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An excerpt from The Dream Antilles:
Bardo is stretched out in the hammock. He is doing an exercise Swamiji told him about. He gets completely comfortable and relaxed. Then he thinks of something about which he has only positive thoughts. At the moment, he is thinking about how delicious it feels when he is in good physical condition and is running in the New York Marathon. He focuses on his enjoyment, his appreciation of the event, his excitement, the ease of it. As he thinks of these things, other positive thoughts come to him as well, thoughts about how his body is healthy, strong, light, swift, lithe, thoughts about how wonderful and efficient his breathing feels. Soon his mind has appreciated the running, and moves to appreciate something else. He continues as long as there is purely positive thought. At the first awareness of a negative thought he stops, pauses, and returns to the beginning again. Bardo is agog at how many negative thoughts arise in his thinking. Some, he notes are obviously comparative, critical, negative; others, implicitly negative; others, disguised as neutral are negative. He goes back to running down Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn in a sea of runners, enjoying the spectacle of it all, cradled in positive thought, and falls asleep with his mouth open and his jaw hanging relaxed.
Sunday is the day. Again, it's the start of Standard Time. If you're in Gotham, please go to the route and yell. It helps. It really does.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The New York City Marathon
Lalique Amethyst, Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa
Lalique will launch Amethyst, a new fragrance for women, this coming September, although it will not reach the US until 2008:Nathalie Lorson of Swiss flavors and fragrance company Firmenich created Amethyst, a fruity musk juice. Its top note of blackcurrant and blackberry continues with a floral bouquet and ends with notes of vanilla and musk. It comes in a heavy glass bottle (Pochet), engraved with thorns.
Lalique Amethyst will be available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum. (via cosmeticnews)
Other recent fragrances from Lalique: Lalique Encre Noire. Update: additional notes for Lalique Amethyst include raspberry, mulberry, rose, peony and ylang ylang. Shown at right is the luxury packaging, in 50 ml crystal bottle with refill and funnel, 550 euros. (via fashionmag.fr)
Also coming in September, a new fragrance for men from Acqua di Parma. Colonia Intensa, described as a woody leather scent, was developed by perfumer Alberto Morillas, and includes notes of citrus, ginger, myrtle, artemisia, neroli, gaiac wood, patchouli, benzoin and musk. The packaging features the brand's iconic bottle design with a bronze cap. (via cosmeticnews, osmoz)
Update: Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa will be available in 50 and 100 ml Cologne Spray and in Deodorant, After Shave Balm and Hair & Shower Gel.
Update: the description of Colonia Intensa from Neiman Marcus:
A discreet yet intense scent, classical in its initial composition, it is extraordinarily modern with its new and precious combination of woods and resins. Colonia Intensa is for the highly enterprising, self-assured man, who is at ease with himself and in a natural way effortlessly expresses himself through this rich and memorable fragrance.
The unique composition is made up of the traditional citrus and aromatic notes—typical of an Eau de Cologne—but the fragrance develops a surprisingly olfactory personality, intensely masculine due to the innovative long lasting wood-leather.
Additional notes include bergamot, lemon, cardamom, leather, cedarwood, lignum vitae.
Guerlain Master Class - Sniffapalooza
One of the best things about belonging to Sniffapalooza, is being invited to events such as the Guerlain master class this past weekend. It was a luxurious sensory review of Guerlain's fragrances; a dreamy experience. There were also spectacularly rich candles (Cuir Beluga and Boudoir Venitien were particularly seductive).
Guerlain fragrances are so concentrated as to be almost overwhelming. The smallest amount is enough to emit waves of sillage. They are refreshed by heat; in a hot shower the scents are re-intensified for a moment.
Guerlain's perfume organ in Paris prominently features the base notes behind each fragrance because they linger after the other notes burn off. They are the ones that will remain, so the client must be most certain that their personal chemistry is able to make a happy marriage with them.
Among the classics given to sample that day, my favorite was Samsara. It has an almost creamy flesh scent to it, probably because of its base notes of sandalwood, vanilla, iris and tonka bean. I found that in general I was most drawn to those perfumes where the vanilla of the well known Guerlainade accord came through as having an important role. Vanilla seems to smooth and soften the other elements which then embrace my own chemistry more closely. Actually the new Spiritueuse Double Vanille has so much else going on I found the vanilla notes more subdued than I would have expected, given the name. It still holds enough vanilla to be a lovely cooler weather scent, perfect for jacket and coat weather.
Quand Vient la Pluie (When the Rain Comes) is available for the more generously extravagant among us for the coming gift giving season. It is a shockingly expensive ($2,600 for 17 oz.) and mellowly delicious perfume, which we each were able to try on. Probably this one was most like the legendary vintage versions of their classics. Rain perfumes are as a concept one of my favorite genres anyway, and I have posted before about the elements that comprise the scent of rain. This version of the experience as perfume is quite dreamy, you get lost in it, maybe because of the incorporation of elements such as heliotrope, violet, rosemary, praline, and Jasmine Sambac in addition to the woody Amber forest floor quality. The EdP has a musk note and the perfume version has an amber note. It comes in a heavy crystal sculptural base representing a section of a leaf, and the perfume flacon is shaped like dew or a raindrop sitting on the leaf, which lifts out for use and refill.
There was also a fine gold spray powder product ($78) for all over use on skin and hair that was wonderful on all shades, but especially for wavy, darker blondes, picking up detail and enhancing the radiance and brightness of that color.
I took the above photo at the event. I loved the Guerlain signature white beads scattered everywhere...
Suki Exfoliating Lemongrass Cleanser
Usually I’m not too happy with most exfoliating cleansers because they’re too grainy and lack that clean foam feeling, but this Lemongrass Cleanser does both. It is wonderful and I’m so happy that I bought it!
If you think you love it as much as I do, you can buy it here.
Urban Decay Liquid Eyeliner
Now, if you’re not as picky as I am, and don’t mind the strange bottle and the extra pointy wand, which I almost poked my eye out with, I suggest you give it a shot. It is only $18.00 USD after all at the Sephora online store.
put your mask on
Halloween is tomorrow and it's a great time to play with your makeup. Last year we had 
some fun and tried our hand at one of the MAC Halloween masks.
We chose to go with a floral mask even though we didn't have all of the exact shades specified in the look and we think it turned out pretty well for our first try. What do you think?
Here are a few of my favorite looks from MAC this year:
From left to right we have Unzipped, Fantasy Lace, Red Baroque and Half Tinned. Of course there are many more where this came from.
Happy Halloween!
Are you still looking for something to do for that all important costume party this weekend? Let's face it there aren't that many costumes out there that you won't risk seeing on someone else (who wants to runaround in a witch hat all night - right?) Are you stumped for something original?? MAC has got you covered - just try one of their spooky Halloween creations.
I am partial to the one pictured at left called Zombie Chic - but there are so many options to choose from. The great thing about this is - makeup is subjective so even if you don't end up looking exactly like the drawing...you will still look spooky and that's the whole point right?
All you will have to do is throw on a black dress or a black top and pants with any of these - accessorize and you will be good to go. Just try your best and have fun!
Trick or Treat Pretty!
Rum Hand Wash
DermaQuest Skin Therapy
I am scared to mention this, in case I jinx the very agreeable circumstances in which I now find myself, but: My skin has been giving me a LOT less trouble in the last week or so. This also happens to coincide with when I started using some DermaQuest Acne Management products. I don't know if one week of use is enough time for products to make such a significant difference, but so far, I'm pretty pleased.
(I should also note that, as much as my skin stresses me out, a lot of people compliment me on it and claim not to see what I perceive to be hideous blemishes. Let's just say that I know things could be a lot worse, but it doesn't always feel that way.)
I've been cleansing morning and evening with the DermaQuest Beta Hydroxy Cleanser, followed by Nature's Cure Pore-Perfecting Papaya Toner, the DermaQuest DermaClear serum, then either Chanel Fluide Énergisant Multi-Protection Hale Progressif SPF 15 (in the morning), Nature's Cure Acne-Repairing Papaya Moisturizer (at night), or Dermalogica Medicated Clearing Gel (if a flare-up seems to be on the horizon). All of the products except the DermaQuest are ones I've been using in various rotations for the last few months, and I've never noticed the sort of marked improvement that I have recently. Long may my good fortune continue.
NOTE: All of the products mentioned in this post, except for the Dermalogica Medicated Clearing Gel (which I bought myself), were freebies sent to me by the PRs for DermaQuest, Chanel, and Nature's Cure.
Bye-Bye Blemish
The Zeno Pro Acne Clearing Device is something I'd been eyeing with caution for quite a while. At $185 it isn't really something you'd just buy on impulse. I can think of several things I could get for that price instead...a full head of highlights, a Pucci scarf, dinner for one at Daniel...so I was hoping the Zeno would be an investment that I wouldn't regret.
When I got mine, I excitedly ripped open the box and thought to myself, "Ooh, I can't wait to get a pimple!" Who thinks such ridiculous thoughts? I just couldn't wait to try the Zeno!
Well, be careful what you wish for, right? By that evening I felt the beginnings of 2 spots right on the "phone zone," my right jawline where my phone is always touching my face. I powered up the Zeno (it works best on new blemishes like these) and touched it to each spot, leaving it in position for the prescribed 2.5 minutes. It's a little bit of a pain to hold that position, but for a potential zit-zapping I didn't mind. The device felt warm on my face, but not uncomfortably so, and left my skin slightly red for about 10 minutes. Again - it still beats having a full blown pimple.
I followed up 12 hours later with another treatment, as recommended, and went to bed, hoping that the spots would vanish in the night.
And you know what? They did!
The 2 red bumps, which just 24 hours earlier had been threatening to ruin my week, were flat, pain-free, and barely even pink. They still required a bit of concealer, but I was totally impressed with how quickly the Zeno delivered results. (And now a few hours later, the spots are even less noticeable!)
All in all, the Zeno Pro is an excellent investment. For $185 you get the unit and a treatment tip that's good for 90 uses. Replacement tips are $35.
Small price to pay for never again having to associate the word "volcano" with something on your face!
Origins Rich Rewards™ Intensive Moisture Treatment For Scalp and Hair
The changes in seasons always sends our hair for a loop. But lately we have been having a worse time with our scalp. Nothing like a little stress eczema to make you feel bad about your locks! But Origins Rich Rewards™ Intensive Moisture Treatment For Scalp and Hair is miraculously soothing to not only dry hair but an itchy scaly scalp.
Once weekly (though we say use it as often as feels good), after shampooing massage a handful of this rich cream into scalp and finger through hair to ends.
The Wheat Protein is great for hair health but vitamins E and A really do wonders for the scalp. Plus it smells like Pear, a fruit that is at its best in the late fall months. It makes us want to settle in for half an hour with a good magazine and a nice bowl of Bartletts or maybe an D'anju or two!
Beauty Classic: Avon Skin So Soft Original Bath Oil
Sometimes there is a reason a beauty product has been around forever. One of our favorite classics is unsurprisingly Avon's Skin So Soft Bath Oil. We first encountered it in the shower of our aunt's guest bathroom after a long afternoon of horseback riding. She only had drying soap instead of our preferred shower gel so we found ourselves reaching for the oil after the thorough scrubbing of the dust and grime left our skin feeling a little parched.
We fell in love! Like the copy says Adored, raved about, idolized....it's the bath oil that outsells and out moisturizes the competition. Sure the bottle is boring, the ingredients are nothing new or novel, but i it works what is not to love?
Fragrance Friday: Musk By Jean Guy
We are suckers for unisex fragrances. We share clothing with our boy (American Apparel deep v-necks tees) and beauty products (Kielh's) so why not scents? We are loving Jean Guy's Musk for just that reason.
The style is confident and fresh and the notes are crisp linen, pear, and both white and sensual musk which to us says man or woman this is a scent for people with a little zest!
In his latest creation Musk, he reinvents a classic and transforms it into something truly modern by capturing the sensuality of women with the passion of men.
For more Fragrance Friday reads check Robin at Now Smell This on breaking out the winter scents with Parfumerie Generale, a delicious fragrance from Olivier Durbano called Black Tourmaline with fall aromas like cardamom, coriander, cumin, and frankincense, from Perfume Smellin' Things, and a great roundup from Scentzilla on the top ten fragrances of fall!
Beauty News, Finally
I know I have skipped 2 Fridays straight and I sincerely apologize. Please forgive me. For your reading pleasure, here's what has been happening in the world of beauty. There is so much more beauty to look forward to that it makes me giddy with joy. I hope that your weekend is full of happiness, laughter, food, people, and beauty.
Pout Cosmetics will be no more after the end of this year. They are bowing out of the beauty business. I know let's put our waterproof mascara to use.
Thierry Mugler is launching a cosmetic line, entitled Dare the Metamorphosis and five new fragrances; It launches in December and in limited distribution; The fragrances will launch at Saks in NY and the cosmetics will launch at certain Bloomingdale's in March; The fragrances include A Travers Le Miroir (Through the Looking Glass); Miroir des Secrets (Mirror of Secrets); Dis-Moi, Miroir (Mirror Image); Miroir des Vanites (Mirror of Vanities) and Miroir des Envies (Miroir of Desire).
Sephora is relaunching its bath collection with six new scents - Asian Ginger, Citrus Sage, Guava Passion, Morning Waterlily, Riviera Blue, Tropical Jasmine and Tangerine Grapefruit.
Le Mystere the upscale lingerie line is releasing its own skincare products.
Jennifer Lopez will release Deseo in February. I have yet to smell this, but the bottle alone needs to grace my dresser. [photo above]
Cate Blanchett will continue to be the face of SK-II globally. This is some really good skincare.
Beauté Prestige International, Shiseido’s fragrance division, will introduce in April a skin care and makeup line for men, which is to replace the existing Tout Beau Tout Propre collection.
Cofinluxe will release three new fragrances. Little Kiss, from Dali, will be launched in April; a second Dali scent is to hit counters in September, and My Morgan in April.
La Prairie will introduce Advanced Marine Biology Cream, a natural moisturizer t in January. The company will also introduce Midnight Rain, next fall. You know I will be all over this.
Physicians Formula is going natural with the launch of Organic Wear, the first certified organic makeup line to be sold in the mass market.
Have a great weekend. I'm headed to Fort Lauderdale for a yoga conference. I don't know how good my downward facing dogs and warriors will be after these long work days, but thank goodness I booked a few spa treatments for Sunday afternoon.
Kerastase is launching Densitive, a daily supplement for thinning hair and hair loss.
Tommy Hilfiger is releasing his next fragrance Dreaming in February.
New York & Co. launches a bath and body line on Nov. 15 called City Beauty.
American Beauty will release Beloved next spring with Ashley Judd as the model.
Liz Earle is opening a store in London. I need to get me across the pond and fast.
Alterna hair care line is launching Hemp Organics with certified hemp oil and organics next month.
Barbara Barry has created a new home scent line launching at Bergdorf and Neiman's next month. I must add these candles to the home rotation.
Au Revoir, Besos, Love, Lip Gloss, & Namaste.
Kanebo Sensai Silk Limited Edition
Kanebo, a great skincare line, has created a limited edition creation targeted towards the younger generation from teen's through their twenties. The combination of these products helps keep young skin looking its age, while enhancing natural beauty. This graceful set contains the perfect blend for protection against early aging. Targeted towards the younger generation form teen's through their twenties, the combination of these products helps keep young skin looking its age, while enhancing a youthful skin's natural beauty.
Moisture Supply Eye Cream - Provided in full size, the cream keeps the skin in a condition that is naturally resistant to fine lines. The essential them is 24-Hour Moisturizing Supplement. Conventional eye creams are used as special treatments in the evening, yet Sensai Silk Moisture Supply Eye Cream is formulated for application any time of the day, even over makeup.
Softening Lotion (Moist) - A refined treatment, this lotion saturates the skin with moisture to counter harmful external factors while priming the skin for subsequent treatment by Emulsion (Moist). The end result of which, is soft, moist skin. Included in Travel Size.
Emulsion (Moist) - This light emulsion creates a hydrating veil that keeps the skin soft and dewy. This travel-sized adjunct to the previous two products improves resistance, firmness, brightness and softness.
Available at Saks for $80.
Indian Summer Scents
Here in New York, summer and fall are playing a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. One day it's hot, the next it's cool. I can't figure out what clothes to wear! However, one nice effect is that it's giving me a few more days to indulge in my summer scents before packing them away for fall. I like fresh, citrussy scents layered with fruit, incense or marine notes. Here are my top summer scents of 2007:
Yuzu Rouge by Parfums 06130 - The citrusy top notes of grapefruit, Japanese Yuzu fruit and verbena make this perfectly refreshing on a hot summery day. The cassis and cardamom anchor it so the scent lasts longer and and has an alluring depth.
Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermes - My aunt gave this to me, as it is her favorite summer scent. It quickly became one of mine, too! This is a very green, watery scent, inspired by the island-gardens on the Nile river. Notes include green mango, lotus flowers, aromatic rushes, incense and sycamore wood.
Note: I'm wondering if this is discontinued, since it's not on the USA Hermes website, nor on Sephora.com (and I recently saw it in a Sephora store). If anyone has info, please share!
Island Michael Kors - I probably got this 3 summers ago, and I still like it. It's a headier summer scent, better reserved for evening than during the hottest part of the day. There's something about it that does remind me of walking on a beach without shoes, where the breeze is refreshing and there are tropical fruits awaiting you under the shade of a palm tree. I've yet to try its sister scent, Island Michael Kors Hawaii, exclusive to Sephora. The clementine and orange notes in it do sound yummy.
Eau D'Italie - I got a travel set of fragrance, hair wash, hair balm, soap, shower gel and body milk at Lafco NY a year ago. I used it on a trip to Spain, and now anytime I smell the bright citrus scent, it takes me back to sunny days and ocean breezes. The notes are bergamot, incense, and blackcurrant buds. It's perfectly unisex, so you can share!
Eau D'Hadrien by Annick Goutal - My great-aunt took me to Paris when I was 16 years old; it was my first trip aboard. She always wore a sparkling citrus splash, and if this isn't it, it's as close as I can get. Eau d'Hadrien is a fresh, citrus fragrance in which a zesty touch of lemons from Sicily and grapefruits ripened under the Italian sun blend with the subtle notes of citron and cypress.
Fresh Cucumber Baie - Oh, sadness! This is no longer on the Fresh website. Luckily, you can find it here. This is a summer day in a bottle: drink in the fruity watermelon, grapefruit, and berry musk, balanced over fresh marine notes and cucumber pulp. It's fresh (no pun intended), not sticky sweet.
