If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. We asked Imitation of Christ designer Tara Subkoff — who recently debuted a collection on the RealReal that benefits the climate-change organization Fridays for Future — about the rosewater, essential oil, and sleep supplement she can’t live without.
I’m the kind of person who has so much energy that I have trouble sleeping. The Dream Dust really calms me down and lulls me asleep. It’s a powder that’s got a lot of herbs that make you relax. I put it in tea or a smoothie, or you can mix it into warm almond or oat milk. I have a 4-year-old, so I need a lot of sleep.
This is what I use after I cleanse at night. I like Tata Harper a lot and that its products are in glass bottles instead of plastic. It’s pretty consciously made. A friend of mine gave me this serum — she has really great taste and loves skin care and perfume and all of that, so I get advice from her.
My daughter loves roses and all things flowers. We had been buying rosewater in plastic bottles, but I wanted to stop using plastic, so I researched rose concentrate and we started making our own rosewater. This is a good-quality concentrated rose supplement. It somehow relaxes you, and it smells really good. You just put a couple drops in water. It’s a very beautiful way to enhance water and drink more of it, as opposed to a soda or something sugary. Kids need things that are exciting, that feel a little different — and this is something that my daughter loves. She thinks it’s very glamorous.
I use this mist all the time — I swear by it and give it to my daughter. When I’m feeling tense, like if I’m watching the news or having a pandemic-anxiety acid-reflux moment, I spray it in my mouth. Doing that reminds me to take a deep breath and that we’re not alone in this and we’ll figure it out together.
Enfleurage is a real New York spot. They have the absolute best essential oils I’ve ever discovered. They’re the highest quality, and they don’t harm the environment. Sandalwood is a little bit scarce in India, so they import it from Australia, which is great. I use this as a perfume, or I’ll put it in a diffuser. I’m Buddhist and I meditate, so I like having some kind of relaxing smell for that.
I love that these are made in this really special way. They’re made in water, and it’s all organic. They put the wax in water and it kind of naturally forms. They use incredible essential oils that really smell like a rose tree.
To some environmentalists, it’s probably bad that I have a dog and all of the products and toys and food and everything. If I had more time, I’d make my own dog food, but the way I try to be conscious about it is by using this company. They make the food using good-quality produce — it’s basically the next best thing to making your own dog food.
I love this dress: It just shines a light, and I feel that with the banner attached to it, it’s really more of an artwork. I put a lot of care into Imitation of Christ; it’s all done by hand. Every piece that we make is collage and artwork. It’s all very much a labor of love, and I think people feel that when they get something. A portion of the proceeds for everything in this collection goes to Fridays for Future. Global warming is indeed upon us: Those living out in California during the wildfires and breathing that air — they’re really experiencing it in a different and more alarming way. Everything that we purchase is contributing to pollution and that problem; the only way to stop it is to stop consuming — or to be conscious of what we consume.
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