Daily Rituals: Essential Oils Set

Eight Saints Skincare “Daily Rituals” set

Customize your vibes. Morning, noon, and night and tap into the power of essential oils. Just in time for the holidays Eight Saints Skincare drops their Daily Ritual Essential Oils Set ($79), three unique essential oils for three parts of your day or mood.

Eight Saints Skincare products are all derived from the chosen “eight saints” including highly effective and proven skincare ingredients. These ingredients can also be found in their new aromatherapy products, made to boost circulation, reduce headaches, soothe anxiety, and help to fade scars and stretch marks.

The set include three scents:

WOKE UP LIKE THIS – Energizing notes of geranium, French lavender, a punch of jasmine and uplifting ylang ylang are meant to jumpstart your day, evoking feelings of peace, well-being, and self-confidence. You don’t need to be a morning person to have a good morning. This blend is also good for boosting circulation and reducing headaches when applied to pulse points. The Chamomile can be especially beneficial in helping calm anxiety when flying and Geranium acts natural mosquito repellant.

ISSA VIBE– Sometimes a day can get away from you… You’re vibin’ and suddenly you hit a wave of anxiety, a wave of unsteadiness. Take a moment to soothe and comfort your psyche. This blend mixes sophisticated, sweet, and woodsy varieties like balsam and sandalwood that counteract stress and help ground your mood. Vibe out the rest of the day, you got this. Tip: Apply before happy hour, why not improve everyone’s mood? For centuries sandalwood blends have been the preferred choice for meditation. Roll on palms and work through ends of hair for added shine and restored moisture.

NIGHTY NIGHT – WE MADE IT! Unwind and settle into the chill zone. Blended with calming lavender, frankincense, and comforting chamomile, this blend encourages relaxation and sweet, sweet dreams.

Bonus: We love this aromatherapy blend for PMS and cramps. Apply directly to painful, achy joints. Massage onto feet hitting various reflexology points.

Directions: Apply to temples, wrists, and behind ears. Additionally, Roll-ons work well when applied to pulse points like inner elbows, sides of the neck, or backs of knees. Keep in mind, these are not perfumes, so they won’t be strong and, even for aromatherapy scents, they’re on the subtle side, but the notes work with with one another and I can’t resist a good ylang ylang.

Price: $79

Eight Saints Skincare

The Perfect Gift for Mom, Sister, Wife… or Lover

More is More, a beautiful customizable fragrance by the always luxe and classic Judith Leiber

Talk about a special treat. The gift of this fragrance opened up a new designer door of culture for me. I’m talking about Judith Leiber. You’ve probably heard her name, if you haven’t been lucky enough to own one of her purses yet. They’re special – and special occasion – pieces, so you’ve likely looked longingly at one in a glass case as it sparkled under bright department store lights.

Like this kitschy beauty, which sells for around $5,900 at Bergdorf Goodman

I first heard of Judith Leiber over 30 years ago from my beautiful (and oh so classy aunt), Candace, who lived in the Hollywood Hills. She was married to a hot shot screenwriter who made it in the 1970s and 80s, so she knew all of the beautiful designers. Judith Leiber was already a classic by the time I was a kid. She was known for her beautifully crafted, intricately jeweled minaudières, evening purses made of a metal shell usually encrusted with Swarovski crystals, plated with silver or gold in fun designs like a peach, peacock, watermelon, cupcakes, or snakes.

One of many Judith Leiber masterpieces

And now her legacy lives on with the first daily customizable fragrance. Fashioned in a stunning sculpted perfume bottle adorned with Swarovski crystals, this isn’t your ordinary perfume. It’s a piece of olfactory heaven and a gem for the bathroom or vanity — just like her handbags.

With More is More you can choose from three separate scents that work together as one, depending on your mood or flavor that day. Just select from a sliding dial at the top to get More Gourmand, More Zest, or More Floral and create your own mix. It’s the perfect gift for the maximalist (or minimalist who likes variety) in your life.

How it Works!

FYI: Jerome di Marino, the nose behind the fragrance, loves combining More Gourmand with a touch of More Floral for an indulgent, sexy scent. So, yeah, this is pretty much the perfect gift for any woman in your life.

The legend herself, Judith Leiber

But perhaps the most fascinatingly beautiful thing about this brand is the origin story of survival… the woman herself, Judith Leiber aka. Judit Pető. While researching this piece, I learned that she fled Nazi Europe from Hungary, lived in a house with other refugees, and finally made it to America to find success and meet/marry her first and only husband of over 70 years. She was awarded the highest honors for design in her field, has a museum of her works, and, if all that isn’t impressive and interesting enough, she passed away just a few hours after her husband at the ripe old age of 97. Talk about a long, amazing life filled with survival, beauty, and art.

Looks gorgeous, smells great, feels good. Your mom or wife or girlfriend will thank me.

More is More by Judith Leiber

Hog Wild: Weekend Trips to Tomales Bay, CA

By Jessica Rogers

I made plans for my escape to Tomales Bay in May. I knew I needed something on the books later in the year to break up the monotony of being a shut in during the pandemic. I’d fallen in love with the charming cottages at Nick’s Cove on a day trip long ago, but the waterfront cottages book up so far in advance that I never had the timing right. My plan? Come back one day to spend a night or two here and soak up the salt and rocks. In a rare stroke of luck in 2020, I was able to secure a reservation for two nights during the Halloween weekend. Even luckier, the weather was gorgeous.

The picnic tables at Hog Island Boat Oyster Bar

We hit the road on a Saturday morning, driving further and further away from the crowded communities, each town smaller than the last along the windy country roads leading away from the Bay. Despite stopping for a pleasant lunch at Two Bird Cafe in San Geronimo, I knew we needed oysters immediately upon arrival. I booked a post-lunch snack at the Hog Island Boat Oyster Bar on Resy. It’s a pilgrimage of sorts to eat these shellfish where they are pulled fresh from the sea.

I had avoided the ubiquitous Hog Island in the past as it was always a crowded mess of people shucking their own oysters and fighting for table space. Now, they required reservations and had shucking service. The vibe was festive as I think most people were as overjoyed as we were to be sitting on the water on such a gorgeous day.

Second round of Sweetwaters at Hog Island Boat Oyster Bar

We ordered drinks and Sweetwater oysters at the bar and settled in to enjoy the view. Inexplicably, my husband isn’t a huge oyster fan so I ordered just six, but after trying one I had to order another round just to have more Hogwash, their distinct rice wine vinegar mignonette with jalapeno and cilantro. I could have stayed the entire afternoon sitting there on the bay but the bar was closing, and we had to check into the hotel.

Rustic-chic bedroom in Al’s Cottage

We booked Al’s Cottage, one of the rooms directly on the water. The decor was deliberately rustic, but had modern amenities like heated bathroom floors and a fully stocked minibar (a glorious rare joy in COVID days). The cottage had a living room with a big leather couch and fireplace, and a bedroom with a comfy king-sized bed, both with a direct view out onto the water.

Living room and deck, Al’s Cottage

At the end of the long pier at Nick’s Cove, there is a little boat shack designed for parties, complete with an old piano and a phone to call for food and beverages. Someone was hosting a gathering and the sound of laughter and clinking glasses in the distance made it feel like life was normal again. As the fog arrived, the merry party departed for the evening. The silence set in as the sun faded, and I felt very far from home, even though I was only an hour’s drive away. I headed inside for a nice soak in the deep claw-foot tub.

Fog rolling in at sunset, Nick’s Cove

Given the pandemic, there was no dining service, so we ordered at the front window and ate outside on the deck with the heaters. The food was unremarkable, but the bar was still serving and the martini I ordered was the perfect ending to a beautiful day.

The next morning, we took a short drive to Dillon Beach, a small community tucked away down a rambling road. A new resort of sorts dominates the town with its tiny houses, overlooking an expansive beach with expensive parking. We spent the day reading on the beach and had takeout lunch from the Coastal Kitchen. 

Dillon Beach view from the Coastal Kitchen

For our second dinner, we drove up windy Highway 1 to the town of Tomales for dinner at William Tell House. That night it was just us and another table braving the cold outside dining. The heat lamp helped, as did the amazing fish tacos. The menu was simple, but what lacked in description made up for in flavor – the most

perfectly crisp battered with a mix of vinegary and spicy toppings.

Waterfront dining at Tony’s Seafood

In no rush to get home the day of our departure, we stopped at Tony’s Seafood for lunch, which is also owned by Hog Island. It had a more extensive menu than the Boat Shack so I tried the Earthquake Bay oysters for the first time, which are grown in bags that tumble the oysters as the tide rises and falls. The result is the most tender oyster. We paired this with the decadently rich Cowgirl Creamery grilled cheese sandwich and sipped our wine watching the sun reflect off the water. In that moment, I was filled with gratitude, for the oysters and sunshine and a dream weekend fulfilled.

Earthquake Bay and Kumamoto Oysters, Tony’s Seafood

Skin Remedies for Winter

Moon Juice, Rose Gold, and The Glow Up from Herb & Myth

I need juice. Juice for my face, juice for my body, juice for my soul! Come winter, I don’t know about you, but I need nourishment.

Enter: MOON JUICE, THE GLOW UP & ROSE GOLD from one of my favorite proprietors of organic skincare, Herb & Myth. Founded by Sarita Valdes, an ex-ballroom dancer/artist turned herbalist and aesthetician-in-training in Tacoma, Washington, this beauty line is one of the purest, best organic beauty brands on the market. I call it Farm-to-Face as she curates and collects herbs and essential oils from her vast connections at organic farms in the Pacific Northwest. She doesn’t believe in cutting corners, so things like her non-alcohol packed with essential oils organic mouthwash (which I swear by!) may not run cheap, but you’d be hard pressed to find a fresher, better tasting mouthwash on the market. I didn’t even care about mouthwash before trying hers. It wasn’t part of my repertoire. Until now.

Skin Food… because my skin is hungryyyyy

Her new serums plan to be my winter salvation alongside my staple organic moisturizer, Skin Food, which works beautifully on my sensitive, sometimes acne prone, skin. Everything is pure glow, pure non-comedogenic, pure Herb and Myth.

www.herbandmyth.com