As chic and dedicated shoppers, authors Maggie Davis and Charlotte Williamson went on a mission to find the very best product in 101 categories.

Women will be guided to the top little black dress. T-shirts for both sexes are also selected. Number One goodies include the most fabulous of accessories and grooming products, the most magnificent champagne and claret, the world’s greatest olive oil. No reader will want to miss the Portuguese hand-painted tiles or fine linens in the Home section. If you want to know where on the planet to locate the finest diamond ring or handmade brogues, you’ll find the answer here.

Of course, being the self-proclaimed beauty expert and blogger that I am, I immediately turned to the Health and Beauty section. While I have tried some of the products they suggested, I definitely have a long way to go.

Here are some products I have personally used that these savvy shoppers recommend:

• Lancome Flash Bronzer Airbrush – a great self-tanner, but not my favorite
• Natura Bisse Diamond Cream – a rich, luxurious cream that makes my skin feel fresh and polished, and pretty much worth the $270 if used sparingly
• Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream – a less expensive version and equally as great marine cream than the most expensive Marine-based cream, Creme de La Mer
• Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 – I go through a pot of this balm every winter season
• Lancome Definicils Mascara – Love it, but think that L’Oreal’s original Voluminous mascara is the exact same thing for less money
• OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy Nail Lacquer – Perfect base for the ultimate French Manicure
• Essie Nail Polish – My favorite nail polish brand, with over 150 shades to my name
• Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum – Coveted the bottle on my mother’s dressing table for years and snuck a dab or two on my neck and wrist when I was younger, but I can honestly do without this perfume in my collection

And here are some from the list that I have yet to try – but know that I must try them now:

• Laura Mercier Creme Brulee Honey Bath – looks and sounds divine
• Givenchy Prisme Compact – gorgeous
• La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream – I will try a La Prairie cream this year
• Creme de la Mer Lip Balm – it’s another lip balm, which I can’t get enough of, and it is from la Mer
• Kanebo 38 DegreeC Silk Performance Mascara – I can never try too many mascaras to find another fave of the moment
• YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils – See above

Is there anything on this list that you would like to “buy before you die”. (Boy, that sounds cryptic!)

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What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About: Premenopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty by John R. Lee, Jesse Hanley, and Virginia Hopkins.

The Pause: Positive Approaches to Premenopause and Menopause by Lonnie Barbach

Medical Management of Menopause and Premenopause by Winifred Berg Cutler and C.R. Garcia.

I will report back my thoughts and/or findings on the books as soon as I finish them. If you have a favorite book on the subject, please share it in the comments.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

The book is titled The Hair Color Mix Book, and it is written by Lorri Goddard-Clark. Lorri is one of the most in-demand hair colorists in the world. Not only does she work at the Neil George Salon in Los Angeles, she continually is traveling the world to cater to her top coloring clients, some of which are Drew Barrymore (who wrote the forward to the book), Tobey Maguire, Renee Zellweger, Madonna (for her much talked-about Music video and others), Meg Ryan, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and many more.

The book has such easy to follow recipes using products simply found at your local drugstore and in your very own kitchen cabinet. There is also a full color chart to determine your exact hair color and tone, and by knowing this, you can easily follow her recipes to get your desired shade.

With easy to follow directions on how to highlight, ribbon, cover grays, tone down color, and more, you can easily become your own hair color expert. I plan to try her ribbon highlighting method to add more blonde to my golden locks. I will definitely let you know how it goes. As, I have never used foil on myself at home, it should definitely be an experience!

Let me know if this book is a must read for you too!

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Indeed the good Doctor is, with her first published book The DERMAdoctor Skinstruction Manual: The Smart Guide to Healthy,Beautiful Skin and Looking Good at Any Age.

In the book, Dr. Kunin covers such topics as Acne, Acne Scars, Age Spots, Cellulite, Chapped Lips, Dark Circles, Melasma, Hair Loss, Dry Skin, Stretch Marks, Speider Veins and more and more.

I just ordered the book and cannot wait to divulge into her secrets and solutions.

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Here is a list of what I am reading now:

• Decorating Idea Book
• Dr. Andrew Weil’s Guide to Optimum Health: A Complete Course on How to Feel Better, Live Longer, and Enhance Your Health Naturally
• Landscaping with Stone
• New Complete Guide to Landscaping: Design, Plant, Build
• Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
• Pure Skin: Organic Beauty Basics
• The Tween Years : A Parent’s Guide for Surviving Those Terrific, Turbulent, and Trying Times
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List

What is on your reading list?

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“With sandal season upon us, here is one of my favorite secrets from my book, Passport To Beauty, to get your tootsies in tip top shape!

Sugar and Spice Equals Skin So Nice !

Sweeten the deal by exfoliating away rough spots the way of the Greeks-olive oil and sugar. The oil loosens layers of dead skin, while the sugar carries them off.

Greek Sugar Body Scrub
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Mix ingredients to form a thick paste. Apply liberally in the shower and massage in a circular motion.”

Thanks, Shalini, for the fabulous tip.

Be sure to check out Shalini Vadhera’s book Passport to Beauty. She takes you on a journey all over the world to find out the beauty secrets from different women of different regions and cultures. This book is a must read, especially when sitting by the pool or relaxing at the beach this Summer.

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Living a Beautiful Life: 500 Ways to Add Elegance, Order, Beauty and Joy to Every Day of Your Life

Post from: Aging Fabulous

But I did re-arrange the room last weekend and suddenly the room opened up! I now have a working area that looks over the street. A wall of bookshelves that has taken care of the piles of books on the floor and I can’t believe this, but I actually have a few shelves that are empty! That certainly has never happened before. I even managed to create a little sitting area where I can watch TV! Maybe I should be a decorator in my next life lol…

But now it’s time to go through the other rooms to see what I can do about the clutter in them. And then I got a brilliant idea. I have a lot of jewelry that I never wear simply because it is too ornate. I also have a lot of bare walls. So why don’t I frame pieces of jewelry? All it would take is a picture frame with a foam core, coordinating fabric and some pretty stick pins. I could arrange a few pieces of jewelry in the frames and then hang them on all of those bare walls? I just might be onto something here.

Did I ever mention the fact that I hate clutter? But just maybe I can turn this around and make it work for me!

Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui

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How do you feel about getting older? Or are you like my mother who doesn’t give it a thought. That woman just never stops!

Source

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And that is just what I did this morning with this book. Yes, I need to follow my own advice a little bit more. I must be the last person on the planet to have read this book! I just finished it and it was… amazing!

Post from: Aging Fabulous