It's hard to believe that no one ever thought of all of this before (well, maybe somebody thought of these things before, but didn't do too much about it); it all seems soooo obvious.  And just what is the "it?"  "It" is  all about the latest features to come loaded in your digital camera -- that is, your Samsung  digital camera.  Starting in a few weeks, when the electronics powerhouse ships these new models (for the record, they are twins, the TL220 and the TL225 with very similar capabilities; the third model is the CL65 with connectivity capability!) to retailers, you'll be able to perform some real magic with your camera, as if digital photography weren't enough of a miracle.

So, here are some of the innovative, new features and groundbreaking technology the new Samsung cameras sport, most of which we found to be pretty cool:

1.    Dual LCD screens, one in the back (obviously, duh), and one in the front, so when you take a picture of yourself, you can see what the heck you are getting in the frame.  That same screen has another function that anyone with kids will appreciate: Hit a magic button and into the front screen pop smiley faces, or images of clowns, or some sort of fun animation -- stuff that will make a kid smile!
2.    And when you are in front of the lens yourself, take advantage of the Self-Timer feature, which not only shows you the image you are going to take, but also does a visual countdown to blast-off.
3.   There are also features called Smile Shot and Blink Detection, which automatically detect when subjects are smiling (and conversely, have their eyes closed), which allows you to capture the best picture -- something your friends will like, so you don't end up with dorky pictures of them looking like zombies.
4.   There is also a Red-Eye Fix mode, which corrects red-eye, devil-dog looks right in the camera.  No need to Photshop later on -- another great time-saver.
5.    And speaking of Photoshop, here's a feature we really love.  It's called "Beauty Shot."  It doesn't turn all your headshots into Tom Cruise and Heidi Klum, but it does something that will put cosmetic surgeons right out of business:  It allows you to remove all the imperfections on a subject's face -- things like wrinkles and blemishes!  Hello!!  Like why didn't anyone dream of this feature before?#%!
6.    Also, if you're too lazy to scroll through menus, just by tilting the camera in a certain direction, you can go directly to a different mode or view saved images, which you can delete by simply drawing a line though them with your finger!  And if you want to rotate an image, simply draw a circle on the screen.
7.   Another unique feature is the camera's ability to actually organize photos for you. You can tag photos with Favorite, Face, Timeline, Week, Color, and Content.
8.   And all this is available for $299.99 and $349.99, manufacturer's suggested retail, so you can bet you'll find them for less in the coming months, leading up to Christmas.

AND, if all that were not enough, the third camera, the "smartest" of the trio, the CL65 ($399.99), has even more features -- and extraordinary connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, DLNA, and Wi-Fi capabilities.  Geo-tagging allows you to record the details of the place and time a shot was taken (great for anyone who travels), and the Bluetooth allows images to be distributed wirelessly to supporting devices, like mobile phones (imagine, you can now email pix to friends right from your camera), and with DLNA compatibility, the camera can wirelessly connect to another DLNA-compatible device, like an HDTV.

Tucked away on the fourth floor of 1044 Madison Avenue is the atelier of Alastair Crawford , who has been dealing in silver and jewelry for over 30 years. Crawford began his career at age 19 in his native London, trading wholesale, first locally, and then internationally.  It was not long after that initial foray that he made the leap to designing and manufacturing, and ultimately to selling retail. He has produced some amazing (and often very affordable) pieces, including the sterling silver "Gurgling Fish" pitcher ($14,500), which pays homage to the Georg Jensen "Duck" pitcher.  His giftware and tabletop lines include a battery of fine pieces: cheese dishes, candlesticks, salad servers, and bowls, among the many exquisite items.

Now, with clients all over the world, Crawford has yet again expanded his merchandise mix and has created his first silver and 18-kt. gold jewelry collection, an eclectic, sort of architectural line.  "My jewelry is not about expensive rocks or about another over-the-top watch," he notes. "It's about affordable, understated pieces that look stunning and are easy to wear."

We think they're so easy to wear, indeed, and we'd like to own a few of them -- the "Disk Collection" is very cool, constructed from half-moon, triangle, rectangle, and heart shapes, and is available in unembellished metal, or with (ummmm...) rubies, sapphires, or emeralds.  Did someone say diamonds, too?  The collection tops out at about $2,400, so it won't break your arm, either, as you reach for your plastic to pay for it.  The circular pieces (e.g., rings and bracelets) in the "Criss Cross Collection" (from about $1,200 to $5,800) expand (and contract) the way a collapsible yardstick or a trellis expands. They're fun to wear, to play with, and to look at. 

Crawford Contemporary, 1044 Madison Avenue, Fourth Floor; 212-249-3602; crawfordcontemporary.com

Two weeks ago I had occasion to be at the HBO building on Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets for after-work socializing.  As I looked down from a high floor on the scene across 42nd Street, and into that verdant swathe of green, that charming, calming oasis, Bryant Park, I noticed a rich patchwork of colorful blankets, an occasional balloon, and a growing crowd, waiting for the Monday night summer movie to start.

I remembered all those nights I used to brave the crowds and do those quintessentially New York things: Shakespeare in the Park, the Philharmonic or the Metropolitan Opera in the Park, and so on, and I recalled all the fabulous picnics we used to enjoy.  But, these days, I'm  too busy to actually prepare a gourmet feast for the park -- heck, roasting a chicken and cutting crudités seems like a lot of work when my energy level is on empty.  So, for my next sojourn into the park, say, for an evening at the Delacorte Theater (where The Bacchae is in residence until August 30), I recommend picnic baskets from the Petrossian  commissary/boutique, that fine purveyor of luxe caviar on Seventh Avenue and 58th Street, where the restaurant of the same name beckons.

For your summer leisure and dining pleasure (leave the cookin', the plannin', and the fixin' to them), there are adorable little picnic baskets for a mere $20 (yeah, really, $20).  They might include smoked salmon baguettes with organic greens, or ham with lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, each with homemade condiments, and packed with an assortment of buttery, homemade shortbread cookies and San Pellegrino. There is even a caviar picnic basket for the same 20 bucks, with a 30g tin of American salmon roe, homemade savory croutons, and a choice of freshly baked fruit tarts or dark chocolate gateaux, also with a libation.  Or, call up and create your own basket with Nia, the boutique manager.  

At the high-end of the spectrum, though -- and it will certainly feed more than a duo -- there is a "Picnic in the Park" $300 basket that includes a 125g of Chataluga Prestige Caviar and countless fixings/accompaniments/side dishes/spreads as well as crème fraîche, blinis, freshly baked baguettes and heavenly-rich chocolate truffles, all packed in a Petrossian isothermic tote.  Mmmmm...good.

Call ahead 212-245-2217 to order and reserve.
911 Seventh Avenue (57th/58th Streets), located just half a block from the Petrossian restaurant.

Posted on Tuesday, August 04, 2009 @ 12:07 PM

Check Out More On: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

To roughly paraphrase the corporate mantra, the Dr. Jart+ company,  a huge hit in its native Korea, and a big seller in the UK, Australia, and Austria, to name but a few countries where it is popular, advises its customers that anything that touches the skin (all those creams, lotions, and emollients with which we beautify ourselves) is as important as the food we ingest.  This sounds like it could easily have come from Dr. Jart himself/herself, but in truth, there is no Dr. Jart.

The company moniker derives from an amalgam of a corporate name for a company steeped in research and technology and the word "art," indicating that there is science and art in taking care of our skin.  If that is so, then the line (priced from about $50 to $250), which will be exclusive to Takashimaya and which launches in about two weeks, will have to deliver a good deal, but that will probably be the case, based on my quickie trial of several products.  The intensive moisture lotion, called Whitening Water Drop (I think that many of the products' names might have lost something in translation), a triple-action moisture solution hydrated my skin abundantly.  A little meter-reader showed that my skin hydration level was a watery 60 degrees high I were told, but then it could have been all the rain that day! And after applying the White Water Drop, it escalated to 66.

There are several lines within the product family, even a line for men and one for problem, acne-prone skin types, but I am especially eager to try the lip balm, the powders (that have a moisture block), the vitamin K cream (to reduce facial redness), and a few others, including the clever E-time Sun Tissues that are portable wipes in a nice little carrying case, with an SPF of 27 -- great for travel.  Takashimaya is usually ahead of the curve when it comes to beauty products and fragrance, so Dr. Jart+ will most likely prove to be another one of the store's great finds.  I'll report back down the pike, after I road test more products.

Takashimaya, 693 Fifth Avenue (54th Street), 212-350-0100

Posted on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 @ 12:52 PM

Throwing caution to the wind in challenging economic times, childhood pals Ambrosi Lim and Abrianna Jang decided to fulfill a youthful dream -- starting a luxury leather goods company, eponymously named Ambrosi Abrianna.  But, we don't mean mere luxury; we mean luxury, with a capital L.  Yes, there are crocodile belts for just under a grand, and there are business card holders in ostrich or croc, for around $500, but the bulk of the line: striking handbags skyrockets into the thousands, like $8,000 or $9,000 for a small clutch to $25,000 for the most elegant shopping carry-alls and highly structured handbags.

But then these are not just ordinary old pocketbooks. The ostrich, python, or crocodile is tanned in Paris and the bags crafted in Milan.  Purses come with a personalized 24-kt.-gold insignia plate (discreet, inside) with the owner's name hand-engraved; there is also a notation, indicating the bag's edition and serial number, since production is limited; and there is a certificate of authenticity, but of course.  Purchasers get something called an "infinity box" for safe storage, that somehow controls the temperature surrounding the bag; and owners also get a travel treatment kit for taking care of their bag(s) -- heaven forbid, it gets scratched! -- and of course, an invitation to join the Ambrosi Abrianna Collectors Society.

All that aside, for serious handbag aficionados (and we can think of many), these are the new status symbols to tote around town.  The "Sophistica" model is available in many one-of-a-kind versions, such as a white croc silhouette bathed in 24-kt. gold leaf, with diamond-flecked hardware.

For those who like to hit the putting greens (Lim is a recreational golfer), there are even stunning, over-the-top golf bags. (Merchandise is available at the company showroom in Rockefeller Center.)

 

Scientists calculate that we are capable of differentiating an astonishing 10,000 disparate aromas.  Sure, we could list a bunch of them, appealing and noxious--vanilla, gasoline, clove, tobacco, tar, freshly baked bread, skunk--but 10,000?

Modern fragrance--the kind you put on your body, the kind that makes pheromones whirl--came into being in the late 19th century and has evolved to a point where, according to the Fragrance Foundation,  a not-for-profit, educational organization, approximately 300 to 350 new scents come to market yearly.

The French, regardless of the government du jour, have always done their part to promote perfumes:  The court of Louis the XV was dubbed the "perfumed court" because it commanded that fragrances be changed daily. Napoleon is said to have ordered two quarts of violet cologne per week! 

One French nose that was always fascinated with scent belongs to Gérard Ghislain, a restaurateur, who has a bit of Proust and those madeleines in his soul, when he admits that he loves the smells emanating from his ovens--and to satisfy his interest, he finally enrolled in "fragrance" classes at the institute run by the Versailles Val-d'Oise/Yvelines Chamber of Commerce, and thereafter decided to enter the competitive world of perfume, but with a clever and intoxicating twist:  His fragrances are based on history, on particular years and personages who lived in that era, and scents that were popular at those times--hence was born Histoires de Parfums . There are homages to George Sand, Mata Hari, Colette, Jules Verne, the Marquis de Sade, and Casanova, to name but a few of Ghislain's inspirations which find their embodiment in a group of heady swirls of bergamot, mandarin, tiaré, vetiver, vanilla, grapefruit, and on and on...a limitless palate of scent.  

Ghislain's dozen fragrances are for men and women, with a few unisex blends.  His perfumes have a high 15% concentration, so they are long-lived, which is good, as a 120 ml. bottle is $185.
But, for those who cannot live without his blends--and who want smaller (and less pricey) bottles for travel--the company has just come out with a travel set, which will be stocked at Takashimaya in the next few weeks.  Three fragrances, each 14 ml. (you pick the scents you want) will be $95, packed in a little pouch to go.
 


 

Last week, when we were busy touting jewelry made from star fruit and zucchini, we got to thinking about food.  While we usually write about shopping and acquisitions that stay on the body (as opposed to being consumed by the body), we are detouring for food this week, since we have a fabulous event to share, one too good to let slip through our fingers.  (By the way, and not to digress, but another New York-y happening destination to share is the Highline.  If you have not yet walked over to Twelfth Avenue to take a stroll along the first section of the newly-opened elevated walkways, do so. It's amazing what a narrow swathe of green in Gotham can do to spark a sense of summer in your soul.)

But, back to the Edible Garden, which will also result in an uplifting feeling.  Starting this past weekend (and continuing through September 13) the New York Botanical Garden, one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world (and arguably, the largest in any metropolis, anywhere, and a National Historic Landmark, to boot), opened its virtual gates, auguring in its "Edible Garden."  It is a summer-long celebration of food, growing food, to be precise.  Through delectable exhibitions and mouth-watering programs, visitors will be inspired to grow, prepare, eat garden-fresh produce, and understand how plants provide the food and drink essential to maintaining life and enhancing wellness.  (And, yes, there are shopping opportunities!  Could we ever write anything that doesn't feature shopportunities?)

Programming during Edible Garden features activities sure to delight anyone with a passion for gardening, cooking, and entertaining (or just eating).  Events include two festivity-filled weekends, with celebrity-chef demonstrations, lectures, and participatory events.  There will be seven Edible Evenings and a Farmers Market every Wednesday and Saturday, in addition to countless other programs.  The gardens themselves include Tropical Fruits, Roots, and Shoots; Martha Stewart's Culinary Herb Garden; a Beginner's Seed Garden, and lots more.  You'll need tickets to go, so for more information, call 718-817-8700.  (A major sponsor of the exhibit is Anolon Gourmet Kitchenware, and we'll be writing about its great pots and pans down the road.)

But should you choose to make a Caresse d' Orchidées purchase during this special viewing, know that 20% of your purchase will be donated to the American Heart Association.And that 20% is not just peanuts. The glasses range from about $7,000 for the plainest of the lot (an 18kt. white-gold rimless frames) to $44,500 for the priciest (18kt. solid pink-gold frames with pavéed diamonds and pink sapphires). Caveat emptor: the price does not include the cost of your prescription lenses. Nonetheless, they are pretty stunning. Just don't lose them. 

Father's Day is less than two weeks away, so it's definitely time to start thinking of him. It's usually Mom who gets sent the gift certificate for a day at a spa or a salon for pampering, but dear old Dad can horn in on this indulgent gift, as well. Gotham's CORE: Club is an exclusive, private getaway and retreat for jetsetters who are always on the go and need a place to call home in The Big Apple. Nestled snugly inside this oasis is the cozy, pampering Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa, and for anyone with a Y chromosome and who is in-the-know, it's also the home of Labrecque's Gentlemen's Salon & Barbershop, which is - no small serendipitous fact to celebrate- open to the public.(And, it's a great way to also get a sneak peek at the snazzy club, and if you play your cards right, perhaps use the facility.) Labrecque has long been known for his celebrity clientele (yes, women like Kyra Sedgwick and Renée Zellweger, but if you look around when you're there, you might also spot A-Rod, Regis Philbin, John McEnroe, or even Sting.)The barber shop's menu includes haircuts, scalp treatments, facial trims, sports manicures, straight-edge razor shaves (and they use the most wonderful men's toiletries and grooming aids, Hommage and more.

  For Father's Day, the retreat has put together a package for pater familias:   The Pampered Pop Package ($375) includes a pampering shave, a 60-minute massage, a sports manicure, and an aromatherapy scalp treatment. (Plus, Dad will bring home a practical Hommage Home & Travel Shave Kit.)  If Pop isn't the type to sit around a barbershop and get coddled, then opt for the Hommage deluxe razor set; the razor, brush, and stand are striking (and high performance) in black lacquer.(Engraved, the whole deal is $425, and sans John Hancock, it's $375.) Hurry, though, as engraving takes time.

If we won a "Supermarket Sweepstakes" contest, the kind where you get to grab all the merchandise you can in five minutes and pile it into a shopping cart, we'd want to win it at Bulgari.  (Let's face it, we'd rather win a shopping safari there than at the local A & P.)  There is very little we'd leave behind in the shop's gleaming vitrines.  The entire store, recently renovated, is pretty gleaming, in fact, and we'd love to swipe a few goodies from the jeweler's supply chain. 

Moreover, when it comes to the name Bulgari, celebrating 125 years of jewelry design this year, we are fascinated by the brand extensions of a name that has heretofore been synonymous with the most haute of bijoux.  These days, the proper noun "Bulgari" has crept into the hospitality sector (the Bulgari Hotel in Bali looks positively dreamy), and the beauty arena, with a Bulgari skin care line that we are just starting to road test, so stay tuned.

But back to the jewelry and things we'd like to own, even if we cannot do a "Supermarket Sweepstakes" haul at the venerable jeweler's 57th Street and Fifth Avenue salon.  There are lots of Bulgari trinkets you can call your own (and not a minute too soon, because any day now, we'll all be donning warm weather fun frocks, and non-traditional accessories go very well with summer's polka dots, stripes, and florals), the company has unveiled a slew of funky, yet classy, bracelets and wristbands that are all below $400.  The cutest one is a narrow double filament of cotton Jacquard fabric, with two silver Bulgari logo disks on it.  It's so slender and lithe, we'd want to use it for a ponytail holder.

There are also neat cuffs, from one and two inches wide, to nearly three inches wide.  They are adorned with gold- or palladium-plated Bulgari signature hardware, as studs or even as charms dangling coyly; the leather may be exotic goat, deer, or even water buffalo (and of course, there is also bovine.)  If anybody is listening, our favorite is the peach-y/red double-coiled bracelet or maybe the violet-orchid bracelet.  Très gorgeous.  
 

It all started during the blustery freeze of February with Sensai's Lip Base ($26).  We were wedded to that tube of lip treatment all winter, not just because it was the best hydrating balm around, but because it also has an SPF of 15 (we like that) and further, it seemed to plump and smooth scratchy winter puckers.  (Sensai, if you don't know, is quite the sensation abroad -- an upscale makeup and skincare line that European women have embraced.  Think Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys here in Gotham.)  While we're not giving up our Lip Base for summer (it helps keep lipstick on longer, anyhow), we are expanding our lip palette to include a few new tricks, namely Sensai's two lipstick lines, Lasting Treatment Rouge and Deep Moist Shine Rouge ($40 each).  The slightly frosty sun-kissed peach tones will be a must for the beach.

And another lipstick that will look fab on the lips and probably looks even more fab in its case as you extract it from your purse, is the Rouge G de Guerlain, le dernier cri from a name synonymous with the planet's most exotic and iconic fragrances.  Rouge G looks like an aerospace accessory, with a shiny gleam on its futuristic-looking case.  Created for Guerlain by Lorenz Bäumer, a French jeweler who has designed for Vuitton, it's a little jewel of a bullet-shaped torpedo, with a hinge that pops the top open, to reveal a mirror and a deliciously seductive, creamy lip color, that interacts with light and makes your smile just dazzling.  ($45)

Lastly, we're also swearing by the new lipstick line from YSL Beauté, Rouge Volupté, in a rainbow of over a dozen intense, densely pigmented colors, that drench the lips with a smooth and silky feel (field-tests support the knowledge that that sensation is even transferred to the cheek of a kissee).  It's also got an SPF of 15, as do the lipsticks in YSL Beauté's Rouge Pur Shine, a classic line from the company that we have used for years -- we especially like #11, a dewy, sheer transparent pink.

So, stock up your summer makeup kit with this trifecta of lip colors from Sensai, Guerlain, and YSL Beauté.  And get ready to give someone some serious lip. 

We love Sferra linens -- all that luscious Italian bedding, so handsomely designed, so soft to the touch, so elegant on the bed. It is the bedding of royalty, or at least you'll feel like a royal with a set of Sferra sheets. Yes, we know it can be a little pricey (although we hasten to add, the Sferra 1981 line is more within a scribe's budget), but today through Saturday, you can afford Sferra! And that is because there's a great warehouse sale taking place. 

There will be first-quality discontinued and overstocked items, including bed linens, matelassé sets, sheet sets, blankets, throws, towels, decorative pillows, and table linens. Prices are up to 75% off retail...how can you go wrong?  The only bad news is you have to drive to Jersey. Snag a friend with a car, and get yourself there!  It's taking place at the Raritan Center, 15 Mayfield Avenue (at the back of the building), in Edison, Nouvelle Jersey (see directions below).

Here are the times:  Today (the 11th) and Thursday, the 12th, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, June 13th, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, June 14th, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

All sales final; cash and most credit cards accepted; no checks.

(Here's how to get there:  Lincoln Tunnel to NJ Turnpike, South, to exit 10 (to Route 514 West). Then follow signs to the Raritan Center/Route 514 West. Merge onto Raritan Center Parkway (follow signs to Expo Center).  Make a right at the fourth light onto Mayfield Avenue and then turn left into the  Sferra parking lot.  Go to the back of the building for the warehouse entrance. Click here for a map.) 

Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 @ 05:41 PM

Check Out More On: Sales/Sample Sales | Linens

We have been remiss in sending out sale info -- a combination of travel, an unexpected (and unnecessary) trip through America's healthcare delivery system, and so on -- but here we are, again, back on track, with a wonderful Christofle, Richard Ginori, and Temple St. Clair sale, all rolled into one. 

Tonight is the night! SOFA opens. That is to say, the show for sculpture objects, fine art. (Get it? SOFA?) This is a show we look forward to annually. For years, we covered the fine craft category for The New York Times and have followed the rise of museum-quality craft, elevated to its proper place in the pantheon of art and design. (That age-old argument of what is art and what is craft is a tricky, sticky wicket which we have no desire to enter into, thank you very much.) So as far as we are concerned, fine craft is art and the SOFA show underscores that year in and year out.  Yes, this is the Mecca show for serious collectors, gallery owners, dealers, and well, just plain interested shoppers. 

It is here that you will find extraordinary, contemporary decorative arts and unusual, superlative designs from more than 60 galleries, hailing from 11 countries, with many luminaries in their fields, like ceramist Bennett Bean (above left), furniture-maker Sam Maloof, and glass maestro Dale Chihuly, all exhibiting here. We have so many favorites, it's hard to enumerate, but we always gravitate to the jewelry of German designer Axel Russmeyer and to the presentation from the Charon Kransen Gallery (which represents many modern jewelers who work in unexpected media); we love the glass at Heller Gallery, which represents Lino Tagliapietra (above right), one of the finest glass artists in the world; we love the ceramics of Mara Superior, the photo works of Lucy Feller, and the sculptural, folded Japanese paper by Nishimura Yuko (below)...and on and on and on and on.  

If you've never been to SOFA, make this the year to get enlightened and see the amazing work -- ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewelry, woodworking, and so much more -- at the exhibition (and needless to say, sale, since this is capitalist America and the works shown here are for sale), opening tonight at the Park Avenue Armory, on Park Avenue at 67th Street. This evening, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., is the big-deal preview, with $100 tickets. It's a great gala (always with exceptional food and fare!) and we have never missed it. But if you don't want to spend a Benny, regular tickets are $25 for a single admission and $40 for a three-day pass. The hours for the show are Thursday and Friday (the 29th and the 30th), from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday (the 31st) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday (June 1st), from noon to 6 p.m.

Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 @ 11:59 AM

Check Out More On: Art

The Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side is holding its annual Mother's Day Gift Sale, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 6th and 7th, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., featuring the work of the Center's professional teaching staff, from its art/craft/design faculty. We always write this sale up, as we know that there are so many wonderful artists, designers, and craftspeople there selling great stuff...and the price is usually "right."

Here is a perfect opportunity to snag some exquisite jewelry, textiles, ceramics, and other professionally handmade items that are well priced and one-of-a-kind, the perfect gifts to say "I Love You" to Mom. There will be richly beaded necklaces, bracelets, and earrings; lavish hand-painted scarves and pillows; belts, hats, and other fashion accessories; as well as home furnishing items. Prices are from $15 and up. (Shown here: a lavish pearl bracelet from glass artist/jeweler Melissa Terman, whose work includes both beaded jewelry and blown-glass jewelry.)

All the teachers at the sale offer courses, too, at the JCC (that's the whole point, of course!), so inquire about signing up for the late spring or early summer semester if you are inspired and think you'd like to learn how to make beaded jewelry or paint on silk yourself...or whatever.

Cash, checks, and credit cards accepted.  For more information call Sigrid Orr at 646-505-5715.  JCC in Manhattan, The Samuel Priest Rose Building, 334 Amsterdam Avenue at 76th Street; www.jccmanhattan.org; www.jccartstudios.org

Brunschwig & Fils, one of the most exclusive names in luxury, designer textiles is having a blow-out sale of its textiles?everything form toiles to liserés, from damasks to silks, from prints to solid wovens.  All for a fraction of their regular price (i.e., up to 70% off list.) 

There must be some synergistic yin yang-y thing going on in the world, because just as Charlton Heston has died this past weekend, now starts a sale of Beretta clothing.  Yes, they, the makers, for nearly five centuries, of firearms and knives for hunting (and knives for gentlemen, as the company's web site delicately puts it), is having a sale of its outdoorsy, activewear clothing, whether the big game you're hunting is on the veldt in Africa, or on a clothing rack on West 33^rd Street, this is the company that makes the real deal, the whole gamut for those who are sharp shooters, recreational participants, competitors, and so on. 

Marchesa, a name to be reckoned with when it comes to fancy, after-five attire, is on sale at the Warwick Hotel this week.  Both the Marchesa Couture Collection and Notte by Marchesa are being sold?including gowns, cocktail dresses, and evening suits, sized from 0 (I swear, are there really women who are size zero!) to size 12.  Expect to see rake-offs as much as 80% off retail?so that means, you may even find a steal of a dress at $150! 

We'll be exploring more spring cleaning in the next few days -- facial cleaners we love and which we lavish upon our ever-grateful-to-look-improved-upon visage... but before we get into more pore-cleansing, we thought in honor of imminent Easter, we'd put our best face forward with some of Christian Dior's color finery. And Dior, as always, never disappoints us, with its multi-hued line of maquillage. What a gorgeous palette the company has put out for the springtime. 

For starters, we fell in love with pretty facial bronzers, then all the bright glosses for our lips, and of course, we could not forget the gorgeous ombréed shadows for the eyes.

Lips: Dior Addict High Shine translucent lip color -- so fragile, just a hint of a tint and so many colors from which to select ($25) and the Gloss Reflect ($24.50; below left), more color, more shine, more come-hither on our lips.  For cheek shine, we could not decide between the Poudre de Soleil ($42), that really does impart a kiss of the sun or the DiorBlush ($38; above), that is two blushes in one, a shimmer and a sheer, one velvety and matte; then a little eye excitement with the 5-color petite compact of stunning shadows, in "Mystic Jade" ($54; below right), the just-right tones for Easter, to match our bonnet. 

Et voilà!  Our face was finished for Easter.   

Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 @ 06:28 PM

Check Out More On: Beauty: Makeup & Skin Care