Ode to the Birkin

My favorite bag in the world is the Hermes Birkin Bag,named after Jane Birkin. The Hermes Kelly bag is a close second. It is named after the beautiful Grace Kelly. Both bags are timeless, classic and beautiful.


Jane Birkin in Paris 1975

Jane Birkin in Paris 1968
Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin in Paris 1968
Beautiful blue ostrich Birkin (top)
Gorgeous green Kelly bag (bottom)
(apologies: Blogger is not cooperating with me today. It will not let me align the pictures with the captions. Sorry!)

Beautiful Things

Gorgeous Patent leather peep toe pumps by Brian Atwood. HOT HOT HOT!
Beautiful silk Matthew Williamson skirt. I must have this skirt. Simply stunning.

Lattice bag by Nancy Gonzalez. So unique. It looks like art.
Beautiful Fall outfit by Donna Karan.The sexy scent of famed European lingerie house--Agent Provocateur. Perfect spicy scent for Fall!
Breathtaking coat by Stella McCartney. Look at the way it drapes in the front at the tie-- SWOON! This is on my must have list for winter!

Have a lovely day!

(photos from www.niemanmarcus.com , Style.com , www.Saks.com , and www.perfumebay.com )

The Lippman Collection

I love Deborah Lippman. I have met her a couple of times at events and she is hilarious, nice, talented, lovely and a little naughty! I love her products. I own many of her nail polishes which are awesome. Her nail polish remover (called The Stripper) is my favorite. It smells of lavendar. She says she made it smell that way so that when she is doing runway shows and doing the nails of many a model that it smells relaxing like aromatherapy and not assaulting and industrial like most nail polish removers.

Deborah is a trained jazz singer, so most of her polishes are named after fun jazz songs such as Bitches Brew, Makin' Whoopie, and Lady Is A Tramp.

Deborah also has a line of polishes she made in collaboration with celebrities. Kelly Ripa made one called Whatever Lola Wants- a shimmery lavendar, in honor of her daughter Lola. Mary J. Blige made one called No More Drama-a very wearable beige, and Sarah Jessica Parker made one called Sarah Smile-a very light, natural pink. Sarah Smile is one of my personal favorites.

Deborah Lippman is a manicurist to the stars. She does the nails of many people featured on magazine covers. One time she told me about the Vanity Fair cover she did. It was for the Kings of Hollywood. Deborah was telling me about giving manicures to all these men: Her favorite was Hugh Grant. She said the massage portion of Hugh's manicure was really long. AMEN sister!

One of my favorite products in the Lippman Collection is the Rich Girl hand cream with SPF 25. As a redhead I constantly have to be aware of sun exposure, and you know, they say the hands are the first place to show age. In recent years I have become obsessed with SPF on my hands. I keep a tube of Rich Girl in the car, in my gym bag and in my purse at all times. I love it!


You can find The Lippman Collection at www.lippmancollection.com or www.nordstrom.com . Deborah Lippman is a wonderul and funny lady. Next time you are in the market for nail products, give her a try.

Have a great day!

(photos from www.lippmancollection.com , www.nordstrom.com , and guardian.co.uk)

Chicago

Chicago River
Buckingham Fountain
Chicago Skyline view from Lake Michigan
Sunset in Chicago
Navy Pier

Posh Spotting!

Today my cousin and I are hitting Chicago for some shopping and sightseeing. This is my cousin's first time to my fair city . I am hoping to find many posh and exciting things for us to explore.

The weather is beautiful, so I am sure the day is going to be interesting and full of new finds.
I am hoping to find a bottle of Fifi Chachnill, but I am sure it is not to be found. I am also hoping to scope out some new fall jackets. I am not looking forward to fall perse, but I am always looking forward to fall fashion, and the September issues of my favorite fashion magazines (September and March usually always have the biggest and best issues of the year). Wish me luck on some great finds!

Oh and Coutorture invited little ol' moi to be a part of their awesome blog community. I am just giddy!

Shopping in Chicago with my lovely cousin. Enjoying the beautiful weather, and Coutorture!!! What more could a fashion and beauty loving blogging monkey ask for?

Have a beautiful day everyone!

Happy Blog Birthday to MonkeyPosh!!!!

Today, July 18, 2006, MonkeyPosh turns 1 year old!

I cannot believe that it has been a whole year since I started this humble little blog just to smart off to my friend Annie, because she was so smug about a certain coffee creamer. She used it every day and flaunted it in front of me when (much to my dismay) I could not find it anywhere in my state. Annie even tried to get people to find it for me because she thought I needed help. Alas, noone could find it in the state of Illinois.

I have tried to post a link to my first ever blog post here, but for some reason Blogger will not let me.

It has been fun to do this blog. I have met (well, sorta-- I mean-not met in person, but come to know through writing) some wonderful people through blogs: http://jennipah.blogspot.com/
http://shutupiknow.blogspot.com/
http://whereisgoodservice.blogspot.com/
http://teejsmuse.blogspot.com/
just to name a few. These are lovely, funny, brilliant, and creative people that I would have probably never crossed paths with if it were not for my blog.


And again I must thank Annie at Blogdorf Goodman for being my inspiration to begin blogging-even if it was out of spite. Oh and Annie--this one's for you:
Annie, in case you cannot read exactly what I am holding--well then check this out:
HA HA HA!!! How do you like that CREAMER SNOB??!! I cannot believe I found this right on the cusp of my blog birthday. The damn Vanilla Nut is the reason I started the blog in the first place. It has eluded me forever--then *voila* I found it just in time for the one year birthday of my blog!

Thanks for a great year everyone!

(Thanks to Annie for the Dr. McDreamy shirt she sent me for my real birthday!)

Ahhhhh Can't you just smell the summer?

Delicious. Warm. Beachy. Suntan in a bottle. I love it! Fire Island the newest addition to the ever growing Bond No. 9 line is one of my favorite Bonds thus far. The description according to Bond is --the smell of skin in the sun. MMMMM....it totally smells like the tropical aromas of yummy suntan oil that I wish I were wearing in St. Tropez right about now.
This scent is beyond lovely. It sort of reminds me of Bobbi Brown Beach...but Fire Island has more depth and warmth. It is going to be one of my summer scent staples.
If you are in or around Chicago, go to Saks and ask for Sherri. She is the "Bond Girl" there. She is beautiful and nice...and girl knows her stuff. By the way....Fire Island smells delicious layered with the Estee Lauder Tom Ford Azuree Oil I blogged about earlier.










Philosophy Shear Splendor Shampoo. Ok, I must admit I bought this product at the beginning of the summer for the smell alone. It smells just like lemon poppyseed muffins. Seriously. Thank God it works as good as it smells. It is made for "Dull or chemically dry hair". I am a sucker for smells and fragrance. Sometimes that has backfired on me, because I will buy something for smell alone, then the products do not work well. I liked the Shear Splendor Shampoo so much I bought the Shear Splendor Restoritive Conditioner too. I have not used the conditioner yet, but the smell is just as yummy as the shampoo. Delicious!

















Photo of Fire Island from www.Saks.com . Photos of Shear Splendor from www.philosophy.com .

Have a lovely day.

MAKE IT WORK PEOPLE!

The wine is chilled.

The marscarpone and saltines are waiting.

I cannot wait for the Project Runway Season 3 premier tonight!

Cheers to all my fashion loving friends who will be glued to Bravo tonight just like me!

*Is it weird that I love marscarpone slathered on crackers?

(photo from Bravo TV)

Beautiful Things.......

Laurence Dacade shoes.YSL Muse bag in gold.
Roberto Cavalli dress. This would look so good with some skinny jeans.
Chair by Fresh Kills.
Dress by Celine. This would be so beautiful with some colorful accesories.

The Vert and Jasmin fragrance by L'Occitane. Fresh and floral.....beautiful.

Have a beautiful day.

Separated at Birth

I KNOW, RIGHT??!!??!! On the left is Katharine McPhee from AmericanIdol, and on the upper right is Margherita Missoni from famed Italian fashion house/fashion legacy Missoni. I know most of you readers know who they are, but some may not , hence the explanation.

Do they not look just alike? I was reading an article about Margherita and at first I thought the picture was Kat McPhee. Uncanny, no?

I know Kat has talent, but Margherita has a rich Grandmother and an Italian villa...and where I come from rich Grandmothers and Italian villas win out every time! For real.

photos from Style.com and Teen People.

I love.......

Bliss
Sweet Orange and Spearmint Sugar Scrub. This stuff smells AMAZING! I wish they would make a whole line of bath products in this scent. I also love how this scrub does not leave grainy residue all in the shower or the bathtub the way a lot of scrubs do. This one dissolves so there is no residue at all.


It is a wonder for sloughing off dry skin and leaving a lovely glow. If you are in the market for an awesome scrub that does a great job and smells gorgeous then give this one a try.

You can find it at www.blissworld.com and www.sephora.com .

Photo from Bliss.

Happy 4th of July!!

An ode to lovely bath and body oils

I love baths and bath and body oils. I love how it makes skin feel soft and supple and it gives a lovely sheen.

Some of my favorites are:

Les Baines du Marais. This line comes from Paris, and is done in a Moroccan style. Truly unique. It comes in Fleurs d' Oranger, Jasmine and Musc Blanc and Rose Confiture. It is very beautiful, very fragrant, and very emollient. You can find it at www.beautyhabit.com or www.Aedes.com .
Another beautiful oil is Ligne St. Barth Coconut Oil. It is a little thicker and creamier than regular oil , and it gives great moisture to the skin. It smells like the warm breezes in the Caribbean --swoon! This gem is available at www.Aedes.com .
Tom Ford for Estee Lauder Azuree The Body Oil Spray. This is divine and I wish Estee Lauder would listen to the cries of many of my fragrance friends who long to have this in a perfume. The notes are listed as : Tahitian Gardenia Petals, Coconut, and Orange Blossoms are warmed with Vetiver, Sandalwood, and Myrrh. This really is as good as it sounds. It is on backorder just about everywhere but www.NeimanMarcus.com and www.EsteeLauder.com both carry it. You may have to wait though. The old faithful! Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil. This is a classic, tried and true. This one has been around forever and is still a favorite of mine. It can be found at just about any drugstore or at www.drugstore.com .
I love Chanel Oils. They are such high quality and they smell so divine. In the summer months I will wear Chanel oils in lieu of the parfums because the oils are so fragrant and they work beautiful in warmer weather. You can find chanel oils at www.gloss.com or www.Chanel.com .

Blogger will not let me post a graphic here of the lovely Carol's Daughter oil. GRRRRRR!
**************so just pretend it is here please****** it is in a tall bottle with floral floating around inside. It is truly lovely.************ Commence reading now*****just kidding! ****


I am in love with this new line of bath, body and hair delights. The Carol's Daughter line was started in a kitchen in Brooklyn by Lisa Price about 10 years ago. She got a celebrity cult following who put the word out and now everyone is in love with this awesome line . There is a litany of products for hairl, body, bath etc., and they come in the most delicious scents. Black Vanilla is my favorite this week. Other scents include Groove, Almond Cookie, Ectasy, Ocean and Mango Melange. You can try out these great and fun products at www.sephora.com . Oh and try her Love Butter. It is super for dry skin.

Jo Wood organics has been around in Europe for a while and I am so happy it has made it across the pond. This line is totally organic and totally wonderful. Jo Wood insists on all organic ingredients. Jo is married to Ronnie of the Rolling Stones so she is incredibly cool too! I have her bath line in Amka and it is so lovely. You can find info on her line and her products at www.jowoodorganics.com and www.neimanmarcus.com .
Jo Malone---ahhhhh. I love this woman, and I love her products. I have always been a fan of all things Jo Malone. Her bath oils are delicious. I also use these in lieu of her parfums in the summer months. French Lime Blossom and Lime Basil Mandarin are 2 of my favorite scents. For a bit more spicier scent I love Nutmeg Ginger or her unisex scent simply called 154. You can find the whole line of Jo Malone's products at www.gloss.com or www.saks.com . Last but certainly not least is the classic Youth Dew Bath Oil by Estee Lauder. To be honest, I have never been in love with Youth Dew Parfum. I find it to be too heavy for me, but I adore the classic Youth Dew Bath Oil. This little beauty can be found at www.gloss.com or www.EsteeLauder.com .
*Note this is the classic Youth Dew and not Youth Dew Amber Nude.