Kai Perfume Oil

For the longest time, I've had a $50 gift card to Barneys New York. 50 bucks doesn't go far at Barneys which is why it took me so long to get my virtual shop on. But recently, I decided to cash it in on a bottle of Kai Perfume Oil - and let me tell you, while the bottle is tiny ($48 gets you 1/8 oz), this was money very well spent.

Kai's perfume oil is a blend of fresh gardenias and white exotic flowers made with essential oils in a convenient and easy to use roll-on vial. Whenever I wear it and catch a whiff of myself, I'm instantly transported to an exotic island paradise. I just want to LIVE in this fragrance. Kai is the perfect warm weather perfume and I've already packed it away in my bag for my trip to Miami later this week.

Since creator Gaye Straza launched the line in 1999, Kai has established a cult following - including celebs Cate Blanchett, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Giuliana Rancic, Naomi Watts and Reese Witherspoon. Kai can add Daneen Baird to that list because I'm hooked and fully intend on adding to my Kai collection (I just added the body wash and body butter to my beauty wish list).

Scooped By Oprah: Kai Body Buffer

In the winter of 2007, Oprah named Kai’s Body Buffer as one of her Favorite Things. "Bathing is an art form and nobody enjoys it more than I do," she said. More than a year later, I can finally appreciate why Oprah is so enamored with Kai.

Every morning when I lather up with the Kai Body Buffer, my cold and uninviting shower/tub hybrid is instantly transformed into an island paradise. Infused with exotic perfumes and natural essences (including palm, coconut and olive oils), the hypo-allergenic sponge foams when wet - gently cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing my winter-worn skin. The suds are so intoxicatingly fragrant that I don’t want to rinse them off; the scent is nothing short of divine. I want to smell like Kai every second of every hour of every day. Next on my wish list is Kai Eau de Parfum...because I'm quite serious about wanting to live my life enveloped in this exotic aroma.

Gals-on-the-go will love Kai’s Body Buffer because it’s an simple way to fit some much-needed pampering into your jam-packed lifestyle.

A set of two sponges (30 uses each) retails for $36.

Oprah's Favorite Things 2007

Yesterday, America watched as Oprah unveiled her Favorite Things of 2007 list on an unsuspecting audience in Macon, Georgia. Three hundred golden ticket holders left the convention center pushing shopping carts filled with the (now) most coveted products in the country.

This year, Oprah took her show on the road because Macon consistently has the nation's highest percentage of viewers tuned into her talk show. Filming the "Favorite Things" episode in Macon was a thank-you to the fans, she explained. Audience members left the local convention hall pushing shopping carts toppled with loot – including camcorders, apparel, refrigerators with an LCD TV built into the door – and, of course, beauty products!

When the ‘Queen of All Media’ wants to spoil herself pretty, she reaches for…



Claus Porto Soaps From Lafco New York
These all-natural, bath-sized bars distributed by Lafco New York are a labor of love. They have been created by the Claus Porto's family-run factory in Portugal for the past 117 years. Each bar starts with top quality 100% vegetable soap base and pure, skin softening shea butter. Next, the finest fragrances from the South of France are mixed in so that the scent lasts until the very end of the bar. All of these ingredients are then milled seven times in the traditional European way for a hard, dense soap that has an ultra luxurious and creamy lather.

The jumbo-sized soaps appeal to the senses with beautiful wrappers and 17 magnificent scents, from honeysuckle to grapefruit fig. "They make great hostess gifts," Oprah says.

Cost: $42 (set of 3)
lafcony.com


Kai Body Butter and Body Buffer

"Bathing is an art form and nobody enjoys it more than I do," Oprah says. Kai customized their signature scent into a moisturizing body butter in a tub just for Oprah. Kai body lotion contains safflower seed oil, shea butter, apricot kernel oil, and cucumber a silky whipped soufflé with a moisturizing shea butter base blended with safflower seed oil, vitamins A, C, and E, aloe leaf extract, chamomile flower extract, cucumber fruit extract, apricot kernel oil, and the original kai perfume oil. "It's clean and fresh," she says.

She also loves the Body Buffer by Kai, a hypo-allergenic loofah infused with a light blend of exotic perfumes and natural essences to cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize the skin. Just wet and squeeze to release foaming bubbles that smell like an exotic garden.

Cost: Body Buffer $28; Body Butter $55
kaifragrance.com
Also available at embraceyourstyle.com and eluxury.com


Clarisonic Skin Care System

Developed by the people who created the Sonicare Toothbrush, the Clarisonic Skin Care System helps remove six times more makeup than soap and water alone. The bristles vibrate 300 times per second and massage your face to squeaky clean perfection. The Clarisonic system cleanses so well that products absorb better; reduces oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes; visibly shrinks pores; minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and leaves skin feeling and looking younger and smoother. "It's a miracle massage for your face," Oprah says.

Cost: $195 (includes Cordless Clarisonic, charging cradle, two brush heads, and 2 oz. trial size Gentle Hydro Cleanser)
clarisonic.com