Model: Amilna Estevao / Hair: Max Weber / For Vogue Mexico/Latin America
June 30, 2020
Defining Grace In Beauty With Anna Palma
DEFINING GRACE IN BEAUTY WITH ANNA PALMA
DEFINING GRACE IN BEAUTY WITH ANNA PALMA
BY: DEANNA HAGAN
BY: DEANNA HAGAN
Model: Amilna Estevao / Hair: Max Weber / For Vogue Mexico/Latin America
Grace always gets my attention. It’s the liberator, reaching beyond rules and boundaries. Grace brings us together. I wanted to open a window to some of the beauty and grace that I experience through my professional relationships. Often those relationships that start out in a work environment end up becoming lasting friendships
Photographer and friend, Anna Palma, exudes openness, beauty, whimsicality, and subtlety, all wrapped up in neon dreams. She is a wife, a mother, an artist, a businesswoman, and friend.
DH: How do you define beauty?
AP: Beauty is everywhere, it can be found in everyone and everything. My barometer for beauty is vast, I find kind heartedness in beauty and beauty is feeling confident in your own skin. I lean towards a natural kind of beauty when it comes to appearance, my idea of beauty is often light sensitive, as in affected by how light hits a situation. It is crucial for my job as a photographer to have that sense.
DH: In the Everyday, what keeps you inspired?
AP: I feel inspired most days and the more I create the more inspired I feel. Inspiration to me means being driven to push and make ideas happen. I can find inspiration in seeing, hearing, smelling, listening, touching. On another note, a run in the morning keeps me going!
Model: Jolie Chang / Hair: Ayumi / Studio: Pier 59
DH: What disheartens you everyday?
AP: when people are treated unfairly and when my children are unwell. Generally, I don’t wear my emotion on my sleeve, I believe in pushing through, but I sometimes feel responsible to carry the spirit, so I keep it high.
DH: You have a whimsical way of playing with your subjects/objects and with light. Does this represent something to you personally? As a way of telling the story?
AP: I have always worked with children a lot. my favourite is to capture moments of children having fun and forgetting that they are being photographed. That task is way easier when it comes to kids than adults. I love an element of spontaneity in my pictures and to my life in general. Sometimes in my work, the light plays the spontaneous part, other times it can be movement and often a combination of the 2. I grew up in Iceland, a country of immense beauty and spectacular light, that has for sure affected my vision and expression.
Model: Coco Aroch / Leyla Blue Aroch
DH: How do you interpret “wellness” and how do you apply that to yourself?
AP: Wellness to me is about a balance, you have to work hard to play hard. I try to strike that balance as best I can on a daily basis by exercising and eating healthy, yet allowing myself slight indulgences such as dark chocolate, coffee and red wine.
When it comes to my appearance, it is important to me that my skin looks good and feels soft. I tend to switch between a few very high-quality products on my face and have done so for about 2 decades. Brands such as 111SKIN and Zymetech are definite favourites and treat my skin with the care and quality it needs.
DH: What do you want your personal and/or professional legacy to be?
AP: I don’t think in terms of legacy professionally. I feel so lucky to be able to earn an income doing what I love. I won the professional lottery! If I impacted someone along the way, I would love for that to be an air of kind spirit and positivity. Personally, I want to have been a good role model for my 3 daughters, as well as have them learn from my mistakes.
'I just want to leave behind a spirit of kindness, grace and generosity.'
Shop mask
Grace always gets my attention. It’s the liberator, reaching beyond rules and boundaries. Grace brings us together. I wanted to open a window to some of the beauty and grace that I experience through my professional relationships. Often those relationships that start out in a work environment end up becoming lasting friendships
Photographer and friend, Anna Palma, exudes openness, beauty, whimsicality, and subtlety, all wrapped up in neon dreams. She is a wife, a mother, an artist, a businesswoman, and friend.
Instagram: @deannahaganmua
DH: How do you define beauty?
AP: Beauty is everywhere, it can be found in everyone and everything. My barometer for beauty is vast, I find kind heartedness in beauty and beauty is feeling confident in your own skin. I lean towards a natural kind of beauty when it comes to appearance, my idea of beauty is often light sensitive, as in affected by how light hits a situation. It is crucial for my job as a photographer to have that sense.
DH: In the Everyday, what keeps you inspired?
AP: I feel inspired most days and the more I create the more inspired I feel. Inspiration to me means being driven to push and make ideas happen. I can find inspiration in seeing, hearing, smelling, listening, touching. On another note, a run in the morning keeps me going!
Jolie Chang / Hair: Ayumi / Studio: Pier 59
DH: What disheartens you everyday?
AP: When people are treated unfairly and when my children are unwell. Generally, I don’t wear my emotion on my sleeve, I believe in pushing through, but I sometimes feel responsible to carry the spirit, so I keep it high.
DH: You have a whimsical way of playing with your subjects/objects and with light. Does this represent something to you personally? As a way of telling the story?
AP: I have always worked with children a lot. my favourite is to capture moments of children having fun and forgetting that they are being photographed. That task is way easier when it comes to kids than adults. I love an element of spontaneity in my pictures and to my life in general. Sometimes in my work, the light plays the spontaneous part, other times it can be movement and often a combination of the 2. I grew up in Iceland, a country of immense beauty and spectacular light, that has for sure affected my vision and expression.
Model: Coco Aroch / Leyla Blue Aroch
DH: How do you interpret “wellness” and how do you apply that to yourself?
AP: Wellness to me is about a balance, you have to work hard to play hard. I try to strike that balance as best I can on a daily basis by exercising and eating healthy, yet allowing myself slight indulgences such as dark chocolate, coffee and red wine.
When it comes to my appearance, it is important to me that my skin looks good and feels soft. I tend to switch between a few very high-quality products on my face and have done so for about 2 decades. Brands such as 111SKIN and Zymetech are definite favourites and treat my skin with the care and quality it needs.
DH: What do you want your personal and/or professional legacy to be?
AP: I don’t think in terms of legacy professionally. I feel so lucky to be able to earn an income doing what I love. I won the professional lottery! If I impacted someone along the way, I would love for that to be an air of kind spirit and positivity. Personally, I want to have been a good role model for my 3 daughters, as well as have them learn from my mistakes.
"I just want to leave behind a spirit of kindness, grace and generosity."
SHOP MAsKs
If you were to advise a London guide, what would be on your list?
Well, As I grew up in Notting Hill, it will always have my heart and if I was recommending spots in London, a wander around Notting Hill would be high up on my list. From there it would be all the best shopping destinations, the iconic private members club, Annabels, Harrods and Liberty’s for any cute and unique gifts. I would always pop into 111CRYO at Harrods for the Cryo Facial and treatment for the ultimate recharge. Sometimes the city is great, but the beautiful secrets of the English countryside is something that should be experienced.
Your In-Flight Essentials?
I don’t have a routine per say and I am certainly not as thorough as Naomi Campbell but I would apply the Meso Infusion Lip Duo and I would always wipe my phone down with anti-bacterial wipes, in fact I do this every day, the bacteria build up is no good for the skin.
In terms of Industry, where do you see the hair industry going?
Well Instagram has changed so much and has impacted the way we consume and learn within the industry, especially with so many creatives, but I still find that a massive amount of people come to the professionals to share the knowledge on how to carry out or complete a desired look, more than ever there is power behind ‘how-to’ videos.
A very valid point and in terms of 2020?
In terms of what we are to see in 2020, things are going to be super creative and we will see a wider awareness for people doing their own thing and it will be expressive and artistic. People will move away from the overtly glamorous looks and will create looks they can tailor to their everyday. As it’s currently Award Season which is the busiest time of the year leading up to the Met Ball, hairstyles are certainly more elaborate, and everyone loves an up do. I would say the most timeless look has to be the blunt bob, it comes around year on year, but it is effortless and timeless.
Outside of hair, what other industries are you into?
I am hugely into Interiors and I would describe my style as 60s/70s glamour, think elaborate and dramatic but I often fantasise about 80s Dallas and Joan Collins and I have to reign myself in. I also love Baking; it is the ultimate way to relax and I find that it is my meditation and therapy. If I’m in the USA I would bake a lot of cookies as everyone is obsessed with then over here and in the UK, I would bake more traditional styles like a lemon tart or an apple tart – it allows for me to be creative outside of my job.
Finally, the best advice you have ever received?
It would have to be from my grandfather, he would often say to me “it’s not how well you’re doing but how well people think you’re doing”. I haven’t successfully implemented it however you can look to Instagram today and people see our work and are blown away by it, but we can be so hard on ourselves and not appreciate our own work ourselves.