Perfumed Prada

I can be a purist when it comes to fragrances. Usually I prefer perfumes inspired and produced by, well, perfumers, as opposed to celebrities and fashion designers. Of course there are always exceptions. I've actually waited a few months to tell you about this latest scent I can't get enough of: Prada's Infusion d'Iris (prada.com). I wanted to blog about it the second I took a whiff, but I couldn't then because it wasn't in stores yet. Monthly magazine editors get products a season in advance, so the story can hit the newsstands at the same time the products hit the stores. Anyway, if you're not interested in smelling like everyone else and you like lovely, unique scents, check this one out. It's clean and complex, with notes of orange blossom, mandarin, vetiver, cedarwood and iris. It's currently sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus stores until November.

What's you favorite scent, and why?

Photos: Prada

Bitten--twice

I haven't been "back to school" for at least twenty years. But, I, like many, I guess, associate fall with fashion. It's just the time of year that I get really excited about clothes. So since we're officially in "back to school" season I can't help but share all of the great stuff on my fashion radar. This second it's the Sarah Jessica Parker Bitten line at the Steve and Barry's stores. I've mentioned this fashion collection before, earlier this summer. They're everyday fashion-forward pieces that are incredibly affordable--$20 and under. The exciting thing about this price tag is that we're now talking coats and sweaters, verses tank tops and shorts. The fact that you can get a cool coat for under $20 is fascinating to me. You can get a pair of jeans, a sweater, a hobo bag and a coat--for less than $100. Get there fast! Visit Bittensjp.com for a store near you.

Photos: Bitten

Bakers is Steppin' Up

I had plenty of surburban mall moments at Bakers shoes (bakersshoes.com) back in the day (hometown, Richmond, VA, over 30). Now that I'm officially a New Yorker---been here eight years, I'm a little snooty when it comes to shoe shopping. I've told you this before, but in case you've forgotten, I've got a thing for stylish, and unique, shoes. Recently, my friend Aimee, a fashion a beauty public relations representative, started repping Bakers shoes. She's extremely picky about the lines she she works with. She's also a fashionista--she'll rock a Vivianne Westwood jacket with H&M jeans, Chloe bag and killer vintage shoes---in some electric color. Anyway, I'm telling you all of this to say that when she let me know that Bakers had some seriously good-looking shoes for fall, I perked up, not entirely convinced, but willing to take a look. I was shocked to find such fashion-forward shapes and colors. Between you and me, I think they've knocked off Miu Miu, Fendi and a few other fabulously au courant designer fall shoes. The payoff, literally, for choosing Bakers is that they're, at least the one's I like, under $100! No offense to Fendi but I don't think they can provide a key chain for under $100.

By the way, I'm not the only one that thinks Bakers is stepping up. Serena Williams wore a pair of fabulous Baker stilletos with a satiny YSL jumpsuit to the "Beckham Welcome To LA Party." Y'all get to Bakers now, you hear?

Tell me all about your favorite steals and deals!

Photos: Shoes, Bakers; Serena Williams, Matthew Simmons/WireImage.com

Sheer Genius!

Every once and a while a product comes across my way that really wows me. This week it was Dermadoctor’s Total Nonscents Ultra-gentle Brightening Antiperspirant (dermadoctor.com). It’s a non-irritating, fragrance-free antiperspirant that lightens underarm skin discoloration. Who woulda thunk it? Now the product works slowly, hence the term “non-irritating” but if you’re persistent, for a few months, you’ll see results. Hello halter-tops
and strapless gowns!

Photo: Dermadoctor

Vegas Baby

I had to go to Vegas last weekend for the NABJ–-National Association of Black Journalists––convention. I spoke on a fashion panel, which was fine. Honestly though, I don’t understand why anyone would spend their hard earned cash in Vegas. All the wall-to-wall carpeting, the looming cigarette smoke, the endless stream of cheesy, frosty- haired, fake-boobed ladies. Clearly, I don’t care about gambling, and various other adult vices that draw so many to this neon-lit desert, but shockingly enough I found a gem amidst the miles of casinos that truly made me smile. This gem is a spa by the name of The Bath House. It’s situated on the second floor of The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, one floor away from a sea of noisy, flashing slot machines, but you’d never know it. This spa is quiet and sleek, with grey slate walls, thick glass doors and expensive but effective luxury skin care lines. The hard surfaces are nicely balanced by the stream-like sound of running water, everywhere. Anyway, it was the treatments I received that had me glowing for the rest of the weekend. I got the Carita Renovateur Signature Facial and the Renovateur Satin Body Treatment. I like the works when it comes to facials and body treatments–-extractions, light therapy, scrubs, wraps, massages––all of that and hopefully something new. These treatments did not disappoint me, especially the 110-minute body treatment with volcanic ash and hot stones. My skin felt like butter afterwards.

What’s your favorite spa or treatment? I want to hear all about it.

Photos: The Bath House at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay

Shoe Business

I own over 100 pairs of shoes. And I don't think I've ever bought a pair strictly out of need-okay maybe for middle school track and high school cheerleading-but that's it. It's the fashionable aspects-the artsy, simply gorgeous, or unique nuances-of shoes that stop me in my tracks. At this point in my life, I'm not interested in "average-looking" shoes. I won't buy a crazy 5-inch stiletto that I can't walk in, but neither will I buy a boring basic shoe. I say all of this to say that when I first walked into the Té Casan (tecasan.com) shoe boutique in Soho, my heart skipped 7 beats. Their whole shoe philosophy is to celebrate unique shoe creations from up and coming designers. They roam the planet for new talent-usually young designers that work for big name designers - and then they let these talented young men and women do their own thing. Each is allowed to make from 30 to 100 of a particular design. The shoes are labeled 2-30, that is 2 out of 30, so you leave with something rare and beautiful. What more could a shoe lover ask for?

Want to shout out your favorite boutique? I'd love to hear about it.

Photos: Té Casan

Sweet Feet

Bye bye foot fungus. If you’re sick of gross yellow thick nails, the tell-tale signs of a foot fungus, give this concoction a whirl. What it is is a daily application of apple cider vinegar and Listerine. My mom retrieved this remedy from a daily syndicated newspaper column by a Dr. Donahue. The treatment is “really working,” says Evelyn, my mom who noticed the fungus on three of her toes and now after three months of her own version of the treatment she only sees it on one. Anyway, the column stated that you should apply a mixture of one part Listerine and one part apple cider vinegar to the affected area daily. She thinks they meant “dab with a cotton ball” by the word “apply,” but she’s doing her own thing by actually soaking her feet in the mixture. She uses three cups of Listerine and three cups of apple cider vinegar, everyday for about ten minutes. I can visualize her soaking her feet, reading the paper (one of Dr. Donahue’s articles I presume) post-morning shower while she drinks a cup of joe. Afterwards she brushes off the excess dead skin with a foot brush. She loves this part because her feet looks and feel so much better afterwards. Her exact words: “I can’t believe what comes off of my feet.”

Got an effective at-home beauty remedy? I’d love to hear about it.

Plus Size Pretty

I had breakfast this weekend with a friend of mine, Liz, at a place called Bubby’s, where they serve delicious but overpriced pancakes and French toast. For about an hour we talked about how to merge work-life and lifelong dreams, and then swiftly moved to our less lofty, but just as intriguing, subjects of weight loss and shopping. Liz’s eyes lit up as she went on and on about a boutique in Brooklyn called Lee Lee’s Valise (leeleesvalise.com). Now the reason we met for breakfast, as opposed to brunch, is because we both needed to head uptown afterwards to our offices. But somehow Liz talked me into cabbing it back to Brooklyn, the corner of President and Court Street to be exact, to see this Lee Lee’s place. She said it would only take a half-hour, and then we’d head back to Manhattan and go to work. Whatever. That never happened. No work was done that afternoon, but this new shopping resource was absolutely worth it. Lee Lee's Valise is like most chi-chi New York haunts with distinctive décor––black Marano glass chandeliers, antique display tables––taffeta curtains––on-trend separates, designer jeans, of-the-moment silhouettes, great eveningwear. Oh! And the lingerie is noteworthy, from frilly Belgian bras to practically every version of Spanx you can find. What catches you off guard is the fact that they’ve got all of this….for those who wear sizes 10-28. Bras go up to size 46H! Even the accessories are especially designed to fall for plus sized women. The pendants fall in just the right places and there are ring sizes up to 12. My favorite things were the dresses by Trentacosta, Anna Scholz and Kyonna. And the bathing suits were super cute. Get over there now!

Photo: Lee Lee's Valise