It’s infectious.
J: Growing up in the 80’s, my mom would always let me help pick out wallpaper. And during that time, it was like a border that matched a striped one in the middle and another on the bottom. It was a lot. It’s amazing that we’ve all recovered and want wallpaper again. We would go to the wallpaper store and I would think, “that room can be anything!” I also loved whenever we moved because I got to see how the furniture fits in different spaces and reimagine that. I loved decorating the Christmas tree. Also, my job growing up was to dust the furniture. I would take everything off and then I got to put it all back on how I wanted it to look. My dad is an eye doctor, so I helped put together the displays of the glasses and props. I actually studied Advertising Design in college. Interiors became a calling. A lot of the same design principles applied, but it came out of frustration in helping a client that wanted great interiors. There was a real need.
S: Branding is kind of the same thing. Branding a company and branding individuals share a lot of the same skill sets. With both, you have to dissect and research what it is that makes them tick.
Q: Is there a trend that you jumped on and regretted?
S: Beaded curtain. Glow-in-the-dark stars.
J: There was this time in the 2000’s where this shabby chic trend. It was around the opening of Alice Lane in 2008. It was old things reclaimed as a coffee table. If it had reclaimed wood, everyone was listening. Before I had a store, I had a girlfriend that I loved and she wanted me to help her with her home. I didn’t have a ton of resources yet because I was still in advertising. So, I told her to go to TJ Maxx and pick out 2 different lamps. I said, “Just pick two. It doesn’t matter what they are.” Could there ever be worse advice? You guys - always match your lamps! And please make sure they are 30 inches tall. It does matter. Yeah, so I’m dying inside my head right now at all of the Interior Design sins that I’m thinking of in that vein.
S: I bought an old window at a yard sale and my dad made a coffee table out of it. Because of the memory I had with my dad, I don’t regret it. But, the reclaimed thing was big.
Also during that time, I picked the color “latte” for my wall.
J: Yes. If you look at the set of Friends, that’s what was in style.
S: Yeah! I had frames up on my wall without anything in them.
J: Let’s all promise each other right now to never go back!
Q: Favorite design trend right now?
S: Right now, I love that anything goes. Whatever you love, whatever your style, we can make it beautiful. I think that it’s whatever YOU love. I also love the Grandmillennial movement and combining that with Luxe Minimalism. The idea of pulling back and editing to really appreciate a sculpture.
J: I feel the same way. I love that we can express whoever it is that we’re working for in the most genuine, ideal way. And the relationships that we have with clients where they feel comfortable and safe telling us where they are at with the trends. They want timeless looks. We do this thing in Marketing called “Trend Crush” where we’ll post a trend we’re enjoying. We’re aware of what is trending, but we focus on finding a way to make it deeply personal.
Q: Is there a design trend or pet peeve that you would like to see go away?
J: Not matching your bedroom lamps.
S: I get frustrated when people don’t have their own style. Do a deep dive to find out what style you love. Don’t use someone else’s trend.
J: Do you know what I hate? The barn door. People still put it in design today. We did it right once. We put a huge piece of artwork on top of the door, so it’s like a sliding painting. And the hardware is extraordinary.
S: I did do my pantry door with a barn door. Going back to that trend we embraced.
Q: Who is your celebrity dream client?
J: I love that you’re asking this because each of our Design Center designers has a bulletin board above their desk with the celebrity dream client. We believe in manifesting! One of them has The Weekend. One of them has Dwayne Wade. Post Malone moved to Utah and we’d love to design for him.
S: Musicians are so fun. I just saw the Arch Digest with Adam Levine and his wife’s home in LA. There is such an underlying cool factor.
J: Yeah, Cori is a musician and we got to help him a little.
S: They’re just open minded.
C: Yeah, when you’re on stage, anything goes.
J: Professional athletes also have a flair for design. Rudy Gobert has such amazing suits and wanted an exotic look.
Q: What made you design your own product and pieces?
J: Awesome questions. We’ve been doing this for 13-14 years and nothing seems hard anymore with these custom homes. It’s fun to create a round fireplace, but that lives in only one home. So, we wanted to invent the wheel and make it available to more people. We wanted interesting pieces and the best dimensions. It also gives us a unique edge with our own projects because these pieces aren’t available to everyone. My stoked level is a 10/10 on this. We’re working really hard at it to be available in every category.
Q: What is your favorite product that Alice Lane has ever designed?
J: I would say the Lucca Side Table. The Lucca Coffee Table was a best seller for us and it’s so beautiful. The Lucca Side Table just came out and I can’t stop looking at it. We’re doing a Lucca Pedestal and a Lucca Dining coming up. So excited for those. I also love the Duke Cocktail Table. It’s so large and beautiful.
S: I love the Acrylic Book Stand and the Acrylic Easel. (Note: these are both SOLD OUT right now, but we’ll be getting some back in stock in November. They’re on their way!)
Q: What is the upcoming Alice Lane piece that you are most looking forward to?
C: Want me to tell you mine?
J: Yes! Cori is actually on this team in making sure our pieces get built and shipped.
C: It’s the Acrylic Stool.
J: Yes! That’s a hot damn! One of our designers, Kristina, who has been with us for long time and does glorious closets. We’re working on one of the most insane closets we’ve ever done right now. It has 4 different bays within it. If you want to make the best use of your closet, you have to go high. You have to put stuff up on shelves. So, you need a step stool and that’s why we created this stool. It’s acrylic and brass with etching on it. It’s like Wonder Woman’s glass.
Also, I’m excited about our lighting. Hopefully it gets executed in a great way, but the designs are so beautiful. 2022 is going to be even more juicy!
That’s it for today! Thanks for listening and following. We’re going to keep compiling your questions for future episodes. We love hearing from you! Send in more questions or ideas by DMing us on social or emailing us at dearalice@alicelanehome.com.