YUMI KIM Friends & Family Event

50% OFF on all Spring/Summer 2009
July 1st-July 15th

www.yumikimshop.com

Enter code at check out: ykfamily
OR mention this in the YUMI KIM shop

Yumi Kim is one of our fave designers. She makes quality stuff. She’s fantabuloustastic!!

Smartypanties is out for the weekend (perhaps I’ll check in but don’t count on it).

We’re off to Long Island to bask in the sun (cross our fingers!)

We Love You, Darlings! Go watch some Fireworks!

Have we mentioned how obsessed we are with Rachel Ray? We just love her! One of the perks of our job is monitoring children’s advertising, which leaves us with a DVR and TV in our office. Being the Smartypanties that we are, we decided to start DVR-ing Rachel Ray and watching her as we eat lunch. We’ve seriously started to learn to actually cook! It’s fantastic.

I digress. There was this dude on her show, David Zinczenko, Editor of Men’s Health magazine who just came out with a new book called Eat This Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide. The book helps you navigate the supermarket and teaches you tricks and pitfalls of the food manufacturers.  For instance, did you know that Fat Free usually just means added sugar and salt. I mean, to quote RR, if you eat 1200 calories of Fat Free, you’re still going to be the size of a house! Touche RR, Touche.

He discussed some good tricks on the show we thought we’d share:

Be on the lookout for high fructose corn syrup–it’s in everything. It’s just like sugar. It’s a little creep that may be causing you to gain weight.

Ignore buzzwords on packaging like “All Natural,” “Fat Free” and their cousins. It’s a nutritional fakeout. Just go straight to the nutrition label. Basically like if you’re purchasing a loaf of bread–it should have 6-7 ingredients. Not 50! You should also aim for 3 grams of fiber per every 100 calories.

I’m definitely going to check out this book. Let us know if you already have in the comments!

PS-WE Heart you Rachel Ray! Have an EVOO filled holiday!

Avocados are apparently more than just the perfect garnish to my burritos!

So lately we’ve become part of the natural school of makeup as far as skincare products go (blah blah blah, we know, you’ve heard). In our opinion there is no way that spreading chemicals on your skin is going to keep it from aging. Some dermatologists even think that the more crap you load on your skin, the less your skin will remember to produce the vital oils that keep you looking naturally young on its own. The last thing I want my skin doing is relying on some $200 a tube skin cream that the second I put it down I age 35 years.

Enter Morris Organics. Its products feature avocado oil-one of nature’s most potent age-fighting assets! Did you know that it’s clinically proven to significantly increase the collagen in skin? I didn’t. The line is designed to work with your skin’s own chemistry to reverse early signs of aging. The company is green-meaning, free of artificial fragrances, colors and common irritants. Even their product labels are printed with pigment instead of ink (which we’re told means no bad environmental emissions). Oh yeah, did I mention they’re cruelty free? We met the creator who told us that she’s the only guinea pig used. Stefanie Morris discovered the power of avocado oil while desperately searching for a lotion or cream that would keep her super-sensitive skin moist. The rest is history.

We were lucky enough to be given samples of the Skin Perfecting Body Lotion ($15.95) as well as the Collagen Intensive Eye Repair ($18.00). We were wary (as always) that it may make our skin break, out but alas-my skin has been smoother than ever and actually I’ve seen fewer blemishes than before when I was using my Paraben-filled Neutrogena lotion. I even used the eye-cream as my face lotion for a bit (darn, till it ran out!). It really softened up any dry spots I had.

They also have a 100% organic Body polish filled with Dead Sea salt, honey, and avocado oil ($17.50). This is on my wish list. Followed closely by Avocate Skin Glow ($45.00). We tried this out when we had the pleasure of meeting Stefanie Morris. It’s the premiere product in the line, but weighing in at $45, it’s a steal. It’s made with avocado oil (shock), vitamins A and E and essential oils. The reason it’s more expensive is because it’s infused with Jasmine (which costs $15,000 a gallon). If you’re like me, the thought of slathering oil on your face makes you feel like you’re going to re-visit middle school complete with Oxy Pads and the Clearasil. I was shocked when it quickly absorbed and was not the tiniest bit greasy about 2 minutes later.

Visit MorrisOrganics.com to purchase. Make your skin happy!

*As always Smartypanties received the product samples in order to try them out. However, this in no way taints our opinion about the products. Trust us, there are tons of products we get that you’ll hear a not-so-glowing review or never hear of at all.

Hilary Duff will be playing Olivia Burke, a movie star who enrolls at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. I can’t wait to see how she fits in with Serena and Blair!

So lately I’ve been rocking the bangles. Our new fave designer is Alex and Ani. You know we’ve been getting down with the whole green movement. Each Alex and Ani piece is environmentally conscious and hand crafted from recycled metals that inspire the spirit by designer, Carolyn Rafaelian. This effort to incorporate environmental consciousness while staying fashionable is extremely important in the world we live in.The line consists of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, and hair accessories, and fuses glamour and consciousness. The Alex and Ani’s expandable concept allows for each piece of their jewelry to have a perfect custom fit!!!

We Love These! One is just $21.

This big set is $138. For good jewelry, we’re thinking it’s a pretty good deal.

Visit AlexandAni.com to check out these styles!

We are LOVING this Alice & Olivia Dress!