Sunbathing in December may seem like a monopoly of the Southern Hemisphere, but its invigorating effect is not limited to Bon Aire or Rio. An afternoon soaking in the sun is just what the body needs, and it’s easily had if you are in temperate Southern California. So march outside, park your towel, and push your sunglasses over your eyes. The sunshine vitamin will leave you feeling refreshed, relaxed, and ready to conquer your next assignment.
The Beat
The Gorgeous New Jewelry At Bendel’s
Our heart beats fast, fast, and faster for the glittering displays at Bendel’s. The jaded will say that only diamonds will do, but our taste runs extravagantly broad and smothers anything shiny and highly refractive. Thus our meeting with the Holiday jewelry collection was swift and furious. We love the Buckle Up baby bangle and matching ring, as well as the Holiday Stone Cluster bracelet and the Locked Up Bracelet. But this being the season of giving, we left the store with just two pieces – one for us, and one for our lovely friend M.
The Henri Bendle Buckle Up Baby Bangle and Ring:
The Henri Bendel Holiday Stone Cluster Bracelet and Locked Up Bracelet:
Mother Daughter Spa Day
We at HotelCrush are deeply opinionated, but we’re also about objectivity – and fairness. After last spring’s fabulous Father/Daughter Spa Day, it was just a matter of time before we pulled together something equally fabulous for Mom. Our proprietor of choice was Bliss Spa Hollywood, the only Bliss to serve champagne, and therefore the BEST Bliss. Drai’s rooftop lounge was closed for lunch, so we found a sunny table outside at Delphine and dug into bistro fare (a salad for her, a Croque for us). Of course a party isn’t complete without party favors, so we handed her a Bliss bag of our faves: Lemon and Sage body butter, High Intensity hand cream, and Glamour Gloves (“Ooh! those gloves that I use after putting hand cream on?? Oh I SO need these…”)
And then it was off to the spa. We’ve road-tested the Triple Oxygen Treatment, Fully Loaded Facial, and Elemis Tri-Enzyme Facial, but wanted to do something luxe and patently Bliss for mom. We booked her into the Youth As We Know It Facial, a nourishing anti-aging fog of collagen and relaxation, while we opted for our standard Blissage75, a 75-minute knot-tamer fortified with a paraffin foot pack and a full-on hemorrhage of Blood Orange and White Pepper body butter. It was her first time in the spa portion of Bliss, so we were excited to introduce her to the decadent backstage. “The brownies are absolutely drop dead,” we warned, pillaging two at a time. Settling into the comfortable couch, we chatted over sips of bubbly, wished each other well, and plunged vehemently into the last perfect hour of rev and renewal.
When Good Things Go Bad
The faint memory of a sweltering afternoon spent cooling down in a rooftop poolside cabana has kept the Renaissance Hotel peripherally alive on our radar. A hotel at Hollywood and Highland was never going to be anyone’s favorite, but surely it couldn’t be horrible, and yet…that’s what it disappointingly has become. A recent night culled the following impression:
- jarring, loud live "jazz" music
- impressive, Vegas-stature fluorescent lighting
- processed, casino-like feel
- awkward spiral staircase
- world class, airport terminal-like discomfort
We are impressed that such conspicuous mediocrity made it out of the gate unchecked, but as our favorite graphic novel Ghost World says, “It’s so bad it went all the way to good and back to bad again.”
Lip Balm Is a Food Group
It goes without saying by this point that we’ve tried a good 50% of the Bliss product line, from the disturbingly lush Blood Orange & White Pepper body scrub to the glossy, moisturizing Youth As We Know It cream. But two products have powered us through November, assisted by the requisite water and oxygen.
Bliss Problem Salved 20-in-1 Wonder Balm: There is nothing glamorous about a chapped, runny nose, save the minty tingle after applying this amazing balm. Meant for everywhere except the lips, this nose chapstick (and prescription vitamin D supplements) invigorated our pale, vampiric physiology and snapped us out of a seasonal cold without the red-nosed, bloodshot, party-hangover-like aftermath.
Bliss Fabulips Lip Balm: Is it possible to go through a tube of lip balm in two weeks? Yes, it is. Or at least, we’re 3/4 of the way through it and we’re just shy a half-week. This is possibly the most addictive, enslaving product Bliss has released to date. The buttery, faintly coconut-scented texture glides effortlessly across the lips, resting protectively between you and the elements attacking you (ie the harsh, 60-degree weather). We would say that this product is not for the sensory-addicted, but it totally is for the sensory-addicted, and we’ve just ordered another three tubes to carry us through, you know, January.