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My Travel Essentials

Sarah West — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:35:52 +0000

When I travel my bag is heavy. It seems like there are two things that add the most weight to my bag. My shoes and my skincare routine.

Yea, my skincare routine! If I don’t have my face ready I feel strangely uncomfortable all day. It’s almost as if it’s my armor. And I am not talking about make up.

It goes something like this. Foaming cleanser, hydrating toner, moisturizer with spf 30, serum, and an eye cream (of course with spf). I love sun block too; let’s throw that in there too. Maybe it seems like a lot or maybe it’s extremely minimal compared to some of you, but if I don’t have it I feel worse than having a bad outfit.

I don’t feel so bad about the weight of it anymore. The security of my skincare products makes me comfortable so it’s extremely essential to my well being when traveling.

Shareen Vintage

Sarah West — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:59:26 +0000

Shareen Vintage in New York is a hidden secret for the best selection of high end vintage. I love this place and will unfortunately not be able to make it again the next two days they are open this month! This really is a secret that has been spreading, since I first traveled there with my friend, we kept it under wraps until we missed some of the sales. Shareen has two stores in California and one store in New York that is open two days a month, every third weekend. The New York sale is located in Manhasset, it’s just a quick thirty minute train ride from the city, and stops right at the warehouse that will be marked with red petticoats.

You arrive into a room packed with racks of greats pieces and don’t be surprised that it’s one huge dressing room. Try anything on that looks interesting, you may be very surprised with what you discover, and kept a pile going. Go back and edit later. If your over whelmed ask the sales staff for help, tell them your size and what your looking for in general, they really will pull pieces that you have not noticed and will help to accessorize you. It’s best to go on Saturday first thing in the morning or else everything will be picked over.

If you don’t want to travel alone Shaunya of www.shopeatandsleep.blogspot.com will be scheduling a group trip. You can email her for details. Also, this place takes credit card!

www.shareenvintage.com

I lov U!

Sarah West — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:41:04 +0000

These new Lattice Heels by Jeffrey Campbell are so hot! Love the low heel and cut out pattern in black. Already hitting up the Urban Outfitter stores and discovering they are sold out in my size! Maybe that’s a good thing…

Jeffrey Campbell shoes are the best, they always look hot, and are comfortable for city living with all the walking we do!

www.urbanoutfitters.com

For Your Ice Cream!

Sarah West — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:31:03 +0000

My best friend came up with the best ice cream topping ever! So easy to do and it involves alcohol, yes! All you need is:

1. A pat of butter (real butter)

2. Two teaspoons of brown sugar

3. Two shots of bourbon (Woodford Reserve bourbon)

Melt all ingredients together on your stovetop. And pour on top of vanilla ice cream (Breyers).

Cheeks Bakery – Don’t Go

Sarah West — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:45:27 +0000

When you walk into Cheeks Bakery it smells so good and looks really cute. We wanted to try everything. The velvet cake hadn’t even had a slice cut out of it yet. The women working turned out to the be the baker and owner, I don’t know why but she seemed to be irritated and dry, warning signs to indicate how things really were! When we tried the velvet cake and chocolate cake they tasted like absolutly nothing! No flavor and they were dry. The red velvet cake was made with things like cocoa which is not the way it’s supposed to be made, cheap substitutions. The chocolate cake didn’t even taste like chocolate. How depressing because the place looked so nice. But there were other warning signs, you could read the descriptions about each cake and see that for example the almond cake is made with almond extract. It pretty much gives all the information you need to know that the product wouldn’t be of quality. Don’t be fooled and waste your money here.

378 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

DDF – Protective Eye Cream SPF 15

Sarah West — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:36:32 +0000

DDF protective eye cream is the best day eye cream that I have found. You can use at night too but I prefer to not use SPF at night. It does everything for the eye area to moisturize, protect against fine lines with CoQ10 and lutein, and prevent aging with SPF 15. Also the packaging is done correctly to protect the contents, opaque and solid packaging prevents damage from light, and the pump keeps the ingredients from getting damaged (dirty fingers, etc.).

I haven’t found another another eye cream comparable since Estee Lauder discontinued their Daywear SPF 15 eye cream.

Estee Lauder – DayWear Plus

Sarah West — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:00:36 +0000

Estee Lauder makes the best day moisturizer I have found, DayWear Plus for normal/combination skin, which I have been wearing since DayWear came out. In between bottles I tried other brands but have not yet found one that matches in consistency or quality. DayWear Plus has everything you need in a day moisturizer, SPF 30 (always go for 30 or higher) and anti-oxidants, protection and anti-aging. It has a good fresh smell and smooth texture which makes for easy application. The packaging is smart, you won’t have to worry about the product becoming contaminated since it comes in an opaque bottle, so the anti-oxidants and SPF are protected from the light and the product is squeezed out so you won’t have to dip your fingers into the moisturizer. Most standard products only have enough preservatives to protect against thirty dips, which is why I don’t buy creams.

www.esteelauder.com

Yogi Tea – Free Samples!

Sarah West — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:02:00 +0000

Who doesn’t love anything free? With all this talk about the recession and the freezing weather outside what better way to get instant comfort?

Yogi Tea is offering free tea samples on their website. The sample packet changes from time to time, but all you have to do is enter your home address and answer two or three simple questions and then it’s yours!

www.yogitea.com

La Mer The Moisturizing Gel Cream

Sarah West — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:40:53 +0000

La Mer has been around for a while now and the rage has since died down, but they still have loyal followers who swear by the “miracle broth”. I tried the cream a few years back and found it to be too heavy for my combination skin and I lost interest in La Mer pretty fast. This year, however, I got my hands on one of their new additions, The Moisturizing Gel Cream. The texture was great, a light gel with the moisturizing properties of the cream. When applied to skin it felt light, not heavy or greasy at all. You almost feel you could go out without any make up at all! When I woke in the morning my skin looked great, smooth and more refreshed. I think I’m their newest fan.

www.cremedelamer.com

Bobbi Brights Eye Palette!

Sarah West — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:05:27 +0000

Finally a beautiful, classic, rainbow color palette! Bobbi Brown has just introduced this limited edition eye shadow palette that contains 35 colors and makes you want to run out and pick up one of these delicious pieces before it’s gone. A big step up from those cheap $12 palettes from way back. Not only that, each hue in Bobbi Browns palette is wearable, unlike the cheaper versions where you would end up wearing only one square of color! Great eye shadows that can be doubled as eyeliner.

It’s about time someone brought this great concept out and revamped it!

www.bobbibrown.com

*photo courtesey of style.com