My friend who lives in Paris gave me this Natura hand cream for my birthday.

Natura is a Brazilian brand that doesn’t seem to be sold in the U.S. But honestly, I really couldn’t tell you because the website isn’t translated into English, so I just click around looking lustily at the products.

Can I just say a ‘hells yeah’ I’m going to be stocking up when I fly over to attend her wedding this year. This is the best freaking hand cream I’ve used in a long time.

This product is Sabon NYC’s best seller. I’ve talked to several friends who absolutely adore the product, seen it sitting in the bathroom while walking through an open house, and read the rave reviews on Makeup Alley.

I actually have a jar of the Lavender Apple one myself. However, in examining the ingredient listing, I feel like I have to issue a strong warning to those who are using it.

The very first ingredient listed is isopropyl myristate. Not sea salt, not macadamia nut oil, not soybean oil, not sweet almond oil, as are the other ingredients in the product.

Here’s what I found about isopropyl mystrate that freaked the daylights out of me. From an article by James E. Fulton Jr., M.D. Ph.D. (in speaking about the causes of acne from cosmetics):

One of the worst offenders is a penetrating oil called isopropryl myristate, the major ingredient in a can of penetrating rust remover, Liquid Wrench. Isopropyl myristate helps cosmetics apply more smoothly and gives them a slicker, sheer feel. This particular penetrating oil is so aggressive that if left overnight in a beaker will actually migrate over the top, down the sides and onto the table top.

Yes, the reason people love Sabon’s Body Scrub so much is because it’s an oil-based scrub that doesn’t feel oily. It’s the isopropyl myristate at work, folks.

I have to admit that — with much guilt and anxiety — I still use my scrub from time to time. It just smells so good, and it feels so good. Even knowing why the latter is true, it’s still hard to stop.

Isopropyl myristate as a common ingredient in many beauty products, but I wanted to single out this product in particular because of all the hype around it.

Honestly? The best scrubs I’ve ever used are the ones that come in the simplest/most unglamorous packaging and from the smallest companies. If you want to try a great, non-greasy scrub, try Crush on You by Product Body or Shea Butter and Dead Sea Salt Scrub by Maryam’s Soap Nook.

They were giving out these gift bags at their Fashion Week booth, and it was like they were reading my mind on the stuff that I needed/wanted/loved.

From left to right:

No7 Intensive Moisture Face Mask - I have been in the market for a moisturizing face mask. My skin can now be categorized as dry, so anything I can do to boost moisture is good. As Julia of All About the Pretty said to me yesterday, “Welcome to aging.” Ha! (Go read her blog, by the way. Hers is one of my absolute favorites.)

Almond, Pistachio and Milk Body Butter - I love anything almond scented and anything milk scented. Pistachio can join the party. I guess.

No7 Restore and Renew Beauty Serum - I use this product every night religiously. You can read my review here. This was a product that I started out liking okay enough. But you know how some things just wend their way into your heart without you even realizing it? This has been that product for me. I was just thinking last night, how I was running out and that I needed to go buy some more.

Yesterday, I had the chance to stop by the Boots booth in the Bryant Park tents at Fashion Week. What drew me there? The chance to preview the No7 Protect and Perfect Moisturizing Body Serum (pictured below) — the companion to Boots’ #1 selling product in the U.S., No7 Restore and Renew Beauty Serum. The Body Serum will be available in stores starting March 2008.

Also being previewed were the Protect and Perfect Day Cream (available starting September 2008), Protect and Perfect Night Cream (available starting September 2008) and Protect and Perfect Eye Cream (available starting April 2008).

I love hearing how global companies morph themselves between countries. So as I was chatting with Boots District Manager, DeAnna Federico, about the brand, I asked her how it’s perceived in its UK homeland versus how it’s perceived in the U.S. She said that in the UK, it’s more of a prestige brand, especially the No7 line, similar to how Estee Lauder or Clinique are positioned and sold here (i.e. at a department store counter with a salesperson).

This struck me as very interesting given the fact that it’s positioned a notch below in the U.S., straddling the line between prestige and mass. Honestly, I think they’ve played it smart in the U.S. They’ve made themselves accessible to middle Americans by being stocked in mass market retailers like Target and CVS. At the same time, they’ve still kept their upmarket appeal by leveraging the brand’s British heritage and by partnering with a retailer like Target that is perceived as cool no matter what economic/social demographic you fall into.

Believe the hype. Just as great as their iconic hand cream — grease-less, rich and a great all-around moisturizer.

P.S. I did and I will spend my own money on this stuff.

I love Sal Masakala of E!’s Daily 10. And apparently Sal loves Boots. Here he is in the Boots Lounge at Sundance sniffing at a jar of Boots Botanics Body Souffle.

He seems so nice, doesn’t he? At least as far as I can tell from the show. I can just imagine one of the Boots people asking for a photograph and Sal gamely obliging.

“Take a whiff, Sal. Come on. One sniff.”

Or as in the movie, Lost in Translation, “More…intensity!!”

Doesn’t this just look heavenly. Nevermind that I’ve never even tried it. It just looks good.

Bolivian Rose salts extracted from the Andes Mountains, hand harvested Sel Gris crystals from off the island of Noirmoutier in France and natural salts found in the Atacama Desert in Chile. All fragranced with pure Tahitian Tiare absolute.

It’ll cost you. 75 big ones. But look how pretty!

My first time in Vegas, I happened to meander by the Acca Kappa store in The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes, which featured a real indoor canal system (totally over-the-top and Vegas-like, I loved it.)

The store didn’t take up much real estate in the Shoppes, but I remember my boss and I fawning over the products and sniffing at everything until our sinuses couldn’t handle it anymore.

So I was pretty stoked when I returned from my trip, and was contacted by the PR’s from Acca Kappa. I was sent a bottle of the Hibiscus Body Lotion to sample. Heavenly. It’s a bit on the thin side and meant more for perfuming than moisturizing. But the scent is beautiful — it manages to be both sophisticated and complex, while feminine at the same time.

A 10.4 fl oz bottle retails for $34.

I can’t get enough of Carol’s Daughter, especially when the temperature drops and the air dries up. I’ve just discovered some new products from the line that are quickly becoming my favorite beauty indulgences.

The Shea Souffles (gotta love the catchy name) feel like mayonnaise for the skin. Kind of gross, I know, but you gotta admit that mayo does have a rich, creamy consistency. Nearly 50% of the product is composed of shea butter, cocoa butter and other nut and vegetable oils, for ultra intense moisture. The souffle sinks nicely into the skin, and leaves just the lightest sheen to remind you that it’s doing its hydrating work on your epidermis.

I’ve also gotta rave about the Bar Soap, which is handmade and contains glycerin to lock in moisture. It has a creamy, abundant lather that makes showering total fun. I’ve tried the Almond Cookie scent, and absolutely love it!

Have you all tried Carol’s Daughter yet? If not, then I advise you run out and do so immediately. You’re missing out otherwise!

Mama luv body scrubs.

It’s the perfect full body indulgence for the lazy girl. The exfoliant sloughs off dead skin cells, in turn allowing for deeper penetration of the moisturizing oils. That means smooth skin right out of the shower, with no need to apply additional moisturizer afterwards. Gotta love that.

These days, I am really digging Nyakio’s Lemon Rind & Sugar Body Scrub. As you the name suggests, this product contains sugar and lemon rind for a citrusy fragrance. It also features moisturizing sweet almond, jojoba, almond and grapeseed oils to form a non-greasy base that feels quite similar to hair gel.

What I love about this product is that it’s gentle on the skin, while feeling totally indulgent. And how can you not love the beautiful, modern-minimalist packaging?

A hefty 18oz tub retails for $49, but I happened to be lucky enough to score one for just $12.99 at my local TJ Maxx!