Jonathan Adler Carnaby Flame Mug ($18)

The What’s On Your Vanity Series showcases a single beauty item an industry insider loves because it’s effective, but also he/she feels she must keep out on top of his/her vanity because the gorgeous packaging must be displayed.

There are just no WORDS to describe my colossal adoration of Jonathan Adler. I feel he is truly my gay male alter-ego. I fell in love with him (I’d previously and still can’t get enough of his hilarious husband Simon Doonan–find out what’s on his vanity here) when I read this early 2005 New York Times piece on him and Simon. In 2005, no one was abbreviating things except for Jonathan Adler and myself (I’ve been doing it since I was little). My favorite quote from the article is when the writer asks just what exactly Jonathan means by “the South Florida eccentricity thing,” to which Jonathan replied, “It’s you’re older, you have the money, and you just say to yourself, ‘Why not the shell-covered escritoire?'” And the only person who’s more into him is Carol (née Carol ADLER, BTW). We are President and Vice President of his fan club. So what’s on Jonathan’s vanity? Find out…

“Oh, it’s just crammed with makeup, beauty brushes, big giant pots of foundation… No, honestly I’m so feral. My husband Simon and I, you’d think because we’re super gay we’d have pots of cream and things. We barely have anything. Shampoo in the shower. That’s primarily it. On my vanity I have one of my mugs with a toothbrush and toothpaste in it with some soap. We’re dudes about it. I’m super anti-perfume so Simon has it hidden and I’m constantly telling him to put it away.”

Naturally, one question for Jonathan was not enough for me. I stayed until the publicist from eBay literally kicked me out. Luckily I had time to ask him one more thing. In his book, “My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living,” Jonathan tells a hilarious tale of a clubhouse his older brother and sister created in the basement called The Phantom Club. Their sole mission as the club’s executives was to exclude him. Jonathan was told it was all purples and oranges and pinks, very I Dream Of Jeannie on the inside, only to find out years later it was actually a bunch of old sofa cushions and some photos of the founding executives. So I wanted to know: Which space of his that he’s decorated, be it one of his homes or any of the hotels he’s designed, most exemplifies how The Phantom Club looked in his head? Said Jonatham “Good one! Probably in my old Shelter Island house. I made this fantasy situation upstairs that was my channeling what that looked like. It was all purples and pinks and greens. But the irony is that I’ll never know what that REALLY looked like. My brother and sister know.”

Plus, if you haven’t yet discovered Jonathan’s blog, I seriously don’t know what you’re DOING ALL THE TIME.

Thanks, Jonathan!

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