That’s right. It took 7 hours to straighten my hair today. Yes, I read 17 magazines. Yes, I ordered sushi and drank 3 diet cokes. Yes, literally an entire day passed as I sat in my little, uncomfortable chair. But, as I emerged from Taka Salon this evening and the wind caught my newly re-straightened hair and blew it about as if it were naturally light and straight, my heart soared, and I knew at once it was totally worth it.

To heck with all the haters- I LOVE Rachel Zoe. I didn’t want to. I really didn’t.  I was always fascinated by her and her style- that Zoe-doll she defines. (I mean she totally created the Nicole Ritchie look of yore, all glam boho chic and super skinny with big buggy glasses and center-parted flowing tendrils.) But I didn’t think I would like her as a person. I was so wrong. I love her. Her Bravo reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project, has allowed me to know her in a way I never did before. I love her cute buzzwords. I love that she drinks a Venti Starbucks at all times and carries a beautiful Birkin, about the size of her, on her teeny little arm. I love her fur vests and blondish waves. I love her giant rings and the fact that she can walk into Fendi Casa and totally redecorate her living room in one fell swoop. And I especially love her obsessive love of fashion. She lives for it, and for some reason I find this quality so appealing. She does her thing for all the right reasons. I totally dig that!

I just received my massively huge October Allure in the mail yesterday and have to note that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this issue. It is their “Best of Beauty” article that inspires my desire for more, new, and better. I rip out this collection of editor faves and literally use it as a shopping guide for the latest and greatest in skincare. haircare, and of course make-up. This month’s magazine includes their focus on beauty breakthroughs, and I was literally breathlessly drawn to a blurb about a new and ingenious product called No Frizz by a company called Living Proof. This is a sort of start-up company made up of scientists and beauty experts who through they could find a better frizz-reducer than silicone. I, for one, am literally throwing an internal pep rally for these people. I pretty much rely on silicone-infused hair products to keep my course and curly hair flat and shiny in between straightening processes. But I have such issues with these products because they do not block humidity (no matter what they say) and, while they smooth the cuticle, they do not stop it from expanding and puffing out in the slightest humidity. Apparently No Frizz literally blocks humidity with a totally new technology (not silicone!) that you saturate the hair in, but is so light that it is almost imperceptible. At any rate, I ordered this potential miracle last night and cannot wait to try it. I will keep you posted.

I have taken the time to reevaluate the new Target beauty lines over the past few weeks. I have literally invented excuse after excuse to go to Target (it does not take much!) just so that I can study the Pixi, Napolean Perdis Set, and Jemma Kidd lines. Please find my assessments to follow. 

Jemma Kidd: Her products occupy an end cap in the makeup aisle, giving her prominence over the other makeup artist collections, but I find her to be the least inventive of the 3 new collections. I really want to love her products, particularly her shadows because they look so fun to me as I approach the display. However, at close view, I find many of them almost garish. I am one for natural, shimmery shades. If I am going for color on the lid, I want a sheer wash of something like a light lavender or pink. Her bold greens, blues and yellows simply do not attract me. Her glosses are sheer and look nice, but I feel that I already own all of the colors from other brands. I did purchase her smokey eyes key- complete with a glittery black eyeliner and deep gray shadow, but when I tried this new, sexy eye look one night while in Hawaii, my husband was more scared than attracted. I prompted washed it off. 

Pixi: When I was in London several years ago, I stumbled upon a Pixi makeup store somewhere near Piccadilly Circus. I can remember literally loving the Pixi glosses and their gloss palettes. I still feel the same way about her line for Target. Her colors are awesome and the texture is thick but not gooey- meaning it is long wear, but in the best way. I think all of her products look very fun, but to be honest, the glosses are the only ones I find practical enough for me to purchase. (Well, I also loved her gel eyeliner pots, but I have these in all colors from Bobbi Brown.)

Napolean Perdis Set: The cream lipsticks are the best of the line. The colors are great- sort of neutral but not nude. I love his pinks- from light to deep- they pretty much all look good. Also, I like the idea of his blush sticks, but I am a matte girl and don’t want anything to glossy on my skin (aside from my lips.)

I am officially so removed from New York that, try as I might, I could not get the Fashion Week debriefs I have been searching for this week. Last February, when I was still officially a New Yorker, I could literally feel Fashion Week in the air. The city is buzzing, everyone is talking about what shows they are attending, and there exists a general heightened awareness of the comings and goings of fashion people- like our Bank Street neighbors two doors down, Harvey Weinstein and his wife and Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman. So it is with great regret that I write that I am officially out of the Fashion Week loop. Relegated to the reports from the Times and WWD with no first hand knowledge of the week that was. What a bummer. As an Angelino, I now realize that I will have to do some major catch up work to stay on top of things.

I have been so personally moved by this blog and the heartbreaking story surrounding it. I cannot express how Nie Nie’s posts open your heart and make you see motherhood differently. Please read some of her archives and consider donating. http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

I don’t know what it is about Bobbi Brown’s color palette that is so yummy, but I am consistently attracted to the creamy, rich nude colors she is famous for. I can sit in front of her lipstick display for hours pulling out colors I already own, smudging them on my hand, and watch their delicious “nudiness” shine in the glow of the department store lights. Today I purchased a palette of nude eyeshadows that seems just perfect- light browns, golds, and tans- some with glimmer and some more matte. Also, I bought a Tawny blush to deepen my light tan with a good, deep pink/brown flush. I was tempted to buy more nude lipsticks but I really literally own every one of her colors and decided I needed to revisit my lipstick drawer and pull out some of these old faves.

I just read an article in The New York Times noting that the nostalgic cupcake craze of the past 5 (give or take a few) years may be at its tipping point. I would have to agree that the era of the cupcake is waning. I have been ready for this for some time now and, when I was living in New York, would often vocalize my anti-Magnolia Bakery feelings to other West Villagers who shared my contempt for the little cupcake bake shop with overpriced confections that were just so-so. My husband and I would stroll home from late night weekend dinners and literally marvel at the line of tourists and others that would snake down the street and around the corner, all waiting to enter the teeny tiny bakery and sample what to me tasted more like an iced corn muffin than a cupcake. At any rate, while I feel the “cupcakes for adults” trend may be waning, I know that the same cannot be said for the toddler set. Toddler parties are filled with cupcakes, loads of them, and this poses an interesting challenge to me and my daughter because she has food allergies and is severely allergic to milk. While other kids munch away on the sweet birthday treat, I have to ply my daughter with fruit and/or milk-free cookies. The last party we attended was particularly sad because she kept saying “Peeesh” and pointing to the cupcake plate. (This means “please”- and it came out sounding particularly high pitched and heartbreaking.) We have a birthday party to attend today, and I am going to try a little trick to appease her cupcake cravings that I thought up earlier this morning. I bought Krusteaz blueberry muffin mix (this is one of the only milk-free mixes I have found), and I iced the little muffins with Duncan Hines frosting (also milk-free.) I tasted one, and I have to say it was not half bad. Plus, it looks just like any other delicious cupcake that might appear at today’s birthday. I hope my daughter agrees. Update: She loved them and barely glanced at the real birthday cake. Success!

Just returned from a week on The Big Island and have to say it was truly amazing. Aside from the great beauty of the island and the many joys of laying in a cabana on the beach while drinking frozen rum drinks out of a carved out pineapple, there were several celebrity sightings at the resort that need to be reported on. 1) Julia Roberts, family, and nanny entourage- Clearly every Roberts child has their own nanny plus what appears to be a nanny handler. Julia and her husband hung out by the pool with the kids and their nannies and then would sneak off on a golf cart to do whatever special things someone like Julia does in Hawaii. 2) Hillary Swank- working out every morning in the resort spa sporting an ultra-short almost Utah-momish hairdo. She is very tiny and her haircut did a great job of disguising her. I had to look several times before I got a positive i.d. (and anyone who knows me knows that I am an expert spotter.) 3) Rob Thomas and his wife- in the hot tub beside me. They seemed to be very genuinely in love. And no trip to LAX would be complete without a requisite sighting. Outbound: David Hasselhoff. Inbound: An Olsen twin, likely Ashley, heading to JFK.