Archive for March, 2009

Who: Dr. Jennifer Jablow

What: Zoom 2 Chairside teeth whitening, a 45 minute procedure that promises to whiten teeth up to 8 shades.  A light-catalyzed peroxide gel is applied to the teeth and activated by the Zoom lamp for 3 sets of 15 minutes.

Where: Park 56 Dental in New York, NY

When: Monday – Friday, 9am – 6pm

Why: Last Thursday, I left work at about 4:45pm.  By 6:15, I was at The Standard sipping champagne. In between, I got my teeth whitened.  In a 35 minute procedure, my teeth were transformed to (literally) off the charts white.  It was one of the most amazing and oddly, enjoyable dental procedures I’ve ever experienced.

When I walked into Dr. Jablow’s office, I was terrified.  A quick Google search will reveal why; apparently, the Internet is filled with hundreds of comments warning prospective Zoom clients about how painful the procedure can be – with some even likening it to childbirth or torture.  Luckily, I’ve never experienced either and wasn’t all that eager to test my pain tolerance so I told Dr. Jablow that the second anything felt wrong I was going to call it quits.  Dr. Jablow and her assistant set me up with a guard that covered my lips and gums and sealed off the remainder of the gum that was still exposed with an airtight solution.  The Zoom gel was applied to my teeth and then the Zoom lamp was moved in front of my mouth. The entire prep period took about 10 minutes.  (more…)

Can you feel the coming of Spring?  Even though it was 21 degrees yesterday in New York City, I think I can sense it coming; I can see the buds on trees just beginning to bloom, girls eschewing their opaque black stockings for bare legs, and two spring dresses in my closet that I am just dying to break in.  To prepare for the coming of Spring, I’m also readying my skin and banishing my winter skin along with the snow, thanks to two key June Jacobs body products.

I haven’t been able to get enough of June Jacobs’s Lemon Sugar Body Polish this month because it is just perfect for making my entire body feel silky smooth.   Containing sugar granules in a soft oil blend with a lovely light lemon citrus scent, one thorough scrubbing of this all over your body during the shower leaves your skin feeling feather-light.  The soft oil blend doesn’t make the exfoliation process painful, as the sugar granules are just the right size for sloughing away that layer of dead winter skin, but not so big that you are wincing in pain as you scrub away.  I especially love using this product in places of my body that I normally forget to moisturize, such as behind my elbows and those little dry patches around your ankles.  Just be careful to completely close the lid after using this product as leaving it open does make it dry out!

Although the Lemon Sugar Body Polish usually leaves me with a great layer of satiny moisture on my skin, if I want to indulge…I follow up after my shower with an application of June Jacob’s Papaya Body Balm.  This Body Balm, composed of shea butter and other nourishing oils and anti-oxidants, absorbs naturally into my skin and naturally complements the already moisturizing effects of the Lemon Sugar Body Polish.  My skin doesn’t feel greasy at all after using this product in succession, and one application of this to my legs right before bedtime leave me waking up feeling ready to step out in bare legs anyday.

June Jacobs products can be found on their website at www.junejacobs.com.

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When I went to visit my facialist a few weeks ago for my routine quarterly appointment, she was extolling the virtues of mineral makeup, praising its natural look and most importantly, the non-clogging effect that they have on their pores.  Although I was already a user of Bare Escentuals, she mentioned a few other mineral based makeup brands that I never heard of and recommended that I explore some others, leading to my discovery of DEX New York.

About the Brand: DEX New York was created and founded by Dexter Phillips, a fashion stylist and image consultant, who decided to go for the dream and found a cruelty free, hypoallergenic, ecologically friendly mineral makeup line that can make anyone look “camera-ready.”  Celebrities such as Carrie Underwood and Amy Poehler, count themselves fans of this all-natural brand.

Stand Out Products: The key product to any mineral makeup line is a good foundation, and DEX New York delivers with its Mineral Loose Foundation.  Infused with anti-aging technology palmitoyl hexapeptide-14, the consistency of their powder foundation, is finer milled than Bare Escentuals, resulting in more delicate coverage that is no less camouflaging.  Its foundation is also extremely forgiving, and diminishes the look of any fine lines around my eyes.  I love that when I step out in the sun with this foundation on, my skin doesn’t look cakey or mask-like, but instead the foundation naturally complements my natural skin tone and gives it an extra glow.  The foundation comes in 10 varieties of colors, so that you can easily find one that perfectly matches your skin. (more…)

As many of you have requested, we’re going to try to incorporate some more budget-conscious fashion in the future – as all of us here at TDO are minding our budgets, too. Here’s to our latest find: this Ruffled Scoop Neck Dress by Old Navy.

The ruffled scoopneck is the feature of this dress, leading to soft flutter sleeves. It’s lightweight and breezy, so you’ll be able to wear this from spring through fall. This cotton voile frock looks ultra casual and romantic, but we think with the right accessories, it can look more polished, too. (We think that it would look great belted at the waist and with a sleek pair of sandals or heels.)  Really want us to convince you? We loved it so much that two of our editors each bought the dress – at the same time!

Retails for $29.50.  Swing by your nearest Old Navy store or go to oldnavy.com to purchase.

The weather has been ambivalent in LA, so I’m quite at a loss of whether I should switch over to diffusers or keep on burning candles.  I decided to go with the latter, so I can hold onto that cozy winter feeling in my home.  Right now, the candle that is getting lit the most is Empire Celeste by Manuel Canovas, which is a sweet, but bright and fresh floral scent.

As some of you might know, Manuel Canovas is actually a well-known luxury French fabric house, which expanded to home fragrance in recent years.  Their home fragrance products take after the philosophy of the brand, and are meant to enhance a home’s atmosphere. All of the candles are made with “three extra pure non-allergenic waxes of the highest quality…and lead free wicks” and each candle is “hand poured, contains 12% perfume and can be made from up to 14 pure essential oils.”  Housed in frosted glass with a gold lid, the candles have an amazing last power (up to 60 hours, depending on the size you purchase) and I can attest that they scent the entire room.  As I mentioned, I’ve been burning the Empire Celeste scent, which contains “voluptuous and exotic notes of rose, violet, orange blossom and wallflower.”  The result is a delecatably sweet scent that instantly reminds you of a spring garden – perfect for those days when you’re still feeling the winter chill.

For retail locations, head to manuelcanovas.com or order online at various retailers such candledelirium.com and beautyhabit.com.

SportsClub/ LA member? Owner of a vacation villa on Anguilla or St. Barths? Regular at Harvard Gardens, Sonsie, or Vault? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, I have some advice: Get off the computer, dig out your latest Barney’s purchases, call yourself a cab, and ask to go to the Langham Hotel. Yes, the Langham. That sleepy hotel in the Financial District best known for their all-you-can-eat Chocolate Buffets on Saturday. Believe it or not, there’s something special in there, and it’s called BOND.

The Langham Hotel is one of the least likely places to think you’d find Boston’s newest nightlife hotspot. Appropriately named for the former Federal Reserve Bank it now occupies, BOND’s ridiculously awesome bumpin’ beats, yummy eats, and an amazing vibe has caught a lot of attention in the Boston scene. (more…)

I’m the girl who would much rather wear a lip stain or lipstick over a gloss, but once I tried Shu Uemura Lip Duo Tint and Gloss, I haven’t been able to wear anything else since.  

Admittedly, this combines a stain and a gloss together – so it gives me some versatility. This product is part of Shu Uemura’s spring collection, which features a variety of pink shades. I am obsessed with the double decker pots, which twist apart to reveal each layer.  I love the lightweight stain, which lets you build color from a soft berry to a vivid fuchsia.  The color also lasts for hours.  You could wear this alone, but I definitely recommend wearing the pale pink gloss from the bottom that is ultra moisturizing and softens the lips.  Because the texture is more like a balm, it gives the perfect shine without getting sticky.  

I’ve been wearing mine from 9am to 9pm, from early morning meetings to after-work dates. The duo works appropriately for it all, replacing all other lip products in my purse. (Quite an amazing feat!) Picks yours up for $32 at Nordstrom.com.

I totally love, unabashedly love listening to Bollywood music (and this was the case even before I went to India).  Although I have no idea what they are singing about, I find the music so upbeat, and infectious that I can’t help but smile and get into it.  This made me incredibly excited to try a new workout DVD called Bollywood Booty, and I highly recommend it even to those of you who aren’t Bollywood music fans for a fun, sweat inducing workout that you can do in limited space.

Included on this DVD are four workouts and one warm-up on the DVD (giving you a total 45 minute workout), as taught by Instructor Hemelayaa Behl (better known as Hema), who promises to help “tighten your booty” with some Bollywood cheorography inspired steps. These steps are all introduced to you slowly in the warmup section and include moves such as ‘Turn the Lightbulb,” “The Bollywood Vogue”, “Paint the Walls,” “Paint yourselves” and others. I live in New York City, and my apartment is fairly small, but I was able to perform all of the DVD moves within the small, matchbook shaped confines of my living room.

The four workouts increase in intensity, as Hema steps up the pace and adds more steps to the routine.  By the end of the fourth workout, you will definitely be sweating.  Although the workout may not be as intense as a full body workout at the gym, it is a fun way to tone your glutes, as many of the steps focus on the hips and doing squats and lunges.

Although you won’t be in danger of kicking any furniture as Hema keeps the workout steps confined, the only danger you will face while watching this DVD is bursting out into giggles.  It’s difficult not to burst out into infectious laughter as Hema instructs you cheerily to “tighten that BOO-TAY, encourages you to ‘infuse yourself with love,’ and teaches you a move ‘inspired by the mating call of the elk.’”  Her enthusiasm is contagious and guarantees an enjoyable workout.

Lately, I’ve been playing a lot more with cheek color to try to change up my makeup look to go with my mood and scent. When I’m wearing Elizabeth Arden’s Pretty for example, I like to get done up in an overall girly, pink look, whereas with Missoni or Michael Kors, I enjoy a bronze, glowing feel. When I’m wearing YSL Elle, I almost always do a dark eye with a nude face/lip, and when I spray Coco Mademoiselle, I prefer to play up a strong red lip and with a lighter eye. But regardless of what look I’m trying to achieve, I always reach for my Clinique Up-lighting Liquid Illuminator, which comes in a range of four colors that suit any mood.  It doesn’t matter if I want pink or bronze or peach or bare – I never want to have matte, dull skin.

The liquid illuminator is a lightweight, tinted highlighter that essentially does double duty – for contouring and to give  a dewy wash of subtle color.  The product comes in four shades: bronze, blush, peach and nude.  Sometimes if I’m actually contouring the face, I’ll selectively use the product only on parts of the cheek and brow bones, but I just generally mix this with foundation or  moisturizer and go for an all over glow. I’ve actually found that the illuminator gives matte or powder foundations (that would otherwise be banished to the far corners of my makeup closet) a new life.

Clinique Up-lighting Liquid Illuminators retail for $22.50 at Nordstrom.com and comes with a lot of product.