I just stepped out of the shower after using Hot Salt Scrub by Bliss, and I swear I feel five pounds lighter! This rough-grain salt scrub seriously sloughs like a power sandblaster (but, of course, is much more pleasant). I made sure I scrubbed for a while to ensure getting 100% of the effects, and I think I actually got 110% (since I can’t scrub my face, I’m making up for it by taking it out on my body!).

Although it consists of eucalyptus, lavender, and rosemary oils, it is not oily (scrubs that are oily tend to be messy, and leave me feeling like I’ve added a layer of gunk to my skin, instead of removing it). This exfoliating gel keeps the salt adhered to your skin so you don’t lose it as you’re sloughing. It’s also self-heating, so it gives you a little warm massage while you scrub. And this does wonders to ease achy muscles and a tired soul – and the attack on your rough skin is mind-blowing.

I make sure the shower is nice and hot before I step in. I then turn it off and do all my scrubbing. When I’m ready to rinse, on goes the warm shower (instead of startling cold) and all the salt washes away. What I’m left with is the softest, smoothest skin I have felt since my babies were born – I kid you not. Such soft skin that you’ll think you’re touching someone else’s!

Hot Salt Scrub is also the greatest detox you can do. If you feel a cold coming on, use this hot scrub, take a hot shower, and crawl into bed with a big cup of hot water, and the sun will surely come out tomorrow.

Use it before shaving and you will reduce ingrown hair, and have the best shave ever – plus, your body will be absolutely, perfectly smooth. This is my new favorite bath item by far! At Sephora for $36.

My new favorite shampoo and conditioner are from the man who coined the phrase “bad hair day.” Philip Kingsley is an authority on hair you should really listen to.

No scent and no color might sound boring to some – when I was younger, I loved scented shampoos and conditioners. I thought the better it smelled, the better the product. WRONG! Not only is Kingsley’s formula clear and sans fragrance, it’s paraben-free and suited for all hair types. I use it on my son and myself. There’s no residue after rinsing, and you’ll find your hair so clean, touchable, and easy to manage, without feeling stripped. The adorable duo-sizes (75ml) are perfect for traveling, so you can avoid a bad hair day wherever you go. At Philip Kingsley for $20.50.

At a recent party in Dallas, my friend Ana Pettus treated me to an “It Kit,” created by Julie Macklowe, the founder of VBeauté. Many of my friends have already raved about the line – developed, high-tech skincare with a focus on aging skin – but it was this chic travel set I fell in love with at first sight (there’s a large mirror in interior of the gunmetal clutch-case, so it’s convenient for plane use!).

However, after using the products for a week, I can honestly tell you this is one of the best lines I’ve tried.

The kit contains: Undercover Agent (anti-wrinkle serum), Rub Off (facial exfoliator), Evidence Eraser (foaming cleanser), Buying Time (everyday cream), and Eye Never (nourishing eye cream). With just five steps, it’s such a simple system. It was difficult for a girl like me, who’s been on the 13-step regimen for years, to make the transition, but my skin looks better than ever. I’m obsessed with Undercover Agent – the anti-aging cocktail instantly smoothes the entire face! My kit is almost all gone, but luckily, it’s refillable! At VBeauté for $165.

One of my best friend’s mother is a spiritual healer, which as I’m sure you can imagine made most of us laugh when we were growing up! She always had yogis, spiritual advisers, gurus, and all kinds of what we back then considered oddball people over at their apartment — remember not only were we young, but this was way before even yoga was commonplace. The best was when her mother introduced us to her friend the breath-a-tarian — a woman who claimed to only need water and air to survive! It’s interesting for me to look back now because spirituality (whether it be an interest in religious practices, eastern medicine, meditation, yoga…), is such a big part of my life. After going through some relationship trauma I felt like nothing could be more of use to my mental sanity than some crystal therapy so I made an appointment for a Chakra Rebalancing treatment at Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa at the CORE: club.

My friend Yael (the daughter of the spiritual healer), always carries a strategically chosen crystal in her pocket and swears that it’s imperative for keeping her grounded and, given that she seems to stay calm in the most stressful of situations, who am I to disagree? The treatment I opted for was performed by Paul Labrecque’s resident wellness specialist, Pirkko Vaisanen, who designed the treatment to be both calming and invigorating. The session starts with some aromatherapy and then proceeds into a detoxing scalp massage to increase blood flow (my hair smelled so fantastic and was so hydrated post this treatment, that I went FIVE days without washing it – a record for me); note however that because a lot of product is applied to the hair/scalp you’ll have to shower right after the treatment. If you’re looking for a good brush and conditioner, the brush she used for the scalp massage is the Paul Labrecque Smoothing Flat 100% Boar Bristle and the conditioner she massaged into my hair is the Paul Labrecque Daily Moisture Mud Conditioner.

After treating the head, the Finnish therapist covers it with a warm towel and moves on to the feet to perform some reflexology with herbal oils. The idea, she told me, is that by treating the ends of your body, the middle will heal itself. A few crystals were used during the treatment and she told me my stomach seemed agitated (she was right…I drank too much water and desperately needed to use the restroom!), and that I hold a lot inside my heart (she said “you’re a pretty girl, don’t worry so much”…not gonna lie, that made me feel better).

While I don’t think this treatment did all that much in the way of rebalancing my chakras, I felt undeniably relaxed. It’s awe-inspiring what strategic pressure points on your head and feet can do. My one complaint was that there wasn’t enough crystal therapy involved and when I asked about various crystals Vaisanen didn’t have too much information to offer. Nonetheless, it’s hard to complain about 90 minutes of pure relaxation.

Has anyone done any sort of crystal therapy? This treatment totally makes me want to go have an Eat Pray Love moment in India…

Animal instincts never hurt when it comes to makeup. (Plā) Beauty is in touch with theirs – their Cougar bronzer, in a spotty print, is fun and pleasing to the eye before you even apply it. And it has actual benefits once on the face, as well.

For bronzer, using a mix of colors is always a good idea. An ombré composition gives you a richer, enhanced glow with a natural effect, since it blends in with your skin tones. This combo is especially nice. It has the right shades of highlights and lowlights, infused with a pretty blush tone: an easy all-in-one, thanks to the spots, that comes with a slight shimmer. And don’t be put off if your skin is on the pale side; it isn’t as dark as you might think. The result is a very rosy bronze that actually works on most complexions.

I really love the company behind the product. Their environmentally friendly products are hypoallergenic and vitamin-enriched and proceeds go to support Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – this is a complexion-helping cougar with a cause. At (Plā) Beauty for $30 (pan) plus $34 (compact).

Sweat, swim, splash, and, yes, take a cannonball-style plunge into the water. And even bawl your eyes out if you want to! Urban Decay’s Ultra-Waterproof mascara can withstand all the elements, whether you’re doing a long-distance butterfly-stroke or taking on white-water rapids. Not that those are my typical weekend activities.

But I did test Cannonball through all-day wear, a four-mile run, a shower, and even a tear or two (okay, I admit it: I watched The Notebook and it made me cry a little! Strictly for snob-test purposes!), and the stuff didn’t budge.

Also, it’s unlike other waterproof mascaras because it’s made to keep your lashes soft and lush. Their exclusively Japanese formula is made with microcrystalline wax to increase volume and length. My favorite part, other than the high endurance factor, is that there’s none of that coarse flaking. Lashes stayed feathery-natural through it all.

At Sephora for $20.

I had a dinner party at my apartment the other night and it’s so funny how heated conversations about nail polishes can get! So many of us have serious loyalties and two of my friends, after eying my polish collection, began a “heated” discussion about the pros and cons of Butter vs. Essie vs. OPI vs. Deborah Lippmann. On a side note, a fun fact I picked up while this was all going down was that Butter London is actually made in Seattle and has no London affiliation whatsoever (I still love them….)! In the end we had to put it to rest because everyone’s nail chemistry is different so a shade that will last a week on your nails may last two days on someone else’s. Plus colors can look completely different depending on your skin tone. Personally I care as much about long-wear as I do color, which explains why essie is one of my fave polish brands. They’re so often ahead of color trends so even though their shades tend to crack quickly on my nails, I’ll often use them for my DIY manicures.

Essie’ Spring 2012 collection includes two shades I’m absolutely obsessed with: Navigate Her (pistachio green is my all-time favorite color) and To Buy or Not to Buy. The new shades, which just launched, also include Tour de France, A Crewed Interest, Orange It’s Obvious, and Ole Caliente, each of which retail for $8

Also new in the world of polish is OPI’s Holland collection, which officially launches tomorrow. The collection includes 12 shades ($8.50 each), inspired by Holland. I’ve never been to Holland so I have no idea how reflective they actually are of the region, but I’m loving that this collection includes equal part shimmer polish and creme polish (it’s a little hard to tell from the image above, but seven of the polishes are shimmery – mostly the ones on the bottom).

For the most part I’m not super into shimmery shades unless there’s very dense glitter involved (these ones in particular have small sparkle flecks), but I LOVE Kiss Me on My Tulips (the hot pink on the top right), Red Lights Ahead…Where? (the orange on the top left), and A Roll in The Hague (coral-red – it’s the second on the top from the left). They’re all high-shine, timeless colors that are super versatile. They’re the perfect kinds of shades for me on weeks where I’m too busy to change my polish color with my outfits because OPI lasts a good week on my nails without chipping. The other shades in the collection are:

Vampsterdam (deep purple)
Thanks a Wind Million (sea green)
Did You ’ear About Van Gogh? (sandy bisque)
Dutch ’Ya Just Love OPI? (shimmery plum)
I Don’t Give a Rotterdam! (steal-blue shimmer)
I Have Herring Problem (shimmery green-blue)
Pedal Faster Suzi! (pink lavender shimmer)
Wooden Shoe Like to Know? (shimmery chocolate-brown)
Gouda Gouda Two Shoes (shimmery rose).

How cool are the names? Gouda Gouda…!

Regarding makeup, I swing from being totally lazy to totally gung-ho (as in, putting on fake lashes everyday!). Right now, I am in my lazy mode. All the traveling I’ve done recently, along with being sick has taken a toll. So I’ve resorted to my five-minute no-fuss makeup routine – and this involves a shadow in stick form. I like to pick a neutral so I don’t need to blend with other colors. The remaining four minutes is devoted to a tinted moisturizing sunscreen, eyeliner, mascara, brow pencil (this step cannot be eliminated because I have no brows!), and I’m off. I don’t even apply a lip gloss – instead, I put on lip balm in the car.

The stick shadow for me these days is By Terry Ombre Blackstar. It’s actually a cream shadow that goes on super smoothly, lasts all day without smearing, and keeps its slight luminous sheen throughout the day.  A cream shadow is especially great after a shower when your lids are still slightly damp. If you use a powder shadow, you need a primer first or the powder will stick to your skin and not go on perfectly smooth. The cream shadow takes this complication out of the equation. Having a hydrated lid also gives you a nice, dewy, youthful look – which is much preferred to a cakey, matte, overly made-up look.

The Ombre Blackstar comes in five fabulous shades: Silver Granite, Blond Opal, Bronze Moon (this is perfect for my complexion as it gives just enough color, but is still quite natural), Misty Rock, and Frozen Quartz (this one is amazing for fair complexions!). The Black Pearl extract in this luscious liner is what makes it so creamy. Even if I’m not feeling so lazy, I love this cream shadow as a base and then add darker shadow to the corners and blend with a highlighting color above.

At Barneys New York for $43.

Talk about a product I wish had existed years ago when I was going through the uber stressful process of applying to college! I went to an event to learn about the Tria Beauty Skin Perfecting Blue Light ($245) two weeks ago and was blown away by what the dermatologists there had to say (the device is sold by beauty retailers as well as by dermatologists), the consumer testimonials, and all of the before and after shots. The handheld gadget is the first FDA-cleared blue light, it has tons of clinical studies to back up its claims, and unlike many of its competitors it does not require wearing goggles to protect your eyes (they don’t recommend shining it in your eye of course, but you can shine the blue light all over your face and not have to worry if your eyes are open).

The Tria is considerably more potent than other blue lights, which is why most users saw results within two weeks (a 70% improvement in the appearance of acne according to their clinical studies). They recommend using it twice a day for 2.5 minutes each time. You can “paint your face” (ie shine the light evenly all over your cleansed face), or focus on particularly troublesome areas. The kit comes with a cartridge that needs to be replaced every two months and the device will alert you when you hit that mark; on a side note if you simply wipe the front of the device after using it you can easily share it with your husband/boyfriend… Though you’ll likely see improvements quickly they recommend keeping up with the twice a day routine so that you can transition your skin from acne treatment to acne prevention mode.

The Tria can be used by all skin types for the treatment of mild to moderate acne (not cystic acne because even though it can go deeper into the skin than other devices it won’t penetrate deep enough to treat really severe acne). Knock on wood I have clear skin so I have no tried this device personally, but again the pictures, data, and testimonials I was shown were pretty mind boggling so if you’re dealing with stubborn acne — and trust me I know what a depressing nightmare that can be — I would definitely recommend looking into Tria’s blue light.

One of the most divisive musicians (although some would be wary to call her that) to appear in years, Lana Del Rey’s album has only been out a day yet the buzz around her recently has been palpable. While most are debating just how bad her Saturday Night Live performance really was, I’m more focused on her look!

She calls herself a “gansta Nancy Sinatra,” and I have a feeling she’s talking more hair and makeup than sound. The deep side part and tumbling curls are retro-forties pinup perfection, and I’m liking her heavy swipe of liquid eyeliner. Her dedication to false lashes: a smart style choice, but not for everyone. Her lips: even more controversial! I appreciate the blush-nude pout against such a heavy lid, but people can’t get over the fact that they seem to have been enhanced (likely with Restalin for a hefty top lip). And then she clashes all the typical prettiness with ghetto-fabulous jewels.

So what do you snobs think: does Lana have her look down pat or (like her performances) should she keep working on it?