Today on a routine trip to Sephora to pick up some much needed mascara, I decided to buy myself a little treat. It is a rare occasion when I do something like this. I tend to be rather practical (too practical sometimes) and usually spend my money on things that I "need".

I have been eyeing the Imperial Bedroom Face Palate by Fresh for some months now. And today, on a whim, I bought it for myself. It is an absolutely gorgeous compact that contains a collection of face lusters that are described (by Sephora) as being very aristocratic. Yes I already have a lot of eye shadows, blushes, and lip colors... I did not need this palate du tout, but something about it was begging me to buy it!

Let's start with the case. It is a gorgeous, deep red compact that has a touch of ornate, gold detail on the lid and a lavish-sized mirror inside. Inside, the compact contains five gorgeous confections: Black Chemise Satin Liner (an opalescent black eyeliner), Chantilly Lace Satin Luster (for highlighting cheekbones- or in my case, lack thereof), Gilded Satin Eye Luster, Pale Moonlight Eye Luster, and crown rubies lip shine.

The colors are rich and luminous- the sort that I would imagine one would want to wear on the Orient Express or perhaps when one is feeling particularly regal.

I would love to know what sort of lavish treats you have bought yourself recently...

The Imperial Bedroom Face Palate is $55 and can be purchased at: www.sephora.com

Image courtesy of www.sephora.com

I am a die-hard fan of the original Stella perfume by Stella McCartney. It is a scent that I will never tire of and have been wearing religiously for the past five years. So I was very curious to try Stella Sheer- the limited edition, summertime version of my favorite scent.

Stella Sheer is lovely. It is a light, summery version of the original. Much more fruity and effervescent, Stella Sheer still smells of English rose petals but there is a crisp, citrus note that the original does not have. Here, the amber note (which is my favorite note of the original Stella) is not as prominent, allowing the lighter tones of green apples, lemon and roses to take center stage.

I am not in love with the bottle. The light pink floral appliques are a little too 70's for my taste. But I am willing to put that aside, as I have sampled this lovely scent on three separate occasions now and have fallen in love with it each time. I plan on purchasing this limited edition treat for the summer...

Stella Sheer retails for about $58 and can be purchased at: www.sephora.com

Image courtesy of: www.debenhams.com

I was first attracted to Hermes' Eau des Merveilles by the bottle. Merveilles means "wonder" in French and the packaging for this delightful perfume is the embodiment of wonder. Slightly tilted, the bottle for Eau des Merveilles suggests that when you spray this fragrance, colorful fireworks might come out instead of perfume. Joyful and exuberant, Eau des Merveilles looked like it would lift my spirits (and lately, I figure we could all use a little spirit lifting). This fragrance came out a few years ago and I have just gotten around to trying it. Yes, the bottle is spectacular and I must say, and the fragrance does not disappoint.

Eau des Merveilles is a woody, amber fragrance. The scent is much deeper than the joyous and carefree bottle suggests. The woody fragrance lingers in the background and the amber aspect, once it dries down, plays center stage. There is something captivating and adventurous about this perfume- it is whimsical, yet mysterious. I would imagine its literary equivalent would be Le Petit Prince. Hermes describes this little gem as captivating the spirit of wood, the memory of the ocean and the sparkle of a constellation. Very apropos indeed!

Eau des Merveilles retails for about $120 and can be purchased at: www.hermes.com or at Sephora stores nationwide.

Image courtesy of http://www.miniature-parfum.fr

My social calendar was chock-full last week- which, for me, is highly unusual. I am usually more of a stay-at-home-with-my-chihuahua-and-husband type girl but my birthday was on Saturday so, of course, I had to ring in the festivities for the entire week non-stop. We're talking three nice dinners out, a trip to the theatre, a beach day and a family pool party. Phew! I am exhausted. But it was all in good fun and, alas, I am another year older.

This may sound odd but my favorite part about the entire week was getting ready for each outing. Makeup-wise, this is where my beloved Chanel eyeshadow quads came in handy. I've mentioned before how much I love Chanel eyeshadow. I think the pigmentation is just right and the shimmer is sultry- not tacky (and shimmer can so often become tacky- if it is of poor quality.) The quads are fun because you know that you can't go wrong with the application- the colors are in such harmony with each other.

When getting ready for the theatre (my friends and I saw Spamalot at the Ahmanson- which I highly recommend, by the way) I opted for Chanel eyeshadow quad in Vanities. This is a quad of the purple/ plum persuasion (pictured top, center) and I figured since I was seeing a fun play that I should have fun with my eyeshadow too!

For my birthday dinner at the Viceroy hotel, I decided to go with a modern smokey eye and used the Chanel eyeshadow quad in Beige Velours. This color combination creates a smokey, taupe shimmer (pictured bottom, right) and was perfect for the "alluring" look I was going for.

And for dinner with my girlfriends I went with one of my all time favorites, Chanel eyeshadow quad in Dunes. This quad has shades of smokey grey, and dusky pink, (pictured bottom, left) which can create another subtle but intense smokey eye.

I tend to always buy these eyeshadow at Duty Free when I travel internationally, so I wont be purchasing any new colors until December, when I go to England again. But until then I will be on the look-out for the latest shades and variations...

To purchase Chanel Eyeshadow Quads, visit: www.chanel.com

I am not sure if it is possible to convey my excitement with words right now but I will endeavor to do so.

I just saw the trailer for Sherlock Holmes the movie starring Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law and I'm jumping with **happiness** inside! This film, directed by Guy Ritchie, stars Robert Downey Jr. as the original mastermind detective, Sherlock Holmes. Jude Law is cast as his infamous sidekick, Watson.

My obsession with Sherlock Holmes has been going on for the past twenty years (at least) since I was a little girl. I loved watching the Jeremy Brett version on PBS with my family and the first time I went to London, you better believe that 221b Baker Street was the first stop on my list of tourist attractions (yes, even before Buckingham Palace).

It looks like Guy Ritchie's movie will be a sexed up/ Hollywood version of the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and I'm OK with that. In fact, I'm more than OK with that- I can't wait!

Sherlock Holmes comes out Christmas Day, 2009.

You can view the trailer here.

Movie poster courtesy of: sherlock-holmes-trailer.blogspot.com

Living in Santa Monica, my husband and I receive a lot of house guests- many of them come from England- many are friends and family from America. It might have something to do with our close proximity to the beach or the beautiful California sunshine, but I can't help but think it's because I've finally mastered the art of keeping a well-appointed guest bedroom.

Every now and then we receive an unexpected or last minute guest and I've learned (the hard way) that I should always have our spare bedroom shining and ready to go. The last time we were in England we had an unexpected house guest stay in our place while we were away- I was in agony wondering what state the guest bedroom was in and vowed to never have to worry about that again.

Here are my tips for creating a cozy guest bedroom.

- A spotlessly clean room, of course. Don't forget the cobwebs in the corners...

- Clean, white sheets, a fluffy duvet and new-ish pillows (get rid of any pillows that sag on both sides when you hold them up with one hand... that means they are full of dust mites and dead skin cells... yuck).

- Ample lighting. We recently installed recessed lights in the ceiling and also have an antique- looking lamp by the bed.

- No clutter. Be ruthless- the eye can become accustomed to seeing a stack of old computer manuals in the corner (this I know from experience *yikes*) Edit. Edit. Edit.

- Plenty of fancy hangers for your guest to hang their clothes on. I like the cloth kind with little bows. Also, at least two empty drawers for them to keep their folded clothes in.

- A few interesting books by the bedside table. If you have a television in the room, a stack of DVDs for them to watch if your guests have jet lag and can't sleep.

- A spotless bathroom, fully stocked with extra tissue paper and extra essential items they might have forgotten like razors, toothpaste etc.

- Fluffy, sumptuous white towels folded and placed at the end of their bed with a new bar of soap. (I also like to have a bottle of body wash in the shower, in case they don't like to use bar soap. Right now I love Nivea body wash in Happiness).

- And finally, if you have time, spend the night in the guest bedroom yourself and see if you notice anything that could use improving...

There you have it. My essential tips for a perfect guest bedroom. Now for all those other rooms in the house...

I would love to hear any tips that you use to keep your guests cozy...

It is rare when I use a beauty product that yields fabulous results instantly- so ever since I tried out Chi Silk Infusion this morning, I've been dying to tell you about it.

Chi Silk Infusion is a hair serum that can be used as a leave-in treatment after showering or as a styling aide for dry hair. It is meant to add a silky texture and sheen to your hair while protecting it from heat.

Now, my hair has always been dry- so the fact that this is a heat protectant really appealed to me. My major hair goal in life is to give moisture, I never imagined that my hair could have a silky finish. That was always for other women- namely supermodels. But today after shampooing and conditioning my hair I combed in a small, dime sized amount of Chi Silk Infusion and blow dried it as usual. I could instantly feel the difference. Silky, smooth, soft and (dare I say!) shiny, I'm calling this a miracle in a bottle!

I purchased mine at Rite-Aid for the sale price of $10.99. I've seen online that the product can run anywhere from $20 to $10, depending on the size.

Chi Silk Infusion can be purchased at drug stores nationwide or online at: www.drugstore.com or www.target.com

Image courtesy of www.stylebell.com

My faithful and trusty iBook that I've had for the last five and a half years breathed its last breath yesterday... and I must say I was a little sad to let it go! *But* I am now writing to you from my gorgeous, shiny and new 13 inch MacBook Pro. I am in love with this laptop already. The design is so sleek: backlit keys (!), gorgeous titanium looking frame made of recyclable materials(!)

The website says that it is 'thin and light... polished and refined' and I have to agree. This is the type of laptop that James Bond would have. It will probably take me months to navigate around all of the new technology but luckily I got Apple's One to One service where I have an entire year of personal tutorials from a member of Apple's genius bar. I'm looking forward to writing on my brand new friend for many years to come.

I would love to know what you write on...