Every January, we perform the same rituals….. new year, new beginning, new diet, new exercise program, new haircut, new wardrobe, new promises. We wake up on January 1 and somehow expect ourselves to become an entirely different human being because a number changed on the calendar overnight. I think we’ve got it backwards. What if September is when we begin?

Fall has always been a season of transformation. Nature changes color before it releases what it no longer needs. The air changes, the light changes, children return to school, vacations end and life acquires structure again. There is something about September that has always felt more like the beginning of a year.

I want to begin somewhere we’re frequently told is superficial: the outside. We are constantly told that genuine transformation has to happen from the inside out. Certainly some of it does, but I think the reverse can also be true. Sometimes changing something on the outside gives the inside permission to follow. Sometimes seeing yourself differently begins the process of thinking about yourself differently.

So the first assignment is deceptively simple: figure out what you want to look like. Not what fashion magazines tell you to look like. Not what your partner prefers, what your mother always liked, what somebody on Instagram is currently selling or what you’ve been told is appropriate for your age. Forget all of that. When you look into the mirror, who do you want to see?

Have you secretly wanted short hair for years but kept it long because everyone tells you how beautiful your long hair is? Cut it. Have you always wanted long hair but continually give up during the awkward growing-out stage? Start growing it now. By January, you’re four months closer. Have you wanted pink hair, silver hair, bangs, no bang, curls, sleek, something dramatic or something completely natural? This isn’t really about becoming prettier. That’s precisely the trap you should avoid. It is about becoming more recognizable to yourself.

If you don’t know what that looks like yet, make a vision board. An actual one. Go through magazines, photographs, fashion pages, Pinterest, whatever speaks to you, and collect images instinctively. Don’t overthink them at first. Then look at what you’ve chosen. Vision boards are harder than they sound because eventually you have to stop collecting pretty pictures and ask yourself why you’re attracted to them. Perhaps every person you’ve chosen has short hair. Perhaps everyone is wearing enormous glasses, tailored jackets or bright colors. Perhaps the homes you’ve selected are peaceful and uncluttered. Perhaps every image contains nature. Your choices are telling you something. Listen.

Then make the hair appointment. Get the manicure and pedicure. For me, manicure’s and pedicure’s have always been part of my personal checklist for returning to myself. If I’ve been sick for a long time, one of the first things I want when I begin feeling human again is a manicure and pedicure. There is something wonderfully restorative about looking down at my hands and feet and thinking, “There. That’s better.” Does a manicure solve your life? Not, bt sometimes we don’t need to solve our lives before we begin caring about them again.

Next, go through your makeup. Open the drawers, bags and cabinets and throw away what is ancient, dried out, broken or hasn’t touched your face in years. Then go play. Go to Sephora. Look through the new fall collections. Look at magazines and photographs and see what people are doing with color, texture and shape. Remember that you are gathering possibilities, not accepting instructions. Maybe this year’s dramatic burgundy lipstick makes you feel fabulous. Maybe it makes you look as though you’ve been dead since Tuesday. Both discoveries are useful. The purpose isn’t to become fashionable. The purpose is to become intentional.

Transformation rarely happens because of one enormous decision. It happens because hundreds of tiny decisions eventually begin pointing in the same direction. That is why fall is perfect. September doesn’t demand completion; September simply asks us to begin. October gives us another month to continue. November lets us adjust. December allows us to look at what worked, what didn’t and what still needs attention.

Suddenly New Year’s Eve is no longer an emergency meeting with ourselves. There is no desperate list of ten things we’re going to change beginning tomorrow. No punishment for everything we failed to accomplish during the previous year. No fantasy that midnight possesses some transformational power unavailable to us at 3:17 on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. Instead, December 31 becomes an inventory. What did I miss? What still doesn’t feel like me? What needs attention? What do I want to carry forward? What can stay behind?

Time to look into the mirror and meet yourself.

Something enormous is about to hit Times Square. Fashion insiders have been whispering for days, but all signs now point to Gucci staging its highly anticipated May 16 presentation directly in the center of Manhattan’s most electric intersection. Official details remain tightly controlled, but the secrecy itself has only amplified the anticipation surrounding what is expected to be one of the biggest fashion events New York has seen in years.

The show is scheduled for 9 PM EST, and if the rumors are true, Times Square is about to become a living Gucci campaign.

This reportedly marks Demna’s first Cruise collection for Gucci — a creative transition already sending waves through the fashion world. Pair Demna’s instinct for spectacle, tension, and urban mythology with the visual overload of Times Square and this has the potential to become less runway show and more full-scale cultural moment.

Honestly, there may be no more honest location for luxury fashion than Times Square itself.

For decades, fashion houses have tried to position luxury as rarefied, hidden, exclusive. But Times Square is the opposite. It is commerce at full volume. Fantasy projected forty feet high. Desire sold through light, motion, celebrity, and repetition. It is branding as architecture. Performance as economy.

In other words: modern fashion already lives there.

What remains unclear is just how large Gucci intends to go. Industry chatter points toward celebrity-heavy attendance, major digital installations, possible street disruptions, and a production designed not just for invited guests, but for the city itself.

That distinction matters.

The most powerful fashion shows are no longer simply about clothes. They are about domination of attention. Cultural occupation. Turning a city into a temporary extension of the brand’s mythology.

On May 16, it appears Gucci may be preparing to do exactly that.

Award season is never just about the dress. Before the cameras, before the flashbulbs, before the carefully choreographed entrances—it begins with the hair. The right cut doesn’t just frame the face, it defines the entire look.

Stylist Sam Alter and Dr. Ashley Marcus ready for the red carpet

Enter Sam Alter, a New York City–based stylist whose work feels less like styling and more like quiet alchemy. Known for precision haircutting and dimensional color that reads as effortless rather than overworked, Alter has built a reputation across celebrity, editorial, bridal, and corporate clients for something increasingly rare: hair that actually lives well beyond the moment.

Model Veronika Dash styled by Sam Alter

Every appointment is one-on-one, an intentional experience that prioritizes listening as much as technique. And that distinction matters. In a world where “red carpet ready” often translates to overdone and overstyled, Alter’s approach is refreshingly grounded—creating hair that works in real life, not just in photographs.

Suzanna’s before and after looks from the back

Case in point: I walked in with a very specific vision—60s softness with a Pre-Raphaelite, almost 18th-century romanticism. Not easy to articulate, and even harder to execute without tipping into costume. What I got was exactly that vision, but refined, wearable, elevated…….mine.

Alter’s range is extensive—haircuts, highlights, balayage, extensions, formal styling, blowouts, even makeup and bridal—but what sets him apart is the architecture of the cut itself. There is a particular attention to the back of the head, an often-overlooked detail that he treats with sculptural precision. The result is hair that moves beautifully from every angle, not just the front-facing one designed for cameras.

Men’s looks by Sam Alter Hair

Scarlet balayage technique

He offers both in-salon appointments and house calls, a flexibility that feels especially aligned with the demands of award season, where time—and privacy—are everything. And for those who want to take the experience further, Alter has also developed his own skincare line, extending his philosophy of understated, lived-in beauty beyond hair.

A fresh look for new mom Elise Furey

This isn’t about transformation for the sake of spectacle. It’s about refinement. About walking into a room—and onto a carpet—feeling like yourself, only sharper.

Wedding hair and makeup by Sam Alter NYC

And that, ultimately, is the difference between looking styled… and looking right.

To contact Sam reach him through his Website samalterhair.com
Email: samalterhair@gmail.com
Instagram: @samalterhair

Anastasia Beverly Hills’ ArchiBrow Pencil was an uplifting experience that shaped my face in the most delightful way.

 The new ArchiBrow Pencil delivers microbladed precision—minus the blade. Designed with an ultra-thin, blade-like tip, this brow pencil creates realistic, hair-like strokes with 12-hour wear and smudge-proof performance for naturally defined arches.

Using it is an easy task and the fact that it is available in nine shades means that it is a perfect fit for everyone.

Architected for hair-like precision, this ultrathin, blade-tipped pencil delivers realistic strokes in a single glide. Smudgeproof performance and long-wearing for up to 12 hours, it gives you control so fine, it looks real.

Anastasia Beverly Hills has created a phenomenal product that provides 12-hour wear with smudge-proof, water-resistant performance with a 1/2mm blade-like tip for ultra-thin, hair-like strokes as it combines the glide of a pencil with the precision of a blade.

The built-in spoolie brush for seamless blending is ideal and gives room for buildable pigment for natural to defined brows. It is also free of fragrance, parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, alcohol, talc, gluten, silicone as well as being vegan, cruelty-free, dermatologist-tested.

HOW TO APPLY

• Only twist out a small amount (1/2mm) before use.
• The pencil retracts, the lead itself does not, so a little goes a long way.
• Use featherlight pressure when applying.
• Hold towards the bottom of the pencil to ensure ease, control, and light pressure.
• Apply with the tip facing down and hold at a 45-degree angle.
• Starting at the end of the brow, apply hair-like strokes in the direction of hair growth to get used to the amount of pressure to apply.
• Apply hair-like strokes starting at the base of the brow and glide upwards.Continue applying hair-like strokes throughout the brow, focusing on sparse areas.
• Blend as you go for a natural finish.

Raciborz Pencil is available on Sephora.com and AnastasiaBeverlyHills.com.