When Susan Feldman and Alison Pincus moved to the West Coast from Manhattan, they missed home décor finds from New York City sample sales. So the two came up with a solution by creating One Kings Lane, an exclusive online shopping site featuring designer home goods — including china, cookware, floor coverings, garden items, lighting, linens and pillows — for up to 70 percent off retail prices. The newly launched site currently offers five 72-hour sales per week, each beginning at 11 a.m. EST.
We recently heard about Buddha Nose, a line of organic luxury beauty and body-care products created in New York City by Amy Galper, who is trained in aromatic plant medicine and Shiatsu. The balms, cleansers, oils, salves and sprays are handmade without parabens, synthetic fragrances or chemical preservatives. Using products such as the Certified Organic Lip Balm ($8), you can keep your lips looking great, while having an inner glow, knowing that it’s made with organic ingredients (jojoba oil, beeswax, hemp-seed oil and non-GMO vitamin E) and essences of ginger, lemongrass and lime.
Just in time to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 comes the release of the Big Green Cookbook (Wiley, 2009) by Jackie Newgent, R.D. The comprehensive volume — printed with soy ink on recycled paper, of course — contains more than 200 recipes handily divided according to season, as well as some year-round favorites. We love the green kitchen checklist, seasonal produce guide and “little green cooking tip” with each recipe.
Leslie Blodgett, CEO of Bare Escentuals, recently hosted a breakfast for beauty editors at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel and confessed that the company’s new mascara Buxom Lash ($18 at Sephora.com) was inspired by her visit to a strip club. The hourglass shape of the mascara brush that hugs the contours of your lash line pays homage to the shapely strippers themselves.
We made our annual trek to the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, CA, and, as always, we skipped the aisles of supplements and spent our time munching our way through the food booths. This year we focused on finding snack foods made with unprocessed whole foods that would help us curb our growing dependence on 100-calorie Oreo Thin Crisps (a lot of flavor bang for the calories, but we’re not crazy about the long ingredients list that includes high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor and color). After tasting countless variations of soy energy bars, we were happy to tear open the package of olive tortilla chips we were handed by a rep from a company called Food Should Taste Good.
We recently had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of Polartec’s 2009 Fall Line, which includes eco-friendly outdoor wear from Arc’Teryx, Athleta, Cloudveil, Lowe Alpine, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, The North Face, Patagonia, Saucony and Scapegoat.
With the approach of Earth Day and spring, we yearn for fresh vegetables and local ingredients. It’s even on the mind of First Lady Michelle Obama, who recently broke ground on a kitchen garden at the White House. But city dwellers without a community garden plot or those without green thumbs can easily find organic, sustainable food by visiting websites such as the Eat Well Guide and Local Harvest.
We recall a time when traveling was fun, but lately it seems as if going to the airport is more like a trip to the DMV. No wonder an unsmiling expression for passport photos is considered “natural.” But we beamed at the news that Norma Kamali’s Wellness Collection now offers travel kits with the natural, organic personal care and gourmet products in security-checkpoint-friendly 2-ounce bottles and transparent bags.
When we saw Eileen Rhude Yoder, Ph.D., was updating and expanding The Allergy-Free Cookbook (Running Press, 2009), we applauded the rerelease of this informative and helpful book. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, more than 12 million Americans have food allergies, and between 1997 and 2002, peanut allergies alone doubled in children.
When we heard that Diana Krall’s Quiet Nights (Verve, 2009) incorporated Brazilian bossa nova with West Coast jazz, we were interested to hear what the Grammy-winning pianist/vocalist had in store for her 12th album. As we listened to the CD, we found a place where Brazilian rhythms meet jazz stylings, interwoven with Krall’s rich contralto voice and precise piano.
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