Skin Deep

Best. Hand cream. Ever.

I suffer from ridiculously dry skin on my hands. So much so that it likes to crack and bleed on a regular basis and wintertime is a nightmare for me. After trying just about everything, I’d resigned to the fact that nothing would work and I would be lumped with this for life.

Enter AHAVA, a line of products based on Dead Sea minerals, and its amazing mineral hand cream. Not only does this goo smell delish, it works like a charm. The key to this is a potent compound of magnesium, calcium, potassium, and zinc that is designed to create the optimal balance in your skin. It draws moisture from the lower levels of skin to the surface to keep hands soft and healthy, and witch hazel and allantoin repair cracked skin.

I keep a tube at work and one on my nightstand and my hands are all the better for it.

Lookbook Love

It was Mario Testino’s shots of Rio beaches that inspired the Resort 11-12 C&M camilla and marc swimwear collection to translate Brazil’s beach culture into structured swimsuits with graphic cutouts and popping prints.

In stores October 15.

Lookbook Love

Porcelain Doll, the Fall collection from Erika Bates’ Asuyeta, hits online today. Inspired by porcelain dolls, this 14 piece handmade collection includes comfy dresses, shirts and bottoms all sprinkled with vintage lace, ruffles and buttons.
Basically, it’s every girl’s dream.

Skin Deep

Befine is a brand I can get behind.
You know that saying ‘You are what you eat’? Befine steps it up a notch, using only ingredients sourced from plants and minerals, and all products are paraben, allergen and fragrance free. As someone who has struggled with my skin in recent years, an all-natural line like this is a blessing.

The Exfoliating Cleanser with brown sugar, sweet almonds and oats looked so much like cake ingredients that I almost didn’t want to put it on my face and as I started to scrub, I started to panic. It felt way too harsh for my sensitive skin and I was positive I was doing more harm than good. But as the sugar beads dissolved, I had to admit it was working.  Hands down the best scrub I’ve ever tried.

Molly’s World

Throw pillows. Heavy curtains. Candlelight. An exotic palette of red and copper. Molly Gunn’s apartment in Uptown Girls is a dream world of decadence and splendor and is absolutely beautiful.

clockwise – chair ($1,238/pair) Layla Grace; rug ($48) Company C; mirror pendant ($1,270) Arteriors; desk ($,1,547) Bungalow 5; glass hurricanes ($173) Jamie Young; pillow ($196) Jamie Young.

For more ideas, check out The Grand Bazaar Istanbul, out this Fall on Assouline.

Chock full of jewels, furniture, fabrics, silver, spices, antiques, collectibles and more…

under her under arm

When I was 16 I bought a fake Louis for EUR20 in Gran Canaria (at the time I also thought velour tracksuits were perfectly acceptable attire, and may or may not have owned a fake Burberry-print scarf or two). It wasn’t until I got home a few days after the holiday that I noticed the LX monogram.

Yes, that’s right. Not only was my bag a knock off, it wasn’t even a good one.

From that moment forth, any relationship I may have had with Louis Vuitton – real and fake – was tainted. The monogram mocked me from all angles: magazine pages, my mother’s wallet, friends who had actually found good fakes.  I despised it.  When I moved to New York, however, I started to feel differently towards the much-loved Speedy and now, with the introduction of the Bandoulière, I’ve fallen.

Its charm lies in its versatility. Typically, the Speedy is a top-handle tote, but this version (from $1,065) comes with a strap so that it can be worn on the shoulder or cross-body style. As if that wasn’t enough to turn me, Parisian stylist Caroline Sieber is featured in the look book.

Mais oui, j’adore.

don’t call it a comeback

Style.

What is it? Who has it? How do you define it?

For me, it’s indefinable. It’s everywhere. It’s that je ne said quoi that gets me excited about clothes.  It’s effortless. It’s inspirational.

It’s that dancer wrapped in layers of pastel comfort on her way to Lincoln Center. It’s the financier who pairs his gold Rolex with a crisp blue buttondown. It’s an 8-year-old schoolgirl with her wristful of friendship bracelets, Silly Bandz and silver Tiffany identity bracelet. It’s the wannabe rapper and his beloved collection of sneaks.

How many mornings have I unknowingly created a look pulled together from what I saw the day before? A chambray shirt tucked into a fluorescent orange skirt cinched with a skinny leopard belt. A plain black dress with floral Nike high tops and a big gold chain. Wide leg jeans, a breton top and white Converse. A chiffon maxi skirt with scuffed moto boots. Layering a plaid shirt over a denim one, both collars popped.  All from my own head?  I don’t think so.

To paraphrase Chuck Palahniuk, my closet is the combined effort of every stylish person I’ve ever saluted.

Over the years I’ve went through many sartorial phases. There were my double denim days of toddlerdem. My obsession with navy sailor dresses at the age of four. An awful lot of plaid. O’Neill’s tracksuits. Body warmers with combats. Boy pants peaking out over baggy jeans during a very brief Avril Lavigne phase. My lower abdomen permanently on display for three years straight. Gypsy skirts and Jesus sandals. So many, many hoodies. Graphic tees with obnoxious slogans. Getting to college and discovering that ballet flats, opaque tights and scarves were all I needed in life. Getting to New York and discovering I didn’t own enough black.

Like I said, many phases.

At this point in life I should probably choose one fashion route and stick to it but that just sounds SO boring.   Sure there’s more than one outfit of mine that will never again see the light of day, and sometimes I may cringe at old photos, but hey… at least you can never pigeonhole me.