Hi Ladies,

I have a friend (let’s call him “Mr. F”) with skin as smooth and soft as the most exquisite silk. (No, that wasn’t a typo. Yes, I meant him…as in the friend is a he and not a she.)

While it’s nice to see that a guy cares about his grooming routine; I, quite frankly, wrestled with the fact that a male (even an extremely well-groomed one) could have skin softer than any she (especially me). Then again, from a scientific standpoint, perhaps it is possible. Men are usually more fully clothed in long-sleeved shirts and trousers and therefore less exposed to harsh environmental elements that tank top, short-sleeve, and skirt-wearing women face. But get this! When I asked “Mr. F” about his body moisturizing practices and he retorted, “I don’t really use lotion” I thought, Okay? That’s novel! 

So, for the sake of my C&V gals, I decided that some skin-so-soft-seeking work was necessary.

I assessed my skin’s condition and reviewed my body hydrating regimen my dermis is very supple but more like silk shantung than the finer variety. And baby, when it’s cool outside, I apply a thick even heavy oil (like Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Oil Gel in Aloe, $6, drugstore.com after a shower but before drying off, which helps the moisture lock into the skin for most of the day. But with warm weather here (kind of) and my competitive desire to have skin that rivals “Mr. F’s”, I decided to test a few of the season’s lightweight hydrators to see which potions get the job done.

Here’s what I’m “feeling:”

 

 

Cetaphil DailyAdvance Ultra Hydrating Lotion, $10.99, walgreens.com

Seriously, this lotion goes on so thin, but is as hydrating as any rich and super-luxe cream. So smooth and light, it can easily double as hand cream, too. The best part: you can slip on a silk top and not worry about those messy residual lotion/oil marks.

 

 GRN Grow Restore Nurture Natural White Tea Body Lotion by Exhale, $19, exhalespa.com

As soon as this paraben and dye-free hydrator touches the skin it seems to morph into water. But its nourishing, vitamin-enriched formula delicately scented of fresh essential oils lasts all day long.

Avon’s Skin So Soft Fusions Dual Softening Body Moisturizer

, $8.50, www.avon.com

I admit Skin So Soft is nostalgic for me. My mom and grandmothers swore that the legendary Avon dry oil spray could (and would) repel any bug known to man. The newest Skin So Soft cream formula left my skin moisturized and smooth, even after a four-mile run.

I’m a commitment-phobe when it comes to body moisturizers. So I’m dibbling and dabbling a bit and all three of these are in rotation.  But with these lightweight heavy hitters, I'm confident my skin WILL BE waaay softer than.... I’ll keep you posted.

Until then, tell me about your summer skin-moisturizing routine.  Do you stick with creams or lighten up? Which are your favorite and why? Does SPF alone work for you?

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations (no)

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am the soul that lives within

Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person

Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend

Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity

Expressing my creativity

--India.Arie, “I am not My Hair,” Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationship (2006), Universal Motown

I am fortunate to say that I get compliments on my hair frequently. And God knows I appreciate them. Rarely am I asked whether the hair on my head is mine. But occasionally, it happens. But when I am asked the rather forward question, I often ponder whether or not Beyoncé, Kim Catrall, or Gwenyth Paltrow are ever asked the same.

So, today, I am coming out!

Yes, I’m wearing hair extensions. I have been for a little over a year. My “real,” au natural hair is chemically straightened, sandy in color and now rests healthily below my shoulders. But when I made a long-term commitment to wear my “temporary” longer tresses, it was a drastic change. What was one day a short, cropped, Mia Farrow-pixie that shaped my face like a customized picture frame became what my ultra-conservative, demure mother calls an “unbeweavable” hair-to-there hair-peration.

I beg to differ. My chest-length extensions are trés believable. The store-bought locks match my hair texture and color perfectly.  And their believability-factor was, at least for me, a prerequisite to wear them in the first place. My stylist, Carla Gentry Osorio, is the genius weaver. However, as evidenced by this entry, my intention is not to fool anyone about where my own hair begins and/or ends. After all, I am not my hair. Or am I?

I mean, I believe women like you and I (and India.Arie) don’t see our hair as a defining characteristic of who we are. Instead, I believe, our tresses are a mere extension (no pun intended) of our style, personality, our mood, a matter of self-expressio. Or perhaps, in my case, an equally important convenience that affords the comfort of working out four times a week without worrying about “my” hair becoming excessively dry or damaged.

So with the season’s celebrity “It” hairstyles all of which I love, running the gamut – from the...

 

Sassy Chic Katie Holmes-Cruise (I so want her to hyphenate her name):
I adore this cut! The bangs add a whimsical flair to an otherwise structured look. In fact, I’m contemplating doing this one…if only I could tug and pull it into a pigtail during my work out?

 

 

 

To the...Classic Jennifer Lopez: 
She’s been wearing her coif in a simple, yet timeless chignon often since the twins. This look and any close cut takes confidence and self-assuredness. (It seems motherhood does that!)
   

 

 

 

And the… Femme Fatale Sarah Jessica Parker:

Talk about a healthy head of hair? I’m still not sure whether SJP’s stylist adds hair to create her super-full and flow-y look. But I love how playful yet feminine her loose curls look.

 

 

  
 

 

And even the…Rock Star Rihanna:

What some might view as indecisive, I call cutting-edge. The asymmetrical cut has returned after a twenty-plus-year hiatus. But what remains hasn’t changed about this style? It’s still daring, funky, edgy, and rocker-chic!

 

I have to agree with India. I am not my hair! But my hair is ME, I mean “we”. And today (and for the last year or so) I’ve settled into feeling a little more femme fatal-ish like SJP. But with summer coming soon (I hope), who knows, I might just decide to take my rock-star quotient up a notch. Stay tuned!

 

In the meantime, what hair-statement are you making now or thinking about making?

 

 

Hi Ladies,

The sky is as crystal clear as the reflection of an Asscher-cut diamond. (I’ve never seen an Asscher diamond in person, but I hear they are as clear as water.) The sun is beaming more than a mom at her child’s first recital. The waves are gently crashing the shoreline creating a sound that mimics the angels’ celestial chorus. And I lie here (veiled in SPF 30, of course, because no sun is too good for me not to be well protected) looking like a golden goddess: even-toned, bronzed, radiant, sun-kissed. Ahhh…I love St. Barth’s. Okay, Santa Monica. I mean, Miami.

Okay, really, I’m on the rooftop deck of my Jersey loft building. But I’m more tan and golden than I have been in years without the tropics. And I owe it all to Givenchy’s Tan To Go, Limited Edition.

Now, wait! Before you recite (because I’m sure you already thunk it), “She’s-got-to-be-kidding-me!,” know that I am so sincere. Seldom will I recommend one product for a task. But, last Wednesday (after several Fed-Ex delivery attempts) I received a package in the mail from a friend with “ties” to the house of LMVH’s Givenchy. Never, never, did I expect the contents of that package to make me smile, make me coo, make me imagine frolicking on a white sand beach.

I’m a tan-in-a-can skeptic — and for several reasons: 1) I’m naturally melanin-ed. I am of African-American, Caribbean, Native American and French ancestry. So any tan I get, I admit, is extra, 2) most faux tans I’ve seen, well…look very faux, and 3) I, like most, think orange (not bronze) when I think tan in a bottle. We’ve all seen an “orange” woman before.

Today, however, I’m a convert. For the last five days, I have forgiven my typical complexion smoothing routine. I’ve ditched mixing one part of a slightly-darker-than-my-natural-skin-tone-liquid foundation with my daily face hydrant to create a delicately tinted moisturizer. I haven’t applied concealer to camouflage the signs of sleep deprivation. (That’s my trick to flawless looking skin.) Instead, I’ve followed the directions in the pamphlet that accompanies Givenchy Tan-to-Go face spray.

Avoid spraying in eyes. Hold eight inches from face, spray. Let dry. Spray until desired complexion…

Or something along those lines. The point? I’m sold. I’m a believer. I’m buying Shade 02 in large quantities this week since Givenchy decided that this clever and effective invention should be available only for a limited a time.

It dries in less than two minutes to a powder so it won’t rub onto your (or your significant other’s) clothes. I wish it came in 5 instead of two shades, but I asked friends, some darker and others lighter than me, to try, and the shades were pretty compatible.

So, as I head to a lunch meeting in not-so-tropical New York City, I’ll look fresh, clear-skinned, and St. Tropez-ed. Thanks to Givenchy.

 

Givenchy Tan To Go, $45, sephora.com

Have you ever had a tan-in-a-bottle or spray-tan mishap? Or is there a product or method you absolutely love? Do tell!

Tai

Ladies,

Believe it or not, I am a beauty buff who rushes away from the fragrance section of a department store as if escaping a pack of wild skunks. No, I am not one of those women who prefer a “more natural” body scent. In fact, I loooove perfume. I can tell top notes (what gives a fragrance’s first impression) from bottom or base notes (the heaviest and longest lasting note that gives a fragrance its “defining” aroma). I can categorize a fragrance pretty accurately. (There are six basic categories: floral, fruits, woods, greens, oriental, and aquatic—usually determined by the heart or middle note.) And I’ve even been told I have a great “nose” by one of the world's most revered perfume aficionados, Laurice Rahme of Bond No. 9, formerly of Creed.

Still, I have always felt overwhelmed by the lovely salespeople who flood passer-bys with of-the-moment sprays.

As personal as fragrance is—it’s the one thing that can make an entrance before you do and linger post your physical exit—I usually try new fragrances only when:

a)       One is purchased as a gift

b)       I take the suggestion of a trusted beauty editor who waxes poetic about it in a magazine

c)       I feel intoxicatingly mesmerized after inhaling a scent strip advertisement in a magazine

d)       I build up the courage to ask the lady standing next to (darn near on top of) me on the subway what she’s wearing

What do all of my fragrance-finding practices have in common? Though it’s love after first spritz, I don’t choose my “love in a bottle,” they usually happen to find me.

But this season, I decided to venture outside my eau de toilette comfort zone. I wanted a few new scents that would let four of my most sprayed, warm-weather classics, rest easy on their shelves. Here are some of my new favorites.

 

 

 

My Floral Classic: Creed Spring Flowers EDP, $190, neimanmarcus.com

The Newcomer: Bath & Body Works Enchanted Orchid $19, bathandbodyworks.com

Why: It’s a fresh floral with blends of orchids, gardenia, and iris. Not to mention, it’s a tenth of the price. You can’t beat that!

 

 

My Fruit Classic: Calypso Christiane Celle Mimosa, $85, calypso-celle.com

The Newcomer: Lavanila Vanilla Coconut, $65, sephora.com
Why: I’ve always been a little skeptical of vanilla, but the coconut blend gives this all-natural fragrance crisp freshness

 

  

My Green Classic: L’Artisan Parfemeur The Pour un Ete Eau de Toilette, $95 bergdorfgoodman.com

The Newcomer: Prada Milano Infusion D’Iris Eau de parfume, $70, neimanmarcus.com

Why: It is technically a floral scent, but it’s also complex, lush, very green and clean smelling. 

 

 

My Aquatic Classic: Marc Jacobs perfume, $65, sephora.com

 

 

  

 

 

The Newcomer: Missoni Acqua, $75, at Nordstrom stores

Why: It’s airy, fluid, and alive. Seriously, with every inhale, feel the ocean’s breeze.

So what’s your aromatic pleasure? You can click and purchase one of these for yourself. Or even better, just in time for Mother’s Day (or even Mother-To-Be-one-day-sometime-in-the-future Day), drop a hint (or this link to Compacts & Vignettes) to your significant other or children.

Be sure to come back to share your likes (or dislikes). In the meantime, do tell what fragrances you consider warm-weather must-haves.

Tai