Recently in Body Category

 
I'm so in awe of Christina Applegate's courage to go public with her fight against Breast Cancer. The actress, at the age of 36, underwent a double mastectomy and is now cancer free

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and it's wonderful to see that there're so many beauty items being sold with some of the proceeds benefiting the cause. I've rounded up my favorite, but with so many to choose from expect more top picks in the coming days. I think that one of the most appropriate products to start off with is Bath By Bettijo's Fenomenole, $12.50. Developed to encourage women to perform monthly self breast exams, it's an all-natural blended oil containing pink grapefruit essential oil, sunflower seed oil, soybean oil and ylang ylang oil to make it easier to perform monthly self breast exams.  Bath By Bettijo is donating 25% of the proceeds from Fenomenole to the Breast Cancer Research Fund.  Available at Bliss.

At $400 for 6.7 oz, Sensai Premier Body Cream wins the most expensive body cream in the world award.  La Mer doesn't even come close with its 10 oz jar sold for $195.  Who will buy this you ask?  The same people who spend thousands of dollars a month on full body treatments.  In other words, the very rich and the very famous.  The premier body cream combination of new formulas, including seaweed extracts from the Sea of Japan to help support DNA repair function in skin; ingredients from the Chinese Mulberry shrub, to boost collagen synthesis in the skin, and a Moon Flower fragrance, which the company ascribes to helping stimulate hyaluronic acid synthesis.  Where do I sign up?  Store finder At Kanebo.com

What caught my attention when it came to Kings & Queens, a line of bath products sold exclusively at Nordstrom, were the unique scents. I tried their Honey Body Butter ($15), Jasmine Shimmering Body Milk ($11), and the Vanilla Pear Shower Gel ($9), but the line has even more exotic options with scents ranging from lime, myrrh, cinnamon-orange, and mango, to pepper bergamot. I thought the shower gel was great -- not too foamy, didn't dehydrate my skin, and smelled wonderfully refreshing. The body butter and the body milk however I wouldn't be as quick to recommend unless you really, really like the particular scent you pick-out. Unlike the shower gel which smells strong for a few seconds, but then dissipates, the body milk and butter linger longer, so while I love the smell of Jasmine I'm not such a fan of my whole body smelling like a cup of fresh tea. That said, both the Body Milk and Butter are very hydrating and since I do love the smell of both Honey and Jasmine in moderation, I've been using the body creams as hand cream.

A photo I snapped of cooking maven Bethenny Frankel backstage at Carmen Marc Valvo.

I have a serious aversion towards cooking (and an equally serious love for Bethenny Frankel who I met backstage at Carmen Marc Valvo's Spring 2009 runway show -- she was so sweet dressed in a lovely white flower-embroidered CMV skirt and sky-high Loubies! -- Come on who doesn't count The Real Housewives of NYC as a guilty pleasure!?). That said, where my distaste for cooking comes from I have no idea, especially considering that I come from a mother who loves, LOVES, loves to cook and bake (and feed --o Jewish mothers...!). Unfortunately, recently my now live-in boyfriend decided to buy a barbecue (we have a terrace), and all he wants to do is stay-in and barbeque -- OY! Nothing will smell-up an apartment quite like barbecuing (not to mention your skin and hair). Luckily I've discovered some new bath products to give me a reason to smile as I rid myself of the BBQ smell. I have an obsession with Vanilla (I've just stalked-up on a bunch of French Vanilla candles --somewhat of a fire hazard given that my apartment has only over-sized wooden furniture), but anyway, I'm loving Lavanila Body Wash , ($20), because as you can probably guess, they're all about the Vanilla and full of anti-oxidants and essential oils, 100% natural and sulfate-free which helps prevent irritation and dryness. I love the Pure Vanilla, but it also comes in Vanilla Coconut, Vanilla Grapefruit, and Vanilla Blossom.

Above Andrea Leon Talley seated front-row at the Spring 2009 Tracy Reese show -- gotta love him -- he is so cute!! I saw him throughout the week at various shows and oddly enough at the Yigal Azrouel one, he was seated in the last of three rows -- perhabs Kelly Cutrone of People's Revolution who was handling the PR of the show was worried he would block the view (though kudos to Andre, he looks a lot slimmer!) ?

It has been an absolutely crazy last two weeks! Between dashing-off to Marrakech for my friend's wedding (was literally there for only 2 nights), I came back home only to face back to back fashion shows -- exciting but completely draining! Luckily however I will be able to report back on some of the beauty and fashion trends I've seen in the coming weeks. To start you off, I read about a line of products that Tracy Reese is particularly fond of using. Though I don't really like Tracy Reese's designs I'm loving some of the Miss Oops products she favors to tackle those pesky fashion and beauty misshapes. The one particular product that caught my eye is the Miss Oops Rescue Sponge, because I seriously couldn't begin to count how many times I've inadvertently gotten deodorant marks on my clothes. The rescue sponge is a portable deodorant stain-lifter designed with scalloped edges so it can get to those hard-to-reach areas and gently buff away deodorant marks, makeup powder, and even baby powder for you mommies -- how magnifique!

 

While most probably remember Lara Flynn Boyle as that fashion train-wreck (who could forget the 2003 Golden Globes when she wore that awful ballerina mess of an outfit), I always associate Boyle with old-Hollywood glamour. I know she got a loooot of flack for her uber-thin body, but her facial features (those cheekbones!), gave her this femme fatale aura that I always loved. Of course I can't know for sure where her stamina and confidence in the face of so much bad press stemmed from, but maybe it had something to do with Pevonia's Anti-Stress Bath & Shower Gel!??! I know, I know wishful thinking:) But I did read that she's a fan of Pevonia Botanica, which is a line many of you have probably seen when you've gone in for your spa treatments. They have an Anti-Stress Bath & Shower Gel, $28.50 that is remarkably refreshing -- obviously it doesn't have any serious anti-stress capabilities, but I've been kind of stressed for no reason lately --  you know those days where you have serious heart palpitations, but can't pinpoint why? Perhaps it's my upcoming trip (I used to be so careless when it came to flying! Also my parents are in Tel Aviv, my boyfriend is in New Orleans, and my best friend left for Paris..so I have no one to whine to...and no one to watch The Hills with:(..). When I'm feeling a little down it's nice to lather on a foaming gel cleanser in the shower that has one of those smells that you can just take deep breath and for a second forget that you're a ball of stress (maybe picture yourself in Bali and actually feel like you're there for a few moments!) -- the shower gel is made with Sweet Almond Oil (for moisture), Linden Extract (good for healing blemishes), and Lavender Oil (loooove lavender, this for me is the key to this products calming effect)..Ahh..if I didn't have a pet peeve about pruny skin I couldd stay in the shower all day:-)

Chanel loyalists will be thrilled with the newest addition to the line, the Mademoiselle Shimmering Gel. This is not your standard stripper issue glitter gel, it's Chanel and its subtle with just a hint of the scent that has titillated and thrilled for years. The newest in fragrance luxury, inspired by the irrepressible spirit of the young Coco Chanel. Shimmering body gel leaves a delicate sheen on skin, bringing a luminous touch to shoulders, arms and décolleté, while imparting the feminine and sexy scent of COCO MADEMOISELLE. Chicly showcased in a contoured flacon with stopper, the sparkling formula beckons invitingly through the glass -- an irresistible accent for vanity or bath. 1.5 oz. $65.00 Available in September at Chanel counters worldwide.

I'm leaving for my friend's Marrakesh wedding next week and am already thinking ahead as to what I will be packing! Traveling these days takes way more foresight with all the rules on what you are and aren't allowed to pack and since you can't really take liquids with you on the plane it's a great time to experiment with new products (taping/wrapping/sealing opened products is one of the worst hassles, but the though of spillage in my luggage scares me almost as much as my suitcases being lost!). elizabeth W is a wonderful line I've only recently discovered though from what my perfume expert friend Christine tells me they are very well-known and respected by those in the fragrance industry. They have some wonderful products that come perfectly compact and travel-ready so you can walk the airport with confidence a la Posh Spice, knowing that you'll have everything you need to look glam wherever your destination may be!

I have a weakness for Lavender, so I love the Lavender Eau de Parfum spray, 1/2 fl oz, $20. Though I wouldn't spray this on my body, I love it as a room spritzer (maybe even spritz my area on the airplane...airplane smell makes my stomach turn!). It comes in 10 scents, but as an alternative there's also elizabeth W travel candles, $20.  Jump for more Snob finds!  

Ever come across a product and almost embarrassingly think how you survived pre-discovering it? That's pretty much what happened to me when I came across SweetSpot Labs line of down-there care products that have Kim Cattrall written alllll over them! SweetSpot is dead-on when they ask -- "Do you wash your hair with toothpaste? Brush your teeth with Shampoo? Of course not! But you use WHAT? On your WHERE?" Hence this unique line of luxury intimate grooming products. I'm a little red in the face writing about this line, but it's too good not to share! The line has been certified non-irritating and the products are allergy-tested, clinically-tested, and have been doctor and dermatologist-tested -- PHEWW! This is a wonderful alternative to douching which as many probably know can upset the balance of organisms in the vaginal canal which in turn can spark a cyclical disturbance that can do more harm than help. In fact, douching might aggravate the cause of the very imbalance you want to prevent. So what is a lady to do? Check-out some of the SweetSpot products I've been using after the jump!