Recently in Favorite Things Category

I am such a sucker for beautiful things. Whether that means having fresh flowers around, a bed (made every morning) with crisp quality sheets, using sterling to eat pizza..... or the most beautiful product packaging, I appreciate beauty in the day to day things some people may ignore.  Thus my love for Guerlain - they must have the most beautiful packaging in the industry, not to mention great products...  Look at these things: beauty and functionality - - you've got to love that.

Meteorites Pearls Compact, $65

Terracotta Brush, $35

Terracotta Kohl, $34

Kiss Kiss Lipstick, $30

[I also love Chanel's packaging... of course. Can it get more classic than black and white and a dash of gold here and there?]

Where would my skin be without Peter Thomas Roth's Glycolic Acid 10% Moisturizer? Probably falling off right now.  This amazing moisturizer's acids seem to eat away at all the dead and dull skin on your face, which is great especially in the very dry and windy Winter weather season.  It is also said to "help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and other signs of aging. Help clarify the skin and smooth out a rough texture."  That is the marketing lingo - but seriously, it works.  $45 for 2 ounces. 

PTR also has a new Radiance Oxygenating Masque, ($50, 3.4 fl oz). It "brightens and evens out skin tone, clarifies, detoxifies, and hydrates the skin".  It's got some crazy-serious ingredients: fiflow®, symwhite™, gigawhite™, glucosamine, bearberry, mulberry, licorice, sodium pca, sodium hyaluronate, and vitamins C & E.  You massage it onto your face until it starts foaming and then let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It feels great - tingly and cooling, and then you wash it off.  It is supposed to "help to reduce the appearance of fines lines and wrinkles, plump surface cells, stimulate cell metabolism and enhance cell renewal leading to a more luminous, healthy looking complexion."  I just started using this, it seems great so far.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a nice day off yesterday.  I was back to work today, seemingly one of the few who was - - the city seemed very quiet!

I was thinking about 2008 and what new discoveries I made, and old things I really appreciated having and used a lot over the year. So here's my little recap:

New:

True Religion Jeans

Banana's New Tank Top

Juicy Couture "Serena" Platform Short Boots

Chanel Double C Earrings

Thin Hangers

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria - Mandarine-Basilic

Old Standards I love:

Mont Blanc Pen

Coverse Sneakers

Vuitton Cabas Piano

Pearls

Louboutin Classic Pumps

I am sure 2009 will be full of new discoveries, hopefully modestly priced recession-friendly ones (ha! one can dream). Cheers.

I'm finding that in the Summer I'm loving my Caudalie Beauty Elixir even more than usual.  If you're not familiar with Caudalie they are a pioneer in vinotherapie, the use of beneficial grape-seed polyphenols in skin care products. Caudalie is from Bordeaux, France where I was lucky enough to discover them at the wonderful spa they have at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte.

The elixir is a spray inspired by the "elixir of youth" used by Queen Isabella of Hungary. It is supposed to soothe the skin, tighten pores and provides a burst of radiance to the complexion.  I'm not sure if it really does all of that, but spraying it on your face after you've just washed it, is one of the most refreshing things I can think of.  It has the most amazing smell, I wish I could describe it. I close my eyes, spray it a couple times right in front of my face and then breath in through my nose... it's just like aaaahhhh.  It makes your skin so happy. It's such a moment! It's made with extracts of grape, essential oil of rosemary, orange blossom and rose extracts, benzoin, myrrh essential oils of organic balm mint and mint. So maybe you can imagine how it smells. I spray it on my clean face at night but you can also use it between your foundation and powder to perfectly set make-up.

They also make a grape water that you can use just like the Evian atomizer spray. (I always take one of the small Evian atomizers on planes for the dry air) They extract the water from the grapes at harvest, so it's better than just water because it has moisturizing polysaccharides and mineral salts from the grape.

You can buy Caudalie products from their own website (they send you free samples with each purchase!) or beauty.com. I like to order from beauty.com who is partnered with drugstore.com because they give you 5% back for future purchases and also free samples. Sephora also carries Caudalie, so that's convenient since there are Sephoras all over the place now.

I absolutely love Fresh products, everything they make is great, but I really love the Sugar and Lemon Sugar items.

My #1 favorite is the Sugar Lip Treatment.  Okay, at $22.50 it seems kind of expensive, but I think it's worth it. It has the benefit of SPF 15, blackcurrant oil cushions the lips with plumping fatty acids and antioxidant grapeseed polyphenols and vitamins A, C & E provide extra protection. And it smells great and comes in a rather nice container.

I also love the Lemon Sugar soap and lotion. The lemon sugar has a really fresh lemony citrus smell, it's refreshing and kind of just makes you happy when you smell it. The soap is a good hard-milled soap, so it doesn't disintegrate like cheap drug store soaps do. The lotion is loaded with good stuff like shea butter, mango seed oil, Vitamins C and E and sugar cane extract.  It's kind of heavy though, I think it's best for winter season unless you have really dry skin.

The soap is $13 and the lotion is $28, all at Fresh.com.

I am sorry to say that I have to retract my "favorite things" status of the Old Navy tank top.  They were such a great value, for a long time; but I find that the cotton quality has gone down severely. I guess this isn't too surprising considering that they cost only $6 (on sale) each. I have tons of them, and I guess they'll have to be worn to the gym only. 

The good news is that I've found a replacement that's only slightly more expensive.  The Gap "favorite ribbed tank" is $14.50 or $10.00 on sale.  It's got a finer rib and the cotton feels softer. Overall, it's thinner so better for layering and a bit longer which is good for wearing with low waisted pants. I think they run a bit big though, so size down.    

Another good option is the J Crew "solid washed favorite tank" for $16.50. I think it's a little thinner than the Gap one so the white would be somewhat see-through. Maybe it's a bit too long, but since it's thin material it scrunches up without being too bulky.

For the non-budget constrained, James Perse!  He now does his long tank top in a cotton/modal blend $45 at Bloomingdale's, Saks, etc. etc. I love modal, it's softer than cotton and more drapey.
I think the Gap option is the best value and the one I'm going to stock up on. I buy a bunch of these every season, so cheap is good. I can't stand white tanks that don't look pefectly white anymore, so I end up getting rid of a lot of them. And no, I don't like to use bleach because it's too harmful to the cotton fibers.

Creme de la Mer is a very rich face cream made with sea kelp, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, lecithin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12 and oils of citrus, eucalyptus, wheat germ, alfalfa and sunflower.  The ingredients are fermented to create the "miracle broth" in creme de la mer.  La Mer's brochure says it will make skin softer, firmer, and look virtually creaseless; aging lines and pores made noticeably less visible;  and sensitivities soothed.  I use it anywhere I think a wrinkle may show up in the future.  So far, so good.  It has a kind of old lady smell that I don't really like, but that's okay...
   

Estee Lauder bought La Mer in 1995 and it has become more and more popular since then, thanks to the EL marketing machine and more wide distribution. You can buy La Mer at Bloomingdales. It is $125 for an ounce, $220 for 2 oz or $1350 for 16.5 oz. Good grief, who'd need a jar that big?

This is totally geeky, but I love these shoes.  Most of the time (as I've mentioned before) I am in 4" heels, but when the occasion calls for walking around on cobblestone streets etc. these are perfect in a geek chic sort of way.  It's funny too because I had them in junior high school, but I had the high tops.  I don't like the high tops anymore though.  And, I found a picture of my Dad in the 60s wearing the oxfords in off-white.  Who would imagine we'd end up wearing the same shoes?  You need to get the black ones dusty when they are brand new, so the white part doesn't look so super white.  They're only $42!  And if you buy them at zappos.com you get free shipping and free returns (if you order the wrong size). 

Of course the queen bee of candle pots is the Diptyque candle. They're made in France; come in wonderful scents like amande, figuier and baies noires; have super luxurious packaging; burn 50 -60 hours.... and they cost $55 - $60 each!  Yikes, I don't know about you, but that's a bit much for me.

Enter the Voluspa Basic Black candle...  these candles are slightly larger, 10 oz vs. 7 oz so they burn longer, about 85 hours. They also come in great packaging and amazing scents like genoa lemon basil, italian tangelo, crisp champage, fleur de cocoa, sake lemon flower etc. etc.  They also come with a metal cover, it serves as a base while it's burning and a cover to extinguish the candle and keep it dust free.  I love that!  The really amazing thing is that they cost only $22!

On the silver topic... What better way for a Gucci girl to combine her love of all things bamboo with sterling silver?  The answer is Tiffany's Bamboo Sterling Silverware!  I'm not sure if normal people still think it is necessary to have sterling silverware, personally I think it is de rigueur.

Side note, they used to make bamboo jewelry also, as part of the Tiffany Nature collection but sadly, it was discontinued. I have the bamboo hoops that weigh a ton (uggh) but look great!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but it's good to mix things up right? I was recently given the Elsa Peretti Teardrop earrings and this gift has caused me to have a Tiffany sterling renaissance. I dug out my collection and polished it up and (re)realized that I LOVE this stuff.  I'm not sure why I hadn't worn any of it in so long.  (okay maybe because it's annoying to have to polish it, more on that below) Tiffany's designs are so classic. My favorites are the Atlas collection , the Peretti bean and the Peretti teardrops.  And buying them in sterling makes them affordable to most people... although "affordable", it is kind of an outrage when you consider how much 925 silver costs (its dirt cheap), the markup Tiffany has is INSANE.  But hey, they have to pay for the nice blue boxes and their designers, and for some really expensive real estate. 

Frank Gehry even has a line now!  Tiffany's calls it "a bold new vision of arresting shapes and forms".  I guess that's what you'd expect from the man who designed Bilbao [Guggenheim]! I like the Torque line. (3 pendants in that collection at left) He's also doing some bone china bowls and vases that are really cool.

Note to guys everywhere: if you don't know what to get your girlfriend/wife/mistress etc. you cannot go wrong with something from Tiffany's.  (note of caution - do NOT buy Tiffany on Ebay, it's most likely FAKE and made in China) 

Oh, last quick note on polishing sterling... I learned this a long time ago. Take a pan and line it with aluminum foil, boil some water and get out some baking soda.  Put your jewelry items in the pan on the foil, pour hot water over it and dump in a few teaspoons of baking soda.  It will fizz... let it sit there for several minutes then take your stuff out and buff it with a soft cloth and it's like new!  This works if the tarnish is not really bad - if it's really bad then you can do this, but you'll need to use silver polish too to get all of the tarnish off.  Don't use this method on soft stones or pearls though!

Today, I'd like to expound the virtues of the Old Navy tank top. 

1. they are ridiculously cheap, normally they sell for $8.50 but often go on sale for $6.00

2. they come in an insane number of colors (although I favor a very simple palette of black, white, chocolate brown and gray)

3. they go with anything

4. they are super comfortable

5. you don't have to feel bad when you need to throw one away

When I was cleaning my apartment a few weeks ago, I found that I had 44 of them in various stages of an item's life cycle.  I got it down to 26 by getting rid of (to good will) any whose cotton didn't feel supple and newish.  It is insane how often I wear these tank tops... now you might think I look like a bum all the time... but it's amazing how cool and insouciant a simple Old Navy tank top can look when you throw one on with your Seven jeans, Gucci shoes and good jewelry!

A while back I bought several James Perse tank tops ($35 or $40 each depending on the style) just to make sure I wasn't missing the boat there....  Okay, I don't think I was/am.  They are nice, but we talking about tank tops - - are they really 4 x nicer? I doubt it.  See, my fashion snobbery is apparently somewhat modest...

Bon week-end tout le monde!

I have loved Hermes scarves ever since I went to their Paris store (24 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré) in 2000 and had a scarf tying lesson and tour of their upstairs leather atelier.  I got my first scarf there - Brazil in the medium blue and orange colorway.  As soon as I got back to New York I got my second one - Hula in the black colorway.

The patterns on Hermes scarves are truly like art, they are so beautiful!  In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to frame one and hang it on your wall.  The quality of the silk, the printing and the hand rolled edges are also what set Hermes scarves apart.

These are square scarves, so they can be hard to wear if you don't know what to do with them.  Hermes used to give you a cute little hardcover book when you bought a scarf as a gift, but they don't have them anymore...  You can download the book in a pdf file from the Hermes website though (www.hermes.com).  You can also buy the book on ebay, although I've seen them for as high as $45.00 which seems ridiculous for a book that is so tiny (it is about 3 inches square) and that was originally free!

One of my favorite scarf tying ideas is the scarf shirt.  Here's what you do:  Lay the scarf out flat.  Pick it up at the center middle and let the rest of the scarf fall aside.  Tie a knot here.  Then take the 2 upper corners and tie them around your neck and the bottom 2 corners and tie them around your waist.  Then you just need to arrange the neck so it drapes nicely.  Madonna wore another variation of the scarf shirt in the movie Swept Away (see below).  Her scarf was La Vie a Cheval in the black and yellow colorway.