Debut Fragrance from Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare

On July 1 olfactory obsessives will finally enjoy the debut fragrance from Liz Earle. The UK has already bestowed two awards on Botanical Essence, Eau de Parfum No. 1, the painstaking triumphant effort from renowned perfumer Jean Charles Niel of Grasse, France.

Relying on high-altitude lavender from France, damask rose from Turkey, Italian bergamont and perpetually pleasant patchouli from Indonesia Jean Charles created a symphony of essential oils.

The packaging is also a treasure in itself and will make the perfect gift for any woman with a penchant for the finer things. Enjoy!

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Products in this post were provided at no cost for editorial review.

Urban Decay Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20

Oh MY god. Generally I'm a Laura Mercier Minerals kind of girl. Urban Decay Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 arrived in the beauty closet recently and has completely stolen my heart. My loyalty is easily swayed by any product that allows me to look in the mirror and call to mind the hypnotically smooth skin of the supermodels who walked the catwalks of my adolescent mind during those formative years. Their skin looked more like the surface of placid lakes than actual human skin and I wanted nothing more than their invincible epidermal glow.

This paraben and fragrance-free formula delivers said invincible glow along with a multi-mineral complex that battles free radical damage, AND has SPF 20. Since it’s buildable, Urban Defense always has just the right amount of tint… wear it alone for light coverage (great for warm outdoor weather) or under powder for an extra polished look. Apply Urban Defense after your cleansing/toning ritual and you’re ready to face the day with moisture, sheer coverage and SPF 20 at your service. SO in love. Enjoy!

Price: $32, Available at Ulta, Sephora, Beauty.com and UrbanDecay.com

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Products mentioned in this post were provided at no cost for editorial review.

EO® Introduces All Purpose Soap!

One thing that solves all your problems. This is the stuff dreams are made of really, isn't it? Yes.

This week I put EO all purpose soap in the dishwasher, laundry, bathroom sink, and shower and I can happily say all of my worldly goods are chemical-free and clean. Have not yet been brave enough to wash my apples with it but apparently it does wonders for fruit as well. Note to EO: can you please work on an all purpose man, career, money cure?

Available in Lavender, Meyer Lemon, and Peppermint. Enjoy!

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Products in this post were provided at no cost for editorial review.

The food....MMMMMMM

I'm back in Durham where culinary delights are limited to locopops and Dos Perros. Still, my stomach is stuck in the gastrointestinal fantasy land that is The Ritz Carlton Palm Beach. Breeze, their sea-side burger bar (pictured above), is open from 11-7 daily with ocean-front tables and every imaginable combination of burger to delight every sense in your tanned, massaged, fully-flexible yoga body.

On weekends Sushi Joe is in the lobby serving up the best sushi I have ever put in my mouth. Then there is the Temple Orange where the breakfast buffet will literally blow your mind. Everything you can ever imagine eating for breakfast (besides the Chicken foot soup my Indonesian host mother used to serve me) is available and served on a silver platter. Enjoy!

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Some of the services on this trip were provided at no cost for editorial review.

Eau So Yoga with Jimmy Barkan at The Ritz Carlton, Palm Beach

A sunrise over the ocean which seemed oddly directed at my very own balcony. Flocks of pelicans flying over head and then - this morning, a solitary duck. Chilled waterfalls of relief pouring into luxuriously sized hot tubs. Hot tubs filled with playful over sized rubber ducks. Chocolate Mocha cupcakes on the spa bar. Massages that start with healing spoonfuls of honey and end with a limber flip of the upper body over top of the knees and suddenly you are born anew. Eau So New.

I've just returned from Palm Beach where I rang in the month of May with The Ritz-Carlton's Eau so Yoga weekend. Daily 90-minute yoga sessions overlooking the ocean were taught by yoga legend Jimmy Barkan. Until the late 90's Jimmy was the only certified Bikram trainer and in the early part of this century he developed his own teaching style aptly named, the Barkan Method.

I've become a bit of a yoga fanatic over these last four short months and class with Jimmy invigorated my practice with a gentle (manual) hip rotation here and subtle "ring finger forward" in downward dog" cue there. I'm also quite certain my hips now operate like a lazy Susan - no longer hinged in any one direction. I have never experienced hip openers like Jimmy's.

You can visit Jimmy at his own (twenty eight year old) studio in Ft Lauderdale or at any of his teacher trainings. Meantime, Eau So Yoga will happen during various weekends through out the summer. (Next weekend!) Check for dates here.

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Services in this post were provided at no cost for editorial review.

Looking Out on the Morning: Eau So Yoga Day One

After a healing massage yesterday (details to come) and a restorative nights sleep I stepped on to my balcony at 6:30 am and watched the sunrise light the passing clouds on fire as it rose over the elderly Atlantic. Palm Beach is an odd sign post of America's growing pains but here with in the courtyards of the Ritz-Carlton the sun rises, the pelicans fly over head and everything you could ever imagine that you need is at your fingertips. Highlights from yesterday were numerous. Sushi - as in the best I've ever had. Sushi-Joe is your place for spicy, melt-in-your-mouth lobster rolls. Massage at Eau Spa. My body has never before been touched and relieved in that way. And a self centered garden which oddly enough, left me relaxed enough to see how disenchanted I have become with my own self centered-ness.

Eau So Yoga starts at 8:30 am with ninety minute class from sought out instructor Jimmy Barkan. Like the clouds who where unknowingly transformed by the sun's reach for the aging east coast on this beautiful spring morning, I have a feeling I'm in for a transformation I could neither plan nor imagine. Such things are only in the mind of the world's most expert hospitality angels, the ladies and gentleman of the Ritz-Carlton.


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Some of the services (not the Lobster Rolls) mentioned in the post were provided at no cost for editorial review.