M Day!

Ladies and gents it's a very important day. Today we celebrate, acknowledge and give thanks to a pivotal and most important figure in our lives...our mothers. These unsung heroes wiped our tears and kissed our scrapes when we fell. They cheered from the sidelines as we scored the goal. They believed in us and fought for us when we had lost your way. They give us peace when all is in turmoil. They feed our bellies, celebrate our success as if their own and love us unconditionally. To all the mothers out there thank you not only today but everyday.

Having established the importance of mom it is a challenge to find the right token of our appreciation. Afterall this woman who gave us life is more deserving of anything that could be wrapped up in a bow but we can try. Cookie cutter, generic, played out and thoughtless simply won't do. We need to find something as unique, as classic and as sophisticated as this woman. What better than a custom blended, uniquely designed fragrance! Boutiques like Le Labo in NYC or Memoire Liquide at Henri Bendel and Studio Beautymix in Santa Monica whip up a one of a kind perfume, bottle and label it to your own specifications. These matchless scents are composed based off of your desires. Does your mom like sweet floral notes? Let them help you choose from a bar with all the flower essences your heart can dream of! Is your mom a bit more boho, mysterious? Let the experts walk you through the oriental, musky notes available. For the mother-in-chef design a gourmand fragrance with notes of caramel and pepper. Point is you will design every last note for as limited edition, one of a kind as it gets...a fragrance no one else has or can dream of. A unique scent for a memorable woman.

Usage tip: Before designing your fragrance be prepared with some guidelines to help you and the mixologist. Know what family of fragrance (citrus, fruity, oriental, green, gourmand, etc) your mom likes or come with benchmarks of her favorite fragrance so you have something to work off of.

The result: A special gift to capture the essence of a very special woman!

So Fresh & So Clean

Have you ever noticed how a certain behavioral habit or practice can become so overdone that just the mere thought of doing it one more time evokes feelings of nausea? Case in point the emergence of boyfriend jeans. The only way I can begin to fathom the popularity of these shapeless clunkers, more reminiscent of the baggy jean, derrier flaunting 90's highschool boys rather than the sexy Brooke Shields in her Calvin's, is that it is a countermovement and backlash to the played out skinny jeans.

On Monday as I went for my bi-weekly mani/pedi I found myself struggling to grab Springs requisite mushroom, chalky brown polish. My eyes were simply tired and bored of the overplayed color. I needed a fresh change which would nod to the blooming tulips, bright blue sky and warm breeze. I needed a pink but not just any pink...I needed "the one!" After surveying the nail polish bar I realized that I would have to create this unrealized color as my "it" shade didn't seem to exist! Instead I found pinks that were so muted they read neutral or fuschia's so intense it screamed Jersey Shore! Sonia (my go to nail tech) and I set to work to conceive the perfect pink shade. After countless mixing and matching we found it! A hybrid blend of baby pink and marshmallow this shade has the right sophisticated pop. So are you ready for this insider secret on how to create this lustful hue? Listen carefully and guard this secret! After the base coat apply OPI Bubble Bath followed by OPI's new Panda-Monium Pink then seal with a top coat. Et voila! You're starting a polish revolution...can you hear people throwing out their Chanel Particulière and OPI You Don't Know Jacques as they scramble to adorn their nails with this exclusive shade?

Usage tip: For a softer, more neutral hue reverse the order of the polishes to subdue the pink. Nail 101- always allow a minute of drying time between application of each coat to avoid the nasty bubbling effect.

The result: A fresh of breath air for your eyes and hands!

Cooling Down

The title of this post is a bit introspective and clairvoyant. First off I have a confession...I've been slacking! I was getting almost religiously good in posting 3 times a week and lately I haven't been keeping up with my batting average. Totally inexcusable. My apologies. You, my loyal readers, deserve consistency so please don't give up of me I will make you a promise...3 posts a week no if ands or buts about it (even if it means a few nights of 5-6 hours of sleep versus the 8 my body craves and is endorsed by docs but frankly you're worth it!).

Moving on! Was it me or were there a few fellow Manhattanites walking around today looking a bit redder than normal? Yes I know the weather was unseasonably gorgeous (over 90 degrees all weekend long) and judging by the difficulty to snag some lounging real estate in Central Park it was clear that everyone was out and about. Girls were frolicking in their bikini's looking for the sun kissed glow or perhaps just trying to pick up a new play date. The boys were of course shirtless, throwing the balls around and trying to respond to the ladies mating call. The most fascinating part was there was not a sunscreen bottle in sight! Now there were a ton of tanning oils and even baby oils (didn't we learn from the previous generation that this is the fast lane to wrinkles and sun damage?). So while I will skip my normal SPF, sunscreen, protection soap box; I will share with you a skin soothing remedy I recently discovered.

What was reinforced to me during my recent vacation is that some skin types can handle the sun better than others. My Mediterranean complexion took the scorching Belizean sun much better than poor J who's part Irish blood made him a blazing target. Each afternoon we would return from the beach only to find him scorched (mind you this is after he spent the whole day in the shade and reapplied one of the best SPF's I know of every 2 hours!). Luckily I had brought along a bag of goodies to test and among them was the new Korres Yoghurt Cooling Gel. It's goes without saying that Greek yogurt is just packed with tummy rubbing goodness (confession my morning breakfast is always Fage yogurt, granola and blueberries) so it should be no surprise that this Korres product leverages the benefits of the Greek art of yogurt for some fine skin soothing relief. As you apply the instant freshness hits your skin like a cooling breeze. With each rub the irritation and inflammation is immediately reduced by fennel and something called Epilobium Angustifolium (uhh?). Yogurt, naturally rich in lactose, proteins, minerals and vitamins helps boost skin's water content to rehydrate and relieve of UV-induced redness and burning. Skin is soothed and comforted...you can just hear it say "ahh" as it drinks this treatment. Just ask my birthday girl Cam (Happy Birthday my love!) who may have let the birthday festivities interfere with her sun smartness and is now nursing her Cooling Gel!

Usage tip: For added relief and turbo charged cooling place the gel in the fridge beforehand for a double dose of chilly comfort. The sensorial icy experience will envelope sun burned skin with a wave of sustenance.

The result: All I can tell you is that my fridge is stocked up not only with my Fage yogurt but with an equally important Greek essential. It's going to be a long summer!

Gasp!

There are many reasons I love New York. There's the Park (Central Park to be exact), the bagels at H&H, the look of exasperation only New Yorkers give when tourists are blocking the sidewalks as you run late to work (that's of course a close second to being pushed through the subway doors!). But my undisputed favorite thing about the island is the opportunity to visit a "performance art" exhibition at the Moma (since when did stabbing your hands become art?), attend an Opera at the Met, dine in one of the undisputed top Italian restaurants (Locande Verde I'm sorry you're going to have to move over for Maialino) and close out with a nice set of Jazz all in one evening. Second to this dazzling array of festivities is of course the bargains. Where else do sample sales (designer overstock at 75% off retail) constitute your main source of shopping? How about $25 mani/pedi's that last 2 weeks? And of course there's spa week.

Not unique to only NYC, spa week is a bi-annual tradition hosted in major cities all over the US where top spas offer their services at a fraction of the price. I always take this opportunity to visit my go to aesthetician, let's call her A, at a certain vino inspired salon housed in a NYC landmark (have you guessed which spa I'm talking about?). The tricky thing about facials is that you should never trust your face to a novice because all that extracting and squeezing can lead to serious and permanent damage if not done in the right hands. Walking out of a facial with radiantly smooth and even skin is a more challenging task than you might imagine. Luckily A extracted without a mark...until this time. I walked out the spa with what was a bruised, almost blood shot crater on my chin. And I swore I didn't have a pimple on my chin going into the service, oh my god! All I could think was this is going to be permanent, my skin is going to scar! So I set fast to work to minimize and curtail the damage. On went a calming serum with bisabolol (a derivative of chamomile) and I put aside all my highly active products (ie. vitamin C serums, concentrated creams, etc). For the next 3 days I applied Skinceuticals Blemish Control Gel religiously to help clear the breakout and followed with a brightening, dark spot correcting treatment to discourage hyperpigmentation (we will cover this miracle worker next time). I then wanted to gently encourage micro-resurfacing to slough off the dead, bruised skin cells by cleansing with the help of the Clarisonic and my fav glycolic based cleanser. By Sunday night the awful nightmare literally transformed to radiant, glowing skin. Crisis averted!

Usage tip: If you ever have a bad experience at a spa call the manager immediately. Visit a derm if it looks serious and you can always reach to me of course! The reality is your skin needs a spring cleaning every 4-6 months so at the very least bi-annual facials are a must. (Just ask J who's hooked!). To find a properly qualified aesthetician ask friends and family for a referral or look through your look paper and see if any are quoted in skin related articles. Bottom line do your research!

The result: As my mom always said there's not a problem in the world that can't be solved and my skin now has this ethereal glow.

Wax On, Wax Off

Have you ever paid someone for a service or task only to find out that you could have saved your hard earned dollars and done it yourself? Take for example buying your morning coffee/tea vs. making it yourself. Let me run the numbers for you real quick: green tea or morning coffee at Starbucks $1.75, box of 12 tea bags or a pound grounded coffee $4.99, saving yourself the extra $16 for 12 AM pick me ups? Priceless. Yes I make my own morning tea but my thriftiness doesn't stop there.

I've always been a big believer in waxing vs. shaving but the bi-weekly appointments started feeling a bit like a rip off (no pun intended!) when I quickly realized that the aesthetician wasn't doing anything I couldn't do at home given the right tools. Most luxury spas count on Depileve for their wax since it is high quality, efficient and professional. Unfortunately a couple of years ago this salon/spa exclusive wasn't available to the common folk like you or me but thanks to the growing e-businesses doors have been opened. For small areas like the upper lip or underarm, which don't require precision like the eye brow, I count on Depileve Monoi of Tahiti Stripless Extra Film Hard Wax. As the name implies this is a stripless wax which instantly hardens on skin as it binds onto the hair. Once hard you simply pull at the edge to remove the strip for hair-free, soft skin. I find that hard wax is better suited to smaller areas because it's cleaner (no left over sticky wax on skin), easy to use (No Dummies for Waxing books needed!) and most importantly it removes hair more efficiently. The only catch is that you must purchase a wax warmer (think a little stove inspired device that keeps your wax at the proper temperature when you need it) but trust me the investment pays off. A quick easy thing that you can do at home so you can skip the spa/salon visits (who has the time?!) and invest the money you will be saving for some hot strappy summer sandals!

Usage tip: Always make sure the area is clean and oil-, moisture- and deodorant-free. Test the temperature of the wax on your hand first to make sure it's not too hot then apply with a wood spatula in direction of the hair growth (target sections no larger than 2 inches). You want to make sure the wax you apply is thick enough that is grabs the hair and will all pull off together without breaking into pieces but not so thick that it can't dry (no thicker than 2-3cm). After applying the wax wait a second or two and then gently pat to help it lock-in every bit of hair. Grab the corner and pull the strip in the opposite direction of the hair growth. If you didn't remove all the hair you can repeat in smaller amounts on those areas. After you've finished make sure there's no leftover wax pieces and apply a calming lotion to the area.

The result: Money in the bank and a newly acquired skill set that will ensure you're always hair-free without needing an appointment!

Being a Lady

True story: at a very early adolescent age my mom took me for my first waxing appointment (I was a bit of an early bloomer as people say…). I remember the shock and horror I felt with what I thought was nothing short of a barbarian experience. As my mom pleaded to get me out of the car she said, “You will just have to learn that to be a beautiful lady there will be some physical pain involved.” Years later I realize yes it does hurt to look beautiful! Just look at we subject ourselves to…injections, lasers, peel and yes we still are quite fond of our waxing. While the results of waxing are amazing (no razor bumps, baby soft skin, slower hair growth), the cost can be quite prohibitive (did you know Brazilians are costing upwards of $100 a pop these days? Craziness!).

As always I love a good deal and welcome DIY alternatives so I was overjoyed after I found Nads Body Wax Strips. After sampling various wax strips I found the Nads' to be easy, efficient at “grabbing hair” and virtually pain-free. The convenient pre-waxes strips feature a unique weave technology that makes all the difference helping it to conform to your body shape for optimal gripping. Simply warm up each strip by rubbing it in between your hands (think the motion you would use to dethaw chilly hands) and apply it to the desired area following the direction of hair growth. Smooth the strip on your skin by again rubbing along the direction of hair growth and then with one seamless and painless move grip the end of the strip and against the hair growth. It’s important to remember that the motion should be a horizontal pull that stays adjacent to the skin surface versus pulling upwards in a vertical motion causing painful hair breakage. These strips are amazingly convenient for large areas like the legs and arms (we will cover smaller more precise areas like the underarm and bikini in the next post). At $4.89 a box you will get enough to last 3-4 treatments and each strip can be used 2-3 times before the stickiness wears off. I’m not sure what they are calling us these days…recessionista, frugalista or whatever but this is the spa waxing alternative for any lady on a budget.

Usage tip: Make sure skin is clean and free of any oils/moisture before waxing to ensure optimal hair gripping. Nad's kit comes with cleansing towelettes that clean while superficially desensitizing skin for added comfort. After waxing treat skin with the Soothing and Finishing wipes (also included in the kit) to nourish, remove any leftover wax and restore softness.

The result: Baby soft, hair-free skin that lasts longer than multiple shaves….isn’t that rough hair growth compliments of the razor a major turnoff anyway?

Vacation State of Mind

Fresh off a restful yet adventurous, relaxing yet soulfulfilling vacation I'm back and submerged into the "real world." Gone to waking up to the sounds of the tropical birds and breakfasting while my eyes feasted on the visual serenity of the crystal clear ocean and back is waking up bleary eyed to the sound of my blaring alarm and scarfing my breakfast as I read the 1oo plus work emails received overnight (side note: why do people feel the need to send work emails at 11pm, 2am, 5am and 7am?! We get it, you're dedicated...aka. brown noser but seriously find something else more fulfilling to do with your time...hint hint!). So it is clear that I'm in severe vacation withdrawal mode.

Enter my vacation comfort food or in another words Kiehl's Imperial Body Balm. I open the jar and my nose picks up the notes of the ocean, seal salt and sand sprinkled with hints of coca butter, reminding me of my after-sun oil, and coconut, a divine snack we devoured sea side. I am transported back. Ahhh! But besides the sensory experience this luxuriously rich treatment nourishes my sun/sea salt exposed skin that is feeling a little less than soft and supple. Yes these environmental aggressors do deplete skin leaving it more leathery than silky requiring some serious tlc. This balm is like boot camp for your skin as olive oil, shea and cocoa butter deeply hydrate and fight free radical damage to combat premature aging resulting from dryness or harsh climate/environmental effects. Honey and glycolic acids help slough off dead skin cells and jump start cellular regeneration for softer more radiant skin. This treatment will remind you of an enveloping, soft cashmere that restores the comfort and goodness for your skin.

Usage tip: As always when is the best time to apply a moisturizer? Directly post-shower to "lock-in" moisture. In addition to the all over application this treatment can also be used for needy, stubborn areas like the elbow or feet. Make sure the product is properly absorbed before dressing.

The result: With just one whiff I'm transported back to the calming sea and with each application my skin is lulled back to baby softness!