Welcome to the Beauty Sessions, conversations in the makeup chair with Toronto’s best-dressed women
Chapter 2: Judith Maria Bradley, Misty Fox and Katherine Holland
This summer, we’ve partnered with one of our favourite stores—the beauty mecca Sephora—to host a series of conversations with some of the most stylish women in the city. (Each of these amazing women has a coveted place on Toronto Life Stylebook’s Best Dressed List.) In this installment, model Judith Maria Bradley, makeup artist Misty Fox and photographer Katherine Holland talk about the importance of fearlessness and authenticity in all things.
Makeup by: Sephora National Pro Lead Artist Lou Swinden Payne
Photography by: Vanessa Heins
Who: Judith Maria Bradley, model.
How do you describe your personal style?
“Let’s say it’s this: It’s an accumulation of a lifetime of trying things, loving things, hating things, tearing things apart and starting over again. It’s like your life—the way you hold your fork, the way you hold your posture, the way you do anything informs your style.”
Where did your love of style come from?
“It just comes from the love of being alive. Our love of clothing is connected to all the emotion that we have as people. So let’s try to wear our clothes with that feeling from our hearts. If the whole world is looking at you, why not make everyone smile?”
What do you love about this city?
“I’ve lived in Toronto for 40 years. I love Toronto and get annoyed when people compare it to another city—it can’t be compared to New York, for instance because Toronto is a young city. It’s a teenager and it has all the problems of a one. We’re all part of the city’s marvelous growing up.”
What is your philosophy about makeup?
“Makeup is fun. It was probably Coco Chanel or one of the other fabulous women who came before us who talked about the power of lipstick. She’s right.” [Chanel said “If you’re sad, add more lipstick and attack.”]
Do you have a personal motto?
“I have many! For example: ‘If it’s not going to bother you in five years, don’t spend five minutes thinking about it.’”
Who: Misty Fox, makeup artist.
What do style and beauty mean to you?
“Personal style is an extension of your mood on any given day. And beauty isn’t a mask of makeup—it’s about enhancing what you have, about focusing on your face and saying to yourself, ‘What do I love about my features and why?’”
What are the professional hazards of being a makeup artist?
“I’m constantly putting makeup on other people but I find myself putting on my own at traffic lights!”
Where does your love of style come from?
“I grew up in Australia, I went to a very arty school, and my family was very big on thrift stores. When we went shopping, my mom used to give us fifty cents each to pick out five things we could wear. I would always try to base my choices on: What would the other kids not tease? And what would fit me?”
What do you consider beautiful?
“I think of qualities I admire in people: warmth, calm understanding, grace. I think we have become confused, particularly the younger generation, about what defines beauty. It’s not a popularity contest. It truly comes from within.”
What inspires you?
“I love the beauty in natural gemstones—opals and moonstones especially. My friends call me a bit of a magpie.”
Who: Katherine Holland, fashion and editorial photographer
What does your work mean to you?
“Photography is a huge part of my life. I guess I just love people. I’m a sneaky observer of life. Photography allows you to see people when they are at their most vulnerable. In a short period of time, you gain their trust and and build something together that you can all be proud of.”
How do you define your personal style?
“People judge your style based on your best and your worst days. I’m certainly not a fashionable or style-forward person every day of my life but at my best, I am a Sixties-inspired, Boho mom and, at my worst, all the Seventies muumuus come out. Style is really a way for me to track my memories. I can go into my closet and pick out items that I was so excited about when I first found them—they hold all the memories of where I was and what I was doing when I wore them. I get really attached to clothes. They’re my little style babies.”
What do you love about makeup?
“I’ve always loved makeup—I consider it a celebration and not a crutch. Makeup lets you pick and chose the parts of you that you want to accentuate and celebrate.”
Where does your love of style come from?
“My mother would never leave the house without red lipstick and high heels. And no matter what you do, you’re always going to end up like your mom. Why fight it?”
What do you consider beautiful?
“There’s certainly a vibrancy and a radiance that just emanates from certain people—so that when they walk into a room, you go ‘Damn, you look amazing!’ It’s a dewy kind of vibe that comes from someone who is really living their life right in that very moment.”
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #LETSBEAUTYTOGETHER
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More Sephora Beauty Sessions
 In this installment, model Judith Maria Bradley, makeup artist Misty Fox and photographer Katherine Holland talk about the importance of fearlessness and authenticity in all things.
Makeup by: Sephora National Pro Lead Artist Lou Swinden Payne
Photography by: Vanessa Heins
Who: Judith Maria Bradley, model.
How do you describe your personal style?
“Let’s say it’s this: It’s an accumulation of a lifetime of trying things, loving things, hating things, tearing things apart and starting over again. It’s like your life—the way you hold your fork, the way you hold your posture, the way you do anything informs your style.”
Where did your love of style come from?
“It just comes from the love of being alive. Our love of clothing is connected to all the emotion that we have as people. So let’s try to wear our clothes with that feeling from our hearts. If the whole world is looking at you, why not make everyone smile?”
What do you love about this city?
“I’ve lived in Toronto for 40 years. I love Toronto and get annoyed when people compare it to another city—it can’t be compared to New York, for instance because Toronto is a young city. It’s a teenager and it has all the problems of a one. We’re all part of the city’s marvelous growing up.”
What is your philosophy about makeup?
“Makeup is fun. It was probably Coco Chanel or one of the other fabulous women who came before us who talked about the power of lipstick. She’s right.” [Chanel said “If you’re sad, add more lipstick and attack.”]
Do you have a personal motto?
“I have many! For example: ‘If it’s not going to bother you in five years, don’t spend five minutes thinking about it.’”
Who: Misty Fox, makeup artist.
What do style and beauty mean to you?
“Personal style is an extension of your mood on any given day. And beauty isn’t a mask of makeup—it’s about enhancing what you have, about focusing on your face and saying to yourself, ‘What do I love about my features and why?’”
What are the professional hazards of being a makeup artist?
“I’m constantly putting makeup on other people but I find myself putting on my own at traffic lights!”
Where does your love of style come from?
“I grew up in Australia, I went to a very arty school, and my family was very big on thrift stores. When we went shopping, my mom used to give us fifty cents each to pick out five things we could wear. I would always try to base my choices on: What would the other kids not tease? And what would fit me?”
What do you consider beautiful?
“I think of qualities I admire in people: warmth, calm understanding, grace. I think we have become confused, particularly the younger generation, about what defines beauty. It’s not a popularity contest. It truly comes from within.”
What inspires you?
“I love the beauty in natural gemstones—opals and moonstones especially. My friends call me a bit of a magpie.”
Who: Katherine Holland, fashion and editorial photographer
What does your work mean to you?
“Photography is a huge part of my life. I guess I just love people. I’m a sneaky observer of life. Photography allows you to see people when they are at their most vulnerable. In a short period of time, you gain their trust and and build something together that you can all be proud of.”
How do you define your personal style?
“People judge your style based on your best and your worst days. I’m certainly not a fashionable or style-forward person every day of my life but at my best, I am a Sixties-inspired, Boho mom and, at my worst, all the Seventies muumuus come out. Style is really a way for me to track my memories. I can go into my closet and pick out items that I was so excited about when I first found them—they hold all the memories of where I was and what I was doing when I wore them. I get really attached to clothes. They’re my little style babies.”
What do you love about makeup?
“I’ve always loved makeup—I consider it a celebration and not a crutch. Makeup lets you pick and chose the parts of you that you want to accentuate and celebrate.”
Where does your love of style come from?
“My mother would never leave the house without red lipstick and high heels. And no matter what you do, you’re always going to end up like your mom. Why fight it?”
What do you consider beautiful?
“There’s certainly a vibrancy and a radiance that just emanates from certain people—so that when they walk into a room, you go ‘Damn, you look amazing!’ It’s a dewy kind of vibe that comes from someone who is really living their life right in that very moment.”
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #LETSBEAUTYTOGETHER
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