Hollywood’s Power Women Share Secrets for Looking Good — in a Hurry

This story first appeared in the 2014 Women in Entertainment issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

YOUR LIFE IS CHAOS.

That is, it would be — if you didn’t have your own system down to a science of juggling clothes, hair and makeup with the 24/7 needs of your always-on job, plus maybe kids, husband, schools, gym, cars, meditation … and, oh yeah, groceries.

Read more The Hollywood Reporter’s 2014 Women in Entertainment Power 100

Necessity is the mother of packing it all in and looking polished in a hurry. After all, most of us are not actresses who have all day to indulge our looks. We just … adjust. THR discovered 41 ways high-powered women multitask (ladies, we’re good at that!) outside the office.

FIND WHAT WORKS. REPEAT.

Leslie Siebert of the Gersh Agency buys all — and we do mean all — her clothes in black. “It makes it easy to mix and match,” says Siebert. “I also get mani-pedis in my office once a week or it would never get done.” UTA’s Blair Kohan wears the same makeup every day, the same jewelry and has a uniform “that makes efficiency possible. It’s comfortable pants that won’t wrinkle; a nice silk T-shirt or cotton shell; a jacket or a sweater jacket or a cardigan; an ankle boot for fall and a wedge sandal for spring — all from Valentino, Marni, Isabel Marant, Martin Margiela, Cos and J.Crew.” Kohan also gets blowouts at the salon next door to her office at 8:30 a.m. every week, and salon mani-pedis every other week.

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Another polished UTA agent, Shani Rosenzweig, claims that despite her rep for being chic, “I’ve become low maintenance. I get ready in a hurry. No salon blowouts. I stopped wearing eye shadow to work a year ago. Only sunscreen, mascara, blush and lip gloss. I only shop at designers that I know fit: Theory, DVF, Rag & Bone, Helmut Lang, Vince. Saint Laurent heels are comfortable at the office, so I get them in a couple of colors. My mother always told me to do that!”

Movie marketing consultant and former Sony marketing president Valerie Van Galder only wears jeans: “They are still a key component of my ‘power suit.’ Most days with a James Perse T-shirt and Zadig & Voltaire sweater. I go to Drybar once a week for blowouts, and use drugstore hair color when I don’t have time for the salon. There are far more useful ways to spend my time than worrying about what I wear.”

Trisha Cardoso, Showtime’s executive vp corporate communications, keeps identical Jouer makeup kits at home, at the office and in her car. With no time for shopping in stores, “my go-to sites are J.Crew and Net-a-Porter.”

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Jewelry designer and lifestyle mogul Loree Rodkin travels around the world in the following way: “I pack in all black and accessorize with scarves and jewelry. My closet is organized like Howard Hughes’ mind. I only go to blow-dry salons that have mani-pedis at the same time. And I always wear red Hourglass Icon lipstick and black Chanel eye pencil.”

Orly Adelson of broadcaster ITV keeps a “clean” color palette when it comes to clothes: black, white, gray, brown. “But then I’ll have two pieces the color of the season, so I’m always on trend. Accessories change a look from day to night fast. My shoes are displayed so they’re easy to reach. Organized by color and work versus event. And I clean my closet on an annual basis. The decluttering keeps it fresh and makes decisions easier.”

Indie producer Keri Selig always is on the go, “so I keep my makeup bag with me, so I can pull over by the side of the road for touch-ups. My hairdresser lives down the street, which saves me a ton of time. I mainly wear dresses, because there’s no time to overthink it. Or I have another uniform: pencil skirts and Wolford bodysuits. I add jewelry and go.”

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ENLIST AN ELITE EXPERT

Many major women in town have been spotted (including Warner Bros.’ Sue Kroll and Kevin Spacey‘s manager, Joanne Horowitz) streamlining the shopping process by working with personal shoppers at the top luxury department stores. They are: Catherine Bloom at Neiman Marcus, who will help regulars organize their closets; Tony Ferreira at Saks, who will search out designer boutiques if Saks doesn’t carry a piece you want — and will travel with his van of clothes to your house; and Michelle Goodman at Barneys, who will comb through all of Barneys, including online, to find you everything you want fast. All three help create full top-to-bottom looks: clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, even makeup (their services are free for high-volume shoppers who ask for them). And for their top regular clients, they are textable at all hours.

TAKE HOUSE CALLS

Lots of Hollywood women get house-call blow-drys by stylists from the major salons and even from magazine-shoot pros. Jonathan Colombini gets booked for these at the Sally Hershberger salon where he works or by his agent, Patti Kassover, at Solo Artists. Says Colombini: “Some clients are visiting executives or editors from New York who spend a ton of time here. Even publicists these days want their hair done for the red carpet.” Sydney Valentine at the new Goddard + Bragg salon (recently opened at 656 N. Robertson Blvd. by famed colorist Lorri Goddard) was working at a salon full time when she got so many house-call clients — “high-powered businesswomen, celebrities, producer Molly Smith, high-powered wives” — that she prioritized it as a major part of her workflow. “Most of them are just trying to get shit done!” she laughs. “They’re working while I’m working — it’s a convenience more than a luxury.”