Review: Aveda Deep Cleansing Herbal Clay Masque

The short of it:

• dries quickly, but doesn't hurt when it dries
• doesn't dehydrates my skin
• great value
• doesn't irritate my sensitive skin
• doesn't decrease the size of any pimples/bumps
• I will not be buying it
  

The long of it:

In order to rule my skin's health and appearance with an iron fist, I have to stay on top of needed maintenance.  I am not a huge fan of facials, I have only gotten a few in my lifetime and have mostly been underwhelmed, so I tend to my skin.   I have sensitive acne-prone skin that I majorly keep in line through supplements and diet, but once a week or so I do a little treatment.  First, I dip a clean washcloth in a bowl of hot water that has a few drops of tea tree oil in it and then apply it to my face to warm up my skin and open the pores. Then I apply a mask to my skin after gently exfoliating, leave it on for about 10  minutes, and remove it with a clean washcloth.  Lastly, I follow up with my regular night cleansing routine. 

I have been to several Aveda salons (Georgetown Aveda is my go-to for bikini waxing) and I have used many Aveda products and they are usually hit or miss.  I love the tea, I am undecided about the paddle brush, the Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant is great, I hated the Dry RemedyMoisturizing Treatment Masque.  I got a sample of the clay mask the last time I was in the store about two months ago.  The sample size is 15 mL (.5 fl oz) and I have used it almost 10 times, yet I still have 2/3 of the jar left.  A little bit is all that you need! The sales associate told me to a very thin layer for any parts of my skin that were break-out prone and use a thicker layer elsewhere.  

I like it, but I have two masks that work much better for my skin's needs.  For now, I will just use it to travel with or if I sweat a lot or have been exposed to a lot of pollution during the day. 

Wishlisted! Christophe Robin's Masque Au Germe de Blé

Obvs, I have been spending too much time on beautyhabit.  Next on my wishlist is this deep conditioning hair mask composed with wheat germ oil.  Christophe Robin was a bit of a wunderkind - he has been doing professional campaigns since he was 19, opened his treatment- and color-dedicated  Parisian salon at 24, and is currently the expert colorist for beauty giant  L'Oreal Paris.  He is an expert in hair color, and an expert is what I need right about now to care for my color-treated locks.  The Masque Au Germe de Blé is supposed to protect hair color and to nourish and moisturize your poor strands .   I am currently on my second hair color in about 4 months, and I am still not happy with the color, so I will be unleashing some more  red fury on my hair soon!  My hair was in a pretty healthy state before coloring, and even after the first time, but I think I was processed for too long the second time because my ends soon felt straw-like.  I have already been deep conditioning weekly with Karen's Body Beautiful 's Luscious Locks Hair Mask (love) but I wonder if this is the most nourishing treatment available.  I wear my hair in its naturally curly/kinky state most of the time so I won't damage it much further. 

Some of his advice on his website and on L'Oreal's:

• maintain the brightness of your color by rinsing with cool water and a few drops of lemon juice
• for an intensive treatment, combine a little of the huile à la lavande with the hair mask for about 30 mins  before shampooing
• flat iron only on dry hair to prevent frizz and color fading
• use a deep conditioning treatment after any potentially damaging situation: after a long (and dry) flight, following sun exposure, and the day after coloring
  

Haute Cuisine in Spain

I caught a part of an episode of the Made in Spain series on PBS, and I had to go straight to google to find out about this restaurant in Roses called elBulli.   José Andrés is not only the host of the series, but he has quite a few restaurants in the Washington, DC area.  I liked Jaleo, I LOVED Café Atlántico, and I can't wait to go (sooner or later) to minibar.  The restaurants  he owns have the most exciting menus in the area.   Andrés studied under elBulli's chef Ferran Adrià, and the dishes he tried on the show looked absolutely amazing.   From what I gather, minibar is sort of an ode to elBulli's multiple bites that experiment with texture.  If you are a real foodie, you need to go directly to elBulli's general catalogue, which spans 1983-2005 and check out all of the pictures!   The post picture I chose was a Fresh Snack from 2003 and is the "deep-fried red mullet fishbone with its soup."  Other past dishes include monkfish with garlic, winkles and black trumpet mushrooms; scrambled egg with black truffle jus; popcorn cloud; fennel flower in tempura; crisp raviolo of soursop with coffee and lime; lamb’s brains with sea urchins and sea grape; baby monkfish with lemon-scented egg yolk, daisy buds, pine nut oil and hazelnut butter.  The list goes on.   I am the worst foodie in the world ( I hate soup, tomatoes, most cooked vegetables) but I do not find Olive Garden to be exotic and the concept of food as art is quite fascinating!  I think I will enjoy a trip to this once-in-a-lifetime restaurant.  One day...

In the mean time, check out a course-by-course review at amateurgormet.com.

Lace Hosiery

I have to admit, I am really not into lace tights. But I did fall in love this style, Dentelle, from Le Bourget.

When the weather started to reflect the Fall season, I went onto one of my favorite tights online retailer, mytights, I came across these and they stuck in my head - the back seam detailing is probably what did me in. I am a sucker for a back seam. I didn't really dedicate any brain power wondering if I should get them or not, but all of a sudden the desire to HAVE THEM LIKE, RIGHT NOW hit me about a month ago. Much to my chagrin, they were off the mytights site. I googled and googled, then wrote to the mytights who informed me that they were discontinued. I believe they were marketed as a summer style, so that is probably why I couldn't track them down anywhere on the internet.

Le sigh.

I have found some potential second-bests:



First, from mytights.com, Jonathan Aston Sweet Roses



Second, from sockdreams.com, Hot Sox Fern Lace thigh-highs



Third, from asos.com, Aristoc Lace Tights



So far, I am leaning toward the Fern Lace thigh-highs, I mean how marvelous is the lace band? I also really like the Aristoc Lace Tights, but I have only had one experience with Aristoc, and I not too impressed. I got their Crystalli Tights, and did not get what I expected, which was a few spaced out crystals making a back seam. Instead, the tights had silver rectangle decals that didn't span a lot of the length... not what I was expecting at all.

Like I said, I am not too much into lace tights, but I suppose I should jump on the ones I actually like before they escape my clutch.

By the way, does anyone know how to glue a few crystals to some hosiery? :-) I can be a DIY-er when necessary!!



P.S. how awesome are these House of Holland for Pretty Polly tights? Too bad I don't have the legs for them...and I am not the party girl type :-)

Pictures are from

http://www.mytights.com/
http://www.sockdreams.com/
http://www.asos.com/

Wishlisted! Leonor Greyl's Huile de Palme

If you haven't guessed by the name of this blog, I am battling a beauty product addiction. I suffer from product junkie-ism. Whatever you want to call it. So this beauty just made it onto my wishlist. 95 mL retails for US$42, and is available at Leonor Greyl's site and at beautyhabit. I have heard great things about using an oil as a pre-shampoo treatment, but olive oil and amla oil didn't do much for me, and coconut oil made my hair pretty soft, but I that felt it wasn't strong enough for my thick, kinky/curly hair. According to Leonor Greyl's FAQ, the palm oil is superior to olive oil because "Olive oil will coat your hair but has no nourishing value and offers no protection from UVA/B rays." Hmmm, interesting. This treatment combines several botanical oils in a palm oil base.

Other products that use palm oil you may have heard of include Ojon, but they use the American species of palm, I am not sure where the Leonor Greyl's palm oil comes from.

The picture is from  http://www.leonorgreyl-usa.com/

Vanity in Primates

Every Sunday during my late breakfast, I visit the NY Times online to look at Bill Cunningham's weekly street style feature called "On the Street." Every episode is just MAH-VE-LOUS, and this week's, "Hues," is about the colors New Yorkers are wearing to reflect their environment beyond the thosands the grey buildings. Other than your typical autumn foliage colors of red, yellow, and orange, Mr. Cunningham has been spotting shades of purple. And he pointed out, as always, an enthusiasm and a sense of pride in one's appearance. I love him! His advice is always just to throw on what you like because it will make you feel good and to just "have fun with it!"

Afterward, I can across a series that is in the Science section named "The Science of Skin" and watched the video "Vanity" that was recorded in 2007 on how a human being's vanity is very similar to a chimpanzee's. Anthropologist Nina Jablonski discusses ageism and cosmetic surgery and their implications on today's Western society. Right around the part where the interviewer asks about the Angelina Jolie equivalent to the primate world, I had a good laugh, and just goes to show, we are not the only vain creatures on God's green earth.

If that video is not the end-all to the evolution debate, I don't know what is :-P

Take care.

New Shoes!

I was very habitual in the ritual of buying shoes - I used to buy at least twice a month. Never anything too expensive or too "for decoration purposes only." But boy, it still feels good to buy new shoes that you need, that you've had your eye on, that are SURPRISINGLY comfortable. I passed Max Studio in Tyson's Galleria last week when I was on my way from where I parked to the store I wanted to check out when I saw them: Ikram in black. They didn't have my size, but because I was in the Galleria, I got some great service! They ordered a pair from another store and rang me up when they came in. I had Friday off so I took advantage of the Capital Beltway during the mid-day (and how sweet it was) and went down there to try them on. They were a bit big, so at first I was prematurely disappointed, but from the years that I worked in Nine West and from the countless pairs of shoes that I have bought over the years, I know you gotta get up and walk around and really test them out. So I did just that, and they did not rub me the wrong way and my feet were not sliding all over the place. I will give them a full day test during the work week, but so far, I count this as a major score! I am so picky, what can I say.

But I must confess, they are not my ideal black cut-out shoe/bootie. That honor goes to Dior Tejus. I fell in love with that shoe when I saw the Autumn/Winter 2009 presentation (that I saw online, ahem).


I went to my local Dior boutique to see them person and to check the price (expect to pay around $1400!!!!) and they are just so beautiful. The heel is just a work of art. I am not sure if John Galliano designs the leather goods as well as the clothing, but the attention to detail is amazing. And it is great to see Dior applying the importance of detail to all facets of the luxury brand. As it should be, am I right? But can you believe the price? On sale, they will probably still be out of my price range, sadly.

I am happy with Ikram, I have been looking for a gorgeous platform black shoe that will be great for the colder months, and so far I am very pleased... and for 1/10th of the Tejus price.


pictures from http://www.maxstudio.com/
and from http://www.style.com/fashionshows/detail/F2009RTW-CDIOR