A Chill Beauty Station

With the proliferation of and desire for organic and all natural beauty products, the question of how to best keep everything fresh has brought about an obvious solution that we have somehow overlooked  Koran women have known this and have been refrigerating their cosmetics for eons.  Americans are a little slow to the party ~ until now.

Chilling your cosmetics, beauty products, and let me go a step further and include medication, keeps them fresh thereby creates a longer shelf life and  maintains maximum potency.  All natural beauty products lack preservatives so spoilage occurs more quickly.  Cosmetics that are held at room temperature can also benefit, it keeps oxidation at bay.  We are told moisturizers only last so long when exposed to air, after the suggested shelf life expires, we are told to throw things away.  If we can hold on to our beauty products a little longer it becomes a money saver.  I'll do anything to keep my La Mer fresh!

The 15 inch  spa and beauty True refrigerator  can be customized with an array of different panels and colored LED lights.  Products can be cooled to as low as 33 degrees.  A cool towel and some water is a nice bonus for freshening up.

Plain and simple ~ it's brilliant!  Oh how I long for this in my spa like master suite with a coffee and wine bar.  I'm going to visualize it and see what happens.

Design According to your your Sign ~ Hmmm

This is a repost from several months ago.  For some reason this story is recirculating. The media has been talking about this as if its new news.  I think it is safe to say there will be no reshuffling of the zodiac signs we have become accustomed to because of  the discovery of  ophiuchus or the 13th sign in the zodiac..

Your whole life you think you are a Leo.  If you believe in designing according to where the sun's position was along the zodiac path the day you were born, you gravitate towards these colors:

You love gold and sheen ( I never met a paillette I didn't like).  You live in grand style, value excellence, quality, and LOVE drama in design.  Leos have a creative flair that is reflected in their homes and the way they entertain; therefore making them good hostesses.  They love hides and animal prints for their exoticism.  Warmth is most definitely conveyed!  Hello, have you met me?

Then all the sudden astronomers tell us that the Earth's alignment has shifted because of the moon's gravitational pull after centuries and has altered the signs.  WHAT??  It can't be, I'm not a Cancer; because if you're a Cancer, these are your colors:

Nostalgia defines this sign's personality.  Cancers are homebodies (which I most certainly am not).  They like the protection of home, it is their retreat.  I think that applies to everyone, though.  They like soft muted colors, functionality, a casual, comfy environment.  OK, I get all that but- Cancers like large entertaining spaces, they are conservative in style, and very attached to sentimental belongings and gifts from others.  Cancers use curves in their decor, and they are control freaks and perfectionists (not my words but I have been accused of both).   Part of my identity is rooted in the belief that I am a Leo, so I am just staying a Leo!  And what's with the new sign they added?

How do you know how to design for Ophiuchus, the serpent barer?  Too hell with that!

To learn how to design for your sign see Architectural Digest
credits: diduknow.org, windsorcottage.com

You do You

Yesterday I attended What's New, What's Next at the New York Design Center.  I heard a lot of inspirational speakers and saw a lot of beautiful product.  What stuck with me the most was a talk my friends Corey Damon Jenkins and Robin Baron gave.  They spoke honestly and from the heart about climbing the entrepreneurial ladder, trials and tribulations, branding and authenticity.  This seemed to strike a cord with the standing room only audience.  The Q and A could have gone on far longer than it did and everyone seemed truly engaged in this topic of authenticity, which really struck me in the  "smoke and mirrors" world we live in.

In that vein, as a nod to the conversation and because I am now straddling two passions; that of coaching and design, "taking a life coach approach to interior design" or "designing a new story," I am here to say honestly and authentically, "I am frazzled, fried, uninspired and overwhelmed!"  I sat down to write a blog post and...  Crickets.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  My mind is elsewhere.  I am preoccupied.

And guess what?  THAT'S OK!

The message of the importance of authenticity is a tale as old as time, but it is resonating more than ever.  In business, relationships, time management, the violence we are bombarded with, life feels hard sometimes.  Rather than being open, we sometimes hide a part of ourselves away or push through the pain of it all.  We are hard on ourselves, we create more stress.  We've been told,"fake it till you make it."  I'm not gonna lie, there is a place for that, but not in lieu of losing our essential self.  The stuff that makes us uniquely us.

Sometimes just feeling your feelings, acknowledging it's a bad day, a bad mood, a full moon, exhaustion, whatever, doesn't make it go away, but it makes it acceptable, tolerable.  You feel lighter just by recognizing it.  Be patient with yourself, accept the "what is" in the moment.  Everything will fall into place.  It always does!


I decided to make this blog post about my not feeling like writing a teaching moment.  I am so excited to delve into this and so much more along with the design posts you are accustomed to.  Hopefully I can wrap it all in a beautiful bow, because even yucky feelings are a gift sometimes.

fashion ph: Mira Mikata, painting:Mel Bochner