30 May 2007

10 must haves for a beautiful Summer

10. Nothing is sexier than a toned, tanned pair of pins -- except for a toned, tanned pair of pins shined to the hilt with this very subtle glimmer oil. Did I mention it smells like gingerlily?
($45 at all Blue Mercury locations)

9. Whether you sit in the sun or not, this bronzer will give you that desirable natural sunkissed look we're all after. What sets this bronzer apart is its touch of gold shimmer and its SPF 15.

8. Because Summer is sandal season, you'll need your feet to be as presentable as possible. If you're like I am and can only justify the price of a pedicure every four or five pay periods, get this great foot soak, a pumice stone and do it yourself, girl!

($26 at skinstore.com)

7. I advocate a year-round no-more-than-three-shampoos-per-week routine, but with DC's high Summer humidity, oil buildup is going to look not only unprofessional but downright homeless. This hair powder, which comes in four colors (black, brown, blondish and red), will give your scalp the look of a same-day-shampoo.
($40.95 at amazon.com) 6. Because your lips sit in the sun just as much as the rest of your non-bikini-covered bits, go for the best when it comes to lip care -- go for Kiehl's. One of these tubes lasted me the entire May-August 2006 tanning season, and that's saying something considering how liberally (and often) I applied this balm after all those rough-and-tumble "sessions" down Dupont Circle side streets.

($8.50 at kiehls.com)

5. To see your skin at its healthiest, you need to indulge in a once-a-week full-body exfoliation treatment. This particular one sloughs with the best of the pricey sugar scrubs and it smells divine. What I like most is that even after your spritz on your favorite Summer scent (I like Sake by fresh), you can still detect a hint of pink citrus.

($15 at sephora.com)

4. Everything I wrote for the previous product applies here, save for the bit about lingering fragrance. Unlike most of the drugstore exfoliants, this one is a gentle scrub with rounded beads that won't irritate even the most sensitive face. I look forward to every Wednesday night, which in my household is not only double-anchovy thin-crust night but exfoliation night as well. Who says I don't have excitement in my life?
($25 at sephora.com)

3. Being the lifelong lotion-phile I am, I've tried everything from imported body butters to boutique salves to your most basic CVS-brand hand lotion. Through my ever-continuing search to find the holy grail of moisturizers, however, this thick Vitamin E-infused drugstore lotion has always come through victorious. If you could touch my legs right now (I'm touching them for you), you'd go out and join Sam's Club right now and buy two cases of the stuff. It's that good. And that affordable.

($5.29 at drugstores everywhere)

2. With the suntanning, the lack of sleep and the propensity to cry every time I listen to Roberta Flack or watch a Julia Roberts movie on TBS, the skin under my eyes is the first noticeable sign I'm no longer in my mid-20s. Hands down, this undereye cream is the one "luxury item" I would take with me if I were ever cast on "Survivor."

($46 at clinique.com)

1. As with body lotion, I've been testing, trying and second-trying facial moisturizers my entire life. Not just adult life but thanks to my Mom, my entire life. This is the richest one I've found in an under-$50 price-point. And yes, it has the requisite SPF 30.

($16.12 at amazon.com)

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Johanna's legs are known the country over for their crazy softness (and for their freakishly perfect muscle-defintion, but whatever, I'm not jealous or anything), so if she recommends a lotion, BUY IT.

Then quit your job and moisturize full-time for 5 years until you catch up to her.

(Brown Crew deserves another all-caps WOOT WOOT today!)

Anonymous said...

known the *world* over, actually. because of Hannie, I now get up 10 minutes earlier just so I can do a head to toe lotioning. spread the word!

d. said...

Thank you for your recommendations. I love lists...

I have the clinique eye cream and i love it too!

btw...here's my friend's response to your freckles...
"ok, so, freckles...hmmm, it's unusual to get freckles above the lips/moustache area. but regardless, if they are indeed freckles, her best hopes of getting rid of them is probably laser therapy. having said that though, laser has variable or bad outcomes in asian/darker-skinned individuals because they are more likely to get post-laser hyper/hypopigmentation. so, she should ideally see a dermatologist if she is thinking of laser, instead of going to a non-dermatologist who may not have as much knowledge about and experience with skin. but before going that route, she could always try hydroquinone. it's a bleaching agent for skin. but last i heard, it may be withdrawn from the market in the states b/c of reports of carcinogenicity? bottomline, i recommend seeing a dermatologist"

A bit skewed since she's a dermatologist. Hope it helped anyways

Anonymous said...

I have so many of those products! Quick clarification, though.

10. You do mean the shimmer oil, not the shimmer fragrance, right? If so, that's $45.

7. The hair powder is AWESOME. Extends a blowdry by a day or two if you haven't sweated profusely. But it doesn't come in gray - the white color is actually for light blondes. I use it and love it.

As Miranda would say, that's all.

Johanna said...

D-

thank you so much for talking to your friend! I have no doubt laser treatments are in my future, especially now that I have an unofficial recommendation from a real MD!

K-

Thanks for the corrections. Yes, I was referring to the shimmer oil, not the fragrance. I was doing my best to translate pounds into dollars but perhaps it's just cheaper over here in the States than it is on Molton Brown's website.

The hair powder doesn't come in gray - you're righty-o on that one. Careless, careless me.

thanks again,
J

Anonymous said...

Hey, I chose the heavenly gingerlily oil over the Nars body glow after reading you rave about it here, I just wanted to make sure everyone else got the right thing, too. ;)

Gotta preserve the integrity of the ASJINE recommendations, yo.

Syd said...

I'm so *not* a girly girl, but I love your blog. Fab list, btw.

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing since it's a shill for lip balm that these public "sessions" are in reference to *kissing* sessions?

The way you two were, I wouldn't be shocked at anything.

Darlin', he's a mess - I guarantee it. *I'm* a mess without you, and I still get to talk to you!

Just wait, you'll see...

Anonymous said...

I'm still a mess, and it's been 6 years since you broke my heart.

d. said...

After a shower...what should i do first? Moisturize the face or body? I can never figure that out...

Johanna said...

syd-

I'm so glad my blog appeals to those outside my target audience of superficial, self-obsessed beauty-product whores. What a compliment!

anonymous-

I broke your heart 6 years ago? That would make you...no, could it be? Reveal yourself!

D-
FACE! More specifically, eyes, then face, then body.

bff-

yes, kissing. geez, what kind of exhibitionist do you think I...oh wait, you know too much, I can't get away with that line, can I?

Damn it.

He better be all sorts of upset, that's all I have to say about it. On here, anyway.

Anonymous said...

whoever this guy is y'all are talking about, he doesn't seem worth it. Remember what Miranda used to tell women: maybe he's just not that into you.

though in your case, I can't see how that would be possible. maybe he's secretly married back in Utah or something.

Anonymous said...

Or...maybe he's just not that into you.

No wonder you are the way you are! You're friends fall all over you like you're some kind of all-important demigod.

I'm sure this guy, whomever he is, saw past this "pretty" exterior and into your little black heart and went running for the hills where he met someone else who makes him a whole lot happier than you ever could.

Anonymous said...

Who is this terrible "you're overrated"??? I will never understand why people have to be such haters for no good reason!

Love love love the list!

Anonymous said...

'You're overrated' needs to figure out why she (I've decided it's a "she" because of the venom and persistence) has such an issue with Johanna. If it's personal, take it up offline instead of trying to embarrass her (key word *trying*) in front of her friends and other readers. If it's not personal and you just don't like her for some reason, move on to another blog. There are plenty out there.

And it's a joke that you call her "pretty." Whether you like her or not, we all know those quotes shouldn't be there.

Anonymous said...

Just went out and bought the body and face lotion! Now how can I get those muscular legs of yours?

Anonymous said...

Why do you assume I have no good reason? But even if I didn't (I do), just reading this self absorbed drivel is reason enough not to like her.

She's the kind of sad sad woman who still refers to herself at 27 as a "girl" and who likes to pretend that she doesn't care the only man who'll sleep with her is a dog.

Johanna, stick to what you're good at. Not sure what that is (it's not being insightful or funny or substantive), but I'm sure there's something out there.

Anonymous said...

I am looking for a bronzer so I plan to pick up the stila.

I would pick up the lotion too, but since I'm a health freak I would have to check out the ingredients first. Anything that you put on your skin everyday is going to be absorbed, which is why I don't use body lotion but oils such as jojoba.

Btw, IPL isn't a laser. IPL ,intense pulsed light,uses white light composed of many frequencies (colors of light). I would stay away from a real laser. I think your skin would react fine to IPL. I saw women with olive skin waiting for their treatments.

Woman/Chica/Girl/Lady... I refer and respond to all of the above. Should I stop responding to "girl?" Just think of that old song "talking about my girl... My girl!" I am sure he isn't singing to an 8 year old, but probably a young woman. My father, who's is his early 50's, still refers to my mother, who is 50, as his girl. :)

Johanna, apparently you have an online enemy. I hope this doesn't distract you from concentrating on your beauty blogs. If it was me, I would be angry and distracted.

Anonymous said...

I wear Sake, too! Love it not just in the Summer but year round. It's so fresh and distinct. I never leave home without at least 4 spritzes!

"you're overrated" is a tool. pay no mind. probably just some jealous girlfriend/wife.

Anonymous said...

So it's women who have a lock on the venon and persistence markets, is it? QED, "you're overrated" must be a woman. So that's your analysis. But what do you expect? We are a country that produced the jury that acquitted OJ.

What's to say it isn't a man who thinks she's false and who thinks he's seen through her? I guess that wouldn't work because that might burst the bubble that men want to eat her up with a spoon--and that you, as readers, are also spoon-eatable by extension.

You "girls" might not realize it, but consumption of Defamer, Go Fug Youself, or A Serious Job is No Excuse, can not only be unattractive, it can be unhealthy. Ditto Us Weekly, E!, et al. One might say the same of a man with four tv's all tuned to various flavours of ESPN, G4 and Spike who reads Maxim and FHM and belongs to an on-line fantasy baseball league. Contrary to what Mae West said, too much of a bad thing can suck. And too many unreasonable expectations can make you crazy.

Our little chickadee J is right there on the edge. Be careful you don't fall over with her.

Anonymous said...

Whoever wrote that last comment is way off-base. Johanna is nowhere near any edge. Just because she writes this blog and has a subscription to Us Weekly does not mean she's on the verge of whatever bad future it is your cryptic comment implied.

I know plenty of doctors, academics, executives and other intel analysts who enjoy doing the same exact thing in their free time as our editrix. But instead of writing it, they only read it. So she thinks beauty and presentation are important. Well so do I, so do my other professional friends, so do my parents and so do all of our bosses.

I don't get this. I really don't. There's no "seeing through" Johanna, especially when you don't know her as I can tell you clearly don't. For every post she writes, she has something interesting to say on a substantive issue. For every beauty product she recommends, she has wise advice for one of us on any number of weighty personal issues.

Don't be fooled into thinking this blog *is* Johanna. It's not, it's just a small slice of a wonderful, complex, well-rounded GIRL.

And I'm with Crystal on the "girl" front. Who the hell cares?

Anonymous said...

Well stated, bff in chicago.

I think there are certain truths to that person's comment, but I know for a fact Jo is not one of those people we need to worry about losing her perspective on the world. You do know what she does for a living, right? You do realize this was a girl who lived in a third world country for 2 years, right? You do know this is a girl who thinks about her dog more than any celebrity newsbreak, right?

She's fine, just fine the way she is.

Anonymous said...

Wow, at least she put you in the same category as Defamer and Go Fug Yourself! Those blogs are huge! And damn funny. Keep on' keepin' on, I say.

Anonymous said...

Right. That's the same kind of logic that would say, "Wow, at least she put you in the same category as Stalin and Pol Pol. Those guys are huge!"

Does "intern in the city" work for the Bush administration? If not, get a job while you still can... They'd LOVE you.

Anonymous said...

I *do* actually work for the administration! 8 more years! 8 more years!

If you can't laugh at Go Fug Yourself, you need to seriously LIGHTEN UP. That sh*t is crazy funny.

Actually, even if you can laugh at GFY, you still need to lighten up. You need a spa treatment and a girls weekend stat.