My Summer Bag Essentials

Every season I find myself with a short list of items I don't want to be without. They go with me on day trips, long weekends and generally live in my purse. Some of them are perennial favorites, other are new releases. Do you have any recommendations or recent discoveries for summer?

1. Sensai by Kanebo Silky Bronze Sun Protective Cream (SPF 30). No matter what, I don't leave the house without it and I'm happy to report the only color on my face comes from tubes and compacts. Not a hint of tan.

2. Le Metier de Beaute Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complexe Tinted Treatment Fluid. A combination of effective skin care and a tinted moisturizer and nothing short of a miracle. Review coming soon.

3. Nars Soft Touch Shadow Pencil. I liked these crayons when they were released last year, and my love for them has grown exponentially since then. Easy, pretty and reliable, never messy and practically fool-proof.

4. Powder- No matter what other products you wear in summer, finish it off with a good, finely milled powder, otherwise it's like you've wasted your makeup.  My favorites come from Guerlain, Le Metier de Beaute, Chantecaille, Youngblood Minerals and Lancome. They all perform well and make sure my face don't look like a puddle.

5. Light scarves, heavy bracelets- Accessorizing in summer sometimes feels too exhausting and futile. We go into arctic air-conditioned spaces and back out into the sun, humidity or heavy afternoon thunderstorm. It's uncomfortable at best, and disgusting the rest of  the time. I keep my statement jewelry on my hands instead of my neck- big and interesting bracelets and bangles add that extra touch without collecting sweat. A light scarf is more versatile than a cardigan- I wrap it over my shoulders when the a/c gets too much and use it to keep the sun out.

6. Tauer Perfumes- Orange Star. It's hard to sum this perfume in a couple of sentences and a full review is coming by the end of the week. All I'll say here is that this dry orange incense is a perfect combination of clean and sunny. Oh, and also gorgeous.

7. Kanebo Sensai SilkyBronze Soothing After Sun Mask.  I've become a sun block zealot, but I still go out of the house. While the sun screen has makes sure I don't get any color, my skin still feels like it can use some TLC after a 90 degree day. The mask cools, calms and makes the face look and feel alive. It's also an essential before a night out on town after a long hot day.

8. Josie Maran Bear Naked Wipes- These environmentally-friendly wipes are wonderfully soft and gentle, do a good cleanup job and are great for a quick freshening up without irritating or drying the skin. There's no residue left and you can redo your makeup on the go right away. The bears on the package always make me smile.

9. Lush Silky Underwear Powder. A great combination of powder and moisturizing cocoa butter that I have yet to see anywhere else. It feels great especially on humid and sticky days and for a Lush product even the scent is ok. I'm on my third jar.

10. Vicks Vapor Rub- The ultimate feet treatment. Seriously. It heals, softens, prevents odor and performs better than anything I've ever tried.

Photo by Nina Leen for Life Magazine, 1946

Best Of The Best For 2009

For the fourth consecutive year, I'm proud to join forces with a group of excellent bloggers and bring to you my favorite products, scents and little pleasure that helped make my year more beautiful. Organized by Elena from Perfume Shrine, many of the other blogs are scent-centric, while here you will also be subjected to nail polish and lipstick. Enjoy!



Skin Care
Joining my perennial favorites, this year I made two discoveries that improved both my complexion and my general outlook: Boots No. 7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum is a hyped product that really delivers, and might keep the Botox needle away for a while longer. At $22, this is as close to a miracle as it gets.
On the other end of the price spectrum there's Erno Laszlo. I'm on my second full jar of pHormula No. 3-9 cream, and it saves me again and again. During my house move and in this current weather I haven't seen a single flake.

Honorable mentions: Dior Hydraction Serum and anything by Kanebo Sensai.

Body Care
I have several holy grail products from L'Occitane (face cleanser, hair products, shea butter body cream). This year's limited edition Shea Butter collection in Frangipani is wonderful. I can't get enough of the foaming cleanser.
Then there's the best body cream, Kanebo Sensai Collection Premier. For the cost you can either feed a village or buy this product, but I have to mention it because it really is that good.

Nail Polish
StrangeBeautiful, a niche nail polish line with a unique concept and superb quality. The third collection by Jane Schub was launched not long ago and it's as beautiful as you'd expect it to be.If only they'd sell the bottles individually...

Makeup
More than ever before, 2009 was the year limited editions and seasonal collections had sent everyone over the edge. Almost every brand came up with several products that sold out as quickly as they appeared. Of course, Bobbi Brown and Chanel have made this into an art form in previous years, making eye shadow palettes and nail polish in unorthodox shades into an eBay sensation. While this is exciting and probably drives sales even (or especially) in a crappy economy, what happened to the art of a well-thought and carefully edited makeup collection?



The answer is Edward Bess. Creative, perfectionist and talented Edward Bess has a niche makeup line (a Bergdorf Goodman exclusive) that is all about elegance, glamor and impeccable taste. While I wish there were more lipstick and lipgloss shades so I would be able to own more than one of each (minimalists don't become beauty bloggers), I adore what I have and covet each and every eye shadow.

Another company that offers both a gorgeous regular collection as well as stunning seasonal items is Le Metier de Beaute. While their eye and lip Kaleidoscopes are what grabs a makeup lover's attention, it's the face products that give a smooth, flawless look. And the miniature nail polish bottles are pure genius.

The title of Best Mascara belongs to two products: Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill and Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash.

Honorable mentions go to to Bobbi Brown for her Ivy League fall collection, Giorgio Armani for the lipsticks and Christian Dior for the new single eye shadows.


Perfume
Insert heavy sigh here.
These are strange times for the art of perfumery. The writing has been on the wall since 2005 or so, but most of us have been playing ostrich to some degree, mostly because it was so hard to believe that iconic houses that existed for decades (even centuries) and have been a synonym with quality would allow a bunch of bureaucrats to mutilate their classic bestsellers. But IFRA is everywhere and Guerlain, Chanel, Annick Goutal and everyone else have been complying without a fight, thus making No. 5, No. 19, Eau d'Hadrien, Shalimar, Mitsouko and other beloved scents a sad shadow of what they used to be. There's also the issue of cost, of course. Everyone needs to make a profit, and replacing expensive raw materials with cheap ones helps the bottom line. After all, consumers don't care, right? They just want to smell like they've stepped out of the shower.

Not this consumer and not most of you reading this blog.

While even niche houses have been reformulating their perfumes (Chergui, Feminite de Bois, Fleurs d'Oranger) or discontinuing them (JAR Shadow is no more), there are still perfumers who do not create perfumes for focus groups. Mona di Orio has been consistently awesome and her perfumes take you to times and places where Calone doesn't exist. Her line is coming back to NYC (Takashimaya), which is the best news I've heard in ages.

My favorite perfume releases in 2009 come from two small houses. Anya McCoy of Anya's Garden, an all-natural, uncompromising perfumer, has already brought us Kaffir and Pan, two of the most interesting and non-traditional scents I can think of (the first is a lime and leather concoction, the second is all about goat). Her two newest perfumes, MoonDance and StarFlower and stunning in their power, magic and pure sensuality. They are a must-try for any perfume lover.

The perfume that touched my heart more than any other this year (and frankly, probably longer than that) is Andy Tauer's Un Rose Chypree. An emotional, romantic rose on a chypre base that smells of days long gone. It's a masterpiece.

Honorable mentions: L'Artisan Havana Vanille, Uncle Serge's Fille en Aiguilles and last year's Italian Cypress by Tom Ford, which is the most wonderful thing I've smelled on my husband in a while.

And Other stuff...
Green & Black's newest chocolate: Peanut. A 37% milk chocolate, crisply caramelized organic peanuts, a hint of sea salt. Godiva who?

Kajitsu, a vegan Japanese restaurant (414 East 9th Street, New York, NY). It's an amazing experience that doesn't taste like anything else you've had before. The delicate aroma of the food, unique textures and zen atmosphere make it into my favorite restaurant. Get the roasted tea to accompany your meal (and some warm sake). You can also buy it by the pound to take home.

Didier Dumas Patisserie in Nyack, NY (163 Main Street) is a little taste of Paris. Gluttony has never felt so good.

Happy New Year and please visit the other participating bloggers:

Perfume Shrine
Mossy Loomings,
1000fragrances,
Ayala Smelly Blog,
Bittergrace Notes,
Shoes,Cake,Perfume,
Eiderdown Press Journal,
Scent Hive,
Olfactarama,
Roxana's Illuminated Journal,
A Rose Beyond the Thames,
Notes from the Ledge,
I smell therefore I am,
Under the Cupola,
All I am a Redhead,
Perfume In Progress,
Savvy Thinker


Images: myvintagevogue.com, edwardbess.com and Perfume Shrine

Best Of...- Perennial Favorites

Before starting the "Best Of 2009" post (stay tuned- it's coming later today) I thought it would be interesting to go back and examine my lists from previous years and see which products have become staples in my beauty and fragrance routine. A quick look at last year's favorites shows that nothing has changed. I love and use everything mentioned, and I definitely think that Onda by Vero Kern is one of the best perfumes on the market. It's more interesting to see the older posts. I've skipped products that were discontinued since I wrote about them, so here is what I still consider as "Best Of":

From 2006:

Lancome Secret de Vie cream- I've been going through jars upon jars of this stuff. My skin still loves it.
Urban Decay Primer Potion- While there are a lot more eye shadow primers on the market today, I still buy this one. The packaging is annoying, but it's all about performance. My eye makeup hasn't crumbled, melted or faded in years.
Lorac palettes- Back then it was the Snake Charmer palette. I still use it and have since added a couple more.
Niche perfumes- If you're a regular reader you know where I stand on this.
Tom Ford Black Orchid EDP- I still consider Black Orchid as one of the best mainstream/luxury perfume releases of the decade. I wear it, buy it as a gift and enjoy every minute of this weird black truffle-gardenia-chocolate scent.
Benefit Dallas- A summer staple. I got my mom and sister hooked on it, too.
Skin MD Shielding Lotion- I've gone through bottle of this skin saver. They sell it at my local CVS, which makes things easier than when it was only available online.

From 2007:

Zoya nail polish- Love, and not just because they named a shimmery golden white polish after me. The quality is unbeatable, and no matter how many limited edition special polish bottles I buy elsewhere, I always come back to Zoya.
Chanel hand cream- Can't live without it.
Chanel nail polish- limited edition colors. Back then it was the gorgeous Tulip Noir and I'm still a sucker for them. Jade, anyone?
Bobbi Brown metallic eye shadows- Bobbi Brown managed to make them wearable and office-friendly.
Chanel lipstick- The addiction continues. Between the limited edition colors and the regular collection, Chanel is, to me, the standard for quality.
Bobbi Brown eyeliner gel- They stay on forever and the new colors Forest Shimmer Ink and Caviar Ink are gorgeous.
Tauer Perfumes- Every new release makes me giddy. Spoiler alert: Un Rose Chypree is going to make an appearance in my next post.
The Perfumed Court and The Posh Peasant online stores offer a unique service of samples and decants. It's the only way to test many rare, vintage, discontinued and limited edition perfumes
Boots No. 7 at Target- Still far better than most drugstore brands.
Biotherm Homme Ultra Confort- My husband's favorite skin care product. I make sure he never runs out.
Gris Clair, Vetiver Oriental and the rest of the Serge Lutens line- While my husband is currently in his Tom Ford period, Uncle Serge's creations are still loved here very much. With the exception of cumin-infested Serge Noire, he really can't do wrong.

Photo of a 1919 beachside Beauty Pageant from drx.typepad.com

Favorite Things 2008

In what has now become a blogging tradition, a group of us (Many thanks to Grayburn for all the hard work) brings you our favorite things of the year. I recently went through my lists from previous years (2006 and 2007), wondering if I should write a post about which products have become perennial loves, but quickly realized I'd have to copy almost the entire post. More than 90% of the previous years favorites are things I've repurchased and still using regularly.

So here it is, not necessarily new releases, but all are items I discovered and loved in 2008. Links go to my original reviews.

1. Skin Care: Liz Earle cleansing products
Gentle, effective and smelling good. What more can you ask from something you put on and wash off?

2. Bath and Body: Bliss Sesame Carrot Scrub
The scent alone is good enough to be included in this list, but it also provides excellent exfoliation and skin softening. If only they had a matching body butter.

3. Hair Care: L'Occitane hair products
Shampoos, conditioners and hair masks that made a huge difference: My hair looks and feels better and I'm using less goop than ever before. And everything smells great.

4. Hair Styling: Sebastian Whipped Creme
The one product I do use on a regular basis. It's whipped cream for the hair, define curls without making them crunchy, sticky or anything other than soft, manageable hair. Imagine that!

5. Nail Polish: OPI-The French Collection
There was something about this collection that stood out among all the other seasonal/limited editions and other new polishes. The colors managed to look both edgy and elegant, while offering something to everyone. You Don't Know Jacques, a dark taupe, is probably the most memorable, with Tickle Me France, a nude mauve that should become a classic.

6. Palette: Bobbi Brown Mauve
Bobbi Brown is the undisputed Queen Of Palettes. The Mauve one from fall 2008 might be my favorite one so far. Yes, even more than the Chocolate. Muted, flattering colors with only a hint of shimmer and the prettiest blush one could ask for have made it into a makeup bag essential for me.

7. Lipstick: Chanel Rouge Allure in Attitude
As always, I find myself buying and wearing more Chanel lip color than any other brand. Rouge Allure lipstick in Attitude seems to work for just about everyone. A rosy red (reddish rose?) with just enough personality and completely wearable. And like all Rouge Allure products, it's kind to the lips.

8. Foundation: Benefit You Rebel (Lite) and Some Kind Of Gorgeous
Both the tinted moisturizer and cream-to-powder foundation made my life easier. Perfect light texture, sheer coverage that still performs beautifully and gives that most-wanted even look.

9. Powder: Laura Geller Balance-n-Bronze
A finishing powder with a hint of bronzer that matched my skin like nothing else. How good is this one? I'm already on my second compact.

10. Mascara: Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes
No lash left behind. In a year full of gimmicks, this mascara delivers like nothing else. Not for the faint of heart, but when I want to go all the way, this is my mascara of choice.

11. Perfume: Onda by Vero Profumo
Reminding us what perfume can and should be, Vero Kern from Switzerland has created a powerful masterpiece. All three of Vero's scents are now available in the US (from Luckyscent/Scent Bar in L.A.) and are worth trying. Onda is what Tim Gunn calls "soul stirring".
(My 2008 Perfume Retrospective is here)

For more suggestions, please visit the other participants:

Beautiful Makeup Search

Beauty 411

Beauty Talk

Beauty Tyrant

Binary Star

'*:.blu3.:*'

For The Love of Beauty

Grayburn

Life Of A Ladybug

lily loves mac

Make Do Style

Miss Whoever You Are

Perfume Shrine

Platinum Blonde Life

Searching the Inner Me

Slap Of The Day

The Beauty Alchemist

Urbane Girl

Favorite Things 2007

In what has become an annual tradition, a group of beauty, fashion and perfume bloggers have joined in this little project of bringing you lists of our favorite things from the year that's coming to an end. Not all of these were actually launched in 2007. A few are a bit older, but these are the things that made my year, got me excited and helped me stay pretty. Links to the complete original reviews are provided whenever available.

In no particular order:

1) Zoya Nail Polish- The colors are fabulous, the seasonal collections are gorgeous, but in a very saturated market, what stands out most is the quality. Add to that a much less toxic formula, free of several scary chemicals you usually find in nail colors, and this is a winning product. No one else could have made me try on a green polish and fall in love with it.

2) Chanel Hand Cream- Since we're on the subject of beautiful hands, Chanel Body Excellence is not just a fabulous hand cream that makes skin softer, it's also a shielding cream that forms a thin but powerful barrier and it has anti-aging ingredients. My aging skin rejoiceth.

3) Chanel Nail Color in Tulip Noir- While nothing beats the quality of Zoya, the color that mesmerized me most this year was the limited edition Tulip Noir from the fall collection. With all due respect to the black nail craze (and the much talked about navy and Tiffany's blue), nothing is sexier than red, and Chanel did it the best possible way with this deep metallic color.

4) Bobbi Does Metallics- Yes, limited edition palettes are starting to annoy everyone. So does shimmer. Yet, in a year full of both, Bobbi Brown Metallics were a huge hit and deservingly so. The colors in all four palettes were beautiful and surprisingly wearable. The "metallics" is just a light finish for a wonderful texture, making it classy and elegant, as you'd expect from a line known for its natural, non-painted looks. My favorite was the Velvet Plum set, a good choice that has become part of my regular rotation.

5) Chanel Red Lips- There are many excellent brands who make wonderful lip colors. Some have better textures or stay put longer. But nobody makes bold colors like Chanel. Between Hibiscus and Catalina from the Garden Party fall 2007 collection and the Rouge Allure in Garnet Fire, my lips have barely seen a nude color in months.

6) Bobbi Brown Eyeliner Gel- This was the year I stopped being afraid of an eyeliner brush, and it's all because of Bobbi's gel eyeliners. The texture is really of a gel, which makes it unlikely to run, drip or smudge, even at the hands of a certified klutz. It's easy to apply and control, and the result is movie-star-perfect. It stays put until you go after it with a makeup remover without fading or flaking. The large selection of colors doesn't hurt, either.

7) Benefit Silky Finish Lipstick- It looks like a lipstick and feels like a gloss. This was the lip product that made my mother start wearing lipstick, which is nothing short of a miracle. We both wear Dessert First, a pretty plum.

8) Tauer Perfumes- It's been exactly a year since I discovered Andy Tauer and his perfumes, all of which were love at first sniff. 2007 has seen Andy launch the beautiful and delicate Reverie au Jardin, a scent that has seen the husband and me competing over who gets to wear it on hot summer days. If I were into a signature holy grail scent, I'd live in a cloud of L'Air du Desert Marocain. But since I'm happily promiscuous when it comes to fragrance, I can't wait till January 23rd, when his new Incense Extreme is launched.

9) Serge Lutens at Bergdorf and Barneys- My other favorite perfume mastermind. Loving Serge can be very frustrating, because he doesn't take us, American perfume nuts, seriously enough, and keeps half of his creations as non-exports. These scents are exclusive to his Paris boutique at Les Salon du Palais Royal Shiseido, and while they can be purchased online if you live in Europe, they will not ship to the US no matter how much you beg or what bribes and sexual favors you offer. This is why I'm thankful for every limited release they do here. Currently you can get Fumerie Turque, Chene and Chergui exclusively at Barneys, Vetiver Oriental (see below no. 14) at most authorized Lutens seller (I got mine at Aedes), and the biggest surprise of the year was the sudden appearance of two bell jars at Bergdorf: Un Bois Sepia and Bois et Fruits. Let's hope this is only the beginning.

10) The Perfumed Court- Speaking of hard to find fragrances: Once upon a time, if you wanted to sample a scent that isn't sold at the usual niche suspects (Luckyscent and Aedes both sell samples of almost everything they have in stock), or if you wanted to buy a decant of something fabulous you love but can't afford to pay the three-figure price of a full bottle, you could head to eBay and buy it from several excellent and reputable sellers. Then eBay decided they'd rather profit from the huge volume of sales made by perfume counterfeits and other crooks, while at the same time they shut down the decanting business. This has lead four of the most successful and knowledgeable eBay sellers to unite and open a store together: The Perfumed Court. The selections and possibilities are beyond anything I would have imagined and the service is close to perfects. The price for samples is higher than what you'd pay for the same things elsewhere, so stick to the really rare stuff (JAR and non-export Lutens, to name a few, as well as vintage and discontinued scents), and they have no competition when it comes to decants in several sizes.

11) Boots No. 7 at Target- Drugstore cosmetics will never be the same. The products of British company Boots, from their No. 7 and Botanics lines, were first introduced to the American market by Target, now also available at CVS. There are many hyped products in these lines, some so popular they made Matt Lauer go investigate them. My personal favorites are the excellent self tanner (no stink, no George Hamilton) and the makeup removal wipes, that are not only extremely effective, but also soft, thick and luxurious.

12) Laboratoire Remède Super C Serum- This year I greatly simplified my skin care routine, with two principles in mind: a product must make my skin feel great and it has to show clear results. My goal was to even out and brighten my skin tone. I saw the first results within weeks, and continue to be impressed of the serum's performance. I didn't let the faulty packaging of my first bottle keep me from repurchasing, and don't see myself switching products any time soon.

13) Laboratoire Remède Double Oxygenating Booster- This isn't a new discovery. As a matter of fact, this is the third year I've been using this cream. However, until recent months I've only applied it topically about one week a month to get rid of an existing blemish or to prevent one from actually forming. It's the most effective zit zapper I've come across. It made a huge difference for me, as together with the Super C serum it helped get rid of past sins. After reading that the cream may be used all over the face, I started doing it about once a week. The results were immediate: Smoother skin, less visible pores. No irritation and no dryness.

14) Men fragrance: Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental- A 2002 release that became available in the US this year in the regular export bottle and won my husband completely. I adore this scent just as much, and suspect that a backup bottle might be a good idea at this usage rate. Vetiver Oriental is an unusual sweet and rounded vetiver, deepened by a chocolate note. Sounds horrible, but in reality the rooty, earthy vetiver mates well with the chocolate for an exotic but surprisingly comforting aroma. A labdanum and mossy green drydown makes it irresistible to my nose, and apparently to my husband's who made the choice in this category.

15) Biotherm Homme Ultra Confort -My husband's holy grail skin care product was a recent discovery. It does everything: comforts, replenishes and moisturizes. His experience (and mine) is documented here.

Please visit the other participating bloggers and see what they loved this year:

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic

Afrobella

All About The Pretty

All Lacquered Up

Beauty 411

Beauty Blogging Junkie

Beauty Talk

Beautiful Makeup Search

Beauty Hatchery

Beauty Jones

Blogdorf Goodman

Canadian Beauty

C'est Chic

Coquette

eBeautyDaily

For The Love of Beauty

Give Me Your Eyes I Need Sunshine

Getting Amped

Grayburn

HauteMommaStuff

Koneko's Beauty Diary

Makeup Bag

The Makeup Girl

Miss Whoever You Are

My Life,My Words,My Mind

Perfumista

Periodic Style

Platinum Blonde Life

Product Girl

Shop Diary

Slap of the Day

Steeping Beauty

The Beauty Alchemist

The Daily Obsession

The Life Of A Ladybug

Urbane Girl

Victoria's Own

We Love Beauty

Also worth reading, a few perfume bloggers have done their own "Best of 2007" project, and it's worth reading:
::Aromascope :: Bois de Jasmin :: Now Smell This :: Perfume Posse :: PerfumeSmellin’ Things ::Scentzilla ::
As did GreenEyes of Sweet Diva and Helg of Perfume Shrine.

My Favorite Things for 2006

2006 has been full of beauty discoveries. Of course, I also started my blogging journey this year, which made the experience more interesting. My experiments with color and scent have an audience now, witnessing both Holy Grail discoveries, as well as what happens when I don't wash my hair for four days (in the name of science) or when I try on a fragrance that turns my stomach just before having one mojito too many.

Without further ado, here's my list of Favorite Things for 2006 (in no particular order):

1. Secret de Vie by Lancome

The magic orb holds a cream that is officially targeting an audience older than me (you'll find it on their site under solutions for wrinkles and dermo-creases). I'll go out on a limb here and say that it probably doesn't erase wrinkles. However, it's an amazing active cream that really restores and nourishes the skin. It promises instant, visible results and in the case of my 30-something skin it is delivering just that. I've been using it since early fall, from the first sign that my skin gave about being unhappy with the change of weather. That first sign was also the last, because SdV has done wonders. No redness, flakiness or any other kind of irritation. It feels great, smells wonderfully, doesn't clog pores and actually seems to be helping with healing if the occasional breakout appears. It costs a pretty penny and is well worth it.
My original post about SdV is here.

2. Besame Cosmetics makeup in general and lip glaze in particular

Pretty is as pretty does, and in the case of this small and relatively unknown California-based company, it's not just the gorgeous, retro-glam packaging of the products. Inside the gold and red vials, tubes and compacts there is some serious beauty and exceptional quality. The latest product that was launched is the lip glaze, which for me takes the cake. The combination of pretty colors, delicious smell, impressive staying power and, most important, pampering and soothing my sensitive lips, is the best one I came across so far. It can only improve if it came in more colors.
My reviews of Besame products are here.

3. Shea Butter and Dead Sea Salt Scrub from Maryam's Soap Nook

The fact that a body scrub is even on my list of favorites should be telling. After all, this is "just" the stuff that you rub on your body to remove dead skin flakes and wash it away. Some scrubs are better than others, some smell really nice, but how much notice do you really take of them? This product makes a big difference in the way my skin looks and feels. It does the work and then some. The salt is packed into a rich cream of shea butter and several oils. The result is that my skin is not only smoother but also softer and never dry. It's a homespun product in a humble packaging that is far superior to the expensive stuff that's sold in fancy stores and spas.
The original review is here.

4. Gris Clair by Serge Lutens

It took me a while (and a change in weather) to fall in love with this scent, and I still like it much better on my husband than on myself, so I'm listing it as my favorite men fragrance for 2006. What's in it? Mostly lavender with a touch of iris, smoke sweetened with maybe a hint of vanilla. It's understated and sophisticated in its quiet way, and the somewhat earthy drydown is heartbreakingly beautiful. Or, is it handsome? The only problem is the staying power, or lack of it. It's lovely, but gone too soon.

5. Urban Decay eye shadow primer potion

It's my most recent discovery and it makes a lot of difference in the way my eye makeup behaves. I'm not entirely sure that it was only launched in 2006, but since primers of all kinds have become a mainstream essential this year, I'll regard it as such. An extra 30 seconds of applying makeup resulting in eye shadows that not only last and last (and last), but also look brighter and better.
Here's my original review.

6. Lorac Snake Charmer palette

This seems to be the year of palettes, especially the limited edition ones. People were doing crazy things to score Bobbi Brown's Chocolate palette (so much hype over brown eye shadow, albeit pretty), Chanel charged an arm, a leg and your firstborn for their Coromandels compact that looks like a work of art, but isn't the most practical thing ever. The Snake Charmer palette is the one I reach for most often. The blush gives a healthy glow (though it requires a very light hand, as it's quite bright and very pigmented) that I love when wearing warm colors. The four eye shadows also pack a lot of color and quite a bit of non-glittery shimmer. The colors are neutral but they give a beautiful evening look. They never flaked or creased on me, even before I started using a primer underneath them, and their texture is excellent and easy to apply.
Here's what I wrote about this palette months ago.

7. Niche Perfumes

Yes, I know that this is sort of a cop out. But, my main fragrance discovery this year has been the world beyond Calvin, Ralph and even Cartier. I don't think I can pick just one scent or even one perfume house. I wish I'd have discovered Serge Lutens a few months before I did, when I was in Paris and could have picked a bell jar or two (or three). In the mean time, I'm falling in love with every (export line) Serge I manage to come across, as well with the creations from L' Artisan, Andy Tauer, Regina Harris, Bond no. 9, Mazzolari (a post coming soon. There's more to them than Alessandro), Lea St. Barth, Sage Machado, Keiko Mecheri and many others. But most notable this year was the nearly religious experience I had at the JAR boutique of Bergdorf. You don't look at fragrance the same way after you smell and try on these unique scents.

8. Tom Ford Black Orchid

Back to the world of mainstream (albeit luxury) perfumes. I know that some bloggers were disappointed with this one, as they expected something very edgy. I didn't have many expectations, as I've always been a bit suspicious of Ford, who is more than a little misogynistic. It took me a few tries to really learn to appreciate this scent, to make it mine and to enjoy it as much as I do now. It's not a Serge Lutens, but it's almost Lutenic (did I just coin a phrase?) in the experience and complexity. I love its elegance and Old World charm. It might not be the mystery lady in a black cape, vanishing into the night. But it is a black dress (not necessarily a little one) and silk stockings scent. How many of those are created these days?
More can be found here.

9. Dallas blush/bronzer by Benefit

This was the color that made my summer. A plummish bronze or a brownish plum was the best and easiest fake tan I came across. It takes a much lighter hand in the winter, but it still works beautifully.
Here's my first rave about it.

10. Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion

Another recent discovery that has become an important part of my routine. It can be used in several ways, but to me it works best as a super moisturizing but completely non-greasy hand cream. It's the one I keep on my desk and use while typing, without leaving any sticky residue in my wake.
Here's my original post.

Worth mentioning are my perennial favorites. Most of those I've been using for years and still reach for them on a nearly daily basis. Here they are.

Please visit my fellow bloggers who are also taking part in this end of the year tradition and listing their own favorites:

Afrobella

All About The Pretty

Aromascope

Beauty Addict

Beauty Blogging Junkie

Beauty by Nadine

Beautiful Makeup Search & Beauty Blog

Beauty Hatchery

Beauty Jones

Blogdorf Goodman

Bois de Jasmin

BonBons in the Bath

Brain Trapped in Girl's Body

Capital Hill Barbie

C'est Chic

Coquette

Crazy Jay Blue

eBeautyDaily

Girl's Handbook

Hautemommastuff

Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary!

Legerdenez

Makeup Bag

Monkeyposh

My Muse

No one knows why the wolf laughs

Now Smell This

Perfume Smellin' Things

Peppermint Patty's Perfume Posse

Platinum Blonde Life

Product Girl

Scentzilla!

She'll Be Feverish After So Much Thinking

Slap of the Day

The Customer Is Always Right

The Daily Obsession

The Great She Elephant

The Life of a Ladybug

Urbane Girl

Victoria's Own

A special thank you to Annie from Blogdorf Goodman who organized this project.
Happy New Year!

Coming Soon

My list of favorite products for 2006 (both new and new to me) will be up on Friday. Stay tuned.