Posted by Pia
on
16 March 2008
Spring is coming. There are days when the pure white bells of the snowdrops lift my spirits and assure me that this is true. And I am even more convinced now that I have seen the bright yellow sun of eranthis petals against the richly dark and still cold wet earth, their little green leaves spreading out like a fan around them. But it is still March, and it is still part lion! And even my skin confirms that winter has not disappeared — so I continue to take refuge in an array of body scrubs in the hopes of staving off that late winter sense of 'dried out' blues.
My latest favorite — not least for the reasonable price and eco-friendly approach — is the Hugo Naturals Brown Sugar & Kumquat Body Scrub. It contains brown sugar and emollients such as kukui oil, jojoba ester, kosher vegetable glycerin, and others, and offers a warm and cheering scent without being too overbearing or winter-like…
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Posted by Pia
on
9 December 2007
In my early 20s, I lived for a time in Copenhagen, Denmark, a land of my ancestors and a country known for fabulously long summer days filled with blue skies, beaches, beer-drinking down by the harbor and lingering candlelit dinners with friends outside, sitting cozily tucked into wool blankets against the midnight chill. But those of us who have endured the winter know there is a time when the sun first tentatively appears mid-morning and by mid-afternoon has already set, when the sky is one long sheet of gray from November until March, and the minimalism of the Danish modern look feels like part of a conspiracy to deprive one of any warmth or luxury.
One such winter, my mother arrived for a visit after a stay in India. When she'd asked if I would like anything from India, I'd responded 'color! can you bring some color back with you…it's so… cold here!' And so she arrived bringing several gorgeous silk brocade pillow cases in golden bronzes, deep wines, and earthy oranges with fabulous gold and silver threading on the detailing. I so clearly recall a deep sense of relief — into this cold barren landscape, a colorful burst of exotic warmth and abundance had arrived bringing reminders of a far off land, spice-laden cuisine and aromatic incense swirling through the dusty air upwards to the heavens.
When I first tried the Hammam Body Treatment products from Red Flower, I had a similar experience…
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Posted by Lucy
on
14 October 2007
I confess I stalk the aisles of the personal care sections of health food stores, and I feel well rewarded when I discover an affordable product that works as well as Alba Botanica’s Sugar Cane Body Polish. It is like comfort food for dry skin. There is the high sugar and fat content (Hawaiian sugar cane juice, honey, kukui nut, macadamia nut and sunflower oils with vitamin E). And there are no unpronounceable or mysterious ingredients whatsoever.
Sugar Cane Body Polish’s large sugar granules are suspended in an rich, slushy base of sugar cane juice and nut oils. They dissolve slowly in a hot shower…
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Once in a while, a certain ingredient attains sudden, widespread popularity, appearing in so many products that it seems to go from obscure to ubiquitous in a matter of minutes. The common ingredient in Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Soins de Plaisir line of scented body products is tiaré, the fragrant Tahitian gardenia (“gardenia tahitensis”). More specifically, the three products in the line all include monoï, a liquid produced by tiaré flowers slowly macerated in coconut oil.
Tiaré is traditionally woven into floral garlands and crowns, and as a single bud worn behind the ear it declares the wearer’s romantic status (single if it appears behind the right ear, and attached if it is worn on the left). Monoï has been used as a beauty aid by women in the South Pacific for centuries, to soften and nourish the hair and skin. Even recently, both tiaré and monoi were still unfamiliar to North American or European consumers, but companies ranging from Christian Dior to Bath and Body Works, Yves Rocher, and The Body Shop have all launched monoï-themed products within the past year. Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Soins de Plaisir may be the most sophisticated collection of the batch…
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Posted by Anjali
on
21 April 2007
Last year, former actress and model Diana Barton introduced Diana B., a line of body lotions, bath gels, candles and scrubs that claimed to revolutionize skincare. The rather high price point ($28 – $45) initially made me dismiss the line as yet another instance of overhyped, celebrity-endorsed nonsense, but a rave from a friend convinced me to pick up the scrub and give it a try; I was soon kicking myself for not having given the products a chance before.
The scrub is remarkable, really unlike any I have used before…
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