Scent Memory

Nana's signature fragrance: Aviance

My Nana had a signature fragrance. When she passed away in December, there was a moment where my two cousins and I huddled in her bedroom smelling her perfume bottle. The scent was so specific that I will be able to identify it as Nana's fragrance for the rest of my life.

Lyla has the same feeling about my Mom, who has worn Estee Lauder's Knowing since I was in high school. If Lyla smells it she'll immediately say, "That smells just like Grandma!"

As for me, I have changed fragrances over the years, to the point where I can recount my teens forward based on fragrance chapters. In high school it was Estee Lauder's Beautiful, then Givenchy's Ysastis. Throughout college, I embraced Estee Lauder's Pleasures. On my wedding day, I started wearing philosophy's amazing grace, and did so for years.

But then my thirties came, and I was introduced to Jo Malone. I quickly became obsessed with her (now retired) fragrance, Vintage Gardenia. However, my early thirties were fraught with significant challenges and subsequent triumphs, to the point where over the course of the last year I have been searching for a new fragrance. I decided it was time to punctuate the second-half of my thirties (well, more like last quarter) with something new. Should it be another Jo Malone fragrance? Chanel? Bond No. 9? Tom Ford? Dior? I've sampled them all - but none of them felt quite right.

Stylist Amy & I were shopping together the other night, and both stopped dead in our tracks at an in-store display of Atelier Cologne. I almost fell to my knees after one mere spray of their Rose Anonyme and Vétiver Fatal. After my experience with Jo Malone, I became a firm believer in the idea of layering fragrances - so much so that I couldn't decide between the two, so home they both came!

What will Rose Anonyme say about the end of my thirties? Atelier says,

"Rose Anonyme, a breathtaking seductress caught in a stolen affair between light and dark, Turkish Rose Absolute sparkles and intrigues beneath notes of spicy Ginger, enwrapped in sultry veil of Velvet Oud, Indonesian Patchouli, mystic Papyrus and Somalian Incense."

Umm ... yes, please!

Make sure to share your favorite #scentmemory with me on Twitter & Instagram!

xx JN

P.S. Mr. Newman has already stolen and claimed the Vétiver Fatal.

Birchbox

I must have been all of 18-years old, a sophomore at Arizona State, and was told by one of my girlfriends that Neiman Marcus was the destination for beauty products. I remember that first experience so vividly: the legendary customer service, the products, the samples!

Because I really am that "try before you buy" gal when it comes to anything beauty, I appreciate a good sample. Yes, samples have converted me on multiple occasions to purchase its full-size product. So this week, I decided to take the plunge and become a Birchbox member.

For a flat $10 a month, a box of 4-6, hand-picked, generous sized samples from high-end beauty, grooming and lifestyle brands will come right to my door. Once I have tried the product and wish to purchase, Birchbox makes it as simple as pie for me to order online! Not only that, but there are several ways to earn Birchbox points, redeemable for all sorts of other goodies. Yes, please!

It all starts by requesting your very own invitation. Simply visit Birchbox now, and think about how much fun it will be to compare notes on what we receive!

And don't worry gents, there's a Birchbox just for you as well.

xx JN

The Curl Revelation

For 14-years, I had short hair, and quite possibly wore every iteration of the trend. Not kidding. Short hair did exactly what I wanted it to do. There was absolutely no guesswork to it. But after 14-years, I was tired of it. I figured it was time to make a change and go through the process every woman out there cannot stand: The Grow Out.

There were a couple of things that made having short hair appealing: 1.) I have a ton of hair, and 2.) that ton of hair has bookoos of volume + body.

In 2009, Operation Grow Out commenced. I decided to reinvent myself every time I had a haircut so that I could at least tolerate the process.

In the beginning, it meant blunt bangs and a modified bob (all while I embraced a flatiron).

 

Then as it grew, I realized that I had these random looking waves to it - but the ends were super thin looking and the wave was really just this frizzy looking texture.

If I diffused it, ratted it, and used copious amounts of hairspray, it would give the illusion of big hair (I was raised in the South after all). But by the time it was long enough to actually do something with it, I hated it. It looked frizzy all of the time which I didn't understand because it had never done that before.

I would have it blown out, still frizzy. I would diffuse it, still frizzy. I actually thought I needed to cut it off again so that it looked groomed & shiny. What was wrong with me? Did I have horrid hair? Had I cut it short for so long that it was permanently punishing me? How could hair that worked so well short look so hideous long?

My best friend said to me one day, "You have curly hair. You realize that, right?"

Nope. Didn't even think about it. Curly hair was supposed to be gorgeous ringlet curls like she had, that appeared since birth, and clearly that wasn't happening on my head! If "curly" meant this "frizzy, wavy, borderline stringy looking hot mess" then I was not going to embrace this "look."

Well, at least not quite yet.

My girlfriends who had long hair always had shiny, flowing tresses achieved by taking a curling iron to it (typically the night before), sleeping on it, and voilà - gorgeous hair.

Thinking it might be the Missing Link to my hair mystery, I tried it. The result? Frizzy hair with curling iron curls over the top - perhaps the ugliest thing I had ever seen.

About ready to chop of my hair myself, I went back to my best friend's comment and finally looked up this infamous product she had used for years: Deva Curl. I started doing research. Little did I know that when you Google "deva curl," you get linked to all sorts of YouTube tutorials. And I will say that this one YouTube tutorial was the game changer:


There were different types of curly hair?!

Curly hair should not get wet without being conditioned?!

Frothy shampoo was drying out my hair?? So the fact I was washing it every single day and never conditioning it was contributing to the Hot Mess?

Keeping my hair wrapped up in a towel for the entire time I got ready each morning was actually the same difference as taking a brillo pad to a cashmere sweater? What?!

In other words ... I was doing everything wrong.

 DevaCurl Get Started Curl Essentials Kit

I started by simply getting the products, a microfiber towel and an open mind. Within 2-weeks of using the product, adjusting my routine, and being patient, THIS happened:

And I haven't turned back since! That was 3-years ago, my loves.

To this day, I actually love my hair, and embrace my curls. No more washing every day (but conditioning, yes), curling irons, flatirons, perms (yep, had them until I cut my hair off in 1995), or rat combs ... just an expert haircut (yes, dry cutting curls is everything), amazing product, and a diffuser. That's it!

Naturally mine! And my question for you is, what is naturally yours?

xx JN

The current DevaCurl cocktail for my curls:

• wash with Low Poo / condition with One Condition
• while hair is still dripping wet, take a dollup of Styling Creme and extend through the hair
• scrunch-dry the curls with a microfiber towel
• apply Frizz-Free Volumizing Foam all over and scrunch
• diffuse

Beauty Boutique

I had that moment today: that moment where I realized I'm a beauty junkie. (As evident above, I've also determined I'm a beauty bag lady!) I love absolutely everything from the packaging to product. In my opinion, there's nothing better than a coffee and a stroll (i.e. several lovely hours) through the cosmetics department weaving from brand to brand, trying on everything from fragrances to lipsticks. 

In what began as a simple project to consolidate my products into new containers, I got completely sucked in, went down the rabbit hole, and found myself in an absolutely glorious, Virgo-esque makeupalooza! 

Here are some of my favorite must-haves from my personal beauty boutique:

Face: L-R Foundation Primer by Laura Mercier, Face & Body Liquid Make Up by Make Up For Ever, fake up concealer by Benefit, HD Finishing Powder, and Full Cover Waterproof Cream by Make Up For Ever

Eyes: L-R: Naked Palette by Urban Decay, Shadow Insurance primer by Too Faced, Eyes to Kill palette, Eyes to Kill Length & Volume Mascara and Smooth Silk Eye Pencil all by Giorgio Armani, Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner by Bobbi Brown, and Photo Op Eye Shadow Trio by smashbox

Brushes: Could not live without my MAC brushes!

Cheeks: Sun Beam and Cha Cha Tint by Benefit, HD Creme Blush by Make Up For Ever, Cremeblend Blush by MAC

Lip Pencils: variety of colors by MAC, NARS & Make Up For Ever

Lips: everything from nudes and neutrals to my signature bold, red lips, I use MAC Lipstick & Pro Longwear, Rimmel London & Tom Ford Beauty

Make sure to share what's in your #beautyboutique on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!

Color me happy, my lovelies! 

xx JN

Pore Perfection!

If you're looking to treat yourself to a great (inexpensive) facial this weekend, I'd highly recommend my latest obsession: SEPHORA COLLECTION Pore Perfection Kit coupled with Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash in Pink Grapefruit! Team Newman has been using this combo for the last 10-days, and we are happy to report a noticeable difference in our complexions! 

 

 

The SEPHORA COLLECTION Pore Perfection Kit comes with a double-ended blemish extractor (oh, yes - and I'm obsessed), a face complexion brush, a silicon precision pore cleansing pad, and a travel case. When used in conjunction with Neutrogena's pink grapefruit foaming scrub ... ummmmm ... clean those pores out, y'all!

Trust me, your skin will thank you!

xx JN

Beauty ... at the Bodega

I am always fascinated by the "it's such a dirty city" stereotype New York City gets flack for. Granted, if your only exposure to the Big Apple is a crime scene on Law & Order or a snapshot of someone passed out on a bench in a subway station, you're likely to believe that depiction.

But it's the simple things ... like the man who walks up and down Broadway in NoHo with multiple wands of incense burning, making his little bubble of the world smell lovely. Or strolling by Ladurée on Madison Ave on a gorgeous spring day and seeing the rows of French macarons in their myriad of colors.

For me, it's the juxtaposition that always takes my breath away - because you may have just passed a dog doing its "business" on a pile of trash, but yet, right in front of you is a bodega full of splendor such as this:

I find it a lovely reminder to appreciate beauty everywhere.

Because after all. Beauty is everywhere. Even Especially in New York.

xx JN

Made-Up Eye Makeup Removers

While taking a leisurely trip to mecca Sephora yesterday, I picked up a some key sundries I had recently run out of this week:

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation #117

Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Concealer #325

 

Sephora Collection Express Nail Polish Remover

Sephora Collection Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover

My hubby was quick to remind me of how many times over our 14-years together that I have come up with a made-up alternative to eye makeup remover in moments of desperation ... let's just say we had quite the laugh over this list:

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

 Vaseline Petroleum Jelly

Johnson's Baby Oil

Wesson Canola Oil ... nope, I'm not ashamed. 

Alright, it looked hysterical on the bathroom counter next to the cotton balls!

Mineral Oil ... I admit after applying it I thought, "I just applied a laxative to my eyes. Wow."

 Up until yesterday's trip to Sephora, I resorted to using 100% natural, all-Vegan Rahua Shampoo.

I hope you're shaking your head and cracking up like Jimmo & I were, because I would be lying if I said it isn't typical for me to MacGyver something at a moment's notice.

Hmmmm ... do I see a new series of blog posts? 

xx JN