Champagne Life

Christmas has come and gone and I survived quite nicely. My Christmas morning was filled with an enormous ornately carved Balinese screen, an amazing designer handbag, beautiful handcrafted jewelry, A little blue bag of Tiffany for Tiffany and so many other amazing unexpected gifts. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and boyfriend. Remember my last post when I was was telling y'all some of my Christmas list? Well Santa decided to pay me a visit and make one of my holiday wishes come true!

The one item I was certain that I wouldn't be getting was the ultra exclusive, completely dreamy Tom Ford Champacha Absolute fragrance that my mother and I were introduced to right before Christmas. Sneaky mom decided that there would be nothing stopping her from having that fragrance for her own and told my father. He in turn had me (his online shopping guru) order a bottle for her for Christmas. BUT WAIT!!! In an unforeseen turn of events my father in a moment of sheer Christmas spirit told me to order one for myself too! Words cant even convey my joy. It was even more fab when it arrived!!! I will be wearing this one very sparingly and guarding it with my life.
I also bought myself a Christmas present. Well, its really for my hair. I finally broke down and sprung for the Moroccan Oil Treatment I was talking about, but before I could get out of the door I was hipped to their Restorative Hair Mask. My hair was just about ready to jump ship with the way the weather has been. Everything from the drying heat in the house, to the 20 degree weather outside, to scarves and hats and the normal wear and tear of flat irons and hair dryers. My hair has been seriously unhappy with me. If it were possible, my hair would have already called the authorities on me for assault with intent to maim as it was just about at the pine needle stage where it was just falling all over my shoulders in protest.
I have to say that this has been one of the best purchases I have made for my hair since Wen. Its also super easy. Shampoo and towel dry hair, apply a generous amount of Restorative Hair Mask and go relax for 10 min. No heat necessary (that's the part I think I like the most) just rinse and add Moroccan Oil Treatment to damp hair and style as usual. My hair hasn't been this soft in ages and the oil treatment is made for all types of hair. It absorbs completely, cuts drying time in half, wont weigh your hair down, protects from heat styling and leaves your hair shiny and oh so pretty. The Restorative Hair Mask is $40 and Moroccan Oil Treatment is $39 on Follica.com. Don't skimp either ladies. Get the real stuff. Not all Argan oil products are created equal.

I also went to my favorite nail technician to get my Christmas mani/pedi. Somehow, I managed to forget all the work I would be doing in the kitchen on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and of course my poor little nails were chipped almost immediately. Since I have chosen to spend a quiet New Years Eve night in with my wonderful boyfriend, I will not be going back to get a fancy new manicure to make up for the ruined one. This is probably a good idea considering I got a sneak peek at the new OPI Katy Perry line coming out in January. I will just stack my pennies and get my New Year's manicure with some fab new shades.

Speaking of which, there is only one week before the end of 2010 and busy working and social ladies everywhere have their calendars booked. Even if you don't have somewhere to go looking stunning for NYE you should still be fab as you strut into 2011. You want to shine and sparkle like a diamond? Become instantly golden and bubbly for all the world to see? The answer is Cham Pale!!

MAC has a new collection just in time for NYE! Cham Pale is full of golden sparkling tones and shades. 4 new beautiful Lipgelee's ranging from Luxure in pink pearl to Straight to the Head a sparkly bronze. My all time favorite paint pots in Let Me Pop, a Frosted light copper and Dangerous Cuvee, a frosted cool grey.

The line also includes MAC skincare products such as their Complete Comfort Creme that is super hydrating while reducing redness and soothing stressed out skin. There is also an amazing Lip Conditioner with SPF 15 and French Lavender which is tres magnifique!

Even though this line just hit the counters on December 26th, you know that it wont be around very long and trust me this is not a product line you want to miss. Let's toast it up!

All I Want for Christmas!!!

Sure I haven't started my Christmas list for anyone else but you know that I am already making the list for myself. So greedy, I know, but with so many new shades, scents, appliances and sets to be had I just cant seem to contain myself.


Lets start with the new OPI Burlesque line. Is it wrong that I want every single shade in this collection? I am particularly interested in Tease-Y-Does it the vampy sparkly deep maroon that I am sure will carry me through the holidays in style. OPI also offers 6 of the Burlesque shades in Axxium soak off gel lacquer! I haven't been to see Burlesque yet, but I plan to do so wearing my fabulous OPI movie inspired nail colors.

Second on my list is the most amazing deeply oriental fragrance with notes of Cognac, vanilla, sandalwood and amber. It is everything a winter fragrance should be. Champaca Absolute by Tom Ford. The moment I smelled this, I was in love. I am still trying to figure out what in the world I could sell to get some for myself? No one wants a slightly used 17 year old I guess. Needless to say, that bastion of beautiful things Nieman Marcus carries Tom Ford's Champaca Absolute for a whopping $190.00 for 50ml. Times are tough in Mi Casa what with the boy graduating from High School this year, and venturing off to college, so I will venture a guess and say that this beautiful amazing scent is out of my price range. If you can afford it I highly recommend it. Oh Tom Ford why do you tease me the way you do!

Next on my list is MAC's A Tartan Tale Holiday 2010 collection. Yes I want the whole darn thing. Gorgeous Lip, eye and brush bags, face and nail kits are all featured here and you know when it comes to the holiday's MAC does not disappoint. There are great gifts for everyone or just for yourself in every fab shade of the season. I cant wait to get my hands on the Dazzle the Lads Lip Bag and their 5 Sassy Neutral Lassies Lipglass. I will race you to the counter!

Also, I really want this coat from my favorite online store. Cant you just picture me...I mean it, a chilly DC evening, on her way to dinner with friends, she sweeps out of her chariot (Camry) in cream colored wide leg pants, hair expertly coiffed into a side chignon, black leather gloves, satin blouse and suede peep-toe heels. So very chic. So very poetic city girl with fabulous cape. Okay okay but you know the look, and I want to know it too. The Haworth Coat is $89.99 at ModCloth. I beg of you to leave me one large!

I cant remember if I told you guys the sad sad tale of my Sedu Revolution Tourmaline Ionic flat iron and how after many years of keeping my hair beautifully straight and shiny it met an untimely death due to its cord being repeatedly slammed in a door. We wont get into who was at fault or why they didn't care enough about my most prized possession to make sure the cord was clear of the door before slamming it but needless to say my hair hasn't been the same since. My friend bought me a Chi in attempt to keep my hair from looking like I stuck my finger in an electric socket. While I appreciated the gift, the CHI has one huge fatal flaw. No temperature variation. Once you plug it in, burn is the only setting, and let me tell you, it did burn my hair something vicious.

I have finally decided that it is high time for Santa to bring me my flat iron of choice for Christmas. Now, I am sure you are asking why I haven't just gone and bought the damn thing again after mine quit on me. You know that saying about getting what you pay for? Well, my hair wasn't beautiful and gorgeous for free. That iron costs $159.99 retail, and I don't typically have that type of cash laying around these days. I have to admit though if I had thought this issue through, the cost of hair cuts, oil treatments and everything done to attempt to save my hair probably cost a lot more than the flat iron. The only place I have been able to find it is my beloved Follica.com, so I am certain Santa will be shopping there for my replacement iron.

The last item on my list is probably something I could get up and go to the amazing Beauty Supply store down the block and get, but I always find something else to do with my $40. I was just in there this morning staring at all the wonderful things they sell that I couldn't possibly ever find in one place anywhere else. They have the full Miss Jessie's line of curl products, a whole wall of Sebastian Products including my beloved Cellophane treatment and three shelves of Moroccan Oil Treatment products. Everyone has been raving about Moroccan oil products and I have been meaning to get my hands on them for some time, but I just don't ever seem to get that far. The original Moroccan oil sells for $40 just about everywhere you can find it, including of course Follica.com I hear all sorts of celebrities are on to it now, and I cant think of a better stocking stuffer.

What are some of the get pretty things on your list this year? I am dying to hear what everyone else is asking for and hoping will make their new year super fabulous.

I Wonder…..

I love OPI polish, and you guys already know this just from the numerous posts I have done over the years on their products. This morning I was reading my daily news online and there was a feature on NBC Washington about the new Alice in Wonderland inspired OPI colors. OPI is teaming up with Disney and their remake of Alice in Wonderland (by none other than Tim Burton) starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway and Mia Wasikowska as Alice. There is a sweepstakes on OPI’s site that you can enter to win all sorts of OPI goodies and JCPenney Salon Gift Certificates too.

There are four fun Alice inspired colors to choose from. Absolutely Alice, Mad as a Hatter, Thanks so Muchness and Off with Her Red! You can even use the virtual “Try it on” program on the OPI website that lets you change your nail length and skin tone so you can get a good idea of what each shade might look like on you. I am personally interested in Mad as a Hatter with its confetti colors and purple undertones. Of course they are only around for a limited time so hurry down the rabbit hole and don't be late! You'll be grinning like a Cheshire cat.

I'm Going In for 2010

Okay folks I am starting this thing back sort of slow so just bare with me here while I knock off the cobwebs. First I would like to say Happy 2010 and sorry I have been MIA for better than a year. My work life is crazy and I make no promises about continuing to update, but there are some products I feel like I just must address. I have broken the short reviews into two categories. Stuff that works and Stuff that sucks. Sorry but I have limited time and you know I hate BS reviews so here we go.

Stuff that works

WEN by Chaz Dean Fig Cleansing Conditioner

Yeah I know I am tardy for the party on this one, but I love my WEN Fig Conditioning Cleanser. It only took me like 6 months to love it though and I will tell you why. Getting used to the idea of washing my hair with something that would not lather was beyond difficult. I couldn’t imagine it was cleaning anything and in all honesty I just kept using my old shampoo and used the WEN as a conditioner. Well you don’t get results like that and my hair was officially giving me the finger for mixing products. My hair was lifeless, limp, brittle and just downright unruly. So I didn’t start using the stuff in earnest until I ran out of my shampoo. Then I cut my hair and colored it and suddenly WEN became my new best friend. It didn’t strip the color, my hair wasn’t brittle and crazy looking, the frizz completely died down and it honest to god started to shine on its own. I think it was a combination of cutting off all the damage and really using it the way it was intended. My friend Erica was telling me how she likes it as a conditioner but won’t stop using her regular shampoo, and I told her my story. She has the gigantic pump bottle of WEN tea tree and I told her to stop fooling around and use it full time. She promised that she would, so we will see what happens in the near future. I haven’t tried anything else from the styling line yet, but I hope to, oh and you get the best deals on the big bottles on QVC. I have short hair now so it lasts a long time for me, but I can see how if you are rocking a head full of long hair it might not go as far. I highly recommend it and if you do the math you will see that you are probably paying more in shampoo and conditioner than you would for the one bottle of WEN. 32 oz for $44.82 over at QVC.

LOLA by Marc Jacobs

You already know how difficult it is to find a scent that works with your body chemistry right? Some of the fragrances I like seem to disappear the minute I put them on, and other seem so overpowering I just can’t stand myself. I love Lola by Marc Jacobs. Light, floral, complex, wears all day and isn’t the type to make me want to wash my wrists in the bathroom sink at the office. I don’t think perfume should punch anyone in the face should they encounter it, so I always air on the side of less is more. Well, especially since that coworker incident years ago where she was applying 15 sprays every hour. Will this work for you? Maybe, I say go take a sniff and test it out. It’s worth looking into

Sally Hanson Insta-Dri Nail Color

I was highly skeptical of this stuff to start but it works like a charm. Actually if you have someplace to be and you need your nails to look cute in a flash then keep this stuff handy. They have some pretty decent colors (not enough variety though IMO) so I am sure you can find something you like. I actually put it to the test going to work (Job 2) the other day. I managed to put on two coats and roll out in 10 minutes without so much as a chip or a smudge. It held up to the rigors of retail furniture sales and still looked great when I got home 8 hours later. I think of course you could really seal the deal with a great top coat, but you already know that is going to add to the drying time. If you aren’t pressed for time a half hour wait on a top coat isn’t that big a deal and I think it’s a pretty fair trade for not having to wait at all on the polish to dry. This stuff does require you to be pretty quick and neat with it. No fussing and touching up the same nail over and over okay? It just wont work and you will wind up with weird coverage and little globules on your nails. Just paint and move on. You can clean up mistakes on the second swipe I promise. My favorite color is Wine. It would be wouldn’t it? I love all things wine and I guess this is no exception. Its $4.99 at Walgreens and other drugstores. Not too shabby. Next on my list...

Stuff that sucks

Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash with NutriumMoisture

I hate to have to do it, because I tell you that I wanted nothing more in this world than to love this stuff but that did not happen. Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash with NutriumMoisture is a no thanks. I will pass. Why? Well I picked it up in a trip to Target one day because I was running out of my Olay Body wash. Why lord didn’t I just grab the same stuff I have been using with success for almost a year? I guess being the product junkie I am I couldn’t resist the idea of trying out something new that professed to hold in my skins moisture. It is winter in DC people, so extraordinary measures must be taken to ensure that dry skin does not creep up on you. In its defense (or maybe because I am slow and so busy I don’t know which way is up) I didn’t realize there was a problem for 3 weeks. I guess I was just slightly itchy. I hadn’t changed my detergent, my lotions, my eating habits or used any new perfumes so I was confused. On week three, when I finally couldn’t take the scratching that was leaving raw, I connected the new body wash with my discomfort. I promptly chucked the half filled bottle into the trash and went out and repurchased my Olay. While I was in the store I was chatting with a friend on the phone and told her about the itchy body wash. She has SUPER sensitive skin, and she said that she couldn’t use that stuff at all. I didn’t think it was odd until I came to work and I relayed the itchy body wash story to a coworker, who said “hey, that stuff made me itch too!” okay granted we could have similar skin PH and tolerance but when my told my boyfriend about it he said “I thought it was just me”. Apparently, he hadn’t packed his soap for an overnight stay and had used my “plain looking” Dove in a pinch. I then told this story to my coworker (at the second job) Erin who proceeded to tell me about the rash she got from the same product. Okay so that’s five separate individuals who can’t tolerate this Nutrium stuff. I gotta wonder if they are getting complaints. So, for my purposes Dove with Nutrium is out. I can’t have itchy skin that I want to attack all day and night. I will go back to what I know. I just hope that Dove doesn’t begin to add it to all their body wash products. I really love their products and I know you've seen me write about them here again and again. I am a huge fan of their Go Fresh line and their antiperspirants as well as so many of their other products so I am not down on Dove, I am just down on Nutrium. Sorry Dove, but Nutrium and I are not friends.

Aid Your Nails

I know I typically dont post very much about nail care, but I do actually care about it and think that its a part of everyday beauty. I however decided that for my best friend's wedding back in August that I would get acrylic tips. What a royal mistake for my poor little nails. They were so thin and brittle after I removed the acrylic nails, and I feared they would never get back to their original beauty.

I decided that I would try out some new products for my nails because I couldnt even get nailpolish to stay on them after the acrylic debacle. I started using Nail-aid nail products to try to get them back to their old selves.

I used their Grow Tougher formula for think weak nails for several weeks and noticed a considerable change in the way my nails looked and felt. Though I still had to grow out the weaker areas it helped to keep the nails that I did have strong enough to withstand my daily duties.

I also tried out the Clear Liquid Bandage for broken nail repair. Think of it like a thin brush on glue that dries quickly and never needs buffing. That was actually wonderful, especially since it seemed like every time they would grow a little I would get a break in the corner.

They also have a great Cuticle Cure that softens dry cracked cuticles and you know that this time of year its imperitave that you keep those cuticles smooth. The weather change usually ruins my nailbeds but this year I can confidently use my Cuticle Cure to keep them beautiful.

All of nail-aid's formulas are Formaldehyde and Tolune free which I think is wonderful and they provide a 100% guarantee on every product they make. I figure that you can't possibly go wrong with that.

So now that winter is officially here, my nails are beautiful strong and protected. Each product is only $6.50 and they offer seven great formulas and free shipping on their website. Check it out for yourself, your nails will thank you.

I Lacq-uer Style - New Year Nail Colors

In 2007 I seriously plan to take better care of my nails. Not that my nails are in any way shape or form bad, they are usually just polish free, and with so many great colors on the market I should be ashamed at my little bare nails so off to my local manicurist I will go at least once every two weeks.

Thanks to one of my favorite beauty bloggers Ms. Kristen of Beauty Addict fame, I was able to snatch up a few of the very last bottles of Chanel Black Satin just before the holidays, but now I see that I am behind the curve with my limited edition tastes. Enter Chanel Noir Ceramic which can only be described as Black Satin with a boost! Charcoal Nail lacquer accented with blue shimmer. Now why didn’t I get my hind parts in gear and find it before it was gone? I have checked every high end store in the tri-state area and have had no luck locating it. I guess that’s why its called Limited Edition. I will continue to scour the area and pray the beauty gods smile upon me.

To sooth my troubled spirit over the loss of this fabulous limited edition find, I have spent some time checking out OPI's new Dark line. Their black onyx is a jewel, and their Espresso Your Style is a fab alternative to black. It may not be Chanel but let me tell you OPI and I are buddies from way back. They have so many colors its almost impossible to choose just one. For New Year's Eve I wore "Birthday Babe" from their 25th Anniversary collection, a satiny silver polish that is far from ordinary. Of course my nails received rave reviews which always happens when I wear OPI.

One of my favorites (from when my nails were done more regularly) was "I'm Not Really A Waitress" a cherry pie red that got me daily complements. I practically cried when I couldn’t locate a replacement bottle. In addition to their classic colors, and their 25th Anniversary Collection they have a new Mexico Collection that is fun and fabulous.

As for Noir Ceramic, well you can always get a bottle from eBay, but at $44 I cant justify it so I will just have to pray that the polish fairy slips one under my pillow.