100 New Yorkers of the 1970s — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
100 New Yorkers of the 1970s
John Stuart Mill · en
Whenever she opens a new salon, Adrien spends the entire day on her
feet, doing upwards of 35 facials with her own pale, delicate hands.
Upon being complimented for her attire, Miss Arpel gasps, "Thank you!"
with schoolgirlish delight. There is something almost surreal in her
creamy white complexion. "I think sunbathing is absolutely deadly, and
that there is no reason in the world for a woman to sunbathe," she says.
Moments later, she admits that "high heel shoes are not very good for
you," but that she wears them anyway, "because they're very fashionable.
They are something that really can be a problem -- if they're pitched
wrong. If you have a good shoe and it's pitched well, you shouldn't have
a problem"
Does she think it would be a good idea for women to give up high heels
altogether? "No, no. I don't think you'll ever get women to give up
fashion. So we can tell what's problems, what's really hazardous, what's
going to be injurious to your health, and what's going to just hurt a little
bit."
She never thought of writing a book until about four years ago, says
Arpel, because "every second when I was away from my business, I spent
with my daughter. Now my daughter's 16 and a half, and has a boyfriend,
and goes out, and doesn't want to spend every minute with me. This all
started when she was about 13." Adrien and her husband, manufacturer
Ronald Newman, moved to the New York metropolitan area right after
they were married in 1961, and acquired an Upper East Side apartment
last summer.
For her own health and beauty regimen, Adrien begins her typical day
with jumping rope. She thinks weight training for women is "terrific," but
considers jogging the best all-around exercise. "Now, jogging has its
negatives. I get up very early in the morning, and if you jog while it's still
dark out, it can be dangerous. I also have long hair, and you have to wash
your hair after you jog. So for someone that works, I find that I can only
do it three days a week."
She has a facial twice weekly. "Facials are not luxuries. They are
necessities to peel off dead surface skin. ... Air pollution is the reason. If
it wears away stone on buildings, think what it can do to the skin." A
facial, she explains, consists of "all different sorts of hand massages to
deep-cleanse the skin with coconut-like milk, or some sort of sea kelp
cleanser. Then there's a skin vacuum which takes blackheads out --
electric brushes with honey and almond scrubs which clean out the pores.
And at the end, a mask. Nature-based again -- orange jelly, sea mud, or
spearmint."
Arpel believes that a woman's makeup should be largely determined by
her profession. She reveals a humorous side when asked whether a woman
stockbroker, for example, should always dress conservatively. "Well, if
she was wearing a see-through blouse and no bra in her office, I'd
certainly think she had poor taste," she laughs.