I love New York..and so does Bond

Are these not the pretties collection of bottles you've ever seen? And Bond No. 9's new fragrance collection is an ode to the city where I've resided for the past 21 years... the great New York City.

Fragrances are named after landmarks such as

*Bleecker (much of my college night life was spent on Bleecker Street)

*Bryant Park (I can remember when it was overrun by drug pushers, now it's a yuppie park where I love to spend my lunch hours),

*Chelsea (lived there when I first moved here..in the middle of garment factories. Now it's one of the cutest neighborhoods in the city)

*Chinatown (why do I expect this one to smell of greasy wontons?)

*Coney Island (still never been there)

*Hamptons (who doesn't love the Hamptons?)

*Noho (No who? ;-) )

*West Side (lived there after Chelsea.. where are Astoria & Forest Hills scents?)

and the one most needed here in NYC: "The Scent of Peace".


All are available at Beauty Sack $120 - $195

(photo property & courtesy of Beauty Sack)

Products that Multi-task

Check it out...

This is truly the most outrageous list of uses for items from your kitchen, medicine cabinet or laundry room.

Maple syrup in your hair! Peanut Butter as shaving cream (do you think Soy Butter with Honey works the same?) !?! Jello or Milk of Magnesia for curls?!?

As for Downy in my hair, well, Downy comes in some heavenly scents these days...that would eliminate the need for perfume as well ;).

While you are in this website, they have a great list of uses for vinegar in your home.

From The Land Down Under

Sephora has introduced the newest line to their stores: Napoleon Perdis, a makeup line by the Australian makeup artist by the same name. Unlike other makeup artists that keep their tips secret, Napoleon gives his pro tips on his packaging. There are also 'how-to' videos on Sephora's website.

The 3 products that intrigue me the most are:

1) Light Patrol Luminizer Palette ($60), a selection of 6 shades of highlighter..great for changing up your highlighter depending on what your mood or color scheme is.

2) Correct & Conceal Pro Palette ($40)... a selection of green, lavender & beige cremes for correcting & evening out skintone..Great to have all 3 colors in 1 compact instead of having to buy all 3 separately.

3) I also found a makeup tip I've never seen before... Napoleon offers Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer (loaded with good things like chamomile, yarrow, & vitamin E) , . Apply this before your foundation. Then apply foundation only to your cheeks & spread downwards toward jaw line... he says you don't need to apply foundation to your forehead, that Auto Pilot is enough. Hmmm..must check this out at Sephora, as I've never heard of not applying foundation to your forehead.

Don't you just love an Australian accent? And check out Napoleon...isn't he a hottie?

(Photos all courtesey & property of Sephora)

Green Lipstick!

..and, no, I don't mean the kind that conjures up memories of the Wicked Witch of the West.

My (green) thumb goes up to Cargo who leads the beauty industry into new shades of green with their PlantLove Botanical Lipstick!

This revolutionary, eco-friendly lipstick is fabulous for so many various reasons:

1) The formula is botanically based & is environmentally friendly. It doesn’t use petroleum derivatives (I.e. mineral oil, etc). It is enriched with castor oil, beeswax, jojoba & shea butter and infused with trademarked Orchid Complex(fights free-radicals & reduces fine lines) & meadowfoam seed oil (silky texture, provides fatty acids your skin needs & rejuvenates).

By the way, for those of you that don’t know, Cargo makes award-winning lipgloss that’s super moisturizing (a little goopy but great colors & very moisturizing)…so, I would expect no less of their lipstick.

2) 5 of the colors were designed by celebs who find this as brilliant as we do:
-Evangeline: Evangeline Lily-Lindsay: Lindsay Lohan-Maria: Maria Menounos-Mariska: Mariska Hargitay-Sarah: Sarah Chalke

3) The tube is made of a corn derivative. Corn is the new black, by the way. Or at least it’s the new plastic J. For those of you that don’t realize, corn packaging is biodegradable , research shows that plastic does not biodegrade…every piece of plastic which has ever been made is still on this earth…unless it’s been recycled into polar fleece & the like.

4) The box the lipstick comes in has seeds imbedded in it. You can rip the box up, plant it in pot or in your flower bed and grow a variety of wildflowers.

5) And as if all that wasn’t enough, Cargo is donating $2.00 from the sale of every PlantLove lipstick to the St. Jude’s Research Hospital. This line is not only eco-friendly, but philanthropical as well, investing in our children as well as our environment.

6) You can also visit their website, http://www.cargoplantlove.com/, and plant a virtual flower yourself. For every virtual flower planted, Cargo will make a donation to Conservation International (http://www.conservation.org/). You can also attach your name & location to your virtual flower (I planted mine in honor/name of a friend).

With all the benefits to yourself, others, the planet, & the future is there any reason that you aren't on your way out the door to Sephora (or clicking on their webiste, http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml;jsessionid=5Q00SLBSESOU1LAUCJABXCQ?id=P172734&categoryId=C11630http://www.sephora.com/) to buy at least 1 (or 2 or 5)

PlantLove lipstick(s)?

(pictures courtesy & property of Cargo & Sephora)

Nivea Visage Q10 Night Creme (free sample)

For a free sample of Nivea's latest anti-aging product, Nivea Visage Q10 Advanced Wrinkle Reducer Night Creme, & more 'wrinkle saving' facial exercises, check out: http://www.realsimplerewards.com/rsn/offerings/nivea/index.html


(be sure to pay attention to the exercises, folks, and don't just get blind-sighted by the freebie)

Baby, it's hot out there!

Both sides of this country are in the midst of heat waves. Here in New York, most of us do not have central a/c. I, for one, only have a/c in my bedroom. Most of us also usually walk or use public transport ation to get ourselves from point A to point B.

So, as the ‘real feel’ temp soared to 105 F or above yesterday with approx. 80% humidity (felt like 110%) and subway stations probably a minimum of 10 degrees warmer, none of us could move far without massively shvitzing.

It made me remember a product I’d once heard of… lotion which dries to powder. I definitely need powder everywhere right now, and I absolutely hate the mess that powder makes both in my bathroom & on my clothes.

So, in honor of summer’s high temps & our desire to be cool & dry, here’s a list of liquid to powder products:


1) Banana Boat Sport Dri-Block Advanced AvoTriplex UVA/UVB Sunblock SPF30: http://www.gransremedy.co.nz/11/id2.htm. This is great, as we all need the sunblock as well in this heat..even when just walking down the street or in the car. They also make a Dri-Block Kids formula: http://www.bananaboat.com/products/10944.aspx?cat=6&curBrowseBy=SPF

2) Bodywares Silky Smooth Liquid Powder: http://www.bodywares.com/solutions/body/bath/bp02.htm (This is an all natural, cruelty-free, and environmentally ‘sound’ company from their claims on their homepage. They also claim they will refill their containers at a discount…but I’m confused how this is done if they are an online business.)

3) Epoch Baby Babassu Liquid Powder: http://www.nuskin.com/corp/product/epoch/babypowder.shtml (this is a product of NuSkin. I sold their products when I was a teen & they have a good reputation). The whole family can use this one.

4) Baby Silk’s Silky Liquid Powder: http://www.whatshebuys.com/sil-2002.html (This one is formulated by MD Mothers…moms who are also pediatricians ). Again, there’s nothing to stop the whole family from using this.

5) Zeasorb–AF Lotion Powder: www.aaaskindoctor.com/zeasorbliquid.html . This one contains medicated powder, but is good for anti-fungal issues.

6) For Feet: Gran’s Remedy Foot Lotion for Smelly Feet: http://www.gransremedy.co.nz/11/id4.htm now couldn’t we all use some of that?? They also have cooling foot powder , http://www.gransremedy.co.nz/11/id2.htm, which I could use right about now. (Remember, the hands & feet are the temperature controls of the body). Drawback: they are in New Zealand. Here’s one a little closer, but it’s in the UK http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/skin-care/the-sanctuary-liquid-foot-powder/

7) Carita Powder Lotion: http://www.carita.com/prod/prod.php?ref=3271000 This one is for the face only & is good for normal to oily skin. Umm…they’re in France too, but who knows, some of you might be escaping to the EU this summer.

8) Huggies makes Liquid Powder which you can buy many places online. However, I’m wondering if it has been discontinued, as I cannot find it on their website.

9) Ladies for those feminine bits that are affected by the heat, there's Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel to help: http://www.monistat.com/soothingcare/products_chafing_gel.htm


Stay cool & dry out there folks!!

The Science of Getting Clean

How does soap clean?

Science has never been my forte. I took college chemistry during summer school so I wouldn’t have to take the full semester course. So, it befuddles me that my lackluster for the sciences is coming back to bite me where it counts most.

The more I sell (wholesale) different handmade bath lines, the more I get to know about making soap, and the more I realize this is a scientific process, not just fun & games or arts & crafts.

Soaps are always so much fun to look at, feel & sniff in the store, purchase, and use at home. I figured making them was just as easy as combining a few ingredients. But, like everything else, it’s not always as easy as it looks.

I recently received a newsletter from The Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild, www.soapguild.org, (a great organization by the way) with all kinds of scientific information I just can’t seem to absorb. I completely appreciate this education, but for some reason, I can’t wrap my little brain around it. So, I’ve decided to let the rest of the world make my soaps…I’ll just be content to sell it… no mad scientist soap lab for me. (You serious soap makers out there will be happy to know I’m not one of those that thinks that because I think I can use melt & pour that I think I’m a soap maker. I know better than to insult you like that.)

However, for those of you science buffs, check out this great article explaining how soap cleans..and then, can someone please translate it to English for me ??

http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa081301a.htm

Maybe they should teach soap making at MIT. In fact, I think you cold & hot press soap makers should call yourselves Soap Engineers, not soapers or soap maker.

Who knew that how our skin gets clean is a very scientific process. I always just thought it was a matter of soap & water.