Best Served Cold: Disclaimer

Important update on the book I'm reading - Best Served Cold.

I may or may not ever recover from the things I'm reading. I remember a time when I didn't know these things - those were the days of innocence - ignorance is indeed bliss. I think the sky looked bluer, children's laughter was sweeter, popcorn was crunchier and water quenched my thirst. It's all different now. Nothing will ever be the same, but unfortunately I cannot stop reading it. I am vested in it and have to see it through - plus, she hasn't finished killing everyone on her list yet.

Let this post serve as a disclaimer for any woman thinking of reading this book.

Must See!!

This is on my list to see this week. I cannot miss it. Mr. Wickham is in it and everything (be still my heart!).

What Are You Up These Days?

I've been:

-Reading an awesome book about revenge. It's one of those novels set in a time that doesn't exist, in places that aren't real, with names that have never been. A fantasy novel. It's called Best Served Cold. In this book a mercenary turned general of an army finds herself in a dangerous position when she is more feared, respected and adored than her leader. Having risen from nothing and become everything she is much loved by the people as one of their own and a great threat to the Grand Duke. So he kills her and her brother....or does he? She servives, barely, unbeknownst to all, and wakes stitched up Frankenstein style with the taste of blood in her mouth. Throughout the book she has a very specific list of people she needs to kill and hires a specialized crew to help her do it. Joe Abercrombie is a very good writer, although I have to say the writing is a bit raw, if you know what I mean.

-Trying out my new eyeshadows. I bought some Sleek eyeshadows from the UK , they arrived Tuesday, and am very pleased with the color pay off, range of colors, texture and durability. Amazing value for money. Eyeshadow is one of those things I always say you don't have to spend tons on so long as they meet your standards and needs. I detest colors that are too sheer. I want intense and vibrant colors, not the wishy-washy sheer pastel crap we used to get in our Barbie dress up sets as kids.

-Hanging out with friends from a lifetime ago. Two good friends I met during my South American travels are visiting and we've had a great time catching up and doing things they don't usually do. I took them to get their hair highlighted (balayage style - a delicate kind of highlight that looks very natural and celebrity-ish) and Brazilian bikini waxed (for the first time!). At my salon (the one I wrote about) you can highlight, get a moisture treatment and a blowout for $70. Crazy awesome prices! - and my colorist is a color sensei.

-Watching the new season of Top Chef. Am I nuts because I was sad to see crazy dreadlock guy go home? I really liked him. He had that kind of easy-going I'm-perpetually-high type personality that's so endearing in a bum, terrible teeth, matted ugly dreadlocks, and coke bottle thick glasses. A trainwreck to look at, but a total sweetheart. It's silly, I know, but I was almost depressed at the end of the first episode. I wanted to give him a hug. I hope the second one is better. On the upside, I love, love, love that Eric Ripert is a judge this season!

-Thinking about how time passes. My son just turned 16 on Tuesday and I honestly don't know where the years have gone. It seems like only yesterday I was holding him for the first time - it also seems like 2 incarnations ago. So weird. I looked in the mirror this morning and saw an old hag staring back at me with medusa hair - time flies and it doesn't usually work in your favor.

Perfumes for Winter

Winter is upon us - well as much of a winter as we're ever going to get - but I get excited about it anyway. It's finally time for stews and "sweaters" and cozy evenings drinking wine. In preparation for the winter season I bought new huge wine glasses, pulled out my fluffly slippers, my fluffy throw blanket, and my winter perfumes.

As I look at my collection I realize that it has grown since last year, but more towards summer scents than winter. I did however make a very special addition to my collection which is good all year round, but probably works best in cooler months, SL Sa Majeste la Rose.

The perfumes that have been singing to my heart most are the following:

Guerlain Mitsouko - The most amazing oakmoss and peach scent. My favorite chypre of all times. This classy, beautiful and almost stuck up scent sets it apart from the mass of one note numbers lining the shelves these days. With all the pink and fruity bubble gum concoctions running rampant it is a breath of fresh air to be able to wear something that is unapologetic, and to most, unrecognizable.

Guerlain L'Heure Bleue - My other favorite Guerlain. I don't know which one I like more. This perfume is melancholy and beautiful. It really does evoke the "blue hour" which is dusk, right before the sun is competely down and the moon comes up. This perfume has one of my very favorite notes in it, iris. The iris is mixed with anise, jasmin and the famous Guerlain base called Guerlinade (tonka bean, vanilla and awesomeness). I love the powderiness as well. I like powdery perfumes. Some people say they smell like old ladies, who cares? If they're fancy ass old ladies who wear Guerlain, it's not an insult to say I smell like one.

SL Sa Majeste la Rose - Roses dipped in honey. That's what I get from this. Pure, classic, modern, loud, soft, gorgeous. It's a seamless blend where all the players get a share of the glory, but the rose is the queen - always.

SL Fumerie Turque - Smokey vanilla, tabacco and honey wood with a touch of rose and amber in a leather purse. It's an elixir. I love, love, love it.

Kenzo Amour le Parfum - I have written time and again of my love for this perfume. I belive I've said enough. It is a gorgeous, not overly sweet, woody, deep, vanilla fragrance that warms my heart.

Al Nabha by Haramain - Rose and saffron. It's perfect for winter. It's deep, but not too deep. It's oudh and rose and saffron. It's meant to be used by men for prayer. They say it invokes peace and spiritual strength. Maybe. But I use it to fill my life with joy. Tons and tons of joy.

Armani Code (the old black box, grey bottle one - NOT the new beige one-- ick!) - Pure incense. Lovely. I like to mix it with Al Nabha for the ultimate meditation scent.

Dinner with Chandler Burr

I adore Chandler Burr and faithfully read anything he writes. I came across these vidoes of dinners he did where he paired food with perfume. What I wouldn't do to be invited to a dinner with him...

Four Seasons Restaurant Scent Dinner: NYT perfume critic Chandler Burr & Ex. Chef Fabio Trabocchi from Chandler Burr on Vimeo.

PopTech Scent Dinner with Chandler Burr from PopTech on Vimeo.

At Long Last

I have grey hair. Not a little, not one here or there. No, at least 50% of all my hair is grey. I've been dying my hair for years and years now, not because it's fashionable, but because I have to. This forces me to go once a month to the salon and get it done. No matter where you live in the world, you don't want to be spending all of your money covering up you grey, so I have been on the hunt for a salon that will meet my needs. I'm not that picky. What I want is a perfect dye job at the lowest possible price.

I've been scheduling every month with different professionals in different salons, but the reality is that I need something close to home, walking distance, and affordable, or I just won't do it as often as I need to. Yesterday I scheduled with a salon at a mall near my house. My sister and I joke that it's the place where stores go to die because it is so abandoned. Well, I discovered that it only looks that way because everyone is in the shops and most of the shops are salons. The place is actually booming. Very odd. Like everyone's in on the same joke, they all got the memo but you.

The other thing about this mall is that it's built like a maze. You walk in and immediately you have no idea how to get out. I really should have Hansl and Greteled my way around there, but sadly I didn't think of it. Needless to say, when I went looking for my salon I got lost. Really lost. Embarrassingly lost . You know how sometimes you don't want to look like the idiot walking around lost, or waiting for someone, so you pretend to be having a conversation on the phone so no one thinks your a friendless loser? Am I the only one that does that? Well, that's what I was doing to save face - thank God no one called me while I was fake talking on the phone - it's so embarrassing when that happens.

I finally did make an real call to my sister and we had a great time laughing at my predicament and lo and behold, while I was talking to her I found the place! Mi corazón sank when I saw it though. It was a dump. Small, dinky, old chairs and equipment - with the exception of one nice coffee machine.There were so many awesome salons all around them and I had to blindly choose the only loser place. As it turns out, after much searching and bouncing from one colorist to the next, I finally found the one who will do my hair every month. Her hands are magic. And although the place looked less than awesome, the products were high quality and the people were all very friendly and the environment was quite agreeable - Plus I paid next to nothing for one of the best dye jobs of my life. I walked out of there looking red carpet worthy.

Katy Perry MTV Movie Awards Look

I love Katy Perry's hair and makeup here. This is the look she wore last Sunday to the MTV Movie Awards. It reminds me a bit of my Halloween '09 wig, only hers looks more brushed for some reason. Anyway, super fun, super Katy, and totally MTV. What do you think? Her dress was super short and her nails were bright yellow - how fun is that?