Kicking off the week with a beautiful start! Well, trying to at least.

Last weekend, ugh! — totally floored me. That two-day migraine felt like a symphony of jackhammers in my head, and it was rough. It’s gone now, thank goodness, and I’m feeling more like myself again.

So, earlier today, just as I was about to jump back into the pet assisting grind, I thought, “Ya know what? What I need right now is to do something that makes me feel really, REALLY great, even if it’s just for a half an hour.”

I needed a beauty pick-me-up, so I made a cup of chamomile tea, grabbed a few new fave beauty products from René Furterer, Repêchage, Dolce & Gabbana and Estée Lauder, and told Tabs that I’d back to work in a few.

René Furterer Karité Intense Nourishing Mask

René Furterer Karité Intense Nourishing Mask ($46), available now at salons, beauty stores and online

First order of business: a hot shower and René Furterer’s Karité Intense Nourishing Mask ($46 for a 6.93-ounce jar), a five-minute deep conditioning treatment for dry hair that smoothes and hydrates with a mix of fair-trade shea butter and plant oils.

I just started using it last week, and I think it’s the reason why I had a series of near-epic hair days — like, the best I’ve had in months. Karité adds body, shine and leaves my hair smelling like lilies. I love it!

Repêchage Hydra Dew Illuminating Cream Mask

Repêchage Hydra Dew Illuminating Cream Mask ($38), available now at spas and online

Have I mentioned that I’ve been on a face mask kick? I don’t know, but there’s something about a good face mask that gives me…hope, LOL! I’m also a big fan of sitting on my butt and doing absolutely nothing while I wait for a mask to work its magic.

My skin’s been a little dry lately (you know, ’cause winter) so after I jumped out of the shower, I applied a layer of Illuminating Cream Mask for Normal to Dry Skin ($38 for a 2-ounce tube) by Repêchage, an under-the-radar brand actually carried in spas all over the world. Their whole line contains products with “nutrient-rich seaweed” harvested off the Brittany Coast of France.

After 10 minutes, I tissued off the mask and could almost hear my skin sighing with relief. Ahh…

Dolce & Gabbana Desire

Dolce & Gabbana Desire Eau de Parfum ($93), available now at Dolce & Gabbana counters and online

If I could, I’d hug every single one of the perfumers over at Dolce & Gabbana. I feel like they get me, ya know (says the girl who wore Light Blue on her wedding day)?

Desire’s, a de-lovely fruity floral, is their newest scent ($93 for a 1.6-ounce bottle). It lasts all day long for me and brings to mind overseas adventures, exploring foreign cities at night with a new love.

The official fragrance notes include…

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GLAMGLOW, Caudalie, AMOREPACIFIC, Kate Somerville and Ole Henricksen…and Tabs, LOL!

Wow, it’s been a while since we chatted about skin care. Heck, I think the last time might’ve been last summer? After that trip to the Bliss Spa in SF, when those helpful aestheticians gave me those great product recs.

Anywho, last weekend I noticed I was running low on a couple of things I’ve come to adore, so on Saturday night I stopped by Sephora to restock, and I figured that while I was there, I could use one of my Christmas gift certificates to find something new.

Two of the products I picked up, Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion ($39) and Caudalie’s Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème ($39), I’ve loved for a while.

Absolute gold!

Kate Somerville Anti Bac Clearing Lotion ($39) and Caudalie Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème ($39)

Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion

I’ve been breaking out, off and on, around my chin and mouth (hormonal acne…UGH!) this past year, and Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion, when I use it consistently, has helped clear up my skin.

An acne treatment lotion with 5% benzoyl peroxide, it layers well beneath makeup and doesn’t have that funky, tell-tale benzoyl peroxide scent found in so many other BP products.

Now, I get a tight, panicky feeling in my chest when I think about running out and not having a spare bottle around…
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

Caudalie’s Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème

Second item: Caudalie’s Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème. I love it so much, I’m now on my third bottle.

The lightweight, mousse-like lotion absorbs instantly into my skin, and it’s moisturizing enough to handle the driest patches on my face. And WOO HOO! — it doesn’t seem to make my breakouts worse.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

GLAMGLOW, AMOREPACIFIC and Ole Henriksen

After I re-stocked on the must-have skin care supplies, my basket still felt a little light, so with that gift certificate burning in my pocked, I also picked up…

Ole Henriksen Truth to Go Wipes, GLAMGLOW Super-Mud Clearing Treatment and AMOREPACIFIC Treatment Enzyme Peel

AMOREPACIFIC Treatment Enzyme Peel ($60)

Royal Apothic Perfectly Perfect Hand Creme ($20 for a 4-ounce tube)

Here’s a look at Royal Apothic’s Perfectly Perfect handy work, also known as their $20 Hand Creme, which I spotted today over at the Anthropologie store at the mall (I swear, I could spend all day in that store).

Despite being based out of Los Angeles, Apothic, a three-year-old fragrance line, aims for a British vibe, and the scents I’ve tried all seem light, fresh and floral to me, which I like.

Today their hand creme caught my eye.

Cute packaging, yeah? I tried it on right there in the store, and my hands just lapped it up. It left my paws lightly scented, too, like a citrusy jasmine.

The Holland Park scent is my favorite of these. It has notes of lemon, magnolia, peach, jasmine, orange blossom, muguet, white musk, pink grapefruit and anemone flower.

They also have some eau de parfums…

Royal Apothic Perfectly Perfect Hand Cremes ($20 each)

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The new Tarte BB Tinted Treatments in Fair, Light, Medium and Tan ($34 each)

BB creams have been around for years, but it seems like they’re having a moment.

The Sephora by my house even has a special section for ‘em, an area dedicated to BB creams, among them the new Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm, the latest batch of 10-in-1 Beauty Balms from Stila and some older creams from Too Faced and Smashbox.

I perused shelf after shelf crowded with tubes standing at attention, each one promising some combo of sheer coverage and skin care, like anti-aging benefits, priming, moisturizing — you name it.

Tarte’s new BB Tinted Treatment 12 Hour Primer SPF 30 and its white packaging caught my eye (is that “BB” font Helvetica Neue Ultra Light?).

Most of the tubes were smeared with makeup, and dirty, and not in a dirrrrrty Christina Aguilera kind of way. Without thinking, I tried to wipe them clean with my fingers (it was one of those, “holy crap, I’m REALLY my mother’s daughter” moments), but no luck. Apparently, it was going to take a cleanser more powerful than my thumbs.

Just as a heads up, if you decide to bring one of these home, you might not be able to keep the tubes pristine for long.

The product comes in four oil-free shades with broad-spectrum SPF 30 (protects against UVA and UVB rays) — Fair, Light, Medium and Tan — each of which are $34 and can be worn as a primer beneath your regular makeup or all by themselves for light or medium coverage.

Tarte claims all of them will last 12 hours and offer a bunch of skin benefits. First, they’re supposed to be moisturizing, supposed to have anti-aging properties, supposed to diffuse the look of fine lines, and bolster skin’s elasticity.

Of the four, Tan probably comes closest to matching my NC42 skin.

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All aboard the Chanel No. 5 Trolley, bound for San Francisco’s Union Square!

Toot, toot! Now boarding the Chanel No. 5 Trolley.

Chanel created the Trolley as an art installation of sorts, filled it with stories and lore about the iconic No. 5 fragrance, parked it in front of Macy’s in San Francisco’s Union Square last weekend and opened it to the public for free…

Come on! Let’s check it out. I booked a ticket and saved you a seat.

Our destination today? The world of Chanel No. 5…

What’s that, you ask? Can you take a picture with the male models before we board? Of course! By all means.

[SNAP!]

Um…just so you know, you’re grinning like a Cheshire cat in that picture.

Oh, hai!

Unfortunately, Brad Pitt couldn’t make it today, so we’ll be on our own. It would have been neat to bend his ear about No. 5, but apparently he’s on location filming a Chanel commercial with Tabs…

The trolley from the front

Picture Mr. Pitt behind the wheel…

Feel free to move about the trolley, and check out the different exhibits and Chanel-esque details…
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