A Fistful of Fresh

Photo courtesy of Fresh.

Passion, Berry, and Honey.

So it was a long week. A very long week. A full day shoot turned into a full day of writing and interviewing then an awesome lecture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston by Robert Edsel of Monuments Men (He says George Clooney, who is heading up and starring in the movie, is the nicest person and dedicated to the men and women at the core of the story). The next day I was dealing with our kitchen ceiling falling in then heading to an overnight at The Charles Hotel and an awesome progressive meal at Rialto and Henrietta’s Table. Friday was another shoot day, which also happened to be the day our sister-in-law went into labor with our nephew and my husband’s family’s first grandchild. Needless to say by the time I surrounded to the couch on Friday night clutching my cell phone I was a chapped, tired mess.  As my ongoing battle with dry everything continues (even my hair needs some TLC) I rely on five or so lip balms to keep me hydrated. One of my favorite moisturizing tinted balms is Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment with SPF 15. Just in time for the holidays they have introduced the Fresh Sugar Stars Mini Collection, eight small tubes in shades like Cherry, Berry, Passion, as well as the advanced lip treatment. Each tube is about half the size of a regular one and perfect for fitting into a clutch on your way to an event and is sheer enough in color you can apply anywhere. The gift set is really only missing Coral and Berry, and I will have to pick up both colors as I would like to try them. The fun packaging makes it a no-brainer gift this holiday season.  $65.

The Best Laid Plans

I’d be the first person to admit I like to keep a schedule; I have two electronic calendars and a handwritten Moleskine Classic Planner in purple. So when I saw that Bluemercury’s founder Marla Malcolm Beck had partnered with legendary makeup artist Trish McEvoy (one of the most organized people in the business) I was excited to see the result. Behold, the Trish McEvoy Holiday 2013 Power of Makeup planner collection available only at Bluemercury.  When I moved back from Verona six years ago and had made a bit of money the first thing I spent it on was a black quilted planner from Trish McEvoy filled with a velvety foundation and concealer, lip gloss, and a volumizing mascara.  Each product did exactly what it promised, and I was impressed at how well thought out the line was as a whole and at the option of refillable compacts. I carried the planner with me everywhere because it kept each piece of my makeup organized and in place until it finally gave out and had to be replaced. The Holiday 2013 planner, a rich raspberry suede quilted case, holds 12 pieces inspired by the timeless beauty of Brigitte Bardot, including brow shaper, Beauty Booster SPF 15 Lip Gloss in Sexy Nude, Intense Gel Eye Liner in Deep Aubergine. The planner just debuted at Bluemercury for $165. 

PS. Bostonians, Bluemercury just opened two new locations at 160 Newbury Street in Boston and 1245 Market Street in Lynnfield.

A Luxurious Way to Start the Holiday Season

The couples suite at The Spa at the Mandarin Oriental. Photo courtesy of Mandarin Oriental.

I had the great luck of previewing the Mandarin Oriental Boston’s new, seasonal Frankincense Massage Ritual at their beautiful spa. The hotel is lush in itself, but the spa is a wonderful departure from the hectic hustle and bustle outside. I arrived 30 minutes early to take advantage of the 16,000-square-foot spa’s facilities including the Quart crystal steam room, bathing suit optional vitality pool, and the relaxation lounge where your spa therapist greets you. When you first arrive at the spa they invite you to take a seat while they check you in and exchange your shoes for slippers. They also offer you hot tea and a warm hand towel before showing you into the changing rooms and giving you a toiletry kit with toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and a razor. After changing into a soft robe, I grabbed a towel and ducked first into the steam room, alternating between that and the nearby ice fountain before finishing with a quick dunk into the vitality pool. I then headed into the lounge where sofa-like chairs are fitted with blankets for your comfort and a table held dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, almonds, tea, water, and fruit. My therapist, Kenny, showed me to one of the nine treatment rooms and I took a seat in the comfortable lounger as he started to explain the essence of the 80-minute treatment. I was intrigued that the ritual focused heavily on the feet and scalp, and as someone who loves having her head touched I was excited. The first step in the ritual was the foot treatment with sea salt, Mandarin Oriental's signature Quintessence oil and calendula from Cape Cod. Kenny gentle washed my feet with the water and dried them before excusing himself so I could settle onto the massage bed on my stomach. Kenny wrapped my feet in warm paraffin wax before using long, gentle strokes on my back with AromatherapyAssociates’ De-Stress Mind Body Oil made with wild chamomile, frankincense, and petitgrain oils. The scent was mild, but I was able to catch the frankincense, which having been raised going to church and spending a lot of time in them when I was living in Italy, was warm and nostalgic.  After I was sufficiently relaxed he had me turn over so he could work on my scalp. This, to me, was the best part of the treatment and I came close to sleep a few times. I very much enjoyed that my head, feet, and back were focused on and I could feel it when my treatment was over. As usual I felt relaxed and settled, but most interestingly to me, I felt longer and lithe. At just over five feet tall I welcome any opportunity to feel elongated. The treatment runs December 1-31, and costs $215 on weekdays and $235 on weekends.

A Polished Look

‘Tis the season for cocktail parties, festive dinners, decadent galas which means blow outs, makeup, and unchipped nails (especially if you are holding a Champagne flute). Just in time to save the day,  Ciaté released its Mini Mani Month of nail polishes ($58). From Snow Globe to Party Shoes and Confetti, the limited edition kit contains 23 mini polishes, including top and under coats, a funnel, and a secret full sized polish. Ciaté polishes are thankfully 3-free so you don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals as you brush your way through the holiday season. 

A Few Of My Favorite Things

These two Chanel lipsticks, Rouge Allure Radieuse ($24, left) and Rouge Allure Velvet in La Precieuse ($24, right), are part of the brand’s limited edition Holiday 2013 collection. The three blushes I wrote about the other day are part of that collection. There is a third lip color, Rouge Allure Velvet in La Desiree, a vampy Bordeaux, but these two are my favorites. I’m always a little nervous about matte lipsticks admittedly, but am planning on prepping my lipsticks with Sara Happ’s The Lip Scrub in Vanilla Bean ($24) or Fresh Brown Sugar Lip Polish ($22) before I apply the rich colors. With a season full of personal and work events for me that means a different lip look each evening and would be perfect to the opening of Boston's new Peter Marino-designed Chanel flagship store on Newbury Street. The brand's press office has confirmed the store will be opening the first week of December. I cannot wait to see the new space and the custom art that Marino had commissioned for the store. 

A Winning Hand

After a lifetime of New England winters I have the market cornered on scarves and boots and gloves, but that doesn’t mean I’m not searching for the eternal answer to dry hands. After a long weekend of cooking and then cleaning pots and pans, my digits are especially beat up. Here are a few of my favorite hand creams.

L’Occitane’s Shea Butter lotion ($28 for 5.2 oz., $12 for 1 oz.) is by far my favorite hand cream. I’ve been using the thick,  hydrating, nongreasy lotion for years and it is a cure-all. I keep a large tube in my nightstand and smaller ones in my purses. Perfect for before bed application. A little goes a long way. 

Bluemercury’s extremely chic and smart founder Marla Beck gave me a sample of her M-61 Vitablast C Hand cream ($19) when I met her a few months ago and I keep it at my work desk. Made with Vitamins C and E, gallic acid, and aloe it is nongreasy and great for constant reapplication. It is also 100 percent paraben- and synthetic fragrance-free.

I’ve been on the Aromatherapy Associates bandwagon since I was introduced to co-founder Geraldine Howard at a breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental Boston a few months ago. She is a true master oil blender and a cancer survivor and one of the most inspiring women I’ve met. Her Renewing Rose Body Cream ($56) has been appropriated for hand use.  The rose scent is light enough I can wear it throughout the day. 

The Aesop store opened in Boston last year and I love the brand’s  Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm ($25). It is a bit thinner than the other hand creams and maybe a tad bit oilier but I would still use this throughout the day. It has the light herbal scent Aesop is known for and it also works great as a night hand cream. 

And a cheap one but another favorite is Gold Bond Ultimate Intensive Healing Hand Cream. I love the light scent. It is a little thicker and greasier so it makes a great option to slather on before bed. It does the trick every time. 

And next on my list to try is La Mer’s The Hand Treatment ($75). 

A Fine Line

I noticed grey hairs about two years ago and after a while (a long while) panicking and plucking turned to letting it happen. I still haven’t gotten my hair dyed to cover the grey hairs and fully intend to, but I thought I’d let it go a bit longer before I pulled the expensive trigger. A few months ago I noticed fine lines around the left corner of my mouth….the part of my face that gets more exposure to the sun if I’m driving and that really stopped me in my tracks. The grey hair was something I couldn’t stop but I could fix…but the fine lines around my mouth brought back summers full of errant sunblock behavior.  I cringed remembering one particularly bad sunburn on my face after spending a day on a jet ski in Florida…without reapplying sun block, no hat. (I’m literally grimacing as I write this.) A few weeks ago I discovered the Verso line of skincare that contains Retinol 8, a complex of Vitamin A and polyphenol extracts. Retinol is one of the few things that is going to work to dim the appearance of fine lines, and more recent iterations of it aren’t as drying and stinging as their predecessors. Verso, a Swedish line, is paraben-, sulfate-, and phthalate-free. I am just using the eye serum and night cream right now, but they also have a day lotion and cleanser. The eye serum and night cream are very gentle, non-sticky, and absorb quickly. Some nights there is a tingling sensation, but it isn’t painful or drying. I have a slight change in the lines around my month and it is definitely enough to encourage me to continue using it. I will report back after I finish the first bottle!

Ps. I am still loving the post shower Rosehip Body Oil from Kora Organics by Miranda Kerr. Really light scent and non-clogging.

Gemvara Experience

I stopped by the opening of Boston-based Gemvara’s Experience showroom last night (above Jonathan Adler), and while they only have plans to be open until mid-February I think they have a winning concept. The online jewelry company is a pioneer in customizing pieces (rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets) with your own metal (one of 9 including the increasingly popular rose gold) and gemstone (29 options). Gemvara believes that jewelry is a very personal accessory and gives clients the ability to customize to fit their personality or story. The new showroom is a really bright space on Newbury Street where you can interact with the cases (they encourage visitors to pull out the drawers) and try on finished pieces and then work with a representative to make your own jewelry.  As with skin care and makeup, I think that having a brick and mortar location (or at least a pop-up showroom) is helpful from a tactile sense: How do you know if the metal goes with your skin tone?  Or if Rhodolite Garnet looks as purple in real life as it does on the web?  Make an appointment or visit the showroom at 129 Newbury Street. 

What’s in My Purse: Lipstick Edition

I am a lipstick freak. Lip gloss. Tinted balm. I love to see what works for me and what doesn’t and that includes color so I have a drawer full of reds and coral that didn’t work with my coloring. In my bag today I have some of my favorites, from left to right: Nars’ Napoli liptick ($26),  Fresh Sugar Petal tinted lip treatment Spf 15 ($22.5), Dior Addict Lip Glow Spf 10 ($31), Armani Rouge Ecstasy in 509 ($34, a really neat and new CC lipstick), a well-worn Nars  velvet gloss lip pencil in  New Lover ($25), and a shimmery nude Flash Lip Lacquer (Beige 102) from Giorgio Armani Beauty ($29)  It is one of the few tinted balms I can put on in the elevator at work on the way to an event. Fun story: When I moved to Verona, Italy a few years ago I stopped at an independent beauty boutique on my way to the airport desperate for one last lipstick before I left. I loved the Nars lipstick so much I bought it and jumped into the car before I noticed the name: Napoli, or Naples in Italian. Fate, right? I love that it has Vitamin E and is super hydrating. What is your favorite lipstick, balm, or gloss right now? It would be tough to choose a favorite although the Nars lip pencil and lipstick are both re-purchases (I love the texture), and I will definitely buy the Dior Addict balm again. The balm actually customizes to your lip color for a natural, flushed pink hue.

PS: the purple macramé bracelet was purchased in Verona in September from Cruciani C.  I found out when I got back that you can buy them online. Might be an addiction in the making… 

First Blush

A few weeks ago I was sitting side-by-side in a doctor’s office with my younger sister when she peered over at me and asked with all seriousness, “Do you put your makeup on then wipe it off?” Me: “Are you really asking me this?” She bit her lip, peered at me again, and nodded. Normally, I would have given her a friendly shove, but since she HAD woken up at the crack of dawn to come to my mammogram with me I simply shook my head. “No, it is early, though.” Later, when I have been cleared and told to come back in 6 months, I took another look in the mirror. Maybe Jenna was right. I did look a little pale. I had lost nearly all my summer color, which wasn’t much to begin with. I go through stages with what I put on my cheeks. For years, I did all-out bronzer with Guerlain’s Terracotta Bronzing Powder, which I loved ($51)  then it was a Chanel blush I can’t even remember the name of and finally for a while it was Fine One One by Benefit Beauty ($30)  and Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Fluid Sheer in Number 8 ($59) 

I am still using the last product, but have made way for Chanel’s 2013 Holiday cheek colors. When I used Chanel blush before, it was of the powder variety, but I am very impressed with two limited-edition shades, Le Blush Crème de Chanel cream blush in Inspiration and Revelation ($38)  The product is silky and smooth and you can really build the color on your cheeks; you can use a blush brush to apply it but I just work it in with my finger tips. I ended up opting to keep Revelation, and have been using the vibrant pink every morning. On the other side of the blush spectrum is Chanel’s  Joues Contraste powder blush in Accent, also limited edition for the holidays. The pink-bronze hue color made my skin appear a bit too ashy, but I love the small brush that is included and how it creates natural, beautiful angles to the face. And while we are chatting about brushes this is my favorite cheap way of washing them.

Sephora Collection Smart Liner-I’ve Got My Eye on You

I had gotten into a purple eyeliner and shadow rut for a while, and it wasn’t easy to get out of it with fabulous go-tos like Clinique’s Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Plum  ($16) and Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Eyes to Kill eyeshadow quad in Parma ($59). I haven’t used liquid eyeliner in years, and back when I did in college it was usually a literal mess on my face. But I recently discovered Sephora Collection Smart Liner in black ($14) and haven’t been able to put it down. In addition to being free of parabens and sulfates, its hefty handle helps control the movement and speed. It goes on smooth and dries very quickly, but comes off easily with eye makeup remover. Now I just need to learn how to do a cat-eye and I’ll be all set. 

A Rose By Any Other Name

Full admission: I am one of those people who LOVES the smell of roses. I can't get enough of it. I love rose tea and store it away in a special part of our tea and coffee cabinet so, ahem, wandering eyes don't seize upon it. So I was thrilled when I got my hands on a sample of Fresh's Rose Foaming Cleanser ($38). I am admittedly a huge Fresh fan. While the brand is now part of LVMH, it was once a Boston based company whose founders still live here. The brand's Soy Face Cleanser is a huge part of my routine (love it with my Clarisonic Mia) and I can trust their products. One pump of their rose cleanser is all I need. I can feel my face being cleansed without it drying out. The scent isn't overpowering either and doesn't stay on your skin.  Another favorite rose product is Nuxe's Clarifying Cream Masque with Rose Petals ($31) that I picked up in a little pharmacy across from our hotel in Paris in September. It has the softest, velvety texture. I swipe two fingers over it quickly and leave it on my face for five minutes before gently washing off. The smell and feel on my face is heavenly.  and a new-to-the-States rose product I was excited to try was Miranda Korr's Kora organic line.  I am a glutton for a bath and love the rosehip oil ($42.71). It is very soothing and leaves the skin feeling great. Either add a few drops to your bath water or directly onto your skin after you towel dry.