Five for Friday: Lavender-Scented Beauty Products

If there's any scent that helps me de-stress after a long work week, it's lavender. In fact, I may get a jump on things and start running a Waving Not Drowning bath right this minute. Below, check out five of my favorite lavender-scented beauty goodies. What are your favorites?

C.O. Bigelow Lavender Peppermint Shampoo. I first tried this most excellent shampoo two years ago at the Soho Grand.

Dispatch from the Man Cave: Bath & Body Works Signature Collection for Men

Bath & Body Works, that perennial let's-browse-aimlessly-after-work favorite of mine, has added four men's scents to its Signature Collection. Each is available in Body Wash, Cologne, and Deodorizing Body Spray, and the price points are in line with other Bath & Body Works offerings - meaning your man won't feel too frou-frou using these. Details on all four scents:

Citron: Crisp Bergamot,

New from Bath & Body Works: Forever Sunshine and Dark Kiss

Friends, I got some of the most awesome news EVER yesterday. Bath & Body Works is FINALLY coming to Hawaii! Yes, come March 2011 there will be a brand spanking new BBW location at Ala Moana mall. And I'll be there as soon as the doors open.

Sure, we have Sephora, the beauty departments at Neiman and Nordstrom, local brands, and even good old Longs Drugs, but there's something about the browsing

5 Summer Treats for Face, Body and Hair

Guess who's back? Friends, I know it's been months since I've posted anything. It's flaky, I know. Life has just been a little crazy and beauty mania hasn't been my biggest priority. But I'm happy to say that it's all been positive - job, family, friends and relationship are all excellent. It just took a while (ok, a LONG time) to adjust to traveling 5,000 miles back and forth (yes, I'm living

Five for Friday: Halloween-Worthy Beauty Goodies

Boo! In honor of tomorrow's Halloween festivities, I present to you five products that really capture the holiday spirit, guaranteed to please ghouls, goblins, and trick-or-treaters everywhere:1. Philosophy I Love Candy Corn Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath honestly smells like the real thing! This one's super-sweet, but won't rot your teeth. I love the layered effect of the bottle! Also try out

Five for Friday: Road Trip Essentials

"Girls, I'm going to Harvard!""What, like on vacay? Let's all go! ROAD TRIP!"Everyone loves a road trip, no? But when all your stuff's packed in the trunk - except for the snacks, of course - it's easy to forget about the beauty goodies that make the trip so much smoother. Check out these five essential products that always ride up front with me:Hand Sanitizer. Pick one that's alcohol-based,

Bath & Body Works Holiday Sneak Peek

Can you believe that holiday products are hitting the shelves already? We haven't even passed Halloween!Nevertheless, your favorites brands and stores are starting to roll out their holiday offerings, and as usual, Bath & Body Works is right up there. New scents, new packaging, new gifts, along with the return of some favorites from years past. Check out a few highlights below:In the home

New From Bath & Body Works: Twilight Woods

Last week we talked about some new goodies in store at Bath & Body Works, and I left you hanging with no deets on the latest scent, Twilight Woods. Well, I finally picked up the $1 teaser body lotion and can give you the full rundown.Twilight Woods is similar in style to Japanese Cherry Blossom, but more woodsy, with some of the floralcy removed. It's still sweet, though (you didn't expect

The Bath & Body Works Report

Longtime readers know that I occasionally become obsessed with Bath & Body Works. This usually occurs when I'm rebounding from higher-priced brands like Jo Malone, and presents itself as follows: I buy too much, I cannot stay off the website, I cannot stay out of the store, and sometimes I even visit multiple locations, lest the salespeople at my usual store think that I am a stalker freak.Fact:

Nine Ways to Shine On This Summer

Looking for some pixie dust in your life? Now that summer is upon us, top up that tan with a little nighttime shimmer. Check out these nine standout products in varying formulations, shimmer levels, scents, and price points. I've focused on neutral/colorless shimmers for this piece, but if you're on the hunt for a body bronzer, look no further than this post from last summer, with all the deets

Changes in the Works at Bath & Body Works

Have you stepped into a Bath & Body Works store in the past few days? The packaging of the cornerstone Signature Collection is OMG TOTALLY DIFFERENT. I think I might hate it, although there are a few positive things about it, particularly the new design of the body splash bottles. Here's a rundown:The GoodThe idea of a bottle redesign, overall. Those shower gel and body lotion bottles had been in

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, friends! Hope your Halloween night is filled with the ghoulish fun of your choice, whether it be the Halloween parade in the Village, partying it up in your sexy cop costume, or acting younger than you are and going trick-or-treating.As for me, I was going to dress up as Amy Winehouse but was too lazy to hunt down about 10 black wigs and some dirty ballet slippers, so I'll

A Land Flowing With Milk & Honey, At Your Local Mall

This is Warm Milk & Honey Massage Oil from Bath & Body Works' Aromatherapy Sleep collection. I don't have any witty story or funny commentary to offer here, this is just a plain and simple endorsement of its supreme awesomeness.Sometimes a product just has that perfect combination of pretty packaging, delicious scent, and OMG LIMITED EDITION goodness. This is one of them. I'm absolutely obsessed

Things I Would Love Anyway, Even If They Were Crap

See the picture? You know where this is going. These are just a few of the products that have suckered me in over the years thanks to their exceptionally pretty packaging. Sometimes you just can't help it, and objectivity goes out the window! Fortunately, all the products listed in this post are just fine all on their own (no lipstick on the pig here) but the packaging just puts them over the

Hand Creams are Movin' On Up

The Bath & Body Works obsession continues! This is ridiculous. These little side trips to B&BW started out as a Neiman Marcus avoidance strategy -- you know, just a quick fix to satisfy my beauty jones -- but the plan has started to backfire. I can now walk into the store and identify any new items within 5 seconds flat, anywhere in the store.New to the True Blue Spa line is Shea Cashmere, a

Shower Indulgences for Every Budget

Longtime readers will know that L'Occitane's Amande Shower Oil is one of my all-time favorite beauty products. Moisturizing in the winter, not too greasy in the summer, it's the perfect shower companion. It cleanses, it moisturizes, it gives a fabulous shave, and it smells utterly delicious. I love it so much that I always keep several full-size and travel-size bottles around the house. It's

The Grand Marnier Tan

This Bath & Body Works obsession of mine is really getting out of hand. Last year I made a proclamation that I was no longer going to be a beauty snob who snubs the store. Then, I decided that it would be better for my wallet to let my "impulse buys" happen at BBW instead of the beauty floor at Neiman Marcus.

And now I've been sucked in! I can't help it. But still, a $15 tube of self-tanner is

Add A Little Spice (And Maybe Some Cinnamon Buns) To Your Shower

So, friends, I've finally gotten to the bottom of this "lost my beauty mojo" thing. It's the Fall. All I want to write about is Fall stuff. If I see another eyeshadow palette called "Tahiti" or a contest where I can enter to win a "Hawaiian Dream Date," I'll scream! (Can you tell I've been browsing the Sephora homepage?)Truth is, there's only so much you can say about summer beauty. The main

Impulse Buying Strikes Again at Bath & Body Works

Sigh. So, as soon as I got my beauty mojo back, my computer up and BROKE. Like, blue-screen-of-death-broken. It's up and running today so, one more time, with feeling...I'm back!Over the weekend I popped into a Bath & Body Works to pick up a fresh tube of one of my new self-tanner obsessions, Glow & Steady from the True Blue Spa line. And then a display of Lilliputian bottles with blue orbs

Self-Tanner Review Series: Bath & Body Works Glow and Steady

After my recent disappointment with a (now discontinued) Bath & Body Works gradual tanner, I was hesitant to try another. But reader LMM recommended Glow and Steady from the True Blue Spa line, so off I went to my local Bath & Body Works.I'll tell you right off the bat: Glow and Steady earns immediate HG status because it packs a secret weapon ingredient that's not often found in self-tanners...