Feet in the City

During my many explorations of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, I realized that "urban" foot care is a topic that absolutely must be discussed.  While I love the idea of 5 inch heels all the time, in reality, it just isn't possible.  For those who never take the subway, barely walk, and get driven from destination to destination, there is no need to read any further.  For those of you who like to explore a city on foot, and *gasp* take public transportation like the subway in New York or the Muni and the BART in San Francisco, read on my dears, because this post is for you!

This brings me to my first topic, foot wear choices.  Let it be noted that I adore heels, this is not a post from someone that is dedicated to sacrificing style in the name of comfort.  Crocs have never and will never touch these feet!  However, it was a sad day when I realized I needed to expand my footwear selection beyond heels because my 5 inch Pradas were just not feasible for exploring the streets of NYC.  I have found low heeled boots, wedges and closed toe flats to be my friend. The closed toe descriptive must be noted.  Although I do love my embellished sandals during the summer, I find for a long day of exploring, the filth that accumulates on my feet while wearing sandals is just, well, sickening.  Granted, some days you have to wear sandals, just keep in mind, your feet will be black after a long day of walking.  One more thing, let's try to keep rubber flip-flops for the beach, m'kay!  I know my San Diegans will be up in arms when they read this last line, but if you want to look pulled together, flip flops just aren't the way to go.

Now that we've covered footwear, let's explore the next topic...foot care. Just because winter is around the corner, doesn't mean we should be frightened by our feet.  In order to keep those pedicures fresh and your feet revived from miles of walking, or hours of dancing for that matter, you must have an arsenal at your disposal.  You must also diligently care for your feet or else they will get out of control and fast!  These are my tried and true faves:

1.  The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray - This spray is heaven for tired feet.  After a long night of dancing, my friends line up their feet so I can do a reviving spray mist assembly line.  It is also an excellent deodorizer.  In the summer, you can put this in the fridge for an added blast of iciness.

 















2.  The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Rescue Treatment - This cream is thick and luxurious - perfect for smoothing on at night before you put on your spa socks.  It contains cocoa butter, grape extract and sweet almond oil.

3.  Young Nails Rose Cuticle Oil - This delicately scented cuticle oil helps keeps your cuticles from breaking and peeling and should be applied every day on your hands and feet.  Keep in mind, if you apply cuticle oil or lotion on your feet and wear open toed shoes/sandals, the oil will attract grime like a magnet!  Therefore, I like to apply this at night with my moisturizer so in the morning my nails and toes will be in tip top shape.

4.  Yogapro YogaToes - Years of wearing heels, running and playing sports have caused a slew of foot ailments.  These odd looking wonders really work to stretch out your feet and relieve foot pain.  You shouldn't walk around in these, but they are wonderful for nighttime when you are relaxing with your feet up.  Yogapro also claims that wearing YogaToes will help correct and realign foot structure, strengthen and stretch foot muscles, and improve circulation and appearance.  All I know is my feet feel better when I wear them.

5.  A quality foot scrubber - Scrubbing your feet is a must and I really feel it should be done every day in the shower to remove dead skin, grime and calluses from your toes and the bottom of your feet.  I find that a fine grade coarseness really works the best to get rid of skin softened in the shower.  Using a scrubber like this right after the shower when your feet are still soft also works wonderfully and you get the added benefit of seeing all that dead skin flake off your feet, if you are into that sort of thing.

6.  Comfy spa socks - Any sock will do, but nothing beats those extra fluffy socks that look like blankets.  You may not want to wear them around with your lingerie, but you can always wear them when you are just lounging.  They now have socks that have treatments within the sock and are good for around 50 uses.  I have never tried Sephora's Spa Socks, but they have a very high rating.  If you don't feel like shelling out $36 for a pair of socks, you can always do the tried and true trick of slathering your feet with lotion and cuticle oil and putting on the inexpensive fluffy socks, or basic cotton sock.

7.  Band-Aid Friction Block Stick - I have this in my purse at all times along with a couple band-aids just in case of emergency.  The friction block stick works to prevent chafing and blisters from your shoe.  It looks like a mini deodorant stick and is easy to apply since you don't need to use your fingers.

The Trapiche Emerald - My Current Obsession

Paul Farmer's Trapiche Emerald Ring - 18 k

A few weeks back, I went to the Harvest Festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  I was picturing crafty, kitschy items, but what I found was amazingly talented artists of all kinds.  By the end of the day I was feeling...well, pretty idiotic for my assumptions.

During our visit, I stopped at a booth that was utterly captivating.  The workmanship of Paul Farmer, Goldsmith, absolutely took my breath away.  He uses a granulation technique that is characteristic of Egyptian and Etruscan design...totally goddess worthy.

Not only did I swoon over the amazing gold, glowing jewelry, but I also saw my first trapiche emerald.  Paul was kind enough to tell us about the trapiche emerald and was incredibly gracious even though I was gasping for air while viewing this wonder of nature.  The trapiche emerald is incredibly special because of the radial pattern of rays that originate from the center of the stone.  The rays are formed naturally and are a result of the six sections forming around a central core.  These emeralds are extremely rare and only found in Colombia.

Emeralds are my birth stone, and the green, glowing gem has always been a favorite of mine.  The deep green of an Emerald oozes luxury and sophistication.  I now dream about this ring on a daily basis.  My jewelry collection will never be complete without this amazing piece.

For an article on trapiche Emeralds, go to EmbassyEmeralds.

Steaming Mugs of Love

I'm always enamored with the window displays in Anthropologie...I love walking in and feeling like I am in my best friend's home.  You know, my best friend that is a world traveler, has the best taste and wears eclectic and amazing clothes and makes her own place settings for dinner parties.

I was strolling through The Americana at Brand in Glendale with my love and we walked into Anthropologie.  I can't resist the displays and I couldn't resist these adorable mugs featuring our initials - V & F.  His name is Frankie.  Full disclosure here - I am incredibly cheesy and romantic and can cry at Lifetime movies or commercials with sad orphaned dogs.  But come on - Sarah McLachlan singing Angel can cause tears for anyone!  But I digress...the mugs.

We both love our coffee, and Anthropologie's monogrammed mugs are ideal.  They are heavy and have the glaze of an old diner mug, and I adore looking at them when I open my cabinet.  A great gift idea for the tea and coffee lovers in your life.

5 Naughty Little Vices - MAC Tartan Collection

MAC has a new holiday collection named Tartan Tale.  I normally don't go crazy for MAC, but I'm absolutely loving the plaid prints on the packaging and the inspiration for this collection.  It could be because I am obsessed with red hair right now, and I have always had a love for all things tartan.

I especially love the 5 Naughty Little Vices Nail Laquer set.  The colors are Nocturnelle (Black), Asiatique (Bright cherry red), Beyond Jealous (Deep forest green), Vintage Vamp (Deep blood red) and Vice is Nice (Classic metallic gold).  I would use every color in this collection, making it well worth the $25.50 to seriously bolster your winter nail lacquer collection.

Highs and Lows...Hair Color!

The time has come - I've reverted back to my 8th grade days of coloring my own hair.  I absolutely adore my hair stylist, but he is in San Diego and I'm in L.A. and, well, our long distance relationship is just not working for my hair.  Typically, I am more of an all-over color gloss type of person, so I decided to take on the challenge of self coloration.  I am a student after all, so saving money where I can is essential.  I have never purchased my color from a grocery or drug store, so I made the journey to Wilshire Beauty Supply to pick up some product.  Click here to see Yelp reviews.

I decided on Wella Color Touch demi-permanent color.  Recently, I've read that mixing two or more colors will help to achieve a more salon worthy look, so I knew I wanted two different colors.  I've been obsessed with red hair color, so from the Vibrant Red shade category, I selected the 6/4 dark blonde/red and the 6/47 dark blonde/red brown.  I also purchased the 1.9% developer.  The two colors and the 1L bottle of developer were only $30.  I could have used one and a half tubes of color for the length of my hair.  It is fairly thick but not long.  After coloring, I used a color seal conditioner to rebalance the PH in my hair.  I'm not a professional, but the woman who worked at the Beauty Supply recommended it, so I decided to give it a try - it was $2.99 for the single-use packet of conditioner.  

I absolutely adore the shine and brilliant color, but I think next time I will purchase a color from the Rich Natural category and combine it with the 6/47.  The color is a little intense, but it is pretty! That is the beauty of the demi-permanent color - you can play with color and not be committed.

Highs and Lows...Pssssst!

Pssssst! Dry shampoo and yes it is spelled with 5 sssss and an exclamation mark, is another tried and true tool that keeps its place on my "must have" list.  You've all heard of the artful mix of highs and lows in fashion...having some expensive pieces and some not so expensive.  Well Pssssst! is a part of my beauty regime that costs less than $7, and is purchased at CVS along with my Q-tips and cotton balls.  I've tried many other, more expensive dry shampoos and they just don't perform like Pssssst!  Also, for nearly a $15 price difference, the other dry shampoos just don't make sense.  It must be said that Pssssst! is the kind of dry shampoo that builds volume and leaves a more matte finish to the hair, so it may not be for you. I find it necessary for my second day hair so I don't need to shampoo and restyle.

P.S. you may feel strange saying the word Pssssst! when you start recommending it to people.

Eucalyptus Freshness...another beauty soldier

Since this blog is all about my fixations...I decided it was necessary to write about some of the things that I just can't live without.  I already wrote about my addiction to the whitest of white eyes produced by Rohto Cool , but I have a few more tricks up my sleeve and in my tool box so to speak.

Malin+Goetz is a New York based apothecary and lab that I read about on one of my favorite blogs, Cool Hunting.  If you don't already read Cool Hunting, you should, but that is another blog post in itself.  Malin+Goetz produces high quality products that are natural and simply wonderful.  The Eucalyptus Deodorant is the only alcohol and aluminum free deodorant that actually works throughout the whole day and doesn't leave me smelling like a leg of lamb marinating in rosemary and mint.  It may be a graphic description, but I think we can all agree that we want to smell fresh and not in a marinade-y kind of way.

Katrina + Ebony Voluspa + Día de los Muertos

One of my most prized possessions is my black Katrina statue.  I  received this beautiful lady when I went to Cabo San Lucas.  Since today marks the culmination of Día de los Muertos (check this LA times link for a slideshow), I thought it was only fitting to post about Katrina and one of my favorite candle companies, Voluspa.

I absolutely love the exotic, luxurious fragrances Voluspa offers.  The Makkasar Ebony & Peach 3 wick candle is pure luxury.  I also adore the Crisp Champagne, but I think the rich black candle and black and gold designs complement the lady pefectly, no?

On Sunday, I took a walk with my love down to historic Olvera Street and saw the most creative and emotionally moving art pieces created in celebration of Día de los Muertos.  Many of the pieces were created to honor loved ones that have passed away.  It made me think of my own loved ones that have passed away and their memories, and of course my own mortality...I love the quote on the Olvera Street site "Don't fear dying, fear not having lived!"

The piece below, "El Jugador", was created by artist Mary Clark-Camargo as a shrine to her grandfather.  I would love to own one of her mosaic masterpieces.

"A Web of Time" was created by Béatrice Coron.  It is both a "Danse Macabre" and a sacred memory.  The detail on this is incredible and all made of cut paper...unbelievable!

While my crappy iPhone photos do not do these pieces justice, please check out the links provided in the post to view their amazing work.  I highly recommend seeing these artists in person if you get a chance.

Rohto Cool Redness Relief...a trusted tool in my beauty arsenal

The name sounds somewhat robotic, and one of my friends has dubbed these eye drops "death drops", but let's not get intimidated by weird first impressions.  Rohto Cool eye drops are perfect for those mornings when you wake up wondering why tequila shots at 2 am sounded like a great idea at the time.  There is literally a cooling sensation when you use these wonder drops and your eyes may water a bit, so I recommend using them before makeup application for best results.  The results are more than fabulous and your eyes will become a pristine and clear white.  The fact that you are dressed in the same clothes as last night might give you away, but your eyes never will.