I watch NBC’s Fashion Star and I love it. Instead of making designers create couture out of garbage (which is less design, and more DIY crafting IMHO), designers create for actual buyers. Of course it’s scripted and just as fixed as any other TV reality show (AMBER SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE HOME), but the fact that you can buy what’s been bought every week, as soon as the episode ends a) is a clever way to capitalize on marketing, b) is a brilliant way to exploit the fear of not being able to get something that you just saw and you HAVE TO HAVE, and c) feels like The Jetsons, so it is amazing.
I have wanted over half of everything I’ve seen on the show, and last season was distraught because Saks kept buying what I liked best and charging over $200 for every single item. Like I’m going to pay $200 for a shirt? Pfft. I’m still combing Ebay, hoping one of the dresses I wanted will pop up.
I missed out on this shirt when it went up for sale at Macy’s, but lucked out finding it on Ebay. I am in love with it. It’s a half shirt, quarter sweater, quarter mesh sort of thing you’d find at Contempo Casuals circa 1992. In other words 100% perfect for me. It is soft, so soft, well made, well cut, and is also a limited item so I feel kind of special wearing it. I got mine in black.
If I were going to wear shorts like that with my shirt, which I am not because of that recurring nightmare I have about being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, I would want my legs to look as smooth and shiny as possible. To that end, I would use a product I just discovered.
First, let’s talk about what I hate in a lotion/oil: Stickiness, slime-iness, greasiness, grittiness, and skin suffocation. You know what I mean? It’s hot here, and can be humid. If a lotion/oil coats your pores, you can feel like you are suffocating. It’s awful. Also awful is what a weirdo I am about getting my hands dirty. I hate putting lotion in my hands to rub somewhere else, but strangely don’t mind spraying on a lotion (thank you Sunblock Spray!) to rub in. Body Dew works for me on a lot of levels!
I had a Pure Romance party, last weekend, presented by the lovely Sonia Torres Cortes, and I bought the Green Tea flavor of Body Dew. I love it! I am prone to dry skin on my legs–like, flaky skin dry in winter, and just dry in summer. I was skeptical of how well the Dew would work, but after a few days I can’t imagine living without it. My skin looks and feels fantastic. I think this is the best my shins and elbows have felt in years.
It goes on as a light spray (squirt!), and you rub it in. Seconds later, you can dress over it, and it doesn’t stick, pull, or soak through fabric. Nice! And, the green tea scent is fresh and clean, and underwhelming. I’d actually like the scent to be a little stronger.
Go to Sonia’s website, and she can hook you up. She can also get you started with Coochy, which is a shaving conditioner. Something else I was skeptical about because I never believe miracle potions actually are. This was purported to allow you to shave even the bikiniest areas without causing bumps or rashes. So far, so good. It also comes in green tea.
Since we’re talking about unsightly bumps, lets talk about cold sores. The first cold sore I can remember having came in Kindergarten. It was massive, the size of a quarter, and covered half my lower lip, and part of the area between my lip and chin–it was so bad, it left a scar.
My mom treated it with Campho-Phenique, which was the best we could do at the time. The monster returned in First Grade, with such a horrifying vengence, they wouldn’t even photograph me head-on for my class picture. They made me pose in profile.
I end up with a cold sore in left-middle of my bottom lip a few times a year. Now, instead of using the campho, I use Abreva at the first tingle of a blister. It usually takes about 3 days to clear up completely, but the sore never gets much bigger than a pin head, never goes into the gross scab phase, and doesn’t hurt. Abreva is one of the things you can always find in my purse, along with Tei-Fu oil, which is my family’s version of Big Fat Greek Wedding Windex. In fact, I keep a little bottle of that on my desk, too.
That’s it for now! So, start watching Fashion Star (or watching it on DVR, like I do–Express, Macy’s and Saks update their sites on Friday evenings, so you can shop even if you don’t watch the episode), get yourself some Body Dew, and tell the world about Abreva and Tei-Fu. I hope you don’t get cold sores, but if you do, I’m telling you that stuff works.
The Outside Lane 