I went in for my last massage at Camarillo’s Massage Envy, as I cancelled my membership after over 2 years of really enjoying the benefits of massage. Today I had an appointment with Harmony and she was absolutely the BEST. She had the best aromatherapy techniques and a really smooth and strong touch. I’m super sad that it’s my last one. Sigh…
Saaphyri is on the move ya’ll! Winner of Mo’nique’s Charm School on VH1 last season and infamous for scrapping some chick on Flavor of Love season 2 and offering her some ‘lip chap’, Saaphyri Windsor has officially launched her site selling 5 flavors of the fabulous balm - Mojito, Pina Colada, Bubblegum, Wintergreen and Cookie Dough.
AND you know you LOVE her site, because yours truly hooked it up thankyouverymuch…
AND Wait, there’s More (ok so I’m totally having sleepless nights and overdosing on the infomercials) you can also buy hair for your hair extension needs from Saaphyri’s Ultimate Indian Hair - there’s color charts and lengths available here.
As a house warming gift, I got an Archipeligo home diffuser which has actually lasted me over a year. I was so pleased with the look, the reed diffuser mellow scent for my living room and the long lasting size…but whoa I was not ready for the $60 price tag. Good gift, but definitely not something I would buy for myself LOL! After cruising the net for some home fragrance alternatives for the holiday season, I ran across this page and found this recipe:
Sugar and Spice Blend
The aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and orange blend to make a sweet, spicy aroma perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The below directions are for creating a diffuser blend, but it is also lovely to use with potpourri. It is also a wonderful blend to use for the Scented Greeting Card & Tissue Paper recipe.
Ingredients:
L by L.A.M.B...aka Gwen Stefani is totally reflective of my perception of Miss Gwennie herself…totally throwback and 80’s fab.
At first spray, it instantly reminded me of YSL’s Paris with strong notes of sweetpea and orange blossoms. It’s bright and fresh and uber-floral which totally makes it not for me.
Now Smell This has a really good in depth review of the fragrance note breakdown if you want more.
As a graphic designer I absolutely love the packaging, the retro throwback bling feel to the bottle and the gradient on the glass - very Gwen Couture! You can score L at your local Nordstrom or order it online at eLuxury.com and get a free cd/gift. Enjoy! 
Well, it’s actually a “Foot and Hand” spa according to the title, but is a fusion of a neighborhood nail shop and high end spa, with super affordable pricing.
The pedicure packages start at $22 for a basic treatment and go up to $45 for the ultra-delux (read: callus treatment, super scrub, hot towels, 10 minute massage, foot mask & hot towel treatment in addition to the basic pedi) but you also are pampered with an aromatherpy neck pillow, top of the line massage chairs that have the water part lined with a giant piece of plastic to elminate the germ-pool, complimentary beverage of your choice (I chose lime garnished ice water, but you can choose ice tea, hot tea, vanilla or mocha cappuccino, coffee, etc.) and a nice zen ambiance which is really hard to find in the neighborhood nail salon.
Plus in the month of October, PediSpa will donate $6 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Fund from the signature pedicure line. Fabulous!!!
A fab little treasure that smells light, fun & carefree…even when your not. Voluspa’s Mimosa Martini fragrance blends Mimosa Flower Petals, Fresh Italian Lime, Chilled Watermelon Martini, Japanese Quince, Vanilla Resin, and White Lily.
It also has a fancy-pants little tassle that holds the little tag in place and has a little brocade quilted pouch to keep it in your bag. Mucho Mucho Fabuloso!
I really try to stay out of any Bath & Body Works that I pass by, because I always end up with something that I absolutely do not need and end up wanting to break whatever diet I am on at the time. Today, I just couldn’t stay out - I walked by and the cozy scent of pumpkin spice lurred me in like a cat passing a warm dish of milk. I fell hook, Line and Sinker…and ended up getting a mini jar of the Pumpkin Pie Paradise body scrub, and a few of the fall home fragrance items (read: sugary pumpkin clovy stuff). I tried the scrub this evening and as hard as it was to not eat the stuff, it actually made my skin feel refreshed and silky after my shower, but what I did was rub the scrub all over before I got into the shower and then lathered/rinsed. And then got mad because I’m on a diet and good LORD that stuff smells divine!
I had a pumpkin facial last season at Burke William’s spa and they sent me home with a pumpkin enzyme peel mask which was pretty good. Pumpkin is rich in vitamins A, C and zinc and will get you glowing in a good way. I’ve got a coupon code for Spa-View readers to save 15% from Greatskin.com just use coupon code HW15 at checkout on any pumpkin products - and please send in your review for your favorite pumpkin stash!
Click here for a green-friendly at home pumpkin facial: Continue reading ‘Pumpkin Season is Here!!’
Ok so enter the world in which everything should really have dual purposes. If it smells good, it should be good for you, unlike most fragrance products that are out there, which is why I actually use alot of essential oils from Whole Foods and drop them into some basic lotion…but the these girls have stepped it up in the mainstream marketplace, namely Sephora, with the cult fave LaVanilla - Fragrance that is Good for you. Healthy fragrance? Yes!
Here is a quicklist of the most interesting details regarding La’Vanilla:
So there you have it - good smelling perfume that is a healthy alternative for overall fabulosity. I bought the $15 rollerball from Sephora “Vanilla Grapefruit” with notes of Grapefruit, Bergamot, Lime, Orange, Cedarwood, Heliotrope, Madagascar Vanilla. Delicioso!
The first of it’s kind - a perfume themed after the entire essence of the Fig tree is pretty nice, but has no staying power on me at all. I gave it a test drive for a week but unlike other fragrances, I got no compliments at all, nor did I smell it after only an hour after application. It does smell lovely though, but perhaps a room fragrance may be a bit more enjoyable.
Plus, didn’t Jesus curse the fig tree? I’m just asking…
I think I have finally begun to successfully process the entire experience from our last Girl’s Weekend Out to the Glen Ivy for a day of rest, girltime & relaxation. The best way to sum up the vast sections of the grounds, I think that we should break it up and allow everyone to kind of talk about what thier most memorable exeperiences where, and make it a few entries with tag words as the naviagion of finding the info you may want to read. For instance, I think that the tag split up should be : Glen Ivy shop, Glen Ivy pools, Glen Ivy mudbath, Glen Ivy grotto, Glen Ivy Shower & Steam rooms, eateries, service and treatment areas. It truley is a spa-themed disneyland with each “treatment’ having a specialty…as you will soon find out with the next couple of weeks with everyone writing in thier personal experiences. More later!! 
Today is the first day of my trial run of Costes of the famed Hotel Costes in Paris, Fr. EDT.
I just sprayed it so it’s a bit strong - very kind of incense-ish but not in a cheapie goth-granola hippy kind of way. I don’t know much about the actual perfumier who mixed it, but I will definitely do some research and post it up here later on during the day as I track the fragrance transitions. It actually has some sweet undertones but it’s definitely spicy at first - which is totally my kind of scent! Ok…off to start my day - more later!
Update:
ok I am going to give this perfume only a couple of stars as the scentlife is only at most 4 hours. Bummer - because I absolutely adore it! I hear there is a candle that is TDF!
Here is some more info on it - I just might have a fragrance crush!!
Mixed by perfumer Olivia GIACOBETTI who has also created fabulous perfumes for L’Artisan Bottega Veneta, Diptyque Essence of John Galliano, Guerlain Baby Guerlain and Hermes…just to name a few. Ummm can you say FAB.U.LOUS??!
I love my feet. One time when I was in one of my undergrad lectures at CSUN, there was an older woman who was sitting in front of me and to the side, and would always wear sandals. She had the most horrific heels I have ever to this day seen in my life. They were beyond cracked and just plain gross. Ever since that day, I have been uber-religious about slathering my feet every night before I go to bed, even resorting to vaseline or aquaphor on days when my pocketbook wouldn’t justify any sort of foot balm…and out of ALL the ones I have given a test run, three are the winning contenders:
I am not your typical perfumier enthusiast. For years and years I loved fragrance from afar, but everything I had tried (read: Giorgio beverly hills, auqolina pink sugar etc.) smelled fabulous on other people, in the stores or on paper swatches, but just not me. I do have my old favorites - Dior’s Hypnotic Poison, YSL’s Paris, and of course my absolute favorite Dior’s Dolce Vita but recently a super sweet swapper over at MUA sent me a sample decant of Lorenzo Villoresi’s Spezie fragrance, and just for the hell of it, I sprayed it on…and O/M/G I was in instant sheer aromatic heaven!!! It’s sultry. Organic. Spicy. Uncommercial. I’m still almost in denial that I actually might have found another fragrance that isn’t from sephora or whole foods and on every porn star in the valley. Let’s give it up for MUA…yet again!
1-1/2 cups white table sugar
8 drops grapefruit essential oil
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
1/4 cup jojoba oil
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
Place sugar into a large bowl and stir to break up any clumps. Add the essential oil. Add one or two drops of red food coloring if you’d like it pink! Mix very well to make sure the color is evenly dispersed. Add the jojoba oil and Castile soap next, a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Mix well and the pour into clean container. To use, stand in the tub or shower and massage the sugar scrub onto your skin from head to toe. Rinse. Inhale. Smile. Thanks to SpaIndex.com for the recipe.
