December 10, 2021

Beauty advent calendars, Beauty Pie's new neck product and Robert Piguet's Bandit Supreme.

Advent calendars for everyone!

It took me a week to recover from Thanksgiving break and finally come to terms with the fact that the holiday season is officially here. I’m obviously accustomed to the onslaught of Christmas trees, Santa Claus and the world being covered in red and green for the months of November and December, but as a Jew I’m still not 100% sure about the story behind advent calendars. However, as a beauty junkie, I 100% know these prettily-packaged collections of small gifts are an amazing way to try lots and lots of stuff. These are a few of the best I’ve come across (so far)…

111Skin’s Luxury Advent: Featuring 11 minis and a full-size, Y Theorem Repair Serum Light, you get 12 days of uber-luxury for your skin that will take you well into 2022.

Kiehl’s Holiday Advent Calendar: All the fun with none of the above sticker shock, you get 24 Kiehl’s bestsellers and you’re bound to find new favorites.

Liberty London Men’s Advent Calendar: Why shouldn’t the guys get in on the action? This miniature version of one of my favorite London shopping spots is jam-packed with an amazing array of skincare, home fragrance and more (and there’s plenty for you to steal).

The Detox Market: One of my favorite “clean” beauty shopping destinations has transformed the traditional advent calendar into an online experience by offering an amazing deal-a-day through December 24. Be sure to visit the site daily and click on the pop up!

Is your neck in need of attention?

We ALL spending a lot of time looking down at our phones, and it’s a fact that this incessant habit contributes to visible signs of aging on our necks. From those pesky horizontal creases to the unseen effects of all this blue-light exposure (that may potentially contribute to discoloration and further decline of elasticity), most of us have gotten a major neck-appearance wake-up call thanks to FaceTime, selfies and a never-ending schedule of Zoom meetings.

Whenever I place a Beauty Pie order, my first stop is the new arrivals page. Upon my last visit, I stumbled upon the Uber Youth Neck & Chest Super Lift Serum-Spray and it spoke to me on so many levels. Upon closer inspection, I knew its blend of niacinamide and a bevy of peptides was just what I needed to help improve the smoothness of my neck as well as the signs of sun damage that have appeared on my chest.

Although this is a spray formula, it’s significantly thicker than a facial mist. For this reason, I prefer to spray two pumps into my palm and then apply it to my neck, and then do the same with three pumps for my chest. OK, the results definitely don’t rival those that could be achieved with a professional treatment, I do notice a degree of improvement that will hold me over until I decide it’s time to invest in an office-based procedure.

Even if you’re not inclined to incorporate a dedicated neck or chest treatment into your daily regimen, please, please, please don’t forget to apply sunscreen—every damn day. A tinted formula with iron oxides as an ingredient is the best way to protect your skin from blue light, and applying a high-quality topical antioxidant serum before your daily sunscreen is a smart, protective move as well.

As far as professional treatments go, radiofrequency microneedling is a great way to help tighten things up without downtime. Botox can help relax visible vertical neck bands and fillers can plump up those horizontal lines if skincare products just aren’t cutting it.

For instant (yet temporary) neck tightening before a Zoom or special event, check out SBLA’s Neck, Chin & Jawline Sculpting Wand. It totally works, but the only problem is I always forget to use it!

There's a new Bandit in town...

Perfume is one of my favorite things—like ever. I devour books about the art of perfumery, binge-watch documentaries and subscribe to several sampling services so I can discover niche scents that I would never find at a department store. I also have a soft spot for classics like Chanel No. 5, Guerlain’s Shalimar and Robert Piguet’s Fracas (and literally have a list of every perfume I’ve ever worn, starting with Jean Naté in elementary school). My obsession would bankrupt me if I let it, but at least I’d be the best-smelling homeless person around.

When I got an invite to the virtual launch of Robert Piguet’s Bandit Supreme, I immediately rescheduled a doctor’s appointment so I could be available. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to “meet” Robert Piguet’s master perfumer Aurélien Guichard—and a quick search revealed that he’s also the “nose” behind two colognes I’ve purchased for my husband (Robert Piguet’s Bois Noir and Zadig & Voltaire) as well as too many long-running designer fragrances you’ve definitely heard of to list here.

Naturally Guichard wanted to preserve the essence of Bandit, which was first introduced in 1944—but we can all use a “facelift” at some point, n’est ce pas? Bandit Supreme features all the white floral, woody and leathery notes both women and men have come to love, yet Guichard gave it a fresh, modern spin. For example, he “bent” the ylang ylang, upped the neroli (and used a new one from Tunisia), added ambroxan (one of my faves), reworked the patchouli, combined the existing musk with a new version and added rose oil to the existing rose absolute for more “petal.” Ooh, la la.

I’ve been hiding my bottle in my office since I know my husband or son (who’s now very into cologne) will totally steal it if I leave it on my perfume tray. Every time I look at it, I can’t resist saying Bandit Supreme in my best (yet still awful) French accent—which gives me almost as much pleasure as the decadent scent itself. If you’re into perfume, too, this a must for your fragrance wardrobe—and if you’re new to Robert Piguet, check out the Discovery Set to get familiar with the house’s most iconic offerings.

Let's get lit this holiday season

I’m not really one for over-the-top holiday decorations, but I am definitely down with a celebratory candle or two. Since it’s Chanukah, I had to share this lovely luminary from D.S. & Durga, which is known for its exquisite perfumes and home fragrances. (I have their Portable Fireplace Auto Fragrance hanging in my closet, which is probably why I spend so much time in there.)

Not a year goes by that we don’t revisit the actual story behind this festive holiday, and the Prime Chanukah candle captures the essence of the Maccabees’ fight against Antiochus, at least in an olfactory sense. With notes of citron, laurel leaf, cedar of Lebanon, olive and incense, you’ll definitely want it to last more than eight days. This is a limited-edition offering for holiday 2021, so I suggest ordering multiples for yourself and anyone on your gift list!

If you celebrate Christmas, fret not because there’s a candle for you, too. I don’t think I have to explain the Portable Xmas Tree candle, but I’m willing to bet it smells even better than the real thing (while being a lot less messy). If I had a stocking in need of stuffing, I’d be thrilled to get this (or anything else from D.S. & Durga for that matter).