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Win A Trip in Celebration of Kiehl’s Partnership With National Geographic

In recognition of their adventurous heritage, skincare brand, Kiehl’s Since 1851 is partnering with National Geographic’s Young Explorers Program, in support of three promising young explorers, Joe Riis, Asa Firestone and Benjamin Horton during their thrilling pursuits around the globe.

They launched a very cool Adventure Facebook tab which shows footage of these explorers journeys– Joe as he travels through Grand Teton National Park to documents the migration of the Pronghorns, Ben as he scuba dives into the waters of the Cocos Island of Costa Rica to create change for the wildlife, and Asa as he climbs through Rio de Janeiro.

Inspired? Become a fan of Kiehl’s on Facebook and enter to win your own adventure. Kiehl’s is offering one lucky winner a chance to win a trip for two anywhere of their choice in Costa Rica, Brazil or The US, with 3 days/2 nights hotel accommodations (up to a $2,500 value); 2nd place wins

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Breakfast with Dr. Hirsch for SENSA

By now you’ve probably heard of SENSA, I had but knew nothing beyond it being some type of weight loss supplement. And frankly all that type of stuff kind of freaks me out. I tend to generalize them all into one category; innovative pills filled with chemicals, in fancy boxes promising to miraculously dissolve away those extra pounds. Of course when you read the fine print it has some comment about how it works best as part of a healthier diet and exercise regimen. And doesn’t that somewhat defeat the purpose? If I can get myself to eat healthier and regularly work out, I think I’m on my way to solving the problem.

Dr. Alan Hirsch

Out of pure curiosity, I got off my high horse and decided to join Dr. Alan Hirsch, M.D. for a breakfast he was hosting to learn more about SENSA, the 6-month weight-loss system that uses science and your sense of smell to shed unwanted pound. And I’m glad I did because he’s a breath of fresh air. I’m used to nutrition buffs or fitness obsessed working-out-is-my-life types starting these weigh-loss programs that for the life of me I cannot relate to (although I am envious of their drive and healthy endorphins).  Dr. Hirsch on the other hand is a Neurologist and Psychiatrist, and his passion for research and how the brain and sensory system of the human body operates is evident in every anecdote and fact he delivered.

“Did you know in a study we did on what people want kisses to taste like we found married and single women prefer their dates or husband’s kisses to taste fresh, like mint toothpaste; married men like their wives to taste like spearmint or peppermint, and single men prefer them to taste like alcohol,” he told the audience. That narrative is slightly off topic, but I couldn’t get enough of these random studies. I asked him

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Susan Sarandon and Mary-Louise Parker Host a Benefit for Hope North

Susan Sarandon and Mary-Louise Parker Host a Benefit for Hope North

While generally my Sunday nights consists of sweats, my laptop and takeout (it’s a joyous ritual), I had a more exciting night planned for the evening. Susan Sarandon and Mary-Louise Parker we’re hosting a benefit for Hope North, a boarding school in Uganda for escaped child soldiers, orphans, and other victims of the country’s civil war. I posted the invite so hopefully some of you made it and bought tickets in advance since the event sold out! That’s quite a feat considering it was hosted at 13,000sq ft table tennis social club, SPiN New York.

Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright
Jay Mohr, Nikki Cox

And apparently the line (even for ticket holders) was out the door and around the corner—I somewhat anticipated this type of reaction considering besides our lovely celebrity hosts, Rufus Wainwright, Josh Ritter, Jesse Malin, Joseph Arther and Martha Wainwright were all playing. I devised a not-so-solid plan for my date and I to crash the VIP cocktail party to avoid any unnecessary crowd shenanigans –I am the club’s #1 member. My club card should come with some perks… although even then I needed text message verification from one of the owners and contemplated an attempt to sneak in through the back (always a solid fall back plan). But for the record, I did buy my tickets and donate to the raffle.

I look like a deer caught in headlights w/ Judah Friedlander

I had a great time and played a lot of ping pong (Charlie Mars walked by my match and heckled me with a Steffi Graf comment).  I appreciated it. And seriously what better way to hit then with great live performances in the background. The last time I saw Rufus Wainwright live was 2005 at Sundance and I LOVE HIM. I was hoping he’d sing Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, but it wasn’t in the line up.

The Benefit also had an awesome silent auction –I wanted the autographed Soup Nazi picture, but a friend, Roxy won it so I compromised with getting a picture of the picture of the Soup Nazi.

No Soup for You! But a picture for Roxy!

Fight Dry Mouth and Bad Breath

Orazyme Mouthwash

Alcohol and smoking dehydrates you; coffee gives you, well ‘coffee breath’, mix that in with the winter weather drying everything from your skin to you’re mouth you may be experiencing an increase of dry mouth and bad breathe!

What’s a girl to do? Well for starters you could quit drinking, smoking and coffee and drink a lot of water. If that’s not realistic, start drinking water in between alcoholic beverages to help hydrate and protect you from (or at least lessen the effects) a hangover and a dehydrated mouth.

Sweet Breath Mist

Add a mouthwash specifically formulated to protect against dry mouth into your regimen. I’ve been using Orazyme Dry Mouth Mouthwash for the past month and it’s been very effective. It contains bioactive enzymes to help restore the moisture balance. Most mouthwashes make my teeth feel clean, where as this one I feel more so targeting my tongue and gums. It isn’t too strong and contains no parabens, saccharin, sugar or alcohol, and has an enjoyable mint flavor.

Carry around mints or sprays for a quick fix to stinky breathe. I have a Sweet Breath Micro Mist spray on my key ring. It’s super convenient since my keys are always on me when I’m out. So when in need I just spray a hit into my mouth and it instantly kills germs and freshens my breath.

If your dry mouth is really bad,

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Stay Hydrated, Drink Safe

What product can give you beautiful glowing skin, diminish fine lines and wrinkles, increases your energy level, and helps your overall health?

ANSWER: Water

So drink it, and lots of it! This winter has been brutal and oh so drying on the skin, that alongside a hydrating beauty regimen it’s essential to drink a lot of water. Filtered is ideal, but if your tap is safe then fill those water bottles up keep some on you at all time.

For bottled water, I’m currently all about Icelandic Glacial water. It’s sourced from a 4,500 year old volcanic spring and untouched by humans until you open the bottle. The water is so pure that Parfums Christian Dior has recently partnered with Icelandic Glacial to include the water in specific products that will launch next year. While I’m excited for the unveiling of this product, what I like about Icelandic Glacial is it’s crisp, clean, taste. It’s very refreshing!

Also, invest in a good water bottle. It’s a great way to save money, protect the environment and keep you drinking all day. When choosing one, I prefer not to use plastic and ideally go with glass or aluminum/stainless steel containers.  Here are some of my favorites, but depending on if you carry it in your purse, car, when you’re off to the gym or otherwise, it’s important to pay attention to design, weight and size when picking the one that’s right for you!

Love Bottle ($12-$18) – Environmentally sound, dishwasher safe and comes in a variety of whimsical labels, I love my Love Bottle! It has an old-school-milk-bottle type lid, which adds to its charm, but takes some getting used to –especially if you’re used to a twist off cap. The only downfall is it’s heavy, especially

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Meditation with Abdi Assadi

Tonight, I attended a group meditation session lead by renowned spiritual counselor and Shadows On The Path author, Adbi Assadi. I’ve written about Abdi in the past, he was one of the panelists at Norma Kamali’s “Conversations: A Dialogue on Wellness Solutions” seminar I attended at the Museum of Modern Art.

The session began with us using sage to smudge away negative energy on another member of the class; followed by Adbi leading us in a through a meditation sequence. I had a very rough week –I was out of commission due to an injury (hence I’ve a little quiet recently) and it felt really good to finally get out today and be apart of something so relaxing and mind opening.

To be apart of his next complimentary meditation session in New York City, sign up for his mailing list on http://abdiassadi.com/

Whole Foods Helps You Find the Perfect Gift

Whole Foods Bowery Location in NYC

For many of us when we think Whole Foods, we think food. Although some of us do shop their Whole Body section as well. What can you find in Whole Body?  Vitamins and supplements, bath and body care, hair and beauty products, yoga items, cards, magazines and gifts.

Whole Body Personal Shoppers

This holiday season Whole Foods is offering personal shoppers at all of their northeast locations. No appointment needed, just visit the Whole Body section and look for a team member wearing a recycled apron and gift tag. They are available everyday from 10am-8pm through January 1st. Members of the team are on hand for all of your gift needs, whether it be to introduce you to a variety of pre-selected gift sets (all under $20) or to help you select those perfect custom gifts. They also offer complimentary gift-wrapping for your convenience.

An assortment of Blessing Baskets

Featuring everything from holiday scented candles to lotion gift sets. Whole Foods adheres to strict level of quality standards (read more about that HERE) coinciding with their belief with what you put in your body is as important as what you put in your body. So whether you’re shopping popular brands like Burt’s Bees, Kiss My Face, Dr. Haushka,  ShiKai, or local products such as LUX Naturals handcrafted soaps (which smell phenomenal) or their philanthropic offerings including Blessing Basket (where your purchase plants crops, improved nutrition, buys livestock, educated children, protects forests and most importantly reduces poverty), you feel good about your selection.

For NYC, the Whole Body I’m partial to their Bowery location. It takes up the whole 2nd floor of Whole

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BluePrintCleanse – 3 Days to a Healthier You

BluePrintCleanse is a nutritional juice-based cleanse that offers a variety of programs depending on the system best fit for your lifestyle. The classic cleanse (although they do offer other products and services), has 3 levels: Renovation, Foundation, and Excavation. All of which consist of six 16 oz raw fruit and vegetable juices daily.

Having done the cleanse (3 days at a time) every 3-6 months for the past two years, I find it

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Pretty in Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Kim Kardashian in ShoeDazzle pink 'Beth' booties and 'Hope' clutch

As most of you know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  And to help raise funds for the cause many fashion and beauty brands are donating a portion of their sales to the cause. Below are some items in support!

ShoeDazzle's 'The Beth' booties, 'The Baila' Scarf and 'The Hope' clutch

ShoeDazzle – has created a special pink line consisting of a hot pink ‘The Beth’ bootie, ‘The Baila’ scarf, and ‘The Hope’ clutch (featured above on Kim Kardashian), $40 each. 10% of all sales of these pink items will be donated to the Susan G Komen Foundation for the Cure.

Ralph Lauren – Donating 10% of proceeds from all Pink Pony products to the Pink Pony Fund for Cancer Care and Prevention. The Pink Pony collection includes men’s and women’s clothing, sportswear, accessories and gifts.

BodyRock Sport Bras and headphones

BodyRock Sport – will be donating 10% of the proceeds from the sales of all pink-colored bras (6 styles) and headphones (2 colors) to Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

aerie bras by American Eagle Outfitters

aerie – the intimates and apparel line by American Eagle Outfitters, will donate a dollar for each bra purchased from October 18-31st to Be Bright Pink.

Skyn ICELAND Pink Detox Kit

Skyn ICELAND – Pink Detox Kit for stressed skin. $5 from the sale of each Pink Detox Kit sold in October will be contributed to the Cancer Support Community.

Ouidad – As a breast cancer survivor, Ouidad, the woman behind her namesake curly hair line created the Curls for a Cure campaign to help fund the fight against breast cancer. Her company will

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Conversations with Norma Kamali

Thursday, I joined fashion designer Norma Kamali for the kicked off of her wellness series, “Conversations: A Dialogue on Wellness Solutions” at the Museum of Modern Art. “The planet we live on is not like it was at any other time. In order to survive fast food farming technology and the toxic environment, we must face our problems head on with practical solutions,” said Kamali. Change doesn’t happen over night but by educating her piers and spreading awareness we can all work together for a solution. So in front of a live audience, she showed a movie featuring two-minute conversations with notable experts in fitness, health, beauty and nutrition. Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session.

Honored guests included choreographer, Twyla Tharp, founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients skin care, Horst Rechelbacher, spiritual counselor and author of “Shadows On the Path”, Abdi Assadi, filmmaker of “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”, Joe Cross, vegan and raw food chef, Chef Matteo, and more (Nancy Shaw, Magen Banwart, Dr. David Colbert and Physique 57).

I thought over all the speeches we’re good. The highlight for me was Twyla Tharp telling the audience the most important thing is “to just move, our bodies just want to move”. Anyone who’s ever been through a rough patch knows how easy it is to emotionally give up and just not want to get out of bed. Ultimately, the only cure for that and to turn your life around in any capacity is to move.  Sometimes, it’s the simple things that we need reminding of. I could stand to start moving a little earlier in the morning.

I’ve also thought a lot about Abdi Assadi saying “everybody has a piece of the puzzle… no one person has the answer”, which is so true. I remember reading an article about actor Adrian Grenier, saying something along the lines of his biggest fear is all of his environmental initiatives have made no impact on the planet. For some reason that really stuck with me.  Can you imagine if

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