Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Bulgari at the Ritz Carlton

My man surprised me this weekend, as we drove from Chicago to Toronto, with a stopover in Dearborn, MI, for a night at the Ritz Carlton and a visit to Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House. The Ritz has a partnership with Bulgari, which is a good thing if you are a connoisseur of amenities, which at the Ritz includes soap, shampoo and lotion lightly scented with the unisex Bulgari au Thé Blanc. I'm usually not a big fan of "white" scents, as they tend to be floral, but the notes here are white tea and white pepper over ambergris and musk. The effect is very white and clean indeed, but not in the way of laundry soap. I wouldn't even describe it as white, so much as clear. Yes, it smells transparent. Lovely, and appropriate in a hotel, where a fragrance really must be subtle enough to please everyone.

The Ritz experience was marred by an extraordinarily rude doorman, who scolded me publicly upon our arrival for accidentally tripping the safety lock on the revolving door (this happens, strangely enough, when you push on the door's handle). The next day, this same doorman was on duty, and when I looked daggers at him, he nervously skulked over and apologized, and then literally chased us into the parking lot offering to personally buy us breakfast, so sorry was he to have caused offense. I went from angry, to forgiving, to... kinda creeped out. A simple apology would have worked, but in the end it was just way too much doorman--doormen being another hotel amenity that should be transparent.

Aveeno Eczema Care

I don't have eczema, but I know plenty of people who do, so this product grabbed my attention right away. (I was made aware of it by Aveeno's PR firm, which also supplied me with the products for this review.)

My stepmother suffers from eczema and is always on the lookout for products that will give her some relief. I mailed her the Aveeno Eczema Care Moisturizing Cream and Eczema Care Body Wash to see what she thought of them. Here's an excerpt from her email to me:

I didn't even know Aveeno made a product for eczema.  I started using Aveeno over a year ago and I like the regular product.  So I was thrilled to open it and see that they now make a product especially for me!  I started using it immediately and I like it very much.  It is creamy and yet not greasy, which is often a problem.  It didn't burn, another common problem. I'm very encouraged after just using it two times.  Many thanks from me and my dry skin.

This was a few weeks ago; I saw her shortly after and she was still happy with the products. I noticed during that visit that my father was showing symptoms of eczema, too, with red, blotchy skin around his nose. He'd complained a few months back of dry facial skin, so I'd supplied him with a moisturizer, but what I saw a fortnight ago made me encourage him to try the Aveeno products.

I spoke to my dad on Sunday night, and he said that he's been using these products and notices a big improvement. My stepmother is still singing their praises, too. So I'd recommend these even if you just suffer from parched winter skin. Even better, since several of my friends' children have been afflicted with eczema: These products are safe for use on babies as well as adults.

Alba Bath & Shower Gel

Fickle as I am, I don't like to use the same shower gel for very long before I switch to a different scent and texture. So I'm guessing the bargain lover in me took over when I bought a couple of Alba shower gels in industrial-sized bottles, complete with pump for easy use. (They came from TJ Maxx, where I find so many wonderful products for next to nothing, and cost $9.99 per gigantic container.)

Here's some hippie stuff some of you will probably like, but which matters not a jot to me:

• Hypo-allergenic
• pH balanced
• No sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate
• No synthetic colors
• Paraben and phthalate free
• 100% vegetarian ingredients and no animal testing

I bought these back in April and have barely made a dent in them. One is the Honey Mango variety, the other Sparkling Mint. They are both, as the labels claim, very emollient. But they do not, as the labels claim, make for very good bubble baths. These are strictly for shower time. Still, I'm a fan, even after all these months. For me, that's saying something.

Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel in Alluring Avocado + Venus Embrace

  Cincinnati Supper Club: The Sixth 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

NOTE: This product is not available in stores until next month.

I went through a phase of having my legs waxed, but found it so unbearably painful - much more so than having, er, other body parts waxed - that I finally had to give it up. My friend Nancy Rommelmann falls asleep while getting her legs waxed, something I could only do with the help of a fistful of narcotics.

So I'm back on the never ending quest to find the holy grail of razors. A PR firm wanted to send me the Venus Embrace, and I eagerly accepted. Have you priced razors lately? I think they cost more per ounce than gold.

This razor does such a thorough job that you can hear it squeak against your skin as it glides over it. The blades - all five of them - are supposed to curve so that they stay in contact with your skin over areas like knees and ankles. All I can tell you is that I got a smooth enough shave out of it, and as I've grown increasingly disillusioned with my Schick Intuition, this is welcome news.

I also quite liked the fresh scent of the shaving gel. Okay, so avocado oil is third from last in the list of ingredients, but I've never thought of avocados as particularly "alluring" anyway. Whatever it is smells good, but not cloying or overpowering.

Post-shave moisture came from Carol's Daughter Mango Mélange Shea Soufflé, a product I don't think I'll ever tire of employing. I suppose a more conscientious girl would worry about smelling of both avocado and mango, but then a more conscientious girl would probably take whatever painkillers she had to take to get through regular leg waxing.

Carol's Daughter Soufflés

If you've got dry skin, or skin that is drying out in the cold weather, my advice to you is: Buy Carol's Daughter Soufflés in large quantities. I was sent a variety of them and have been eager to share the good news about this line with my friends...though not so eager to share the actual products. Mine, mine, mine!

J'ai produits, voyagerai/Have products, will travel

I have traveled quite a bit over the last month or so - to New York, then to London, then home (via Paris), then to New York, and now back to Paris. The "security" rules make things especially difficult if I am only popping over to NYC for one night. (I put all my things in a carry-on bag, so I don't have to check a bag if I'm only going to New York for two days. So tiny sizes of stuff like this are essential.)

It seems churlish to whine. That said, it's getting to me. But a few products have certainly made things easier.

Paradise Potions Satin Sheets Hand & Body Cream - I got this as a freebie from Paradise Potions' creator many months ago, in many different scents. The label has come unstuck from the tiny pot of the one I've been using, so I can't tell you what scent it is, but I can tell you it's a great body moisturizer for the road. The lid screws on, and the cream itself is quite thick, so there are no worries about runny lotion leaking all over the place. Hydrates like a dream, too, and is quite inexpensive ($12.95 for a full sized tub).

Tresemmé European Tres Two Professional Formula Hairspray - I'm not linking to their site, because it uses unnecessary Flash and blasts music upon loading, but their hairspray is as good as their website is crappy. It gives a really fine mist, and the travel size is perfect for the stupid quart-sized bag that "security" forces me to put all my carry-on liquids, gels, and sprays into. (I think I picked this up at Duane Reade on a trip to NYC.)

Viscontour Serum - Yes, you read that link correctly: $80 for twenty single use ampoules. My friend Karri, who is a registered nurse in a hospital and cosmetic surgeon's office, gave me several samples of this. After using it for a few days, though, I might just be persuaded to invest in it. The serum has the consistency and texture of slightly sticky water: You smooth it into your skin until it disappears. It's worth pointing out that you can certainly get more than one use out of each ampoule - at a stretch, you might get three, but definitely two (and that's with application to the face, throat, neck, and decolletage). I've found it quite good for keeping my skin from dying out with all the flying, and the ampoules are the perfect packaging for travel.

Kiehl's Creme de Corps and Body Polish

Guest blogger, journalist Nancy Rommelmann, writes...

"The younger they are, the longer they take in the bathroom."

So said my mother last week, to her husband, about my daughter, who'd spent 40 minutes primping so we could drive a mile to a Martha's Vineyard clam shack. What, exactly, does a seventeen-year-old who is already honey to the bees need to do to get herself looking fly? Nothing, but she chooses to do things anyway, just as I did when I was a teenager, an hour and more spent on scrubbing and buffing; blowing and lacquering, spritzing and spraying and getting the blush on just so.

I don't do this anymore, working as I am on getting my travel case of cosmetics no larger than a deck of cards. And yet I arrived home from vacation to find a care package from Kiehl's, containing Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Body Polish, and Light-Weight Lotion SPF 30. As I've previously blogged, I am a fan of Kiehl's, as the products appear to me useful, even essential, with a minimum of fuss, the sorts things one might tuck in the pannier of one's motorcycle just before crossing a continent. The motorcycle reference I no doubt recall from Kiehl's flagship store on New York's First Avenue, a tiny apothecary that nevertheless had room on its floor for a vintage Ducati.

Arriving home with a tan, I decided to use the scrub in the shower. It smells divine, like honey and almond oil, and is a breeze to use: squirt a blob in your hand, rub it on, rinse it off. My skin did feel very soft, and even softer after using the lotion, which, though it contains all kinds of nut oils, is surprisingly light, which I guess might be why they call it "light-weight." The whole shebang took two minutes, maybe. The result?

"You smell tropical," my husband said to me, breathing in the skin on my shoulder, on my neck.

Time well spent.

Anthony For Men Blue Sea Salt Body Scrub

I'll tell you something: That "for men" in the title should be read only as a suggestion. I made a big show of giving this to my fiancé, and have since made a lot less of a show of pilfering it on a daily basis.

Anthony For Men is now selling a giant 32 ounce bottle of its (brilliantly) Blue Sea Salt Body Scrub with pump for $32. All of the proceeds from the sale of the product are going to fund prostate cancer research; the company is a big supporter of the Aureon Protocol Study at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The scrub has very fine grains of sea salt to exfoliate, with aloe vera to soothe and a clean scent with a hint of nutmeg about it. Unlike a lot of scrubs, it rinses away easily. A dollar an ounce for the huge pump bottle is a fantastic value, and that's before you get to the fact that its sale goes towards prostate cancer research. Christmas is only a few months away, and this would make a great gift for any of the guys on your list (and as a wrap-and-stash present for when someone unexpectedly gets you something and you haven't anticipated it).

More Booty (Parlor) Booty: Add Magic

While Jack is elegantly dusting herself with shimmery, pretty, tasty--and tasteful--things, I, being the trashy slut in this outfit, went straight for the slimy stuff.  The sweet-tasting Cinnamon Shine lip gloss, yes, and the discreetly labeled Add Magic "luxury lubricant" which looks rather demure and stylish on the nightstand and even more importantly, won't embarrass my teenage son when he inevitably happen across it. 

Speaking of non-embarrassment, the item below is not a bottle of nail polish, but a battery-operated pleasure device designed not to embarrass the TSA agent who searches your handbag. 

BTW, on a curious note, while eyeglass cleaner, mouthwash, hair gel, mascara, lip gloss and toothpaste are banned on all flights, you are allowed to carry up to 4 oz. of "essential non-prescription liquid medications" on an airplane, and that includes.... you got it, "personal lubricant."  Thinking creatively, I can't see any reason not to dab a little bit of magic pussy product on dry lips and puffy eyes, eh?

Elemis, TimetoSpa.com, and a jubilant Jack

Last week, at a New Media Age event, Hillary and I were introduced to Melissa and Jo from TimetoSpa.com. (That's them, at left; aren't they pretty?) The website is the official online retailer for, amongst other brands, Elemis. Jo told me that, sometimes, she feels like a spokesmodel for the brand, as she can't help but gush, whenever she gets together with her friends, about the wonders of all of the Elemis products she relies upon. Hmm.

The wine was flowing freely, the conversation was good, and before long, we'd been talking so long that Hillary and I were running late for the Samizdata Summer Party. But I was definitely intrigued to try out some Elemis lotions and potions, if they were good enough to reduce a girl to pub time product promotion.

So you can imagine my delight when, this afternoon, I took delivery of a massive box full of Elemis products from Melissa and Jo. This smaller, gorgeous teal and aubergine box was tucked inside the larger one, and looked so perfect that I almost did not want to open it. (Of course I did, though; it contained a voucher for an Absolute Aroma Stone Ritual - a stone therapy massage followed by an anti-ageing Performance Facial - at the Elemis Day Spa in Mayfair, and a little bottle of bath milk. Score!)

We're all beauty junkies here, right? So you know that when I say I was having palpitations of joy over this bounty, I am only exaggerating a tiny bit. No matter how many free products I get - and believe me, I am only moved to write about a fraction of them - I am always excited to try new things. Melissa and Jo sent me a box of about 25 new things, so my usual sense of anticipation was rather heightened.

The package also contained a beautifully handwritten letter from Melissa, covering two sides of an A4 sized sheet of paper, giving me explicit directions on a relaxing nighttime routine using no fewer than six of the products. I wasted no time in high-tailing it to the bathroom, my arms overflowing with Elemis. I added another two products to the mix for good measure. Here's the lineup:

1. Cleanse with Elemis Rehydrating Rose Petal Cleanser

2. Follow with Elemis Rehydrating Ginseng Toner (Smells fab, and you mist it onto your face before wiping with a cotton pad; I was wary of trying this, as my skincare routine has been toner-free for a few months now - with excellent results - but this toner is so mild that I could use it to wipe off my eye makeup. Freshness without stinging? My kind of toner.)

3. Apply Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel (I'd rather use this than eat an actual papaya; again, no stinging)

4. Rinse off the peel after 15 minutes, smooth on Elemis Exotic Cream Moisturising Mask

5. Remove mask; massage Elemis Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsule (lavender capsule at night, pink in the morning) into face and neck (This is rich with moringa oil, but absorbs quickly and completely - no environmental disaster of an oil spill left behind.)

6. After a few minutes, apply a layer of Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream to the face and neck (This, their best-selling anti-ageing moisturiser, smells amazing - like the ocean if it didn't stink of fish corpses.)

I completed steps 1 through 4 while soaking in a bath containing five capfuls of Elemis Skin Nourishing Milk Bath; this can be massaged into very dry skin as a cream, and I think I will buy a bottle of it for my step-mother (who suffers from skin so dry that she sometimes uses Vaseline as moisturiser). The scent is floral without being grandmotherly - same goes for the Elemis Exotic Island Flower Body Balm that I rubbed in post-bath. These two would make a great gift for a woman with severely dry skin, and the latter absorbs quite quickly into a damp dermis.

Truth be told, I am now far too relaxed to be sitting upright, let alone typing this. But I jumped online to do just that, so thrilled was I with both the gesture from Melissa and Jo and the effects of tonight's routine. Watch this space for updates on how regular use of these products pans out, as well as reviews of the other products they sent me. Thanks, TimetoSpa team!