GETAWAY

October 3, 2014

Postcard from Mustique: Sarah Harris, Fashion Features Director, British Vogue

With her naturally silver hair and effortless “cool girl” wardrobe (she’s a favorite of street style photographers around the globe), London-based Sarah Harris took a break from her fashion filled days at British Vogue and jetted off to the Caribbean island of Mustique for a much needed holiday. Lucky for us, between the rum punch cocktails and afternoons spent poolside, she found time to send us this postcard from her trip.

Destination you traveled to:

The island of Mustique in the Caribbean. We went for a 2-week vacation.

Who did you travel with:

My husband and a bunch of friends.

Place where you stayed:

At Villa Carissa, which belongs to friends of ours. The house has five bedrooms and is located on the west side of Mustique, which is nice because there is always a breeze. It has views all the way to the neighboring island of Bequia and the Grenadines.

Places you ate:

The best food was prepared for us by the chef at the house (his name is Cato and he’s brilliant!). There aren’t many places to eat on the island—only Cotton House (which serves delicious red snapper and great pizzas), Basil’s Bar (for a cheeseburger) and a boutique hotel called Firefly (which served local fish).

Local delicacy you feasted on:

Jamaican patties by the truckload and key lime pie for dessert—it’s the most delicious thing imaginable and made of lime-flavored, frozen, condensed milk on a biscuit base. Haagen-Dazs really needs to make it into a tub of ice cream….but it’s not ideal for a bikini body.

Cocktail you sipped:

By day, we had coconut water picked fresh from the tree each morning. And by night, it was rum punch! A mixture of coconut water, vodka, and lime also made for a mean cocktail.

Books you read:

I always take several books but rarely read them—I overdose on magazines instead.

Games you played:

Bat and ball on the beach.

Music you listened to:

A lot of soca—it doesn’t really translate to London, or most other places outside the Caribbean, but Bunji’s “We Ready For De Road” was the soundtrack of the holiday.

My uniform there was:

Tara Matthews mismatched neon bikini tops and bottoms, a Lisa Marie Fernandez terrycloth fringed poncho, and Paige Denim cutoffs.

In the day we:

In the mornings we went to Macaroni or Lagoon Beach, and then we flopped by the pool at the house in the afternoon. Sometimes we would take a little hike around the island in the early evening or play tennis.

And at night we:

At night we went for happy hour at Cotton House, or we’d have a sunset cocktail at Basil’s Bar (on Wednesdays they have ‘Jump Up’ night with a barbecue buffet). Then we usually got out our phones and used a stargazing app to see where the planets are—the visibility in Mustique at night is incredible.

Brand of luggage you traveled with:

I took my Louis Vuitton Keepall as a carry-on, and checked in my small Globe-Trotter suitcase.

Items you packed in your suitcase:

I always travel very light. I only took two pair of shoes with me; Manolo Blahnik flats and Havaianas flip-flops. No heels! I can’t even look at a pair of heels when I’m on holiday. Since I was away for 2 weeks I took 12 bikinis, and brought oversize shirts from Celine and Haider Ackermann (to use as cover-ups), a Lisa Marie Fernandez poncho, and Paige Denim cutoffs. I took a few Haider Ackermann and Rick Owens t-shirt dresses too, which work for day or night. That’s about the extent of my holiday wardrobe.

Beauty-essentials you brought:

I’m not particular about shampoo and conditioner—I’ll use anything that’s around—and I don’t take any makeup on holiday with me, aside from Vaseline Rosy Lips, and a tube of mascara, but I’m quite particular about skincare. FrezyDerm New Velvet Second Skin Technology Sunscreen is incredible—it’s the best sunscreen I’ve ever used, and it leaves a completely matte finish, to the extent where it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing anything at all. I’m a big fan of Carita sun care products too. I also packed Dr. Hauschka Lemongrass Body Wash—the scent is incredible after a day at the beach. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream also came with me and feels like the most luxurious moisturizer ever made. Swiss Perfection Cellular Nourishing Eye Cream is the best I’ve come across, and I used Matis Intensive Firming Body Cream as an aftersun lotion. For perfume, I brought YSL Cinema.

Secret only a local would know:

The beautiful fir trees dotted all over the island were originally planted by homeowners to set out the parameters of the land they owned.

Favorite place to find local treasures:

The island isn’t big on shopping! There are a couple of boutiques but I didn’t buy anything; the best treasures are the shells to be found on a trawl of Lagoon Beach. We discovered a huge pile of conch shells at one end of the beach that had been discarded by fishermen.