The Business of Beauty: Cara Grogan

The folks in the ensuing pages have made the machinations of what’s considered inner and outer beauty their business, writes P. Ramakrishnan. Portraits by Until Chan

Cara Grogan-McIlroy, 

Genie Juicery

Tell us how you decided to launch Genie Juicery.

I’ve been modelling for 15 years now, but I always wanted to have my own business and I was always very healthy and doing cleanses and interested in health-related products, so it seemed like the perfect business to start. I felt there was a big gap in the market at the time I started Genie Juicery. There were no other

cold-pressed juices in Hong Kong when we launched.

What’s the lasting power of juicing? There are so many diets and trends that come and go each year, but this seems to have survived. 

Juicing is a simple way to get maximum nutritional benefits from fruits and vegetables. Your body easily absorbs them and much faster, and the amount of nutrients you get at one time is a lot bigger and a lot quicker than if you’re eating fruits and salads at a meal. So it’s the perfect way for people to get minerals,

vitamins and enzymes quickly. That being said, cold-pressed juicing isn’t anything new, it’s been going on for a long time now, but we here are just waking up to it now. I don’t think it’s a trend, I think it’s a lifestyle change as people want long-term health goals. 

What do you recommend from your menu?

It’s not one particular product but a combination of fruits and vegetables and ingredients in each drink that are beneficial to different parts of the body. Depending on what you’re looking for, a combination of

lemon, lime, ginger and turmeric is immune boosting because of all the vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties. Drinks that contain chia seeds are great for weight loss, energy levels and cleaning out your colon. Look for the ingredients – which is true for all products. What are you putting inside you?

What’s been a really popular product?

People really love a drink called The Master as it’s fat burning. It has chia seeds and cayenne pepper. That helps to eliminate toxins, break down fat cells and helps you go to the toilet and poo-poo (can you tell I’m

constantly with kids now?)!

What’s your favourite?

My favourite might be Green Dream. I really like the green ones. I also like Smooth Operator in the morning as it’s a great smoothie – what I pick depends on what time of day you ask me. A smoothie when I’m really

hungry, when I haven’t had a chance to eat. 

Come on now, there must be one drink that’s difficult to swallow.

There’s none that I can’t bear – I came up with all the recipes so there’s not one that I don’t particularly love, but for first-timers to juicing, I might not recommend Hulk. It’s one I like but it’s spicy, it’s very green and it’s a bit harsh as it has no fruits.

Tell us about your beauty regime, and how you stay in shape after having children.

My regime at the moment is non-existent; I don’t have time to brush my own hair. But I am very diligent about moisturising, and making sure I use a lot of oils in their most organic form so they are really beneficial for your face, especially as I have really dry skin. I do a good scrub when I have time. Eating healthy, drinking lots of water and jucies, that’s pretty much it for now. 

What are your go-to products?

I have to say, I do love all Fresh products. I’d never heard of them before I started working

with them but I was lucky enough to get all these products from them, and now I’m completely obsessed. My skin’s been amazing since I started using them. I also love Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair cream and Shiseido has a really great eye cream I really love.

What have you seen recently that made you go, wow, that’s really beautiful?

That’s easy – that would be my two daughters and how they interact together. My youngest is starting to get a little bit older now so she’s a bit more fun to play with for my older daughter India. I’m just blown away by how amazing India is with her so I’m constantly counting my blessings. It’s not the products that I own

that are beautiful, it’s the people in my life.


For this and more interviews, pick up Lifestyle, by PRESTIGE HK. On newsstands now. 

Read the Cover Story with Rosamund Kwan and Helen Ma here at Prestige Online.

Previous interview with Cara Grogan here

Lifestyle: Feature on The Top Ten Models in Hong Kong

Having so much fun working on a feature for Lifestyle magazine as I do a Q&A with the most gorgeous gals in Hong Kong. Image selecting... talk about spoilt for choice!

Eg working with gorgeous Cara G

Galaxy Magazine

Galaxy Magazine, Spring issue out now. My lovely, lovely friend Cara Grogan graced the cover.

In the midst of working on the Summer issue now.

Can read the bi-lingual magazine here.

No need for these noted and quoted names to queue for the iPhone 4S – it came to them

On Thursday, the line outside the Apple store in IFC Mall snaked all the way outside the shopping centre, as hundreds waited impatiently to grab the iPhone 4S. Had the queuers had the siri function, they could have asked: how do I escape this long queue?

The answer for some of Hong Kong’s most noted and quoted was to gather around the corner at Sevva, where service provider 3HK offered them the new phone hours in advance, in the cushioned comforts of the restaurant. There, at midnight, the hype and hoopla for the Apple product merged at a celebrity-studded soiree.

Andrew and Yvette Yuen, Fanny Sieh, models Janet Ma, Ankie Beilke and the very stylish Kam Kwok-Leung and Wyman Wong Wai-man were among the sea of socialites. It was great to see actress Carol Cheng (aka Do Do Cheng) after a rather brief absence from the spotlight.

But even for this crème de la crème, it wasn’t easy to pick up the new gadget; they all had to do the paperwork for 3HK.

Miu Miu-clad Mira Yeh, filling in forms and signing off papers, said: “I’ve always had an iPhone and am really looking forward to getting my engraved new one. I heard about the siri function, but honestly, I think I’ll use the photo function the most.”

We saw the lovely Cara Grogan, who recently lost her phone, mull over whether to engrave the name of her beloved pet Roxy on her iPhone case or her own surname, while model couple Anthony and Jocelyn Sandstrom were posing for a phalanx of fans determined to be “i-shot” with the leggy twosome.

“What do you think of getting the word syphilis on the back?” asked model/DJ Anthony to his gorgeous wife Jocelyn: “No, Tony, no!” was the firm answer. Behind every successful man …!

By P. Ramakrishnan
(e-mail: ramakrishnanp@Hotmail.com)
Images Courtesy: Occasions

Shanghai Tang knows how to turn on the charm

Was it the palpable charms of executive chairman Raphael le Masne de Chermont that led people in droves to Central’s Pier 4, despite the miserable weather at the open-air event? Possibly.

At the Shanghai Tang Mongolian Village pop-up boutique launch at the pier on Tuesday evening, style maven Diana d’Arenberg said: “Gosh, I haven’t seen this many people convene in queues in the rain since the bread line-ups in communist regimes!” A dry wit for a wet occasion, d’Arenberg is always great for a pose, and for quotable prose. “It’s great to see the pier used in such a fashionable way, a great venue – the effort that’s gone in to recreating the Mongolian yurts [tents] and to have the great harbour view in the background is quite lovely,” she said. “The polo shirts are great – I love that Shanghai Tang has brought a bit of Mongolia to Hong Kong just as they’ve put such efforts into bringing back polo to Mongolia.”

While Mongolian men dressed in their traditional garb mingled around with the champagne crowd, the night was interspersed with thunder, lightening and their full-throated singing. Meanwhile, our favourite model about town, Cara Grogan, wore a one-off piece designed by Shanghai Tang creative director Chee Au. “The dress is ridiculously amazing. I asked the team if I could buy it, but the jet-setting dress is on a plane tomorrow for a major event,” bemoaned the gorgeous Grogan. “I’ve had people come up to me to ask about the dress and they’re quite surprised to hear it’s a Shanghai Tang number. I foresee that it’s going to be an extreme success; it’s modern, it’s got a sexier edge to it than a traditional cheongsam but without deviating too much away from the aesthetic of the brand.”

P. Ramakrishnan
(ramakrishnanp@hotmail.com)

Rocking Angels: American photographer Ike brings Eden to Hong Kong: Asia's Top Models bare-all

Photographer Ike Eichensehr brings a little bit of Eden to HK with orphanage fund-raiser

Byline: P. Ramakrishnan

Temperatures soared as models wearing devilish angel-wings welcomed guests to the Angels for Orphans auction on Friday night.

At the event, Hong Kong-based American photographer Ike Eichensehr launched his second book, Eden, a veritable who's who of Asian fashion and cinema in various states of undress. All proceeds from book sales went to the charity Angels for Orphans.

"A lot of the models I've worked with over the past decades have been involved in some way with Angels for Orphans," said Eichensehr. "It's been a fantastic night. Over US$30,000 was raised."

"I've known Helen Whitman for years, and knowing that all of the money goes to a great cause made the night more meaningful," he said, referring to the head of Angels for Orphans in Hong Kong.

Five large prints of Eichensehr's work were also sold.

The book, HK$800 each, includes passages by shoe designer Jimmy Choo, stylist Kim Robinson, businessman Allan Zeman, actress Michele Reis Lee Ka-yan and Steve Leung, architect and interior designer. They wrote about what 'Eden' means to them.

Despite the presence of the crème de la crème of the city (including artist Simon Birch and model Rosemary Vandenbroucke), all eyes were on supermodel Cara Grogan, resplendent in a billowing green gown.

Proving that with great beauty comes great purpose, Grogan was the emcee for the evening. She has also worked for the charity.

"I spent two months working in an orphanage," she said before the evening started. "Every bit of money raised goes straight to the children and, believe me, from my personal experience volunteering at an orphanage, these children need our help. They changed my life forever, help us change theirs."

Eden is available in all noted bookstores starting today.

Learn more about Angels for Orphans here.

Cara G, Rosemary Vandenbrouke, Ankie Beilke, Michael Wong... 

Reality Chick: Cara Grogan: Eurasian supermodel Cara G on the modeling scene and more

An exotic mix has its perks for this model, writes P.Ramakrishnan. 

All photos by Hyvis Tong.

According to the reality show America's Next Top Model, the world of modelling is a jet-setting, high-paying, glamorous vocation for the chosen few. Reality TV needs a reality check.

"I was at a casting in Singapore with this sunglasses brand and had to meet these two Italian guys in a hotel room," recalls model-turned-VJ, Cara Grogan. "And this girl came out of the room crying. They wanted her to pose completely nude. I called my agency immediately. Outside the room I saw a long line of girls - most in their teens - waiting in the corridor in a panic, calling their agents. There are some dodgy folks out there."

"Folks" is a euphemism for the word Grogan used but you get the gist. Her ascent from print to television may seem rapid but she's been working hard for the past decade: from the best ("commercials shot in Prague, Canada, Japan with the best team in Asia") to the worst ("I was asked to wear a string bikini that barely covered. I refused to step out of the dressing room").

Grogan's the versatile model whose dimpled smile and flawless skin has stared out of numerous ads, her mixed background working to her advantage in every market she's worked in.

"I had a complicated family history, so at 14 I left home and started working," says the 26-year-old. "I've been working ever since." When she came to Hong Kong seven years ago, it was intended to be a short stint; but she kept coming back. "Now, Hong Kong's definitely where I'm grounded."

Grogan grew up in Australia's Victoria and Gold Coast. The mix of Chinese, Swiss, Irish, German and Arabic has its benefits, language not being one of them. "I speak Australian, American and English! I never picked up any other language despite my travels and mixed origin. Shameful isn't it?" She laughs. "One of the best things about being a mixed mutt is that wherever I land, people think I'm from there. When I was in China, they thought I was Chinese, when in Japan, I was Japanese and so on."

Grogan says that while she has been working hard, jobs do come in waves. "Sometimes you're busy every day, rushing to gigs and other times, well, it's me walking my dog through Soho."

As we sit and chat in a trendy new bar tucked away at the crescent of Hollywood Road and Lyndhurst Terrace, an editor of a luxury magazine strolls by. "We've worked together before right?"

Grogan nods, gives a warm hug and mentions a multiple-page fashion shoot she did with them. They agree to work together on another shoot and the editor makes a note to call her agency. "I think it's important to be nice to the people you work with, the diva tantrums don't work anywhere," says Grogan. "You don't get cast again or recommended if you behave badly. I'm really happy when someone rings me back again for a job."

It was probably this attitude that helped propel her into the limelight at Channel V. "The VJ gig happened by chance," says Grogan. "I had auditioned several times before but never gotten through and, on a lark, a friend of mine asked me to audition again. I hesitated a lot, having been rejected so many times before, but they said to me `You're older now, it's a different look; you'll have a lot more to say than before.' So I did go back - and got the job."

Grogan enjoys working on screen, and says her love of music helps her to think on her feet. Perks of the job include meeting the biggest names in the music industry, award shows and of course, travel. Her first modelling job was also something she landed by chance, during her travels around Asia. "I was in Bangkok and I sent a message home saying I was modelling and no one believed me. `Bet you're a hostess,' they laughed."

According to Grogan, she was far from the prettiest girl in class when she was growing up. "Not even close! I wasn't a thin teenager at all, I was pretty chubby - there's a photo my mother put up on Facebook and my boyfriend didn't even recognise me. No one ever found me in a mall and said I had to be a model," she says, laughing. "Then the weight fell off, no crash diet or exercise. Just in the genes I guess, but even then, I didn't have any pretensions of being Elle Macpherson."

Having done countless editorials and worked around the continent, there are a few tricks of the trade Grogan's picked up. "I always know when a shoot's going to go bad," she says. "When there are a lot of people hanging around a set doing nothing, there's trouble ahead. They won't know how to style and just throw everything into one shot. The best photographers work with the best hair and makeup artists; it's a package."

-- April 2011, Interview for Style magazine, by South China Morning Post.