Feel Better
Seeing as those same 10lbs we’ve been promising to loose for several years have cropped up again, we are trying a new tack here. A new raft of cookbooks are being published that focus on healthy recipes that are as delicious as they are nutritious, abandoning a strict and (in our case) almost impossible approach to dieting for an all together more nurturing and doable one. Three we can’t wait to use are the Hemsley sisters’ The Art of Eating Well, Amelia Freer’s Eat Nourish Glow, out on 1^st January and the cult blogger Deliciously Ella’s long awaited and about to be published cookbook.  If they deliver on what they promise – who knows, perhaps next year this resolution can finally be crossed off the list.

Get Fitter
Similarly, with exercise, anything that makes getting fit more appealing, appeals to us. And what is more convenient than squeezing in some yoga with UK’s most popular and best loved teachers, Nadia Narain. What more, you can do it in the comfort of your own home with her new DVD to kickstart our new regimen. Kamalaya, a highly recommended retreat in Koh Samui is launching new fitness retreats this year. Resolution two is to give one a try.

Learn a Little More
Tired of citing lack of time as a reason not to have read that biography or visited that exhibition, in 2015 we intend to focus on learning a little again. Lectures are a wonderful way of discovering something new –and they don’t require hours of downtime dedicated to them that we don’t have. Intelligence Squared holds a global series that cover politics, culture and pretty much everything topical in between. We will be going to them regularly.

Be Better
As longtime supporters of FilmAid, we are pretty passionate about the amazing work they do. Harnessing the power of film and the glamorous world it represents, they educate, inspire and provide emotional relief to people around the world who really, really need it. Being involved with the charity has also always been immense fun – it is an endeavor that is as fun as it is important to support. This is one resolution we are delighted to include as a recurring one.

What are your 2015 resolutions?

Elizabeth Reaser is our favorite type of actress – the kind that can turn her hand as easily to a blockbuster as to a Broadway play, the kind with the confidence and talent to make you believe in either an art house character or a mega star in a Hollywood blockbuster.

And off screen, she embodies what we look for in our MUSES- strength, independence, intelligence, and a flare for the dramatic, though that, perhaps, comes with the territory…

Brought up in Michigan and trained at Juilliard in New York, Reaser has crossed our screens and radars in everything from comedies such as The Family Stone to blockbusters such as the Twilight series (in which she plays Esme Cullen) TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy to the period drama Sweet Land, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as best actress. At Kotur, we are lucky enough to work with her supporting FilmAid – a charity close to both our hearts for it’s use of film and media in education worldwide. A proud supporter of the initiative, Reaser has frequently carried our Limited edition FilmAid clutch to raise it’s profile. Beyond her work as an actress and in support of the charity, she is also extremely good company, the sort of woman you could talk anything from shop to shoes and back with, a Hollywood regular with a refreshingly down to earth approach and, quite simply, a lot of fun to be around. Here, she answers Kotur’s questions.

KOTUR: What’s in your make-up bag?

Elizabeth: Sunscreen, Giorgio Armani foundation, black mascara, blue-charcoal eyeliner, really old Chanel blush and translucent loose powder

K: Do you have a beauty secret?

Sunscreen, sleep and healthy food

What would be your desert island essentials?

A friend. And snacks.

What do you wear on a fat day?

Cozy dresses

How would your female friends describe your style?

I just texted my friend and she very kindly said, “relaxed chic”

What’s the most treasured item in your wardrobe?

A really soft sweatshirt someone left at my house in 7th grade

Is there anything in your wardrobe you should get rid of but can’t?

That same sweatshirt! I still don’t know whose it is.

What do you never leave home without?

The phone

Hot date night with your partner, what do you wear?

I try to throw some heels on and a comfortable dress.

When home alone, what do you wear?

It used to be a lot of sweatpants but now I’m more into a house dress.

What do you wear to bed?

A nightshirt

You’re the fashion police for a day, what do you ban?

Judgment!

Have you ever worn anything you now regret?

Yes, but I’ve blocked them all out!

How high is too high a heel?

Anything you can’t walk in. I love to walk.

How old is too old for jeans?

No rules.

If you could live in any other time for its fashion, when would you choose?

The 1930s

What is your most recent purchase?

A We Are Handsome bathing suit and black Gizeh birkenstocks

Can you judge a book by its cover?

I shouldn’t but I do, sometimes.

What are your bad habits?

Where do I begin?
What’s your greatest extravagance?

Travel, food and wine

What are your guilty pleasures?

Great food and wine. The internet.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Work hard. Be nice.

What’s your favorite smell?

The ocean

What’s your idea of a great holiday?

Being in the water somewhere

What are you most proud of?

The work I’ve done on my life

What are you least proud of?

Time I’ve wasted.

What is your pure bliss?

Being in water.

Who or what would you like to be reincarnated as in your next life?

Beyonce looks like fun. Or Jack White

What would you eat for your last supper?

A cinnamon roll and some dry champagne. Or a great burrito and a margarita

If you could meet someone from history who would it be?

Anton Chekhov

Yes or no to a nip and a tuck?

Not for me

Do you have a favorite purse or bag?

My KOTUR Pearce FilmAid clutch!

On a scale of one-to-ten, how good looking are you?

Between a 5 and 7, depending on what town I’m in

How would you like to be remembered?

As kind and funny and a good actress

Picture: Elizabeth Reaser carries KOTUR at the premiere of The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn: Part 2, Hong Kong

Cometh the New Year, cometh the same old New Year’s resolutions. But this year, we’re really going to try and crack them. Honest. To help us on our way, we’ve tried to find less painful ways of becoming better / smarter / fitter / more rounded and well dressed women by making the process a little less painful. Call it incentivisation, call it dulling the pain a little, here’s how we’re revamping last year’s resolutions in the hope that, for once, we might actually see them through January. Well, mid January, maybe…

1. Lose 10 Lbs

In at number one (as always) on our Resolutions list, this year we shall approach the skinny task less with dragging feet than with skipping toes by downloading this high/ low intensity playlist to take us through the motions fitnessmagazine.com/beatit. We will also be doing so in a pair of Nike’s new bright sneakers. Who knows? Perhaps music and fancy shoes will work wear scales and self flagellation haven’t.

2. Get smarter

In 2013 we shall take note of the adage that information is everything, by acquiring a little bit more. We may, however, take a short cut or two.  Here’s how we’ll be learning our new languages - Memrise . Apparently it works. And here’s how we’ll be broadening our hinterland: Intelligence Squared Asia debates. What better way to acquire wisdom than to just let it wash over you. We will gen up on everything from arithmetic to Microeconomics with the help of the Khan Academy videos. Oh, and we will also read Nora Ephron’s last book, because she is our kind of wise.

3. Give back

At Kotur, we’ve launched two different clutches to make this job just that little bit easier – check out our brand new Filmaid clutch and our Operation Smile number for quality. Definitely carrot worthy for even the longest stick.

We’re rather proud of our new association with this charity. Founded in 1999 during the Balkan crisis by award-winning producer Caroline Baron (Capote, Monsoon Wedding), FilmAid uses the power of film and media to transcend language and literacy, bringing life-saving information, psychological relief and much-needed hope to refugees and other communities in need around the globe. With strong support from both Hollywood and the humanitarian communities, the charity has brought critical information, training and empowerment programs to more than two million people worldwide.

To how our support for this truly worthwhile cause, we’e launched our FilmAid clutch, a newly designed and vamped up version of our classic Pearce bag. Coming in gold and gun metal grey, it’s available exclusively on our website, and all net proceeds from it’s sales will go direct to the charity.  As seen here on Reaser, who wore hers to the premiere that same night, it’s most definitely red carpet worthy, and so rather FilmAid fitting. You can find it here.