Wasn’t it Marilyn Monroe who popularized the whole keeping-your-perfume-in-the-refrigerator thing? (I know when she was asked what she wore to bed she said, "Chanel No.5," but that’s neither here nor there!) In any case, putting my perfume in the fridge has always appealed to me, especially when the temperature starts to climb, but I’ve been a little afraid to try it at the risk of ruining a favorite scent. I know, I know - if it’s good enough for Marilyn…but wait! Here’s a perfect solution for the somewhat skeptical, courtesy of Kenzo Parfums: Perfumed ice cubes! They melt on contact with warm skin and release their "creamy and milky notes." The website seems to be touting this as some sort of sensual indulgence for couples, but I’m sure it’s also perfectly wonderful as a solo treat on one of those upsettingly hot summer days when you don’t even want to move because of the heat. These are meant to be frozen, so you don’t have to worry about a thing! Well, except for maybe accidentally slipping one in your iced tea…
We are in the dog days of summer, clinging to those last days before fall begins. There are still pool parties and beach bashes to be had. Keeping your bikini line pretty looking throughout all your summer swimsuit activities is a necessary evil and if you’re all about shaving and forgoing waxing or fancy hair removal kits, then here are some shaving tips from Self to make sure everything keeps smooth this summer.
1. It takes about three minutes for hairs to soften in the shower, so don’t rush into shaving. Take care of the rest of your bathing first.
2. Wash bikini-line skin with anti-bacterial soap: Razor blades can push bacteria into your skin through nicks.
3. Use shaving gel, not cream. Gel creates a thicker barrier.
6. Once you’re done and all dried off, apply an antibacterial ointment like Neosporin.
7. Then apply talcum powder to absorb moisture, which can cause rashes.
Following this advice, gathered from dermatologists and skin therapists, can really help reduce the amount of redness, bumps and ingrown hairs that shaving can cause. I would add to the list gently exfoliating your skin before shaving. This goes for shaving legs too!
I’m curious though: What is your preferred method of hair removal this time of year?
On our neverending quest for soft, sandal-worthy feet, Meagan and I have come across quite a few productsspecificallydesigned with foot-softening in mind, but these Beauty Booties Moisturizing Gel Socks from Bath & Body Works have to be the absolutely easiest to use option yet. They are truly a lazy girl’s dream come true. Working on much the same principle as the old trick of slathering your feet with lotion and then putting on a pair of cotton socks before bed, these slippers are lined with a moisturizing gel that contains a blend of olive oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E so you can soothe and soften your tootsies while putting forth little to no actual effort. Just slip ‘em on and go to sleep and/or watch a movie and/or read the Sunday paper while sipping tea and eating scones - whatevs. Then, by the time you take them off, your feet will be super soft and ready to go. Sweet! Now who’s going to come up with a pair of socks that will paint and file my toenails for me, hmm?
Here’s a surprising (yet totally obvious) solution for those of you plagued by the problem of sweaty/stinky feet, especially during the hot summer months:
Apply your underarm antiperspirant on your soles at night (when your skin will best absorb the ingredients) to reduce sweating the next day.(Cosmopolitan, July 2008, p.92)
My additional recommendation? If your sweaty feet are a serious and recurring issue, make sure you try something a little more powerful, like Secret’s Clinical Strength Antiperspirant/Deodorant. Your feet and shoes (and friends!) will thank you.
Okay, I admit it: I’m a bit of a packrat. I’ve been known to keep things around for ages, particularly if they have good memories associated with them. Case in point? I still have a dusty, nearly empty bottle of Love’s Baby Soft in my perfume collection.
Like many girls who grew up in the ’80s, this was my first favorite scent. There were always ads for it in ‘Teen magazine, it was an alluring shade of soft pink and it was really cheap, so your parents would actually buy it for you. The perfume itself was exactly what the name implied: A light, innocent, powdery scent that wasn’t entirely inappropriate on a 9-year-old. One year for Christmas I got an entire set of Love’s perfumes, and I was absolutely thrilled! I still have fond memories of Soft Jasmine, Rain Scent and Fresh Lemon in their lavender, light blue and pastel yellow bottles. Sigh. But of course my youthful lust for beauty products wasn’t limited to fragrance; I also wanted makeup!
Maybelline’s Kissing Potion Lip Gloss in Bubblegum was my first gloss, setting off a lifelong addiction that I continue to struggle with to this day. Lip gloss addiction is a medical condition, people, and I’m here to raise awareness! I kid, I kid. Kissing Potion was fabulous though - a thick, shiny golden liquid in a glass vial with a rollerball top and pink cap, it tasted and smelled exactly like bubblegum. Plus, the name was ever-so-alluring. This ad, from the ’70s, was a little before my time, but it still gets the point across - and is that Kim Basinger?!
As much as I loved my Kissing Potion, however, it wasn’t the makeup I miss most from my childhood. That honor goes to Tinkerbell’s Brush-On Peel-Off Nailpolish. Oh, how I loved this stuff! First of all, look at that ad! I remember that ad. I adored it! Something about the comic strip format combined with the wide-eyed little girl and her youthful-looking mother hoisting the enormous, triangular bottle of "Bo-Po" into the air…I was sold. This stuff was, as I remember, a little on the goopy side and a chalky, Pepto-Bismol shade of pink, but it a) smelled good, and b) peeled off. Peeling it off was actually the biggest selling point, not actually wearing the polish. So desperate am I to relive this fun that I just did an online search for modern day peel-off polishes…alas, to no avail. Please, if you happen to find any, send them my way!
So those are my favorites. What were your childhood beauty must-haves?
Another eccentric company that appeals to my dark side, Villainess is a small operation out of Waverly, TN that specializes in sinfully decadent soaps, body creams and cleansers with unusual names that range from the slightly off-kilter (Ennui, Paradise Misplaced) to the downright intimidating (Chloroform, Asphyxiate, Blood). The first thing that strikes me is that their website, like the products themselves, is very dark and pretty. The second thing I notice, in their Manifesto, is their staunch commitment to creating luxuriously indulgent bath and body goods that are also completely chemical- and cruelty-free, choosing "raw and unrefined components - vegetable fats, nut butters, fruits, herbs, essential oils and precious absolutes" over ingredients made in a lab whenever possible. Villainess, I’m yours. But what sorts of tempting products do they offer, exactly?
The Villainess soap, a big hunk of crimson shot through with streaks of gray and wrapped in their trademark vintage-look paper, is the company’s signature scent, which they describe as "all ball gowns and combat boots." The fragrance features notes of leather, vanilla musk, and florals including lilac, tuberose and jasmine - sounds feminine yet mysterious, which is precisely how I want to smell in the coming months, as the weather cools down. The moss green Wasabi soap, named after my favorite sinus-searing sushi enhancer, smells like "green tea with a black pepper burn and a splash of citrus." The Pyromania Smooch!, a moisturizing exfoliant that warms on contact, is described as "peculiarly spicy," with black pepper, brown sugar and a "veil of smoke." Other complex, unusual scents that I’m dying to try include Ginger Snapped (a "slightly psychotic" blend of cinnamon, cardamom , ginger and vanilla - chai tea, anyone?), Arsenic & Old Lace (black cherry tarts with honeymusk, roses, honeysuckle, gardenia and chamomile) and Bathory, which is described thusly: "The cloying sweetness of a covetous lust for misspent youth, offset by a geriatric touch of rose and carnation, and underscored by a malevolent insinuation of sandalwood." (I’m telling you, Villainess has one outstanding copywriter on their hands.)
Villainess even has their own version of a Bath Bomb (cleverly called Kaboom!) and a small but growing collection of facial products, including mud masks and an oil-based cleanser/makeup remover. If you’re not already staring slack-jawed with desire at all of the amazing indulgences that Villainess has to offer (and at such reasonable prices!), click over now. There are only 100 shopping days left till Halloween!
If the fish pedicure piqued your interest yesterday, you’re not alone. Diane Sawyer took one for the team on Good Morning America and indulged in one on air! And she LOVED IT. She described the sensation as "tiny little delicate kisses, little fish kisses." Check it out for yourself: Jezebel put up the video on her blog!
More news on the hotly anticipated bath & body line from Dylan’s Candy Bar and Sephora: A recent post on Sephora’s Beauty and the Blog revealed a vague launch date (sometime in October - trick or treat?!) as well as the types of products and, most importantly, the four delicious flavors! Oh, I mean "scents." Wait, what do I mean? Even the Beauty and the Blog post refers to them as "flavors." Hmm.
In any event, the four scents/flavors are:
Coconut Bon Bon
Birthday Cake Batter
Chocolate Cupcake
Strawberry Licorice
Each will be available as:
Lip Saver
Body Smoothie Lotion
Candy Butter Cream
Ice Cream Sugar Scrub
Soda Pop Shower Gel
Is your sweet tooth aching in anticipation yet, or are you one of those I-don’t-want-to-smell-like-food detractors?
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Personally, I’m looking forward to the Strawberry Licorice the most. Maybe now I can finally overcome those insatiable Twizzler cravings…
Surely by now you’ve heard of 90210, the "edgy, contemporary spin-off of the iconic drama Beverly Hill, 90210," set to premiere on the CW this September. While I’m not sure how much more "edgy" the new series could possibly be considering the shenanigans that the original characters found themselves in week after week (breast cancer scare! accidental ecstasy ingestion! showing up drunk at the prom and not being allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies, noooo!!!), I have to admit that I’m willing to give this show a chance - particularly since Shannen Doherty, who always played Brenda Walsh with far more vitriol than necessay, will be guest starring. Plus, the spin-off is great news for fans of the original series, since renewed interest in West Beverly High will surely lead to all sorts of fantastically dorky product tie-ins, starting with a new line of 90210 nailpolishes - in shades inspired by the original characters! - from OPI. Since the polish is by OPI, it will actually be of decent quality, i.e. wearable; the colors will probably be cute; and the names will be clever little puns. Woo! I’m not sure if they’re planning to make 8 shades (one for each of the main characters, guys included), just 4 (for the girls), or more (how about one for Nat’s Peach Pit, or crazy crazy Emily Valentine, or that girl they met in college who accused Steve of date rape before threatening to hang herself in the school theater?!), but I’m definitely excited.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first time that 90210 nailpolishes have hit the streets; I remember when the originals came out way back in the early ’90s, along with matching lipsticks (I think…can anyone back me up on this?) and a 90210 perfume. If these OPI polishes are a hit, can a perfume redux be far behind? Fingers crossed!
Something fishy is going on here (Photo msnbc.com)
In need of a pedicure? Well, if you live in the D.C. area you should go partake in the latest trend in pedicure procedures and go get your feet nibbled on. Seriously. Go soak your feet in a warm bath of toothless carp for the smoothest feet you could imagine…or so they say.
Husband and wife team John Ho and Yvonne Le run Yvonne’s Hair and Nails Salon in northern Virginia and they were looking for a better way to smooth rough, calloused feet. Razors have fallen out of fashion because of the hygenic concerns that come with them and Ho thought, what about fish? First used in Turkey and now popular in some Asian countries, garra rufka, known as doctor fish, are tiny, toothless carp that live off of dead skin cells. They can’t feed on live skin because they don’t have teeth, which means they gently remove your calluses.
So, what does it feel like? One woman described the sensation of having her feet nibbled as being similar to her feet being asleep. That tingly feeling. One woman says it tickles. And beyond the strange sensation, I thought this was a big testament to how effective the fish are: "Tracy Roberts, 33, heard about it on a local radio show. She said it was ‘the best pedicure I ever had’ and has spread the word to friends and co-workers. ‘I’d been an athlete all my life, so I’ve always had calluses on my feet. This was the first time somebody got rid of my calluses completely,’ she said." (msnbc.com)
John Ho says that since they started using doctor fish four months ago over 5000 women have already tried the new pedicure method. That’s a lot of brave customers. A pedicure tank holds about 100 fish and Ho keeps about 1000 fish in the salon. And he is thinking about starting a whole doctor fish empire, where you can even have full body treatments of fish nibbling you to help treat psoriasis and other skin ailments. Wowza. You would have to really not be ticklish to try that.
I gotta tell you, I would totally try this out. It’s strange and bizarre which makes it that much more intriguing. I don’t plan on being in the D.C. area anytime soon, which is the only thing holding me back. It sounds fun! I’m all about symbiotic relationships - the fish get to eat and I get smooth feet! That should be their new slogan…
Earlier this week, Beauty and the Blog posted a preview of the enticing goodies that will be landing in a Sephora near you just in time for the holidays. The list is incredibly tempting, featuring tons of products that are guaranteed to make gift giving (and, of course, receiving) a little easier. Highlights:
More details on the Dylan’s Candy Bar line; Birthday Cake Batter, Chocolate Cupcake, Ice Cream Sugar Scrub…wait, are we talking about dessert or bath and body products?!
Nars Super Orgasm Blush - the perennial favorite will be all dressed up for the holidays with the addition of sparkly gold flecks.
Kat Von D True Romance Eye Palette in Metal Orchestra, a collection of shimmery blue and gray shadows, and a new raspberry-black lipstick.
ColorOn Limited Edition Eye Envy Holiday Kit, which features easy-to-apply, festive hues like Mistletoe and Silver Bells.
The Korres Color Sugar Plums set, which has a lip butter, gloss and shadow in rich purple plum shades.
Philosophy Warm by the Fire Kit with 3-in-1 shampoo/conditioner/body wash in marshmallow, cocoa and s’mores.
on10 Lip Balm Gift Sets (I wrote about these balms a while back, and I’m still enamored of their cute tins and tasty flavors).
Those are my most hotly anticipated holiday items. Check out the blog and tell me which ones you’re coveting!
It’s a little strange that something with the word "dry" in its name could make your skin soft and supple, but Sephora’s Dry Oil body moisturizers should do just that.
These colorful bottles are the perfect solution if you’re feeling a little too lazy for lotion, or you’re tired of waiting for your moisturizer to absorb into your skin before you can get dressed. (I find this is a particular problem in the summer, when the increased humidity makes me feel extra greasy after a shower. Eww!) Just spritz it on and the oil soaks right in without leaving any slick or sticky residue behind. It also comes in tons of different scents, so it’s great for hot days when you want to forego a heavier fragrance; I have my eye on Creme Brulee, Guava Passion or Nectarine Blossom. Best of all, a bottle is just $16, so you can buy a few and still pay less than you would for your favorite perfume. Hooray!
We are halfway through summer and I realized today that I have yet to treat myself to a pedicure. Sure, I’ve been keeping my toes pretty on my own (I am wearing sandals everyday!) but I have yet to splurge on some professional pampering. I love a good pedicure but, and maybe it’s a sign of the economic times, but lately I’ve not wanted to spend the extra money. Which made me wonder, am I alone in my frugality?
Good news for ladies who love to smell delicious: Sephora will be partnering with Dylan’s Candy Bar to create a line of sweet-tooth-tempting, dessert-inspired bath and body products, just in time for the holidays. Sounds like the perfect stocking stuffer for the foodie/beauty addict in your life! Considering I once took a taste of my Tommy Hilfiger Chocolate Cream Pie body lotion (yes, I did and no, I wouldn’t recommend it), you know I’m all over this collaboration!
Just spotted at Walgreen’s yesterday: A great new line of cheapie cosmetics by a company called Jesse’s Girl. (Yes, this company has apparently named itself after a Rick Springfield song! Who’s Rick Springfield, you ask? Exactly!) Anyhow, they have tons of fun products for eyes, lips and nails in crazy colors - exactly the kind of stuff I would’ve gone wild for back in my junior high days (not surprisingly, the line is targeted at "Generation Y"), and that I still find strangely attractive…especially when it’s all priced at $5 and under.
Check out this bottle of incredibly vivid neon purple polish ($2.99), the intriguing bullseye eye shadow ($2.99), the Kissing Potion-esque cherry lip oil ($3.99) and the mini nail file keychains in assorted wacky prints (99 cents). Fun, right? Jesse’s Girl makes me want to throw a slumber party so we can do crazy makeovers on each other while eating homemade fudge and watching Pretty in Pink. Now if they would just come up with a peel-off nail polish…
Gabby Reece talked in this month’s Shape (pg. 34) about her "Nice Butt!" pants that she wears everywhere from the gym to the grocery store. They are by Elisabetta Rogiani and Reece says, "The fabric and cut help my butt defy gravity, and the material is thick enough that you feel equally comfortable wearing the pants in the gym or walking through the grocery store." I have a feeling Gabby’s butt defies gravity on it’s own, but we all have our body issues. And if you can find pants that make you feel your best, then they are worth it! I love that they are workout pants but the website has them pictured with the model wearing high-heel sandals to show the pants’ versatility. And the concept of finding a well-fitted black workout pant that can double as an errand running pant, harkens back to Lloyd Boston’s wardobe tip on Oprah. At $85, these are a bit of a splurge, but a defying-gravity pant is worth the extra cash.
I was so excited to try the new Secret Flawless. Everybody has been making a big stink (pun intended) about this new deodorant - from magazines to blogs, I keep hearing about it’s magical powers.
CLAIMS: The big, exciting feature of the Flawless is that it has same technology as Febreeze has to trap and eliminate odor. In fact, here’s a quote I found in Women’s Health from Mike Thomas, the research and development manager, about the active ingredient: It’s a molecule "shaped like a doughnut. When it comes into contact with sweat, it traps odor-releasing chemicals inside the ‘doughnut’." Sounded pretty rad to me. Who hasn’t used Febreeze in a laundry pinch? I’d love to febreeze my underarms. Especially since I have so many problems with deodorant…
So I bought it, all ready for the magic to happen….
RESULTS: Apparently, my body didn’t get the memo that once trapping the odor in the "doughnut" it’s supposed to release the odor. Instead, it just trapped it…creating some of the worst body odor I’ve ever had. Seriously. After one day of using it, I couldn’t stand the smell of me - I had to take a second shower. My husband was like, is that what your body odor smells like? We’ve been together four years, people. He has had to of smelled my unique "scent" at some point. This was not body odor that I’d ever had before. The chemicals and odor-trapping molecules in this deodorant did something to my body chemistry that I don’t plan on repeating.
I’m always coveting fun, wacky bath products (see: my blog about Lush), and my newest obsession is this amazing Egg Confetti by the inventively named U.K.-based company Jelly Pong Pong. You get a box of real, handpainted eggshells filled with colorful, fruity bath fizz; simply crack an egg into your tub and enjoy the bizarre luxury! A box of these would make such a cute, girly gift. I like the Candy Eggs, which smell like Blackcurrant and Orange, but they also have Speckled Eggs, which are scented with Apple and Rhubarb. Cracking one of these open and soaking in the fizz sounds like even more fun than a Bath Bomb. Lush, you have some competition!
Okay, I admit it: I’m a bit of a packrat. I’ve been known to keep things around for ages, particularly if they have good memories associated with them. Case in point? I still have a dusty, nearly empty bottle of Love’s Baby Soft in my perfume collection.
Like many girls who grew up in the ’80s, this was my first favorite scent. There were always ads for it in ‘Teen magazine, it was an alluring shade of soft pink and it was really cheap, so your parents would actually buy it for you. The perfume itself was exactly what the name implied: A light, innocent, powdery scent that wasn’t entirely inappropriate on a 9-year-old. One year for Christmas I got an entire set of Love’s perfumes, and I was absolutely thrilled! I still have fond memories of Soft Jasmine, Rain Scent and Fresh Lemon in their lavender, light blue and pastel yellow bottles. Sigh. But of course my youthful lust for beauty products wasn’t limited to fragrance; I also wanted makeup!
Maybelline’s Kissing Potion Lip Gloss in Bubblegum was my first gloss, setting off a lifelong addiction that I continue to struggle with to this day. Lip gloss addiction is a medical condition, people, and I’m here to raise awareness! I kid, I kid. Kissing Potion was fabulous though - a thick, shiny golden liquid in a glass vial with a rollerball top and pink cap, it tasted and smelled exactly like bubblegum. Plus, the name was ever-so-alluring. This ad, from the ’70s, was a little before my time, but it still gets the point across - and is that Kim Basinger?!
As much as I loved my Kissing Potion, however, it wasn’t the makeup I miss most from my childhood. That honor goes to Tinkerbell’s Brush-On Peel-Off Nailpolish. Oh, how I loved this stuff! First of all, look at that ad! I remember that ad. I adored it! Something about the comic strip format combined with the wide-eyed little girl and her youthful-looking mother hoisting the enormous, triangular bottle of "Bo-Po" into the air…I was sold. This stuff was, as I remember, a little on the goopy side and a chalky, Pepto-Bismol shade of pink, but it a) smelled good, and b) peeled off. Peeling it off was actually the biggest selling point, not actually wearing the polish. So desperate am I to relive this fun that I just did an online search for modern day peel-off polishes…alas, to no avail. Please, if you happen to find any, send them my way!
So those are my favorites. What were your childhood beauty must-haves?
The Body Glow has Tahitian Monoi Oil which naturally quenches your dry skin, with vanilla essence for a divine scent and a chocolate shimmer to enhance your natural glow.
Body Glow II is a transluncent Monoi Oil, perfect to use as a moisturizer or even as a massage oil.
They are each in 1 oz bottles and the set is only $35
Reasons it’s a great gift:
Have a friend that is getting married and going on an exotic honeymoon? This is fun for both the bride and the groom - from enhancing her tan with Body Glow to giving each other massages with Body Glow II.
The one ounce bottles makes this perfect for carry-on compliance when flying.
Have a friend that can’t get away for a fun summer vacation? Give her this set and she can transport herself with the exotic scent.
And/or treat yourself to some Tahitian pampering. I wish I had this set right now…it’s one of those days…one where I would love to be laying poolside with a pina colada…this set invokes that feeling…sigh…
Wasn’t it Marilyn Monroe who popularized the whole keeping-your-perfume-in-the-refrigerator thing? (I know when she was asked what she wore to bed she said, "Chanel No.5," but that’s neither here nor there!) In any case, putting my perfume in the fridge has always appealed to me, especially when the temperature starts to climb, but I’ve been a little afraid to try it at the risk of ruining a favorite scent. I know, I know - if it’s good enough for Marilyn…but wait! Here’s a perfect solution for the somewhat skeptical, courtesy of Kenzo Parfums: Perfumed ice cubes! They melt on contact with warm skin and release their "creamy and milky notes." The website seems to be touting this as some sort of sensual indulgence for couples, but I’m sure it’s also perfectly wonderful as a solo treat on one of those upsettingly hot summer days when you don’t even want to move because of the heat. These are meant to be frozen, so you don’t have to worry about a thing! Well, except for maybe accidentally slipping one in your iced tea…
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On our neverending quest for soft, sandal-worthy feet, Meagan and I have come across quite a few 
Another eccentric company that appeals to my 
Earlier this week, 
We are halfway through summer and I realized today that I have yet to treat myself to a pedicure. Sure, I’ve been keeping my toes pretty on my own (I am wearing sandals everyday!) but I have yet to splurge on some professional pampering. I love a good pedicure but, and maybe it’s a sign of the economic times, but lately I’ve not wanted to spend the extra money. Which made me wonder, am I alone in my frugality?
