Every girl loves a fabulous professional blowout, but honestly in these strained economic times, a great blowdry usually costs $50+ and that is cost prohibitive for many of us these days. . . until now. I am excited to introduce you to drybar, a brilliant and timely concept that offers you professional high quality blowouts at an affordable price ($35!!) in a fun, fabulous, chic and modern atmosphere.

drybar is the brainchild of Alli Webb, a seasoned hairstylist who trained under some of the best in the hair biz like Toni & Guy and John Sahag. About five years ago, Alli left the hair biz to start a family, and then she decided to start a side biz of offering her friends in-home weekly blowouts and suddenly her business quickly exploded. This boom lead her to the idea of opening up blow dry only salons–exclusive, all style, high design shops with a fun and inviting atmosphere and skilled stylists. The first drybar opened in LA in February 2010 and now there are 4 locations with more locations opening soon. And the concept is plain and simple: No cuts. No color. Just blowouts. Only $35. 

And here’s a glimpse of what you can expect when you visit drybar: “Welcome to drybar”, the bartender/receptionist says. “So what’ll it be?” the bar maid/stylist asks, much like a bartender might ask you when you shimmy up to the bar. This barslang is totally intentional here (and creative) and I love it! And it only gets better: You order your preferred blowdry style from the bar menu/look book which has both pictures and descriptions of the styles. Options include things like: Straight Up-the signature blowout, the Manhattan-sleek and smooth, Southern Comfort-big hair lots of volume, a Cosmopolitan-lots of loose curls or a Floater-head massage.

I order the Straight-Up (smooth with some body) and just relax and enjoy from there. I love the sleek modern feminine decor, the charging station for my iPhone, that they offer me a cocktail (champagne of course!), and that Sex in the City is playing with closed caption on the flat screen. This salon is clearly designed with the needs of today’s modern woman in mind, and I totally appreciate that! This is the kind of atmosphere that makes me want to come back for more, it’s so inviting, modern yet homey, and totally up my alley. And the best part comes at the end when they do the ‘Big Reveal’ (FYI you face the bar/TV when they are drying you, so that you can relax and unwind) and show you your finished style in the cute vintage style mirror. I find this to be a delightful added touch!  And I like my finished style, but want it a tiny bit straighter so without batting an eye, my bar maids smooths it a bit with a flatiron and then it’s just right. Here I am with Alli (checkout her FAB hair!) and my Straight Up blowdry:

drybar is Simple. Fun. Fabulous. Girlie. And the perfect place to primp for New Years Eve! Book your appointment now, how can you afford not to?  Find your closest drybar location HERE.

Attention Beauty Junkies, Fall 2010 SPA WEEK has arrived on the West Coast and Chicago! What is Spa Week you ask? Spa Week is an entire week dedicated to affordable and fabulous spa treatments at some of the most exclusive spas in North America. All treatments during Spa Week are only $50 at participating spas and each place offers at least a couple of treatments to give you a wonderful flavor of their offerings. The actual cost of these treatments is MUCH higher than $50, so it is a great way to try out a fabulous spa in your area without the spendy price tag.  Spa Week takes place on the West Coast September 13-19th and on the East coast October 11-17th, 2010. This is one event you don’t want to miss, just click HERE to find out what spas in your area are participating and what treatments they are offering.

Being a beauty insider has its privileges, and I had the delightful pleasure of being invited to Elude Med Spa in Pasadena, California to sample some of their fabulous offerings for Spa Week this past weekend. Elude is located in an adorable part of Pasadena, surrounded by great shops and restaurants, and the spa itself is located in a quaint shopping complex that has a hip small town European vibe. Although Elude just opened a few weeks ago, it has all the class and professional demeanor of a seasoned spa. Elude offers all of the latest high tech laser skin treatments, photofacials, laser hair removal, injectables and dermal fillers. Megan, the owner is an experienced business woman, super sweet and VERY accomodating (I was detained for over an hour and she happily fit me in) and her lead Nurse Practioner, Catherine, is a skilled and seasoned professional.

Upon arrival, I filled out the requisite paperwork to asses my needs, skin concerns, and health issues. Then I sat down with Cat to discuss my primary aging concerns (which are the dark circles/bags under my eyes, pigmentation and just looking fresh, youthful, radiant and natural–like the best me, only better). I could tell instantly that Cat was an seasoned pro and knew her stuff, she listened attentively while I shared my concerns and then we mutually discussed the best treatments to address my concerns. Cat came up with a comprehensive treatment plan that includes Laser Tightening and Rejuvenating, IPL Photofacials (a Spa Week Treatment), and minimal Botox (also a Spa Week Treatment). We also discussed doing fillers for my annoying undereye bags, and I very much appreciated Cat telling me that undereye fillers were not in her realm of expertise and that I should go to a specialist for that.

For this visit, we decided on little bit of ‘Botox on the Go’ and a laser skin tightening treatment, two treatments that I have never tried before. I chose Botox to smooth out some of my fine lines and give me a slight brow lift and laser tightening to refresh my skin and stimulate collagen. I plan on returning to Elude in about 3-4 weeks for another laser tightening treatment (3 are recommended) as well as the Pixel Laser treatment to rejuvenate the skin. I will be blogging and vlogging about my experiences and posting pics to show my transformation–see my before shot to the right (I must love you guys to show you this very candid mug shot!) and click on the link below for my brief video about my initial visit at Elude  

Both treatments took about an hour, were minimally uncomfortable and will show results over time. The laser tightening treatment heats up the skin to about 44 degrees in order to stimulate collagen at a deep level and it just feels pretty hot on the skin at times (but not unbearable); and the Botox injections didn’t hurt that much at all thanks to Cat’s great ‘icing and tensing your muscles technique’ that made the injections almost painless. When she finished, I felt great, like I had been treated by skilled practitioner and look forward to continuing to work with her and seeing the transformative results.

After my first experience, I am very impressed with Elude and I HIGHLY recommend checking them out during Spa Week. In my opinion, they are a top notch facility and definitely worth a visit. Here is a list of the amazing services they are offering during Spa Week September 13-19, 2010–FYI these services are a steal for $50 bucks each:

• Custom Skin Rejuvenation Photofacial Treatment – for pigmentation
• Botox On the Go! : 10 Units of Botox – Plus $9/ additional unit if needed
• 3 Sessions of Virtually Pain-Free Laser Hair Removal: Choice of Underarms, Upper Lip, Chin, Bikini Line or Brazilian

Frédéric Fekkai, the brand renowned for luxury hair care products is pleased to announce their “Style Trial” day, exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Hair is your best accessory and Frédéric Fekkai wants everyone to unlock the key to great style! To show consumers how to achieve their best personal style, Frédéric Fekkai is inviting consumers to Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide on Thursday, August 26^th to receive a personalized hair consultation and complimentary full sized Fekkai Advanced styling product, up to a $25 value, while supplies last.

Consumers will be asked a set of brief questions regarding their hair type, daily routine and the style they want to achieve. A Fekkai team representative will be on-hand to offer a personalized consultation complete with a corresponding complimentary product to help them achieve their ultimate style! Product options include: Advanced Full Blown Volume Lifting Hairspray, Advanced Brilliant Glossing Crème, Advanced Salon Technician Color Care Anti-Fade Topcoat & Coiff Contrôle Ironless Straightening Balm.

The Fekkai Style Trial is limited to one styling product per customer and is only available while supplies last.

For additional information about the Fekkai Style Trial please visit www.fekkai.com

Many of you know how much I adore the original LashBlast Volume Mascara and whenever someone asks me about my top favorite beauty products, this fab and super affordable mascara is always at the top of my list. Well, I am thrilled to report that this hall of fame product has gotten even better! Let me introduce you to LashBlast Fusion. CoverGirl has really done their homework by developing this amazing new mascara that combines volumizing and lengthing all in one mascara! Brilliant!

LB Fusion contains a proprietary fiberstretch formula and an oversized brush (LOVE the brush) that makes every little lash bigger, fuller, longer looking and more dramatic. This new formula gives you TWO products for the price of one, so for those of you who buy both a lengthening and a voluminzing mascara this is the perfect recessionista solution.

What do I love about this mascara? It is super quick and easy to use and it gives you bold beautiful lashes in just one coat. I love, love the clump-preventing-lash-building brush, it is just fabulous! I love the amount of volume it gives my less than lush lashes. And the additional of lengthening fiber is the icing on the cake. With LB Fusion, my lashes are defined, separated and noticeable. I know that when I use LB Fusion I am going the have long, lush, beautiful looking lashes with minimal effort. And this is a drugstore mascara I am talking about here, so it is easy to find, super affordable (well under $10), and often on sale or part of a BOGO sale.

IMO that is mascara perfection! This beauty junkie is very happy. You can find LashBlast Fusion HERE or at your local drugstore and please post comments and let me know your thoughts about this new mascara inspiration.

I am the first to admit that I am a totally a champagne girl, it has always been my drink of choice whenever I go out. I have always felt that my preferred drink says alot about who I am: bubbly, effervescent, noticeable, and celebratory. These attributes of champagne really resonate with me and are probably why I enjoy it so much. Well, being a girl with champagne tastes (and a lifestyle blogger), I was recently invited to a press preview luncheon to sample a new champagne cocktail called Dirty Blonde Champagne Cocktails (they had me at the name, don’t ya just love it?) Dirty Blonde Champagne Cocktails are a premium “champagne” cocktail that offer an upscale alternative for drinkers who enjoy wine and want something beyond today’s flavored beers, wine coolers, and value-priced pre-mixed drinks. These fun flirty cocktails are a delightful and tasty blend of bubbly white wine, fruit infusions, and spirits (12% alcohol by volume).

They come in yummilious, female appealing flavors like Raspberry Flirtini, Citrus Mimosa, Sparkling Mojito and Peach Passion Bellini. In Los Angeles, they are launching the Flirtini and Bellini flavors and I had a chance to sample both of these refreshing beverages. I liked the combination of the red raspberry, cassis and vanilla flavors of the Flirtini and I loved the delicious juicy combination of ripe peach and tropical passion fruit in the Bellini–DEELISH!! And the cute little bottles that come in a four pack (affordably priced) and Springy pastel colors of these beverages only add to the feminine appeal. 

These inspired girls-night-out cocktails are the brain child of Kristen Raskopf, founder of Dirty Blonde Champagne Cocktails (who coincidentally has blonde hair.)  She came up with the idea for Dirty Blonde after looking for an alternative to existing margaritas and cosmopolitans, and she wanted something upscale and effervescent. Kristen says, “I wanted a brand that would be very distinctive, something fun & flirty, but also a name that I was connected to personally.” So, is she a ‘Dirty Blonde’? “Absolutely, being a Dirty Blonde is an attitude. I created Dirty Blonde Cocktails to capture this fun, flirty personality.” This Champagne Girl is all over that!

Dirty Blonde Champagne Cocktails are currently available in select states at BevMo, Henry’s and Ralph’s and you can find them at BevMo online HERE. Cheers Girlfriend!

Being an oenophile and a recessionista, I am always on the hunt for a rockin’ bottle of wine that is budget friendly and delicious all at the same time, and honestly these two qualities are usually mutually exclusive, until now.

Let me introduce you to Chariot Gypsy 2008, a delicious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel and Sangiovese from great vineyards in the Napa Valley, Sonoma, San Joachin, and Monterey counties. Now I know what you must be thinking, a red wine blend from Napa is going to be spendy, right? WRONG!

This is a Trader Joe’s bargain peeps (only FIVE BUCKS!!) and I just discovered it this past weekend while shopping for yummy eatz for the President’s Day Weekend.  All of the employees were raving about this delicious bottle of wine that just arrived (exclusive to TJ’s FYI), is a cult fav among oenophiles, and blows out of TJ’s in the blink of an eye. And after reading the tasting notes, hearing all of the in store hoopla, along with the ridiculously cheap price, I bought myself a case without even tasting it!

 Just listen to these yummy tasting notes from the winemaker:  “The 2008 ‘Gypsy’ displays a dark garnet color with a clear violet edge. It shows mixed fresh berry aromas — raspberry and strawberry, with hints of white pepper and pastry. Very clean and lively with juicy berry fruit, firm acidity and a touch of smooth tannin. Excellent and versatile food wine particularly well suited for pork chops and poultry. We think it is the perfect everyday red wine!”

So what do you think? For this price, can it really be that good? Online wine bloggers and insiders are already saying it is pleasant, has some depth,would benefit from some more age in the bottle and is perfect for everyday drinking. You be the judge, and so will I. In fact, I am planning on cracking open a bottle this weekend and then we can compare tasting notes. But for $5 a bottle, what have you got to lose? Let’s get a lively discussion going by posting your comments here.

FYI–I had a chance to try the Gypsy last night and it was surprisingly yummy! Very berry, a little creamy and a little spicy, but really delicious and much more impressive given the $5 price point. I REALLY like it and think I am headed to TJ’s soon to buy another case

You can find Chariot Gypsy 2008 at your local Trader Joe’s (in states where they are allowed to sell alcohol in markets, of course).