VIOLET GREY
Sea, sex & sun: vanessa paradis
The May Issue — Cover Story
Photography By BEN HASSETT
Written By CHRISTINA HAN
Hair By ROBERT VETICA
Makeup By SABRINA BEDRANI
Styled By ELIZABETH SULCER
Nails By DEBBIE LEAVITT
The water shimmered. Light from the warm April sun bounced off of the Malibu surf in every direction. And that other thing, mentioned seductively in Serge Gainsbourg’s
Sea, Sex and Sun lyrics? It arrived in the form of French actress-model-singer, Vanessa Paradis.
Known for being deeply private and eternally girlish, Vanessa Paradis is coquettish in a way that only sultry French pop stars can master. So it was no surprise that when the back door of her black town car opened, she emerged like a shadow, stepping nimbly into the hair and makeup trailer located on set for VIOLET GREY’s cover shoot, where her beauty team was patiently awaiting her arrival. After topping the French charts as a teenager, the mother of two has maintained an impressive mystique over the last two decades, and her most recent performance, playing seriously against her type as a Hasidic Jewish widow in John Turturro’s film
Fading Gigolo, has earned her some well-deserved praise. Today, she experienced a different kind of transformation: Hairstylist Robert Vetica smoothed her cropped hair into a sleek, Helmut Newton-inspired slick and longtime makeup artist, Sabrina Bedrani, applied a summery, brilliant orange-red to Paradis’ lips.
With just a handful of hours left on the clock before she was whisked back to reality in Los Angeles, Paradis materialized onto the beach, where photographer Ben Hassett and his crew were assembled around a 1971 silvery-blue Mercedes convertible. As the not-so-delicate sea breeze whipped around Malibu’s Point Dume, Hassett deemed the seaside lighting to be just right. Paradis coyly let her terrycloth robe drop to the sand, revealing an enviously toned, bronzed body (fresh from a Hawaiian holiday). She delicately placed herself in the driver’s seat, gazed directly into the camera lens and then, tossed her head back to face the sun.
VioletInquires
15 Questions for Vanessa
1
WHAT DO YOU DAYDREAM ABOUT?
Here, there and everywhere.
2
HAVE YOU EVER WORN SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT?
Yes, on a motorcycle.
3
WHAT COLOR IS PAINTED ON YOUR TOES RIGHT NOW?
Red.
4
WHAT MAKES A MAN BEAUTIFUL?
Honesty.
5
WHERE DO YOU PLACE YOUR PERFUME ON YOUR BODY?
The neck.
6
WHAT IS THE BEST GIFT YOU HAVE EVER GIVEN?
Silence.
7
WHAT SONG ALWAYS MAKES YOU WANT TO DANCE?
“People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul” by James Brown.
8
WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE BREAKFAST WITH?
Marilyn Monroe.
9
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IN A MAN?
Intelligence.
10
WHAT DO YOU KEEP ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE?
Chocolate.
11 WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BEAUTY SECRET YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR MOTHER?
Inner smile.
12
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT BEAUTY PRODUCT IN YOUR COSMETIC WARDROBE?
Soap?
13
AT WHAT AGE DO YOU THINK MEN ARE AT THEIR BEST?
Age of innocence.
14
WHICH BOOK OR SONG CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
“Singing in the Rain” when I was six years old because it made me want to sing, dance and act.
15
WHAT IS THE MOST OVERRATED ASPECT OF HOLLYWOOD?
Your neighbor is an actor.
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