Holiday Gifts

I have been awful with getting gifts this season. I am actually not in the mood for it at all. However, relatives still come over so I finally had to hunker down and start shopping,

Naturally I buy everyone products.

Here is my list thus far:
Aunt- Clarin's Renew-Plus Night Lotion
It smells nice, very baby powdery. The girl told me that whatever gives it the scent is natural, no added fragrance. It's a nice light exfoliating lotion. Perfect for my 60 something year old aunt. I also got a ton of samples which is great because I couldn't afford to buy the Beauty Flash Balm for her.

Cousin-Smashbox Gloss-N-Go Mini Lip Gloss Kit
I got her a mini set of their glosses last Xmas too and she loved it. She carries a very teeny Coach purse making these miniature glosses the only things that fit besides a credit card.

Mom-MAC and Bobbi Brown Brushes
My mom kept saying that she needed good brushes. So, I got her good brushes. She had had a MAC mini set, they were shit. FYI MAC does not give you the same quality of brush in their small brush sets. The bristles come off on your face and they are just crap anyway you want to put it. Individually sold their brushes are great. I got her one for eyeshadow and one that would be good for blending her under eye concealer (larger compared to her actual concealer brush). I made my dad get her the Bobbi Brown Foundation brush. It's a quality brush that can also be used to apply her Pale Pink Pot Rouge (which, BTW's everyone should own).

I Don't Know Karate, but I know Karazee

So Monday night my friend handed me a new shampoo. I read the label which announced the stylist's name, "JAMES BROWN". WHAT?! I don't want James Brown's hairdo. Is this a joke?

Apparently, I have had my head up my ass for a while. This James Brown is the man that gave Kate Moss her lovely post-breakup bangs. For this, I thought, I will try his shampoo. So I did. It is excellent.

I used the shampoo for Chemically Treated Hair. It left my hair clean, smooth, and ready conditioner. I also had no static for once. Something mos def needed during the winter hair months.

In case you have not guessed, I am a product nerd. Once I hear about a new line or product I have to read everything about it. So like a good junkie I immediately went to his website. He won me over with his choice of music (The Clash's "London Calling") and with a shampoo that from what I can tell is one of the most innovative since those powder shampoos.

This shampoo is for Combination Hair.

Excuse me? What? For years people have talked about using 2 different shampoos, etc. to handle the oily scalp/dry ends debacle. James' shampoo uses 'liquid talc' to absorb excess sebum (ewww) whilst wheatgerm oil hydrates the ends. The liquid talc is supposed to continue working through the day and absorb away.

I do not have this hair issue. I will not try a product that doesn't work for my needs so I am encouraging someone else out there to try it and let me know how it goes.

In the meantime I will wash with James Brown and listen to James Brown.

CHANEL. Not For Just The Heavily Perfumed Afterall

So call me crazy, but for some reason I have always been weary of buying cosmetics from CHANEL. I think it was for the same reason that I shied away from Lancome. I don't know why, but both their counter artists are always garishly made up (not in a cool MAC way) women who reek of perfume and look at you funny if you actually want to purchase something and are under the age of 30 (phew that was long). They tend to be the stereotypical make up artist (no offense), the one you wouldn't want to touch your face.

Anyways, back to CHANEL. Again, I have avoided them, but then I saw this:

Sigh. I am in love. This is the Collection Essentielle De CHANEL (shown in Lumiére Naturelle, $85). I just received this as a Birthday gift and it is awesome. It comes in a pouch that also houses an eye shadow applicator, lip brush, and blush brush. The brushes are crappy, but so are all brushes that come with things of this nature. I used the sponge to apply the shadow and was amazed. The sponge picked up the color. When I tried to use my Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow brush nothing happened. The shadows are in wearable super silky shades that (when used with the sponge) go on almost creamy. The colors show up, which is great since too many companies today are doing consistencies that are so sheer they take 20 strokes to actually look like anything.

The lip colors are all pretty hues of different natural pinks, some with shimmer. The blush is a tanner looking version of NARS' Orgasm. Today I just used my fingers (clean ones mind you) to apply to my cheeks and it worked out very well.

I wanted the palette because I wanted something I could travel with. Now I need to get some mini brushes.

And The Ridiculous Cost of Creams and Potions Pt. 2

For about a millisecond I was impressed with the line Natura Bissé. From Spain-exclusive to stores like Neiman's, Barney's-they are known for two lines, The Diamond line and their Glyco Peeling products.

These are okay if you have the money, but why spend $225 for the Glyco Extreme when you can buy something that works exactly the same by MD Skincare for under $100. They say it has 60% exfoliating ingredients. This sounds very impressive because you think "Wow! That is so strong, like something in a doctor's office". Yeah, no. This is just a gimic because with a pH of 4.5 it doesn't actually do much. Spa can do peels above a 3.3, doctor has to do anything lower. When they say 60% exfoliating ingredients, they mean 60% of the ingredients listed are exfoliating NOT that they have a 60% strength.

It definitely makes your face tingle, which is what most people look for. If you like to feel like it's "working" buy it and waste $225. Or get Appleseed Resurfacing Peel by Fresh for $145 and feel better that you weren't scammed in the morning. Okay, maybe you'll still feel scammed.

Their Diamond line which is 3 different weighted creams, all supposed to do everything you would want a cream to do is another disappointment. Their key ingredient is Artemia Salina which they tout as Marine Extract and don't you know? It's supposed to re-energize the skin to give it a glow. What they don't tell you is that by Marine Extract they actually mean Sea Monkeys. Look it up on Wiki, seriously.

If you want to spread some Sea Monkey's on your face and don't feel like spending $300 buy an EcoSphere, drain it, and break out the pistol and mortar to create a paste of the little buggers. I am of course joking though, but it is the same thing.

Thank You Kim!

Kim (being a good friend) sent me this lovely posting direct from DailyCandy NYC. I certainly hope everyone takes advantage of it. By the way it reads I believe is starts Sept 30th, but I am usually wrong about such things.

Bliss Blowout Sale
What: Up to 80 percent off scrubbing, bubbling, polishing, and exfoliating products.
Why: Gimme a little Bliss, will ya, huh?
When: Thru Sun. Times vary by location. Info at 212-219-8970.
Where: 12 W. 57th St., b/t Fifth & Sixth Aves., 3rd flr.; 568 Broadway, at Prince St., 2nd flr.; 541 Lexington Ave., at 49th St.



YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

The Hair Masque Costs WHAT?

After visiting my friend whose job allows her to walk away with free amazing products I became the proud owner of some Kérastase hair care.

The two products I received were from the Soleil line (it's intended as after-sun care for color treated hair) . I got a shampoo (Bain Apres-Soleil) and weekly deep conditioner (Masque UV Défense Active). My previous reaction to Kérastase had been lukewarm. When I first tried their Bain Satin 1 it was $22, now it has gone up to $32. I bought it after InStyle had named it best shampoo, however I did not find it anything other then a basic shampoo with a slightly offensive odor.

Their Soleil line is much better and actually worth shelling out the $32 and $58 for the shampoo and masque (luckily I did not have to do that, but if I could throw that kind of money around I would). My hair (which is a lot of fine and dry strands with a frizzy wave) was left feeling healthier after rinsing out the shampoo. The masque looks like a thick honey and not too much was needed to coat my shoulder length hair. The scent of both is very pleasant, like a strong smell of the wash area of a salon.

Maybe next visit I'll get to sample the Réflection line! The bottles are pretty and purple. I can not wait!

Love In The Time Of Grad School

Recently my adorable boyfriend moved to Brooklyn. Sigh. Not because my products had pushed him out of the City of Brotherly Love, but because he is advancing his education at NYU.

While distance is annoying due to spending money on bus/train fare (something I equate to that of purchasing socks-I need them because of the hole in my toe, but they are an unrewarding loss of funds), this new every other weekend adventure has introduced me to a great 2-year old beauty spot in Brooklyn.

I initially found Miomia online. I think I looked under "Brooklyn Beauty Products" and immediately was welcomed with their website, www.shopmiomia.com.





Miomia is located at 318 Bedford Avenue. It is a store I have now visited twice. It really is a breath of fresh air with all the Sephora's there are (they are the new Starbucks). The owner carries lines that for the most part are based out of New York and are also natural. She has also avoided the trap of carrying lines that are easily found elsewhere. Some of the well-known lines she does carry are Mario Badescu, Ole Henricksen (a personal favorite of mine), and Sharps (for the boys). I walked straight past these to the ones I had only ever read about in magazines, Malin + Goetz, Håkansson, and Julie Hewett.

I must tell you, the first time I went in I could not spend a lot and settled on buying some Art of Shaving Sandalwood Shaving Cream for my boyfriend. He loves it and now smells a lot better then when he was using one of those awful shaving foams. I have used it on my legs and they were left baby butt soft and not irritated (mine tend to get bumps from anything with a fragrance).

My more recent visit allowed me to purchase a product from the Håkansson line that has intrigued me so much. Whether it is because it was created by a Swedish lady (I am half-Swedish) or because of their simple packaging I went into Miomia knowing I wanted something from Håkansson. Having browsed the line's website several times I knew I wanted to get The Scent. The Scent is a liquid fragrance that is alcohol free. You use it by putting a little on your pulse points (and hair) and rubbing it in. The Scent really does have a pleasant, light, and unusual fragrance. So far I have introduced it to four friends and all agree it was a good $38 bucks well spent.

I also bought the Bergamot Body Wash from Malin + Goetz. Basically, I liked the scent of this and just wanted something else to open when I got home. No regrets. The line is gender neutral and the scent is a deep citrus, hence Stash's Earl Gray with Bergamot Tea.

I can't wait to go back. My plan is to buy one of Håkansson's The Color, a duo cream multi-purpose colors that come in a variety of shades.

Miss Priss Goes to Jersey City

This weekend I saw my good friend (and fellow PW) Kim in Jersey City. She is still new to the area and so we walked around after a delicious brunch. We did not have to walk to far before we made our first (and best in my mind) Jersey City find.

Right across the street from where we ate was Skin Organix, 297 Grove Street. This is an AMAZING small boutique where they also do facials using the line Naturopathica. They sell the full line of Dr. Hauschka (a popular name in holistic skin/body/hair care and make-up) and smaller organic and all natural product lines. You can buy anything here and know you are doing something good for your body.

I chose to buy the Green Coffee and Yerba Maté body scrub by TerraNova (I actually have been out and needed to purchase one) . It smells heavenly and uplifting, plus it is supposed to help cellulite (I'm crossing my fingers).

My second choice (because it's best done in pairs) was Miessence Jaffa Lip Balm. It smells like creamsicle due to the organic sweet orange oil and organic vanilla extract.

Skin Organix will definitely see me back and I might even get a facial.

Definition of a Product Whore

On any given day you can go into stores like Sephora or Bluemercury, and find a person like myself. I'll be the one with a product jammed into my nose breathing deep, grinning from ear to ear. I'm not alone. There are a bunch of us out there. You know us by our medicine cabinets, cosmetic train cases, and showers.

If one of your friends has 8 different sets of shampoo and conditioner it is a good sign that they are one. By one, I mean a Product Whore.

It is a label I am not ashamed of. Sure my friends make fun of me. They attempt to drag me out of beauty boutiques after minute 35 rolls around and I have picked up my fifth bottle of liquid satisfaction. Some spend money on handbags, shoes, and even clothes. I buy product. I love them and I love it.

When I write, "It", I am referring to the act of walking into a store and having my olfactory system bombarded by whiffs of lip glosses, deep conditioning hair masques, and perfume. "It" being the purchase of a tangerine scented refreshing spray and keeping the box it came in for days longer than is truly needed.

When a Product Whore acquires an Esthetician License and gains discounts at beauty supply stores all hell breaks loose.

Take a look at my vanity and you can see what all hell breaking loose looks like.

As much as it pains me to admit, products are not a panacea. They occasionally fail me, but I never have to squeeze my tush into one or ask if it makes me look fat.