exist The Dizzying Age of Multi-Step Skin Care Routines and Microdrop Makeup, The One is the space for a single beauty product where minimalists have long had a place in their well-planned routines.
Michael Bargo’s Manhattan Loft – Mark Ronson and Ashley and Mary-Kate of The Row Olsen’s go-to interior designer – with a difference: Andy Dennis Hopper’s Warhol Polaroid hangs above bulb lamps and Noguchi sculptures; elsewhere, Dana Arbib’s one-of-a-kind glass vase rests on cabinets from Collection of Françoise Lafon. This curatorial impulse is manifested not only in the rare accents of his rotating collections, but in fact, in every corner of his Financial District apartment and appointment galleries, from his Bode and Prada button wardrobes to eye-catching cosmetics. The vanities are neatly arranged on Josef Hoffmann and wicker Hermès trays.
“I buy products purely for looks,” Bargo points to Dr. Barbara Sturm glass-encased skin saviour; Santa Maria Novella’s teal body Oils, he swears by after the shower; and a line of perfumes whose bottles are as charming as their concoctions. Among the fragrances on display—Frédéric Malle’s Lys Mediterranee, Buly’s Eau Triple Mexican Tuberose—perhaps his most cherished cologne was the one he discovered while walking the Place Vendôme in Paris.
“I Seeing the little gold lettering on the door, I thought I’d go in and see some wild, whimsical jewelry,” Bargo recalls the moment he entered JAR’s velvet-walled boutique. To his surprise, what he came across was a small bottle full of fragrance. (Though he’s not entirely outrageous: Joel Arthur Rosenthal, the founder of perfume, also happens to be one of the world’s most famous and elusive jewelers.) After careful consideration, Bargo chose Storm, an incomparable musky scent, which he now only has two or three times a year. “There are times when you want to feel taller,” Baggo muses. “It felt really special, like wearing a black tie.”
