Beauty Splurges That Won't Set Off The Radar Detectors
Text J Ecochard
Photos, J. Ecochard, Scott J, Aveda
When tending to our tresses – we hit the local salon-less hassle and no divas co-opting our stylist’s attention.
So we were surprised when the big cheese of the Aveda laden Scott J-NYC Salons and Spas-Scott J himself- greeted us with an 1000 watt smile, hung our coats, fetched us tea, pampered our dried out paws-and gave us a blow out that would have Veronica Lake turn a shade of envy green. Seems our regular clipper, Roberto ‘won’ his boss’ time for 3 hours as an assistant for Christmas. What a treat!
Scott, an engaging entrepreneur- gave us the inside scoop on Aveda’s new be Curly Collection “it really holds, easy to use without the crunch…” He also raved about the brand's eco-orientation based on plant technology. In fact, Scott said- Aveda is more conscious than ever and has yanked big selling products from the market if the ingredients aren’t up to the company’s new higher standards of purity. Wow.
Perhaps nothing can be as toxic a beauty experience as getting one’s nails done. It seems there is always some ingredient being banned by European regulators. So we were thrilled to discover a LES salon, Priti Organic Spa -devoted to all natural ingredients. Amazingly, their SOY BEAN nail polish remover does the deed. Who knew?
The cozy salon, off the Bowery was founded by former model Kim D’Amato. It is simply decorated in an Asian vibey way… and utterly relaxing. No hard sell on stuff we’ll never use after the first week-just shimmery non-toxic mani/peds with a rainbow colored Priti Princess Polish. Their other beauty indulgences also use non- carcinogenic ingredients.
Last week, we hauled our freezing selves to an intimate evening launch of the 5 brush adesign Skincare Brush Kit. At first we were skeptical-we have enough clutter on our closet shelves.
But we did a 180 in ‘tude when we saw a live demo of these novel shaped, durable brushes (including the pointy Kabuki) that showed how much easier and more consistent makeup (foundation, shadow) and beauty lotions' (cleanser, moisturizer, mask) applications are …using less product too (thrifty)!Shana Marshall, the knowledgeable co-founder came up with the concept based on her experiences in the biz-including a long stint with Aveda. “The brushes specifically began in Toronto with a Canadian brush manufacturer” Shana said. “That is when I fell in love {with} my design and development. It gave me the opportunity to create tools and accessories…that delivered superior application.”
The time-pressed or plain lazy will also appreciate the hand made synthetic brushes nifty wash/rinse cleanliness unlike animal hair make-up brushes found in pricey lines. So even if you forget to wash your hands (yech) your makeup application will be 100% germ free.