Summer Scent

I've spent most of my adult life wishing I were a Bond girl, effortlessly slender and tan, traveling Europe via the Mediterranean sea on my custom built yacht in a Bardot-ish wardrobe. The reality is browsing the international and organic isles of Wegman's grocery store in loafers and red lipstick.

On extra hot and humid days like today when it's a little easier to feel beachy in the middle of central NY, I help the fantasy along with Estee Lauder's Azuree Soleil skin scent atomizer. Designed by Tom Ford, this perfume is hailed as summer in a bottle although to me it's about the lifestyle where you'd never have to face winter if you didn't want to. It boasts a coconut note which I don't really smell, on me it's like rich woods and sweet white flowers baking under a hot salty sun. This scent is not a must in your perfume arsenal and it's difficult to find now (it's limited edition every summer) but it's definitely worth checking out and maybe even hunting down on eBay.

Hair Pow(d)er!

Nothing like heat and humidity (hello thunderstormy summer in Central NY) to kill a good hair day. The added bonus of Bootcamp summer term for all of us grad students doing the Newhouse program at Syracuse U is the pressure of fitting propper grooming into a painfully long day- let's just say ponytails are on the rise.

My personal hair savior? Stila Hair Refresher. This fabulously finely milled and gorgeously scented powder is a step beyond the old trick of massaging baby powder into your scalp to soak up excess oil and banish limpness. The genius spout on the bottle distributes perfect whisps of powder into trouble spots like bangs or you can gently drop a small ammount of powder into your palm, coat your palms, and distribute across your whole head. Bonus? The powder provides the perfect ammount of grip for doing lavish updos with squeaky clean hair while preserving volume. I'm loving the scent of Creme Bouquet, a gorgeous vanilla tempered with white flowers and just a hint of clean baby powder. The generous 2.6 oz bottle lasts forever, making it a bargain at $28.

There's nothing like an intense week of grad school followed by a stiff martini to give a girl the impulse buy itch. It's especially bad for me this week as my subscription to Lucky Magazine finally kicked in and I received both the July and August issues yesterday.

I found myself unusually attracted to August's "Treatment" spread in the beauty section, which often gives me ideas for DIY spa treatments but rarely gives me product lust. This month's article "oils-for oily skin" is just what it sounds like, a run-down on the benefits of oils to treat oily skin and breakouts. About six months ago I discovered the benefit of avoiding oil-free sodium-laureth-sulfate free moisturizer and my acne-prone skin is much calmer for it, but I have yet to put anything on a blemish oilier than neosporine. La Fleur Organique's Blemish Rescue, mentioned as an at-home spot treatment in the article, sounds promising from walgreens.com's description, but in a rush of willpower I've decided to wait a week before buying to make sure this fixation isn't just a short-term crush.

In the meantime, a stroke of inspiration and a little internet ingredient research has prompted me to try a little Sunny Brae Body Works Nail Oil, available at www.walgreens.com, on a healing spot. While it lacks the disinfecting antibacterial ingredients of some of the oils mentioned in the article, the ingredients are skin friendly and beneficial for healing tissue- rice bran oil, jojoba oil, neem oil, and vitamin E are reasonably noncommedogenic for oils and lavender oil, chamomile oil, and rosemary extract are delightfully soothing. And since that comprises the entire ingredients list, there's very little to react badly to. I put a small drop on a healing blemish last night and it's healing beautifully with less dryness and flaking than usual. I wouldn't recommend this for use on pores that are still clogged but spots that just need to heal will benefit from this.

Their website seems to be down right now (sorry- that's not very helpful) but if you can find this oil I highly recommend it- both as a nail treatment and as a spot healing aid. There are tons of nail oils out there though, just look for ones with lightweight oils and anti-inflammatory ingredients such as the ones mentioned above, or invest in a vial of La Fleur Organique's- I'm sure I will in the near future.

Mermaid Hair? Not so much...

If I had spent less time on my thesis and more time browsing magazines I would have been better prepared for our family beach extravaganza in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. But as a child of the icy-watered Pacific Northwest I somehow missed that swimming in the ocean 4 times a day really fries your hair.

About three days into the vacay I knew it was either deep condition or hack of six inches of fried mess. The conundrum was finding a suitable non-silicone loaded deep conditioner with very limited resources (i.e. no internet for research or Sephora for browsing). As your faithful guide in the world of beauty, I decided to utilize the (free) mayo in the fridge and thoroughly investigate the rumors of its hair restorative properties.

I used about a quarter cup of mayo on my very, long thick hair (so adjust accordingly if you decide to try). My hair was a little damp, but I don't think it matters as long as your hair isn't wet. I let it soak in for about 10 minutes, occasionally putting my head under the water to encourage deep penetration via the heat. The results? Fabulous soft hair, with no sign of split ends nearly 3 weeks later. The one treatment was also enough to keep my hair reasonably nice for the next four days of swimming and baking in the sun.

Just now I did it again to test whether it works decently on only slightly dried hair, and with the same great results. I would definitely recommend trying mayonaise over olive oil unless your hair is VERY damaged, it was quite difficult to get only two tablespoons of oil to wash out and even harder to work with in the first place.

If I could do the trip again (or if I get to go again next year) I would definitely invest in something from Carol's Daughter, either a leave-in conditioner or Lisa's Hair Elixir. I haven't been able to try the line as the Oregon Sephora doesn't carry it, but Kristin over at The Beauty Addict (www.beautyaddict.blogspot.com) gives the line nothing but raves. From what I've read and experienced, it seems like coating hair with a light oil would be ideal for protecting it from surf and sun. Personally I didn't find a standard leave-in conditioner to be enough (not even my beloved Fekkai Glossing Cream).

Whew again!

It's been a long, strange month since I posted last. From the beach in North Carolina to driving across country to Syracuse University I've had hardly any time to sleep let alone write in the blog, for which I apologize. Now that my uber intense (and uber awesome!) grad studies are under way, I'm hoping to have more time to blog so don't give up on me just yet!

Stainy Day

While the J.Lo nude look is definitely gorgeous in the summer, I get a little sick of it being dragged out year after year. That's why this year I took a hint from Evangeline Lilly on season 1 of "Lost" and Keira Knightley in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" and looked for something to replicate the vibrant but naturally subtle punchy lips they used to rock before their makeup artists went over to the dark (or rather drab) side of nude lips.



The obvious choice to replicate her look is a lip stain- you don't want to add any texture really, just color- so off to Sephora I went. After making my rounds, Lorac's Sheer Wash emerged as the clear winner. Where Benefit's Benetint wasn't pigmented enough (read: no staying power) and Vincent Longo's Gel Stain had a limited range of overly orange and overly purple shades, Sheer Wash comes in a gorgeous range of colors that last me from 9 to 5 (although not through an oily 3 course meal with drinks, which isn't surprising). The genius rollerball packaging also preempts spills and controls how much product comes out, which is a life saver considering you need maybe a scant drop of stain for perfect rosy lips. I recommend giving your lips a soft rub down with a warm wet washcloth before application- this will deeply stain any flakies as sadly the bloody lip look isn't in vogue this year. I'm in love with the shade Sheer Emotion, a raspberry pinky red that's similar to Benetint which should theoretically flatter pale, tan and olive skinned ladies. Bonus: as Benefit's insanely overpriced Benetint lip balm was used on Keira Knightley in "Pirates," a swipe of shiny balm on top of this shade will give you her look (I recommend mark. Kiss Therapy in Sheer Rose) and you'll want to do so anyway because all lip stains are a little drying. Just be sure to give the stain about two minutes to set first. Those with yellow or olive toned skin might also try Sheer Luck- it's a gorgeous red that unfortunately looked quite ruddy on me. Either of these shades looks stunning with mascara, a bit of eyeliner, and clean polished skin. The travel size retails for $17.50 at Sephora, a great investment considering this bottle should last for a decade.

Light My Fire

Candles are a four billion dollar industry in the US, which comes as no surprise if you read Lucky magazine regularly. But before you get ready to shell out $50 or more on their candle du jour, check out Pacifica's line of clean burning soy candles. I really dig the ultramodern Art Nouveau vibe of the packaging paired with a minimalistic glass vessel that won't disrupt your decorating scheme. The Pacific Northwest company's scents range from light florals and fruity notes to deep and spicy scents. My absolute favorite is Bergamot Amber Rose, but I can't get enough of Blood Orange and Mediterranean Fig either. And at under $10 for a 5.5 oz candle that burns for 50+ hours, you'll have plenty left in your wallet for some of Lucky's other extravagant splurges.

Going Red Update: Chanel Knockoff!

Friends, a little miracle occurred at work today. As some of you know I work for a plant nursery and my job is stocking plants at Home Depot. While I was moving carts of plants around I found a brand-new sealed Neutrogena MoistureShine gloss in Swizzle on the ground. As if this initial score weren't enough, when I inspected it during my break I discovered that the shade is an EXACT match to Chanel Spark glossimer- it's the same slightly cool toned raspberry red gloss with very fine gold microshimmer. I found that I even prefer the texture of the Neutrogena version to that of Chanel- Chanel feels a little sticky on the lips if you put on a thin coat, whereas the Neutrogena is delightfully not sticky in any way. It almost feels like a high shine lipstick instead of a gloss. If you were hesitant about checking out Chanel Spark because of the price (I know I was) then you have no excuses now, as the Neutrogena glosses are very affordable and regularly on sale. If you're doubtful about the color then at least go to a Chanel counter and try it on, you have nothing to lose with this drugstore look-alike available.

Spa Time!

I'm a little obsessed with the idea of spas, those almost mythical places where you do nothing but relax in a calming deliciously scented environment while dedicated people make your skin more beautiful. But frankly, who really has the time and money? Over the years I've perfected some relatively quick and affordable ways to get some of the benefits, especially in the facial category.

Shower Aromatherapy- If you don't own at least one divine smelling soap or shower gel, get one immediately! You don't have to buy into all the specific aromatherapy stuff about how lavender is stress relieving, citrus is energizing, etc., because I certainly don't. But it's proven that surrounding yourself with fabulous smelling things releases endorphins and adding that to a relaxing shower is an easy and cost effective way to feel luxurious. Bonus: if you use a bath poof or loofah to scrub yourself in long, brisk strokes you'll stimulate blood flow and further endorphin production. It doesn't matter what shower gel or soap you choose as long as you love the smell. I love The Body Shop Satsuma shower gel, Aquolina Pink Sugar shower gel, and Bath & Body Works Be More Pacific shower cream. Another great brand to check out is Philosophy, their 3 in 1 shower gels come in an incredible range of scents although I don't recommend using them on your hair unless it's an emergency.

Shower Exfoliation- I get complemented often (okay I admit, from boys) about how smooth my skin is, the secret is exfoliating often. You can use any soft bristled scrub brush (I use a surgical scrub brush my mom picked up somewhere) and a bar of soap, but it's nice to go a step nicer once or twice a week. The drugstore has tons of options, I recommend getting a sugar scrub that comes in a tub- tube scrubs are a little hit and miss, sometimes they don't have enough granules to be effective. Outside of the drugstore I really like Product Body's Crush On You sugar scrub- it feels and smells like heaven, plus the company is VERY eco-friendly. The Body Shop's scrubs are less of a splurge and come in a travel size (convenient given carry-on regulations) that is regularly on sale. Those of you who visit Starbuck's regularly (i.e. most of the population) are in a good place to make your own scrub- nab some of those raw sugar packets and mix it in a small container with a little squirt of your favorite shower gel until it's a paste and you're good to go. I've found that letting the steam and heat of the shower soften your skin first and then turning off the water to scrub up is most effective, and be sure to do your shaving after you rinse off to avoid irritating your skin. The same bonus applies from above.

All-Natural Skin Treats- Ever notice how spas really push their eco-friendly treatments? Skip on over to the organic/all natural section of your grocery store and check out what these brands have to offer in terms of bath and body products. Several of the products mentioned above are reasonably eco friendly, but your skin will thank you if you pick out one or two products from lines like Jason and Kiss My Face. If you're going to the effort of picking out some treats for yourself, consider the benefit these natural goodness packed products have: they contain fewer chemicals, are cruelty free, and biodegradable. I've personally noticed that my skin is less dry and acne prone now that I've switched to soaps without sodium laureth sulfate, a lathering agent found in basically everything that is known to worsen skin conditions. These products are also the best way to benefit your hair while you're treating the rest of your body- pick up an SLS free shampoo and massage your scalp to get rid of product buildup, then deep condition your hair with a silicone free conditioner. Some products I love: Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil bar soap and Whenever Conditioner and Jason Tea Tree shampoo. If you don't have the cash to spend on new goodies, run a bath with some Epsom salts and toss in a few tea bags- peppermint and green tea work especially well together and this blend will provide your skin with a soothing detox.

Facials- I've experimented with countless at-home facials ranging from treatments to packaged masques and have mostly been disappointed, but I've come up with a few treatments that consistently yield fabulous and multitasking results. First, if you're going to do a masque treatment you should exfoliate first, but sometimes a little exfoliation is all you need. If you exfoliate once or twice a week with a gentle scrub you can get rid of dullness and congested pores will start to clear up- just be careful about scrubbing on top of infamed acne, you can further irritate your skin and spread the bacteria. I've been using Olay Microdermabrasion and Peel kit once every week or two for almost a year with great success- my pores are smaller and clearer, my skin is smoother and less red, and the kit has lasted me about ten months so the price is definitely worth it. You can also use a gentle face cleanser scrub if your skin isn't congested or dry and flaky, I like the ones from Neutrogena because the beads are smooth- steer clear of anything with a natural exfoliant like ground apricot kernel (I'm looking at you, St. Ives Apricot Scrub), the edges of the exfoliant aren't smooth and will cause small abrasions on the skin. If your skin is dry or is healing from acne or sunburn, the best thing I've found is to smooth 2-3 tablespoons of honey all over the skin and let it set for 15-20 minutes- just be careful after the 10 minute mark, the honey will start to drip off of your nose and chin a little. Sugar is a natural anti-inflammatory and is anti-bacterial, I found it to be really effective at soothing enflamed acne in high school and it seems to help the healing process. It's also wonderfully moisturizing, and helps your skin lock in moisture after exfoliating. If your skin is a little congested, try a basic clay masque- Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque is highly affordable and great at pulling excess oil, sebum, and dirt from the pores. You'll look a little funny after you put it on, but the feeling afterwards is worth it. I find that the masque is more effective if I squeeze the tube out into an empty tupperware container and add more water, it's so thick it doesn't adhere to the skin as well as it could and it's a little difficult to work with because it goes on so thickly but this isn't a must to get great results. Be sure to follow any of these treatments with a quality facial moisturizer to lock in the moisture and prolong the benefits.

Although it's no seaweed wrap, I find that taking an extra long shower followed by a mini facial once or twice a week truly benefits my overall well-being, and improves my skin to boot. I doubt I'll ever go to a spa, but with a few splurges tucked away in your medicine cabinet, who needs it?

For a No-Fail Mani/Pedi

'Tis the season to bear those toes proudly. But if you're like me, you fail at keeping your polish looking nice and can't stand it when it gets dull and begins to chip but can't stand to attend a special occasion without making those toes presentable. That's why the only bottle of polish I own is Revlon's Snowflake Pink.

Nude polish is my favorite; it's probably because I'm obsessed with ballet, but I just can't get over the look of a well done nude or American manicure (a sheer and less ostentatious version of the French). But nude polishes always go seriously streaky on me, which just bugs the crap out of me. While reading through an old issue of "Glamour" I found an article on the best nude polishes for every occasion, Snowflake Pink being recommended for weddings because of its micro shimmer. After checking the reviews on makeupalley.com for potential streaking issues I decided to give it a shot, figuring I'd take advantage of RiteAid's cosmetics return policy if it turned out to be a dud. It turned out to be the best polish I've ever owned.

One coat looks like a slightly glinty clear, due to the fine icy shimmer. It dries in minutes, so it's perfect if I have eight minutes before an event and want my nails to look nice. Two coats gives me the perfect slightly milky clear that I wish my nails were naturally. Three coats looks like one coat of more opaque nudes, but with nary a streak in sight. Plus, the shimmer is completely unnoticeable except with close scrutinizing but adds to the shine beautifully- a bonus because it keeps the polish looking nice after the shine begins to wear down after a few days. I'm not an expert on how long polish lasts because it all chips on me after a few days no matter what I do, but this is definitely some of the longer lasting polish I've ever used- it lasts 3 or 4 days chip-free, compared to OPI which lasts 2-3 on me if I'm lucky. Pedicures last about two weeks before looking slightly terrible, and that seems reasonable to me. And because one coat is basically clear, it can also be used to mend nylons. Whether you're a polish fiend or an earthy girl who generally can't be bothered with cosmetics, this is the versatile every season/every outfit nude polish that is totally worth owning.