Eat Pray Love: Fragrances of Inspiration
Unless you live under a rock, most of you are familiar with the wildly successful transformational book by Elizabeth Gilbert Eat Pray Love. This is an inspirational memoir about one women’s journey to change her life by traveling to three countries that represent different aspects and obstacles in her life. If you haven’t read it, I highly rec that you do!
First, of course, she visited Italy, a country all about the pursuit of pleasure, especially transcendental Italian food. Next, was India which focused on her inward spiritual journey; and last was Bali, a beautiful country that helped her focus on her discovery of finding true love. I LOVED this book because it really moved me and made me think about being true to yourself and your passions, no matter what life puts in your way. It was one of those memorable, wake-up call kind of books and I will never forget it!
About a week ago, the movie version of Eat Prat Love came out, starring the beautiful Julia Roberts, and Fresh was kind enough to invite me as a guest to an advanced screening of this much anticipated movie. I was super excited to see this movie, since I loved the book so much and I must admit I was a bit disappointed 
While Julia was great as usual and they did an excellent job capturing the imagery and distinct flavor of each country (I especially loved Richard Jenkins portrayal of Richard from Texas-perfection!), it just suffered by comparison to the book. For me, the book was so inspirational, transformational and profound, but the movie just did not deliver that impact. It didn’t move me in an emotional way, but it did entertain me.
In tandem with the release of this movie, one of my favorite brands Fresh launched an inspired limited edition collection of fragrances called Eat Pray Love to echo the imagery and sensory experiences of each of these countries. These yummy smelling creations have definitely ‘wowed’ me!
EAT Eau de Parfum is a sweet effervescent scent inspired by Gilbert’s travels through Italy. It is reminiscent of those addictive Italian desserts and sensual wines. The top notes are bright Italian lemon, basil and bergamont; these are enhanced by fruity and floral middle notes of plum, red currant, and rose; which are balanced by the yummy and creamy base notes of caramel, meringue, and vanilla. The sensory journey of EAT reminds you of the rich and creamy textures of an Italian cannoli or a tiramisu dessert topped off with sparkling glass of Prosecco and Limoncello. This is by far my favorite fragrance in the collection because it is both citrusy fresh and luscious at the same time, and I think Fresh did an excellent job of capturing Italy and eating in bottle.
PRAY Eau de Parfum is a woodsy fragrance with undertones of exotic spices inspired by Elizabeth’s travels through India. This fragrance was inspired by India’s serene sunsets, fresh soil, and traces of incense and spices. This is a calming scent that was designed to put you at peace with a comforting blend of jasmine, pink pepper, patchouli, amber, juniper berry, cardamom, and incense. This is definitely an earthy scent that reminds me of being in a yoga studio and smelling the incense while meditating.
LOVE Eau de Parfum is a sunny floral with tropical fruity undertones inspired by Gilbert’s travels through Bali.This fragrance was designed to capture the bright, colorful, anything-is-possible feelings of falling in love. Scents of passion, sun-caressed skin, and salty kisses, are combined with the lush aromas of Bali’s exotic landscape. The bright tropical top notes are bergamot, red currant, and mango blossom; the floral middle notes are lisylang, tiare, and jasmine; and the warm earthy base notes are sandalwood, vetyver, and velvet amber. I would describe LOVE as a flirtatious sweet floral, perfect for a summertime date night.
Would You Care for a Spot of Black Tea in Your Skin Products?
If you follow beauty trends at all, you probably know that there has been an emerging trend in skincare towards using ingredients with caffeine to wake up the skin and make it glow. This sleep deprived mother and career woman needs all the help she can get in this department, and the right perk-up products make a WORLD of difference.
Fresh (one of my all time favorite brands) has been using instant results ingredients like caffiene for a while–in products like Lotus Eye Gel (one of my Hall of Fame Favorite products) because it hydrates and wake up the eyes rapidly. And now, Fresh is using Black Tea (as a skincare ingredient, not for drinking) in several of their products because it is a wonderful anti-aging, hydrating and instant results ingredient. I have become addicted to a couple of products in Fresh’s Black Tea line:
Black Tea Age-Delay Eye ($65)
This delightful eye cream utilizes the powerful antioxidant and enzyme inhibiting properties of black tea to firm and smooth the eye area. This eye cream hydrates, maintains elasticity and firmness, diminishes under-eye circles, reduces puffiness, and instantly illuminates the eye area.
The active ingredients include: Black Tea extract which defends against free radicals and maintains the skin’s elasticity and firmness; Lychee seed extract which stimulates collagen growth; Blackberry leaf extract which preserves collagen and elastin; Peptides and antioxidants to diminish under-eye circles and reduce puffiness; Hyaluronic spheres to hydrate, smooth, and firm the skin; Illuminating microspheres to instantly brighten the eyes; and rose flower oil and cucumber flower extract are soothing and smell fresh and clean.
What I love about this eye product is that it is the perfect amount of moisture for my eyes, absorbs instantly, quickly refreshes and perks up my eyes and has a yummy fresh cucumber scent. I definitely notice diminished puffiness and a smoothing of my fine lines after I use this cream.
Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask ($85)
This is an intense hydrating treatment mask that immediately reveals softer, more supple, and younger-looking skin. This innovative product firms the complexion and improves the skin’s elasticity; it leaves skin feeling velvety, soft and smooth and looking resilient and radiant; it smooths the texture of the skin and decreases skin roughness; and it hydrates, nourishes, soothes and improves skin tone.
The active ingredients include: Black tea to refine the skin’s texture, enhance radiance and smoothness; Lychee seed extract; Firming polysaccharides which give an immediate lifting effect and work to reduce fine lines and wrinkles over time; and Hyaluronic spheres to immediately hydrate and plump up the skin.
I absolutely LOVE this product! It is uber cool to use and touch because it has a very silky lighter than air texture that glides on beautifully, is slightly cooling calming hydrating and plumping all at the same time. My skin adores this mask, especially when it is dry and irritated (like now). My face drinks in the moisture and it instantly looks plumper, refreshed and brighter (I use it before special occassions for the that ‘wow’ effect). And I think the best part about this product is that the user experience is SO good, you feel it working to heal and transform your skin. You can find all these wonderful Fresh products HERE.
Don’t Give Me Any Lip. . . .
One of my ongoing beauty misssions is a relentless quest for moist, supple lips. Why you ask? Three reasons:
1) I HATE the feeling of dry lips—tight, flaky and yucky
2) Dry lips make you look and feel old and dried up
3) And last but not least, plump, hydrated, wet, pouty lips are sexy as hell and kissalicious!
With that said, I can now reveal (‘In No Particular Order’ for you DWTS fans), my absolute Favorite Lip Quenchers for Summer 2009:
Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment with SPF 15 by Fresh
This is the latest creation by those creative geniuses at Fresh, which is an enhanced upgrade of the cult fav Sugar Lip Treatment. It has the same nourishing oils, hydrating butters and a yummy bright citrus and sugar flavor, but this new version also has a delightful sublte rose tint that makes your lips look flushed and just bitten. I love the way this product feels going on my lips because it has the right amount of hydration and I love the lemon and sugar flavor. But I think I love this new and improved version even more, because of the pretty pink aluminum packaging and the addition of a reddish pink tint–it feels like a very girly lip treat!
Vitamin E Lip Conditioner with SPF 15 by Jo Malone
I recently discovered this lovely lip conditioner packed with vitamin E and liked it instantly. I found it nicely moisturizing, healing because of the vitamin E, and slightly cooling with a hint of menthol. I really like the light texture and weight of this product and it has just the right amount of gloss. And I always like a hint of flavor in my gloss, and the minty quality in this lip conditioner is perfect and refreshing.
Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector with SPF 15 by Murad
This is a yummy, juicy, perfectly shiny fruit flavored gloss with a hint of pink. It is both exfoliating and conditioning and I love how it makes my lips both supple and glossy. This feels like the perfect spring or summer gloss to me!
Lip Service Anti-Aging Lip Balm with SPF 50 by HissyFit
I have been raving about this brilliant new fav all summer (I love the playful diva-like ‘tude of this burgeoning company.) This lip balm is wonderfully hydrating, anti-aging, and has a nice lip plumpimg effect. But the best thing about it is that it has a major SPF of 50, so you can look good and feel good about its level of protection at the same time.
This is one of my newest discoveries, which I am especially loving as a renewing night time treatment that totally gets rid of my dry flaky over-exposed summer time lips. I love the hint of mint and it feels luxurious, calming, and soothing all at the same time. This beautifully made balm has the same nutrient-rich broth that is found in La Mer’s cult favorite Creme de la Mer, along with a patented lipid complex and a unique mineral complex, which all work together to moisturize and protect your lips.
This is the most medicinal, mentholly product in the bunch, but I love it! It’s a bit tackier than most, its wonderfully tingly, refreshing and feels like it is really healing my lips. It also contains zinc oxide which acts as a natural sunscreen. This is the type of product I would turn to in the winter months, when my lips are sore and dry and need lots of TLC and healing.
Renewal Lip Complex by Dermalogica
This is the most unique lip product in this group because it has THE best and most innovative packagaing and delivery system–you twist the barrel and it pushes out a rich, emollient, nourshing balm through seven little holes and onto your lips. This inspired dispenser drenches my lips with a luscious, moist anti-aging lip balm-type-serum that I just love, and it truly feels more like an anti-aging treatment rather than just a lip balm.
Aromessence Baume Levres Lip Balm by Decleor Paris
This is my favorite bedside fix because I love the calming aromatherapy smell and bits of herbs in the balm, it makes me feel relaxed and sleepy. It is very emollient and hydrating, and my lips instantly feel coated in lovely nuturing natural herbs. This night time treat feels so good going on and it really shifts my mood.
What have I missed? Please post your favorite lip treat, I am always interested in getting tips from other beauty mavens.
