+   = LOVE

Wish you had the energy to give back after a trying day at the office but not feeling so social? There are even easier ways to give back! Dashing Diva is teaming up with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for a Fundraiser.  Got enough money for your weekly mani-pedi? Then you’re invited!

What: Fundraiser to benefit the ‘Team In Training’ at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

When: Tuesday, April 7, 2009.  5-8pm

Where: Dashing Diva, 201 E 15th Street @ 3rd Avenue

What: The fundraiser will offer manicure and pedicure for only $35.  Plus, 20% of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the ‘Team In Training’ at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The event will be open to the public, and all guests will receive a free Cosmo drink and gift bag with polish, file and other goodies.

Are you thankful this year? For anything? Keep your job? Someone sick you know get miraculously better? Get an A+ on a test? Pass the bar exam? Get asked out by the hottie you’ve been crushing on? Well, Smartypanties challenges you to give back!

We are so super impressed with a young group of NYC girls who decided to get involved in their community, City Chicks for Charity. These girls invented a way to combine charitable giving, drinking, socializing and meeting new friends–genius!

Between working ridiculous hours, juggling crazy amounts of first dates, and trying to find 5 minutes to make that pilates class, how does the modern metropolitan woman find time to give back to the community?

Answer: City Chicks 4 Charity. CC4C understands the demands of being a young professional woman and aims to make it as easy as possible to volunteer while having fun and maybe even having a cocktail or two along the way. CC4C’s goal is to provide young ladies a friendly and fun environment to get involved with a unique variety of charitable endeavors.

Hit up their upcoming event:

When: Mon, March 30, 7:00pm – 9:30pm
Where: Irving Mill (map)
Description: Chick gathering to discuss their new website and talk about upcoming events!

So we just tested out Mrs. Meyer’s laundry products and we’re here to SPRING their praises. This past weekend the BF was away so we decided to SPRING for new, fun, and fresh cleaning products and then stay home and do our laundry. We’re cool, we know.

My social life aside, we tested the Lemon Verbena laundry detergent, the Basil scented dryer sheets and the Geranium scented fabric softener.  The scents are all heavenly. Basil sounds weird, right? But it’s not! It’s glorious! It smells fresh and hardly resembles a bunch of basil from your grocery store. The scents are all light and not overwhelming.  They’re the type of scent that can be breathed in by sniffing the clothes but not so overpowering that it will give your loved ones an allergic reaction.  Laundry Detergent, $14.99 is concentrated enough to do 64 loads! Fabric softener is $7.99 and all ingredients are derived from plant sources and essential oils. 

Then of course we couldn’t stop there. We had to purchase some candles too! We kept one for our apartment and one for the smelly BFs (jk honey). The lavender scent smells fresh and sweet so my Sissy and I kept it for our apt. The Lemon Verbena is a sweet citrus and I think I nailed it on the head when I described it to my sister as “it smells like the white part of the bomb pop tastes.” You know? Those red, white and blue pops you have at the pool in the summer! It smells like that. It’s just a perfect sweet citrus flavor with the perfect amount of SPRING! Did I mention it’s made from vegetable (soy) wax and has a lead-free, metal-free wick? Don’t care about that? How about it burns for 35 hours! Not too shabby for $9.99!

Visit Mrs. Meyers online to see other products! We really think you’ll love them as much as we do! We’re just obsessed with the idea that they’re not much more expensive that your regular drugstore brands, yet they’re better smelling and don’t contain all the harmful ingredients!

Go ahead, get your spring cleaning on!

CELEB STYLE SALE!

Celebrity Style Sale – Save 20% on everything at CC Skye with code “ILOVECCSKYE” at check-out. Now through 3.21.09. The website specializes in celeb style:

COSABELLA SALE!

Soire Lingerie Sale – Shop now for 25% off all Cosabella Soire lingerie. Use code “SOIRE” at check-out for 25% off your order.

KATE SPADE SALE

Spring Must-Haves Sale - Enjoy 25% off a smart collection of Kate Spade spring handbags, wallets, shoes, and jewelry. Sale runs through 3.23.09

Funky La La: 20% off new items with code MUSTHAVE and 15% off sale items with code SPRINGSALE through 3/16. Designers like Botkier, Kooba.

Lindsay Lou: 50% off Jay Godfrey, Gryphon and Kova & T with code Love50 through 3/24

Clutch Seattle: 25% off regularly-priced items with code “Springfling” through 3/23

Le Train Bleu: 30% off with code “lucky” through 3/23

Pink Mascara: 20% off with code People20 through 3/26

Thank you Grechen’s Codes and The Sale Rack for these finds!

Hi Bitchessssssssss. It’s Monday morning and no one is particularly cheery. What are you? Bored. So in your attempt to procrastinate (after you read your morning genius on our blog) we have some activities planned. Namely it’s self promotion but whatever. Please join our Facebook pages–

Our Blog Network

Our Fan Page

Our Group

We love getting more readers and since we give you our content for free we’d totes appreciate if you would take a moment and join at least one group to show your love! (Or join all 3 if you’re in a giving mood!)

So, we’re not doctors but we love helping you guys (and frankly ourselves too) learn about healthy habits to keep our skin looking young and healthy. We’ve recently been reading up on some articles featuring the advice of internationally renowned dermatologist Dr. Zein Obagi of ZO Skin Health. We like him because his philosophy isn’t to drown your skin in expensive skin products. Here is some of his advice:

Prevention through skin washing and exfoliation is key!

FROM THE EXPERT: “Once pores are blocked, problems begin and breakouts occur. Look for products that have salicylic acid, alpha hydroxyl acids, benzoyl peroxide and retinol. Also, wash with tepid water instead of hot, which increases oil production.”

Give up the quick fixes and turn to long-term solutions!

FROM THE EXPERT: “Instead of relying only on moisturizers and “dream creams” for a quick fix, put the full focus on wrinkle prevention. Look for products with retinol, one of the few substances that help to
produce collagen and elastin, and regularly exfoliate to soften fine lines.”

When in doubt, do nothing!

FROM THE EXPERT: “If you don’t know what products are right for your skin, don’t use anything. Using nothing is better than using the wrong thing. If you’re still a beauty junkie who can’t let go completely,
look for products that are labeled non-comedogenic (that’s medical talk for “won’t clog pores”).”

We just found out that he has his own skin-care products. We’ll be testing these out soon and letting you know what we think…

Few things infuriate me more than seeing idiots at the gym drinking Vitamin Water while they work out.

If they’d ever bothered to lookat the label, they’d see it’s literally just SUGAR and has no nutritional benefits.

Important life lesson: just b/c the company that wants you to buy it says it’s good for you, doesn’t mean it’s true.

Read more here.