Healthy happy you.
I ran into a friend this week who was on his way to an herbal medicine shop to bulk up on tinctures and teas because his wife is sick. I've dabbled a little bit with herbal remedies — ginger for an upset stomach and echinacea for a cold — but not to the extent that he and his wife do. He said that for minor illnesses they only use herbal remedies, and that they're more effective than Read more
Last week it was Cocktail Week here in San Francisco and I was lucky enough to attend a bunch of the events. The highlight was Thursday's bar school — a day of education. Since I'm an avid home mixologist, I checked out the House-Made Ingredients How-To taught by Jeff Hollinger, general manager at Absinthe, and Neyah White, bartender extraordinaire at Nopa. In the drinks industry, both Jeff Read more
In case you had any doubt about peppermint's ability to ease pain related to gastro issues, researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia recently found that peppermint activates an "anti-pain" channel in the colon. This is great news for IBS sufferers who experience pain caused by inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, because peppermint may help lessen their symptoms. Because of Read more
Humans have been using dubious cosmetics for millennia, and although there are still plenty of suspect products out there, they pale in comparison to the dangerous, deadly, and sometimes just plain horrifying stuff women and men of the past swore by. It's fascinating (and scary) to think about our ancestors' favorite products, so to see the worst of the worst, just keep reading. Read more
Goat, pork desserts, and grilled cheese weren't the only trends we spotted at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. I also attended a seminar devoted to what's hot (and what's not!) in the world of mixology. At The Cocktail Guide, New York's most famous bartender Jim Meehan, of PDT, and Food & Wine's Kate Krader discussed top trends when it comes to drinks. Wondering what you should seek out Read more
In effort to eschew conventional, overly potent synthetic scents, some people have been hitting the bottle. That would be the 190-proof bottle of Everclear or neutral grape alcohol, which are commonly used as bases for creating homemade scents. As ambitious as it may be, natural perfumery involves mixing or pressing together stems, herbs, and petals to make tinctures, and it's an art that is on Read more
I feel pretty lucky, because at my doctor's office, there is also an herbalist on staff. Whatever my ailment, I get the best of Eastern and Western medicine and I feel like the best set of options are being presented to me. A few months ago I met with the herbalist to discuss natural ways for dealing with PMS. Under her guidance, I've been taking chasteberry with much success. I'm not as Read more
On hot, sticky days, sometimes traditional perfume just doesn't work — it's either way too much or just evaporates off your skin five minutes after application. And that's when body spray, the ugly duckling of the fragrance family, turns into the beautiful swan it so richly deserves to be. I know that when a lot of people think of body spray, cheapy Designer Imposters and candy-colored Read more
Perfume is so much more than scent. I love the clever packaging, the colors of the tinctures inside, even the goofy little trinkets that are sometimes included with them. But my heart beats faster when I think about the bottles. Is there anything more luxurious than the sound of them clinking softly on a silver tray? Many of the best are little jewels of design, and so beautiful you'd never dare Read more
Emma Watson might be developing a reputation as a budding fashionista, particularly as she's been making the promotional rounds for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince dressed in gorgeous gowns and enviable hairstyles. But that's far from how she wants to be perceived. "First and foremost, I’m an actress," she told WWD. The starlet has plans to begin college at an undisclosed location in Read more
