There is a look to St. Tropez that is different from other beach destinations. Women wear big hats, sequinned and sexy tunics and beach cover ups, and high heels on the beach. Everyone pretty much brings their “A” fashion game to the seashore as they bake in the sun and smoke cigarettes with those plastic holders you see in old movies. This is not an exaggeration. It is really like this. I am inspired when I see this kind of extravagance to participate in it. So when we went to St, Tropez last year, I bought a sequinned beach cover up and big hat. I also obsessed over the handmade shoes St. Tropez is known for- their handmade K. Jacques sandals. Everyone in St. Tropez wears them, and the K. Jacques boutique is literally crammed from open to close. I first bought a pair of K. Jacques gladiator sandals in St. Tropez, and I fell in love. So, this week in New York, I just had to purchase a new pair of KJ thongs that I found in Bergdorf. They were a great nude leather and will look awesome with a tan this summer. I am hoping a trip to St. Tropez is in the works this summer as well because I have not worn my sequinned cover up since….

Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker. No matter where I may be living, I have little ticks and quirks that are uniquely New York. For one, I have no patience. I cannot wait in line, especially at Starbucks, without my blood boiling. I want things to operate as quickly and seamlessly as they do in NYC so that when I walk into my little Star-b’s they immediately recognize me, start prepping my drink, and have it warm and ready for me by the time I pay. This doesn’t happen anywhere else- only in New York. In addition to incredible efficiency, there is this level of fabulousness that exists only in NYC in that it literally breeds creatures of fashion- lithe, flawless women wrapped in thousands of dollars of clothes catwalking down the street with hug bug-eye glasses completely unaware of my admiring eyes visually cataloguing all of the elements of their style. All this is to note that I traveled to New York this week for work and was ready for an infusion of fabulousness and speed and efficiency and all of the things inherent to this city. I left disappointed. The mood in the city was gloomy. You could literally feel the economic devastation as you walked the streets. That feeling of energy and excitement was absolutely waning, and I could read it on the faces of everyone I passed on the street. As I traveled about with my work associate, we noted the lack of fabulousness and fashionistas. Even at Bergdorf’s, where you will always have a run in with some stylista, I was left wanting more, looking for signs that things were ok, even as most of the 5th floor was on sale. It was weird, this chasm between what New York needs to be and what it was this week.

I have been reading about Kate Somerville-facialist to the stars- for many months now, and I was interested to see her line in Nordstrom recently. I eyeballed it on the counter, and I collected some of the literature on the line, but I didn’t have loads of time to spend with the products due to an intense baby meltdown. However, I privately obsessed over it, knowing I would soon return to the Nordstorm counter and collect my 911 kit (this is the anti-acne product line.) I loved the product packaging and couldn’t wait to try it out. There was a little bit of guilt in my heart as I took my Proactiv off the counter and replaced it with my shiny new Kate goodies, but I was secretly thrilled to try something new. I loved the line at first. The texture and the smell were terrific, and after I washed with the cleanser, my skin felt totally fresh. It only took about 3 days of using the line for my skin to completely and totally break out. My chin was breakout central, and I was forced to immediately return to the old standby, Proactiv, to clear the problem (which, of course, it did in like 2 days.) Thank goodness I purchased the Somerville kit at Nordstrom. I returned it with no questions asked.