Happy early birthday to me is what I thought when I opened up this email with V’s latest beauty extravaganza.

My former beauty editor heart definitely starts beating a little faster when a single story contains work by so many of my most favorite hairstylists, makeup artists, and photographers. And the models aren’t too shabby either!

Seriously check out just some of the people who gave their interpretations of what the definition of beauty will be in the next decade: Gucci Westman, Aaron de Mey, Didier Malige, James Kaliardos, Val Garland, Richard Burbridge, Miles Aldridge, Jimmy Paul, Julien d’Ys, Mario Sorrenti. The list goes on and on and their work is completely outstanding.

Last night we ventured into the gray and misty New York night and headed over to the Steven Kasher Gallery for the opening of photographer Miles Aldridge’s first solo exhibit in the US.

We’ve long been fans of the hyper-pigmented, fetishistic sexy work. But seeing it in large format in one space is well worth a trip over to the west side (the show runs until June 20th).

Some of the sketches that he uses to work out shots beforehand are also on display. We love when you can see an artist’s process and longingly wish we were close to that visually gifted. We highly recommend investing in the monograph Miles Aldridge: Pictures for Photographs.

After the opening MAC Creative Director, James Gager, hosted a little dinner at Trestle on Tenth for Aldridge, who’s been collaborating with the cosmetics company for three and a half years. We were bummed that Aldridge’s wife, Kristen McMenamy, wasn’t in attendance. But Anja Rubik, Simon Doonan, Jonathan Adler, and Patti Wilson made it all better.