no need for needles

face... the final frontier.  they can put a man on the moon.  they can take photos of mars.  but oh the elusiveness of a good face creme to turn back time.  LORD knows i have put in the effort. i'm pretty sure i have tried each and every single lotion and potion out there.  i have tried to be "good" and use inexpensive ones.  i just end up buying more, either because it's a bit useless, or because i need to use a huge amount to feel like it's working.  i was at the point of being fed up - and seriously considering when the time would be right to turn to a bit of "cosmetic medicine".  

2 lucky things intervened.  one - i hate needles and it's costly, so i kept putting it off.  and two - i went with a good friend of mine on our regular tea date to Bergdorf's.  we had our tea and caught up - then took our post-tea trek down to the beauty floor.  she had decided to treat herself to some Creme de la Mer body lotion, as she had just run out. having reached the end of my wits with my quest, i decided to take the plunge and bought the face creme.  they were having a beauty special, so i got a discount and some samples, which always helps. INSTANTLY it makes your skin feel good - i don't know why or how - but it does. i followed the instructions of the woman working there - and only use a small amount - so it will last a good length of time.    this was exactly 2 weeks ago.

yesterday, sitting on my couch - after a crazed night of insomnia - 2 hours of sleep,  my bf looked at me and said "you look really beautiful"  i looked at him a little confused, because i felt so decrepit, and he said "you do - your skin looks amazing".  i'm pretty sure i've never in my life heard a straight man say that - so i am now, for better or worse financially, 100% committed to a life with Creme de la Mer.  i love a happy ending.

NPO

it's allllllllllmost Neil Patrick Harris.... god i love him. but my new term NPO is in fact the anagram for New Product Obsession.

today's NPO is Moroccan Oil. this stuff has been around for a little while, but until a few days ago i had not tried it. i've only got my hands on the original treatment thus far - but i'm hooked. it smells AMAZING. not flowery or fruity, like too many hair products out there. it's a bit exotic/musky. works tres well with my Coco Mlle. perfume. one of its claims that it helps hair dry faster - i thought "not poss." my hair generally takes about a day to dry. seriously. it's ridiculous. but i put this stuff on and lo and behold my hair dried in about an hour. most likely the next try will be the styling serum - smell this good, fight frizz, add a bit of hold to style? yes please!

it's available at salons (listed on their site) and also online at Amazon and Target.

and that is today's NPO.

spaaaaaaaaahhhhhh

that's how they should spell it.

to me, there are a few key elements when it comes to a spa experience. obvi - the service. are you getting a good service? be it massage, facial, mani, pedi... that one's a given. next, the waiting room. or quiet room as it may be called. this can make or break the whole deal for me. and last but not at ALL least - is there a steam room?

my bf and i ran away for a little mini-break this past weekend. to atlantic city. it was a bit hilarious in the people watching. we felt like we were guests on a reality show. featuring slutty girls from the real world, or bad girls club. (NOT rock of love - those hoochies are far more entertaining thank you very much) every girl we saw was drunk as a lord teetering in high heels and wearing dresses which i'm sure they believed made them look sexy, but actually made them look like they had stopped at the 24 hour hooker store on their way down to ac. in our room, i overheard a screaming fight starring "joe" and 2 drunk girls, one of whom said joe was a liar, the other said joe was embarrassing them all. (she said that approximately 34 times. i stopped counting because it was 4 am and i was tired) ANYHOO - aside from the people watching - we had a little spa adventure at the Blue Mercury Spa. it was perfect - there was a crazy ass blizzard outside, and it was dead quiet inside the spa.

cut to the locker room -- undressed and robed, i suss out the situation - and yes indeed - steam room. score!! walk through the door marked "quiet past this point" and boom - quiet room with tons of white chaise longes, with black blankets folded at the end. tea, water, fruit, perfect. we relax for a little while, and our ladies come to bring us to the couples massage room. undress, lie on table - MELT. heated table, covered by a lovely warm blanket. i honestly could have just lay there all day, never mind even getting massaged. but the massage was indeed very very nice and relaxing. after it was over, and i got past my separation anxiety from leaving the heated bed, we wandered back into the quiet room for a glass of water. then onto the steam room. HEAVEN. heaven. i had it all to myself, it smelled of eucalyptus. i was rubbed, calmed, steamed and happy. (even better is coming out of the locker room to find that your lovely bf has paid and tipped!) as you reluctantly leave the spa - there was a kick ass spa store. candles, hair, skin, make-up - products galore. a dangerous place for a junkie like me - but i made it out relatively unscathed... and a buttery mush from the experience. if you are anywhere near a Blue Mercury Spa - i most most highly recommend running inside. full speed. you can slow down once you're in there.

pretty much - a perfect way to spend a day in a blizzard. or any other day for that matter.

rub a dub dub!

as ye know, i am a lover of product...and one such that is locked firmly into the "LIST" (the things i must must must have at all times) is this scrub. it smells so good that occasionally one is tempted to eat it. i say "one" because i will be damned if i'm the only one that feels that way! i love a good scrub - always have, always will, and i'm a bigger fan of the sugar scrubs. salt scrubs tend to dry my skin, and that's just counterproductive now isn't it? so sugar all the way for me... there are a few i love, including one that j bought me for xmas that is SO chocolatey that it makes me delerious.

this one however, from the line Soap&Glory (clever, eh?), is easy enough on the purse that i don't feel bad having a constant stock flowing. it's a line done by the people at Bliss - makers of products that aptly do make you feel blissful. it's truth in advertising people. this line is available exclusively at Target. once again - the olde designer plus lower price retail outlet SCORES. well played people, well played. i am a BIG fan of all the products i've tried from the line - this Flake Away scrub is far and away my fave - but all of the cleverly named goops and goos are pretty freakin fab if you ask me. for any product junkie like myself - a good way to indulge and not feel too guilty doing so!

NAILed

haha. cracking myself up.

in the vein of cheap thrills... i was at the drug store the other day and bought my replacement "favorite of all time toenail polish" and as i painted the toes this morning i thought to myself, what a wonderful thing that this little bottle of stuff, that cost $2.99 - yes, that's right TWO NINETY NINE can make me feel so pretty and so happy. then i decided to paint my fingernails, as i am i going to see my friend's play in the Fringe Festival this evening. (i styled the female lead!!!) so i whipped out the box o'polish - and there in the corner was this little dude i had forgotten about - an AWESOME color for pre-fall... and again, the $2.99 thrill brand. so i must share.

Brucci nail polish. they actually call the product"nail hardener". simply amazing. the color range is to die for - and they always get on the trends right away - and have pretty much an exact match to the Chanel color du jour. i don't know if they have them everywhere - but for those of you who are NY'ers - they sell it at every Duane Reade. this product rocks my little world. let it rock yours for 3 bucks. rock it a few times, baby.

(ps - in case you're wondering - Golden Red on toes - CLASSIC. i remember to this day, at the airport about 8 years ago with my gorgeous friend Karen, whom i worked with and traveled the world with at the time - we were in line to check in, and she looked down and said "your toes are much fancier than mine. you have lady toes". and my dears - Golden Red... and the pre-fall, hell i'll wear it all fall and winter, finger color i'm a bit in love with? Ava's Ave. no idea what it means. don't care. it's a brownish tinted burgandy with gold flecks. love love love.)

oh ricky's you're so fine...

hey ricky!! hey ricky!

anyone who is a ny product fiend (insert alternate terminology if you desire) is well versed in the shop Ricky's. in a quick word - it rules. like, totally man. and now - yes, i know your hearts are pounding - they are opening up a website. for those of thee who either cannot be bothered, or can physically not get there. consider your world changed in a beauty kind of way. they have a killer selection of products - from the high end, to their own brand of hair doodles, like rubber bands, barrettes, etc. (and yes, i do have a drawer full of them)

to make these even MORE heart fluttery - if you enter "luckybreak" at checkout, you get 25% off everything you buy. um, yeah.... awesome. (shout out once more to Lucky magazine. i love you Lucky. i do.) click now, you won't regret it... come on, everybody's doing it...

gimme lip!

i distinctly remember the first time i bought Lip Venom. it was quite a lot of years ago, in LA. it was right when it first came out, and i was feeling very on top of it all. and to this day - the smell and taste of it, which is quite distinct, is tied to LA in my mind and my senses.

i love the stuff. i like the way it tingles - and it does plump up the lips a bit. i can never really tell how much, but it does work... at this point, Duwop has come out with a million other products - including lip glosses with the venom inside - and they are all pretty great. but nothing compares to the original in my humble opinion. BUT now there is something that may just give it a run for its money. there is a Venom called Twilight - that has a stain in it... it's like the reverse of the gloss with the venom. it's the venom with the gloss...more oomph, thank you(and yes, i'm obsessed with Twilight. books and movies. i know it's targeted to my 10 year old niece, but hey, i like it too.)

back to the venom...i will be stopping in Sephora tomorrow. and leaving there a happy vampire.

happy lips

on first glance, "happy lips" might mean "mmmm- first cup of coffee". (yes - that is what i am doing. and i do say mmmmm every morning. it's just so good)

howevs - this is not caffeine related. this is color related. i am a bit challenged in the lipstick department. it's not that i don't want to - it's just that i am not good at it. i buy lipsticks (90 percent of the time, in the same color. a rosy pink. creature of habit i guess) and i try - but it just ends up off my face in about 45 seconds. i don't even know where it goes.

BUT - these little sticks are a different story. Lipstick Queen and Nars both make a really good-for-the-challenged version of the stick. and i love them both. these Lipstick Queen colors are brand spanking new - and apparently named for/based on the movie Chinatown. little trivia for ya. and LQ in particular - these babies last. they give you happy lips! (see how i tied it all up!?)

i can't quit the junk

apparently i am having a hard time kicking the habit today... not that i've even tried... but it's feeling like a product-y day today kiddies!

check out InStyle makeover issue. i'm never a fan of the full-face makeover in stores - but it is always fun to try on a new face at home, and see what really stirs your noodles style-wise. i personally always always always end up with the boho look - any time i try ANYTHING else i have to wash my face ten minutes later. my friend melody can rock the bombshell look. jealous!

for ye product lovers!

i used to go into the SpaceNK shops in London and spend a healthy amount of time wandering around and looking at every single solitary item... part of my fabric, as a product junkie.

they came over here a few years ago, and it is still a great shop, although nothing beats the thrill of scoring new products in a different country. why? i'm not sure... it just is what it is.

for all ye of the same fabric of which i am created - it's SALE TIME! strap on your strappy sandals and get yourself to one of the shops - i bet it is air-conditioned, so it will be a double delight.

cheap thrills - truth in advertising

often advertisers are, for lack of a nicer way of saying it, blowing it out their asses. i get it, they're trying to sell something. but a lot of the time it's just a bunch of bunk. every once in a while, however, a product comes along that is every bit as good as "they" say. it's always kind of gratifying, and even more so when it falls into the cheap thrill category.

one such product which has rocked my little world cheapie style is Cover Girl Exact Eyelights, with its selling point of being an "eye brightening" mascara. i should admit that part of the reason i bought it originally is because Rihanna just looked so damn pretty in the ad. (yeah, i'm a sucker sometimes. but i mean she is really REALLY pretty, and i kind of really adore her, so it's not entirely my fault)

so i hopped on the elevator and skipped into the drugstore. bibbadity bobbadity boo i have my eyelights. i got the "black sapphire" - to bring out the blue in my eyes (i just may go hog wild and try the "black ruby" and jimmy up the green i have hiding in there) i got home, sat down at the vanity and went to work. and i swear on all things holy that my eyes looked brighter, a bit more sparkly, and just a bit more blue. all this happiness, just from a trip to the local drugstore. i mean really, what more can a girl ask for?

Patricia Wexler, i think i love you

i am, i have been told by most all of my closest friends, a "product junkie". aka "product whore", although i prefer the first. it's true. i LOVE beauty products. goos and gels and creams, for the body, the hair, and especially the face. i am on the quest to make my skin look perfect. i am fully aware that they airbrush the living daylights out of magazine photos, but i look at the faces of the ladies in there... jennifer aniston, halle berry, all of them... and i want that skin. i want to glow and look soft and pretty!

alas, as i am not a highly paid celebrity, i do my own research and facial work. and i think i may be onto the holy grail. i was having a bad day last week, and decided to go walk 5th avenue to look at pretty things and clear my head. i walked into Henri Bendel and was about to go upstairs when i saw a Patricia Wexler display. i stopped for a second and Sabrina came over and asked me if i wanted to check out any products. "ok!" i said and plopped my ass down in her chair. she scrubbed me, put on magic pink goo, lotioned me up, and i swear to high holy heaven - my skin looked AMAZING. i was glowy, like the ladies whose skin i covet.

i bought the scrub and the goo and the lotion. and i LOVE it. love love love. if you live in NY go to Bendels and ask for Sabrina. i love her too. if you don't live in NY order this stuff online. there are a ton of products and i'm sure they are all great - but the MMPi.20™ Skin Regenerating Serum - aka the pink goo is like magic potion. i may possibly try to swim in the huge vat of it...

this is 5 hours after Sabrina did me up. pardon the quality of the photo - i was just rather over excited by the whole day...