Eat me

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"My weave is sweatin,' I gotta go."
--Bree, after a particularly challenging photo shoot

Hello Ladies,
Happy Week of Thanksgiving! Oh, I LIVE FOR this time of year. I'm not big on birthday or anniversaries...but the holidays? Hold me back! This past weekend, I decorated my apartment (it took me three tries to erect my fake-fir garland, as my worried dog Chappie wouldn't stop chasing me around, nipping at the tail-end of the thing), and after wreath-ing and ornament-ing for hours, I stood in the middle of my living room, grinning like a simpleton. So happy. In part because I'd successfully turned my Brooklyn walk-up into a wintry country cottage in New England, but mostly because I knew what was coming next. I was about to dive into my arsenal of sugar-and-spice beauty goodies.

I ADORE all those cozy holiday smells, like cookies baking and hot chocolate brewing...but girls, mama doesn't cook. Instead, I scent the air with candy cane essential oils, take honey-vanilla scented baths and slather my body with hot cocoa-smelling salves. For those of you as deeply uncomfortable in the kitchen as I am, I've put together a list of my favorite yummy-smelling, almost-edible beauty products...all of which fairly yodel "ho, ho, ho!"

xoxo,
T-Money

Oh, before I forget!! HUGE shout out to Miss Dionne, who was the only one who got the November Trivia Question right--the answer was indeed Spike Lee. Oh, Dionne, I'm so going to be your favorite person when you get those Stila Holiday Candles in the mail...

TIA'S TOP FIVE HOLIDAY-SCENTED GOODIES:
1.) DIPTYQUE CANDLE IN POMANDER: You remember pomanders, those Victorian potpourri thingies you make by putting cinammon cloves into an orange? This insanely glam candle captures that beloved Christmassy smell like you wouldn't believe. At $52, its a little steep, but Diptyque candles are way top-of-the-line (Pomander was back-ordered at Nieman Marcus, but I searched and searched and found it for you on the Four Season's site). Anyway, I burn it every year during the holidays—the cinnamon-orange scent is to-die, and the chic golden glass holder adds major class to my mantle!

2.) PHILOSOPHY A FEW GOOD MEN: This sweet set comes with three adorably packaged, sheer lip gloss tubes in the yummiest, most feel-good-food scents: Muffin Man (lemon custard), Gingerbread Man (ginger ale), and Ice Cream Man (bubble gum ice cream). All three give fabulous shine, and each one tastes and smells better than the last.

3.) ORIGINS COCOA THERAPY TOTAL BODY TREAT: This intenisive, cocoa-buttery salve is perfect on ashy, winter-worn spots like elbows and knees (for me, the corners of my nose). Also makes a yummy massage balm in a pinch. Did I mention that the cozy hot chocolate smell is the MOST uplifiting thing on a freezing, rainy day like today?

4.) XELA AROMA STICKS IN CANDY CANE: Aroma sticks are the newest, hottest thing in home fragrance. You MUST get on board. It comes with a bottle of scented essential oil (in this case, in a very "'tis the spirit" peppermint/eucalyptus/vanilla fragrance) and a stack of long, bamboo reeds. Here's how it works: You stick the reeds inside the bottle so that the ends stick out. The reeds are porous, so they draw the oil out into the air, where it evaporates and wafts throughout your room. The scent is much gentler than candles and room sprays, and it lasts up to six months. Lovely.

5.) LAURA MERCIER HONEY BATH W/DIPPER: One of my all-time favorite indulgences, this thick, lush bath soak is the ULTIMATE in decadent luxury (okay, that was a mouthful...I have to lighten up on the oh-so-breathless adjectives). Dunk the tiny, wooden dipper in this honey/vanilla/caramel-scented syrup, swirl throughout your bath water, and...inhale. You may never come out.