luxury for less

Times are tough, friends. You know that when Vogue starts doing "the look for less" features – (as in their July issue, where one spread was: all items for less than $500!) – that it's time to tighten the belts. But we all still want our indulgences, so, with that in mind, I thought I'd pass on a little luxe for less deal. Remember that silver soap I was telling you about? Well, the company behind it, Cor, is having a summer sale and slashing its prices. The soap usually sells for $125, but from now until July 31st, you can get it for $85. That's a decent-sized savings of 40 bones on the 120g bar. Check it out at Cor Silver. Oh, and I also hear that Cor, which has since broken away from yogawear brand Plank to become it's own stand-alone company, has some exciting new launches in the works. Hopefully, it'll be as shiny and gleamy as the soap.

indulgences: jaboneria marianella soaps

Other than for hand-washing, I'm not much of a soap user. I've kind of bought into the idea that all soaps are too harsh to use on the skin (Irish Spring, anyone?), and there's just so many great, ever-moisturizing body washes out there to suds up with. But the truth is, I'm a bit of romantic when it comes to girlie things and I've always liked the idea of using soap, which seems like a true ladylike thing to do (especially when they're super-luxe and beautifully packaged). So how could I not try these gorgeous handcrafted Marianella Soaps? Created by Venezuela native Marianella Febres-Cordero, they're like little works of art, made with all-natural ingredients like cocoa butter, oatmeal, goat milk and honey, and infused with scents based on Marianella's own memories. The fragrant Aranciata, which fuses teakwood, orange and rosemary, is based on her memory of "Sitting on a wooden bench with my sisters in the parco degli aranci in Rome, watching a magnificent sunset that resembled an Aurora Borealis," while my favorite, Dama de la Noce, with essences of apple, lemon and the so-called Dama de la Noche, is "The smell of warm apple pie, spelling bee fun with my son while swaying in the hammock on the terrace; the warm early night wind diffusing around us the sweet exotic aroma of the Lady of the Night." (Did somebody say pie?) All the soaps are gorgeously wrapped in a swath of linen and tied with colorful ribbons befitting each scent. Needless to say, they'd make amazing gifts, but you may just want to keep these for yourself: the soap is wonderfully kind to skin and leaves it subtly fragrant post-shower. Using them, I kind of feel like a grand dame for a day, a la Sophia Loren. It's love.

indulgences: the healing power of water

This weekend, I had the pleasure of partaking in some long-overdue time with my girls. But instead of opting for the usual brunch or shopping excursion, we hit Body Blitz, a therapeutic water spa in Toronto. This isn't any old spa - they offer the usual spa treatments such as scrubs, muds and massages, but Body Blitz's claim to fame is its healing waters circuit. And while the notion of doing a "circuit" on my fun time gave me pause at first, I quickly found out that it involves no exercise whatsoever: it's basically a ritual way to best enjoy their waters. Basically, you soak in a series of different pools, including warm sea salt, hot green tea and the invigorating (or punishing, whichever you prefer) cold water plunge. And in between these, you visit the eucalyptus steam room as well as a sauna. The whole thing takes roughly an hour and a half to complete and you can linger as long as you like. I have to say it was probably the most divinely relaxing experience I've had in a long time. The ritual, based on ancient practices, is supposed to rid your body of toxins and cleanse and tone the skin while you soak in all sorts of beneficial minerals and antioxidant green tea. But what's amazing to me is how the simple act of sitting in water just rejuvenates and refreshes the body as well as the soul.

indulgences: jaqua pink buttercream frosting guilt-free body treats

I feel like I've been running myself ragged lately with non-stop work and family commitments, so it was time to do a a little something nice for me. But instead of treating myself to cakey indulgences (as is my usual fixation), I went for the next best thing: Jaqua's Pink Buttercream line of body products. I've used the dreamy original Jaqua Buttercream Frosting Body Butter before, and loved it's yummy vanilla icing scent and deep moisturizing power, and the Pink Buttercream line is the next step up: it's girlie pink, of course, and seems to smell even richer than the original. I ran a nice hot bath and cleansed with the divine Pink Buttercream Frosting Shower Creme from the Guilt-free Body Treats kit (which has a shower, creme, body butter and hand creme). The Shower Creme is a lovely skin-softening cleanser with macadamia and evening primrose oils with great sudsing power.
Next, I used the Pink Buttercream Frosting Exfoliating Body Polish, made of natural sugar and the lovely-scented sweet almond oil and hydrating kukui nut oil to soften up my rough spots. After the bath, I sealed in the moisture with rich dollops of the Pink Buttercream Frosting Body Butter – a shea-butter-infused salve with the consistency of thick frosting that conditions and brings life back to even the most winter-weary skin. Finally, I treated my hands to the Pink Buttercream Frosting Hand Creme, which has meadowfoam seed oil which absorbs right away, so your hands are soft but not greasy. And all of it has that rich, vanilla-y aroma that's so comforting. So, basically, you could say that I od'd on pink buttercream frosting, but there's no guilt here: it's all in the name of "me time."

indulgences: frilly lilly bundt cake

I've kind of realized that I'm a bit of a walking contradiction when it comes to my tastes for certain beauty products. Lately, I've been a bit guilty of putting down those ubiquitous, fruity-smelling celebrity fragrances, but all the while, my passion for sugary, girly, dessert-inspired bath and body products continues unabated. My latest find is this delightfully princessy bath infusion called a Bundt Cake by Frilly Lilly. This one is the Birthday Cake model - a big mauvey faux-cupcake confection with white icing, sprinkles and a candy heart on top. And though it looks good enough to eat and smells of yummy cake and frosting, you put this stuff in your bath and it dissolves to release moisturizing oils for the most soothing, divinely-scented soak. At first I was afraid it might be too sugary sweet for even my taste, but the scent is quite soft and pleasing. Plus, it looks pretty on the side of the bath should you want to show it off – on a cake plate, of course.

brush with greatness: YSL touche éclat

If you've picked up most any beauty or fashion magazine over the last few years, you've likely seen YSL's Touche Eclat featured as one of those must-have, best-ever beauty products. I'd been hearing the buzz about this culty item for so long, that I finally caved and bought one, as a little treat to myself after a couple of months of being a good girl and reigning in my fun-money spending. Known as the "invisible concealer," Touche Eclat is said to bring instant radiance to the skin and work like magic to cover up shadows and dark circles under the eyes, without seeming heavy. And after using it, or should I say, "experienced" it, I have to say I'm convinced. Everything about this product just screams "luxe", from the sleek, gold-tone packaging, to the innovative click-pen dispenser with a brush at the end that gives you just the right amount of product each time, so you never overdo it. The formula is so light, however, that it would be really difficult to go overboard: Touche Eclat is sheer, so you can still see your skin through it, but it somehow, through the magic of its light-reflecting prowess, conceals and gives that instant awake-look. Applying it to my skin, with its masterful brush at the end, I can't help but feel like a professional makeup artist, like a Pat McGrath, who probably has this stuff in her makeup kit, too.

indulgences: la compagnie de provence fancy feet cream

It's sad but true, but in the wintertime, I'm perennially guilty of neglecting my feet. Given the lack of opportunity to show them off in cute little sandals, I forgo my summertime, every-three-weeks pedicure, lazily slip them into my Hush Puppies stompers, and ignore the sad state of affairs they've become. Last night, however, I decided to remedy the problem: I slathered on generous amounts of La Compagnie de Provence's luxe foot cream, Fancy Feet, and toppped my feet with socks before bed. (If you're a regular reader of SugarShock, you'll know that one of the things I strive to do is bringing you those undiscovered, under-the-radar products and La Compagnie de Provence is one of them. Love this line, that's a modern take on the tradition of French soap-making.) Today, I'm quite pleased with the results: while it didn't make a huge dent in my unspeakable callouses, my feet are decidedly less parched. It's a pretty scented cream with orchid and water-lilly essences, so it smells divine and it's not so thick and greasy that I can also use it on my hands - a definite added perk.