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Jun 19th
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Obsessive Beauty

Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Conscious Cosmetics

Conscious Cosmetics

Having trouble finding the absolute perfect shade for your cheeks and lips?  Sure, you can take a gamble at the drugstore and judge the available pigments by eyesight, or you can even ask a beauty consultant at the mall what they would recommend for your skin tone.  But, the most effective and fool-proof way to find that color that looks as if it was made for just your face?  A makeup that adjusts to your individual skin.  Luckily, among other great inventions, recent technological advances have allowed cosmetic companies to create products that do just that.  A friend of mine swears by Dior Addict Lip Glow, which is a color-awakening lip balm with SPF 10 that responds to the color chemistry of your lips to create a shade that is uniquely yours.  It moisturizes, adds sun protection, and enhances your natural lip color, all without looking too done-up. 

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Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Rose Revelry

Rose Revelry

I’ve been a fan of roses and their intoxicating aromas for as long as I can remember. And while it’s not all that often that I have actual roses in my life (and what a shame that is), I tend to work some form of them into my daily routine: dabbing rose essential oil on my wrists in lieu of perfume, or enjoying rose hips in my tea. But it is my latest use of the prolific flower that has me really obsessed: spritzing my face with rose water.

The idea to use this all-natural concoction (a by-product of rose hip oil made from steam distillation of fresh rose petals) on my face came to me from none other than Obsessive Beauty founder and all around beauty maven Christa Martin. Christa graciously accompanied me, a reluctant make-up wearer, on a recent search for a new face powder. I settled for a mineral powder—which looks great and gets the job done, except for one small thing: I can’t stand feeling like I’m wearing makeup, and the heavy minerals leave me with a distinct awareness of just that. Before the sales lady could persuade me to buy an expensive bottle of “hydrating spray” (nothing more than expensive water, it turns out), Christa plucked one of her useful beauty tips from her arsenal, suggesting I invest in some rose water instead.

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Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Anthology Magazine

Anthology Magazine

It debuted in the fall of 2010, and quickly gained attention from design lovers. Meet Anthology magazine, a new publication released by UC Santa Cruz grad Anh-Minh Le and co-founder Meg Mateo Ilasco, a well-known crafting author. Together, the pair has introduced a much-needed, relaxing, inspiring, gorgeous magazine featuring interior design, also called a “shelter and lifestyle magazine.” It’s been a long time since I found a publication like this, where you actually want to read every article, and mosey through the magazine, absorbing the wealth of creative insights. In its first run, which came out in the fall of last year, the magazine interviewed Design*Sponge blogger Grace Bonney, it took a look at charming items for your home, and offered up much more. In this second issue, recently on stands and selling at places like Stripe in Downtown Santa Cruz, the editorial team reveals some drool-worthy home items, looks at an art gallery in San Francisco, shares about hot cocoa and more. The magazine is published quarterly and sells for $12. Visit anthologymag.com for a closer look, to order a copy, or follow their blog. Or, stop by Stripe in Downtown Santa Cruz to pick up your own issue of Anthology.

Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Best Beauty Products

Best Beauty Products

Among beauty aficionados there’s the saying, “So, what are you using?” In response, Obsessive Beauty has decided to share our favorite beauty products with our kind readers. We’ll reveal our secrets over the course of several posts. Here’s a look at what makes our faces look better every day:


Foundation: Chantecaille Future Skin. At $68 for a small jar, this is definitely an investment, but makeup artists have told me that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie have both been reported to use this line of foundation.

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Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Under My Umbrella

Under My Umbrella

A showery spring is setting in and what better way to celebrate than by jumping on the chic umbrella bandwagon. Sure an umbrella is functional, but who ever said that function can’t be fashionable? This season British handbag and accessories designer Lulu Guiness brings a bumper crop of chic umbrellas to the market, including everything from jaunty stripes to perky polka dots. To be certain those pesky raindrops don’t wilt your hair, try the adorable birdcage bubble umbrella, which extends down over your shoulders. And finally, to add a glamorous panache, be sure to choose an umbrella with a retro u-shaped handle. You’ll be singin’ in the rain in no time.
Find your new umbrella at luluguiness.com

 

Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Go To Girls

Go To Girls

Everybody has them—the people that soothe your tired muscles, defuzz your hairy arms, keep your grey roots in tip-top shape, and ensure your acne never returns. I call them my “go to girls”—the women I “go to” in Santa Cruz who I recommend wholeheartedly. Here they are:

Waxing: Kathleen Birch at Prima, 312 River St., Santa Cruz, 423-3360

I’ve been getting my arms (and occasionally other things) waxed by Kathleen for several years now. Prior to seeing Kathleen, I tried out various other estheticians in Santa Cruz who do waxing. Every time it was painful. But after one session with Kathleen, I’ve been a loyal client ever since. She uses a soy-based wax, and there’s something about her technique that doesn’t cause me to scream. Now, for the most part, I wax only my arms, but on the occasion when Kathleen has waxed my arms or bikini line, yeah, it hurt, but not as bad as the other places that I’ve gone to. She’s been doing this for years, she’s as sweet as they come, and her prices are quite reasonable.

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Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Spring Forward

Spring Forward

With New York’s Fashion Week behind us now, the common fashionista can start putting together her spring wardrobe using inspiration from the pieces that hit the runways. Some of our favorites were pieces by YSL (the red, flowy dress that Nicole Kidman was already spotted wearing), and the images here are of Marc Jacobs’ looks for spring. These were our favorite. With bright spring colors that have a deeper shade than normal, and plenty of floral inspirations, this collection is for the woman with a delicate, feminine and mysterious side. We have no doubt that this concept will be popping up in stores everywhere. Take a look when spring happens and see how strong this collection’s influence will be on upcoming styles. As for your own version (as many of us can’t afford to buy Marc Jacobs), try incorporating two powerful hues together, like the dark purple and brown seen here, or the chocolate and pink combinations. Find a felt flower hair clip, or discover a necklace of a rose, or attach a broach to your jacket, or find a cocktail ring that boasts a large flower. Your options are endless. Now, off to it—go shopping!

Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Anthropologie Does Weddings

Anthropologie Does Weddings

If only this was around two years ago when I got married. Ladies, it’s now official—Anthropologie, the beloved fashion store we all love to visit, is now offering a line of wedding gowns, bridesmaids dresses, shoes, hair accessories, coverings and more. And of course, every single thing is gorgeous. Sure, the prices are sky high for the gowns (which by the way are completely stunning), but if nothing else, they’re beautiful to look at. And hey, if you can swing $1,500 for your dress, then go for it. And if you can’t, you might at least be able to find shoes, hair pieces, and a wrap at their new site, bhldn.com. Instead of blathering on here about what you might find, we’ll offer up this series of images that are inspiring and beautiful.

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Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

A Lot of Lotta

A Lot of Lotta

She’s a self-made crafty businesswoman whose textiles, designs, post it notes, bags, and much more have defined her as the “go to” woman in Scandinavian design. Meet Lotta Jansdotter, one of our design favorites. Visit Jansdotter.com for a full look at the artist. Long ago, Jansdotter was a student at Santa Cruz’s very own Cabrillo College. Then she took the next logical step and took her creative self to the bustling artistic haven of San Francisco. There, she launched her own business and began designing textiles and more. Her simple, modern, accessible, nature-based, and completely beautiful style quickly won her legions of fans and followers. After a while, Jansdotter took off to Brooklyn, New York, and her business continues to grow. She’s published several books on sewing and design through Chronicle Books, she teaches art workshops, and these days you can find much of her stationery items at any local bookstore. I’ve been to her work studio in Brooklyn and plopped down a bunch of money on bags, paper products, sewing kits and more. Recently, Jansdotter came out with one of her most inspiring books thus far, “Handmade Living.” It’s something of a coffee table book that takes a look at her home in Brooklyn and her work studio, and the creative way she has decorated and designed these various places. Think of it as a gateway to a great designer’s personal world. The book feels more like a magazine—something to escape away with, read, dog-ear pages, and become inspired.  Learn how to make a mobile, discover a cinnamon roll recipe, find a creative way to hang your dishes, and so much more. “Handmade Living” will help you take a stab at creating your own handmade life.

Blogs - Obsessive Beauty

Be Still My Heart

Be Still My Heart

Valentine’s Day brings scores of sultry, skimpy lingerie to the racks in an attempt to lure men into making a purchase for their sweetheart. But ladies, if you have received a bra and panty set of this caliber you know that you wear it once before it becomes forever banished to the back of your underwear drawer for all time. It’s not that it’s not a gorgeous gift, but the comfort factor on these slinky get-ups is slim to none. What you need to do is educate your man on how to buy sexy lingerie that is actually comfortable to wear. Enter Cosabella, the chic and super comfortable Italian brand that has garnered accolades the world over since its introduction in 1983. I recently purchased two Cosabella bras—lacy yet suitable for everyday wear—from Camouflage, and have nothing but praise for the sexy little numbers. Supportive and soft with pretty straps and a construction that does not squeeze or pinch? Sold. With this little secret making you both happier on a day-to-day basis, who needs Valentine’s Day?


Find Cosabella lingerie at Camouflage, 1329 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.

 
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CYNDI

On the eve of Cyndi Lauper’s Mountain Winery gig, we dissect the woman, the icon, the creative beast. Plus: Her thoughts on the music industry, equal rights and those sparkling ‘Kinky Boots’ Few performers possess the kind of fierce, she-bopping tenacity Cyndi Lauper has become famous for. Equal parts free spirit, civil rights activist and Grammy-winner, Lauper is one of the few creative artists able to successfully marry her cutting-edge verve with a heart-of-gold panache. It certainly has helped fuel the remarkable career resurgence she has been experiencing lately.

 

Field to Vase

Open house provides opportunity for residents to meet their local flower growers Valentine’s Day is a high point of the year for those in the cut flower business. So when, one year in the late ’90s, the bouquet-riddled holiday failed to deliver for Kitayama Brothers Farms, the family behind the decades-old rose-growing business knew something was wrong.  “It was the writing on the wall,” recalls Stuart Kitayama, operations manager for the Watsonville-based company. “Those of us who had been hoping things would just get better finally said ‘it’s time to change.’”

 

The Price of Safety

The city's proposed budget addresses public safety needs The City of Santa Cruz’s pocketbook has come a long way since 2009, when an $8 million shortfall loomed. According to City Manager Martin Bernal, the proposed general fund budget for 2013-2014 is healthier than it has been since the beginning of The Great Recession in 2008. Armed with this returning stability, the proposal puts one of the community's top concerns—public safety—front and center.

 

Community Studies 2.0

After a controversial suspension, a new incarnation of the unique UC Santa Cruz major is reinstated The UC Santa Cruz community studies lounge is a great place to have a conversation.  Housed on the second floor of a faculty building in Oakes College, just down the hall from a whiteboard that reads “COMMUNITY STUDIES LIVES,” the room has a big round table, couches and chairs, and shelves stacked with past senior “capstone projects.”

 

North Pacific String Band

Jeff Wilson, who plays banjo for North Pacific String Band, loves being part of original music experiences. “What I like about the music we play is that it’s fairly unique and kind of hard to put your finger on,” Wilson says. “We’re not just trying to do bluegrass or country or folk. It’s a mixture of those things and we try to add in a lot of musicality to all of that.” Originality and musicality aren’t ideas which are limited to the band’s exploits either.

 

Peace in the Middle East

New dance-concert explores Palestinian-Israeli conflict Inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, local choreographer Karl Schaffer’s “Mosaic” is a dance-concert featuring Jewish Diaspora and Arab music from the women’s choral group Zambra, singer Fattah Abbou and a troupe of local dancers. In between rehearsals for the show, which runs June 21-22 at Motion Pacific, Schaffer shared the story behind its creation.

 

Muscle-Bound

Valiant cast battles loud, ugly action for the soul of 'Man of Steel' Early in Man of Steel, fourth-grader Clark, the boy who will be Superman, is cowering in a broom closet at school, eyes screwed shut, hands clapped over his ears. He can't control his super powers: his X-ray vision shows him the skulls and skeletons under everyone's flesh; unfiltered noise—dogs, traffic, heartbeats—assault him from all sides. Rushing to school, his mom kneels outside the door and asks what's wrong.

 

The Plug Bug & Corbin Dunn

Mechanic, programmer, acrobat, builder, tinkerer. Corbin Dunn's 1969 Volkswagen Beetle is a fully electric vehicle. It has an electric motor powered by 48 stacked squares of Lithium-ion battery cells under the hood in place of the 50 horsepower gas engine that it was built with. He calls it, affectionately, “the Plug Bug.” Dunn, who was born in Hawaii, raised in Corralitos, and now lives in a large, old A-frame house near the summit in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is a 35-year-old programmer for Apple in Cupertino, where he helped develop the iPhone and works on the framework for the Macintosh operating system. But his aptitude for intricate technical work is not limited to computers. Dunn is a tinkerer.

 

Making the Grade

The quest to identify sources of high levels of bacteria at Cowell Beach continues With straight As on Heal the Bay’s annual “beach report card” for 10 out of 13 Santa Cruz County beaches—Main Beach, Seabright, and even Cowell Beach at the Stairs, to name a few—it would seem that Santa Cruz boasts a high coastal GPA. But in recent years, one Santa Cruz beach just can’t seem to pass: Cowell Beach west of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

 

Flag Day, Father’s Day and Chiron

Another week of complex planetary energies falling to Earth. Mars interacts with Pluto (inconjunct), Uranus (sextile) and Chiron (square, challenge, ouch!). We won’t know how to comprise, we’ll want to be friends but our hurts will challenge that desire.
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Good Morning Maui

Goodness, righteousness, virtuousness and fairness are some of the four-score English words that attempt to describe the Hawaiian essence of pono, whose use in the state motto translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

 

The Power of Conversation

Local author Cecile Andrews emphasizes importance of community engagement in newest book Cecile Andrews, author of the new book “Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good,” probably wouldn’t get along too well with Larry David’s character from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, known for hiding his face and avoiding communication with anyone he runs into on the street. Andrews is a longstanding part-time Santa Cruz (part-time Seattle) resident who says something that’s struck her about this town over the years is people's willingness to participate in a practice she’s dubbed the “Stop and Chat”—which is exactly what it sounds like.

 

Is Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor?

He's a patriot. Anyone who stands up for the rights that we stand for as a country, that is real democracy. That would be in my book—somebody who is a patriot. Leah WeissSanta Cruz | Therapist

 

Best of Santa Cruz County

The 2013 Santa Cruz County Readers' Poll and Critics’ Picks It’s our biggest issue of the year, and in it, your votes—more than 6,500 of them—determined the winners of The Best of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll. New to the long list of local restaurants, shops and other notables that captured your interest: Best Beer Selection, Best Locally Owned Business, Best Customer Service and Best Marijuana Dispensary. In the meantime, many readers were ever so chatty online about potential new categories. Some of the suggestions that stood out: Best Teen Program and Best Web Design/Designer. But what about: Dog Park, Church, Hotel, Local Farm, Therapist (I second that!) or Sports Bar—not to be confused with Bra. Our favorite suggestion: Best Act of Kindness—one reader noted Café Gratitude and the free meals it offered to the Santa Cruz Police Department in the aftermath of recent crimes. Perhaps some of these can be woven into next year’s ballot, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the following pages and take note of our Critics’ Picks, too, beginning on page 91. A big thanks for voting—and for reading—and an even bigger congratulations to all of the winners. Enjoy.  -Greg Archer, EditorBest of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll INDEX | Shops | Food & Drink | Arts & Entertainment | Health & Fitness | Professionals | The Rest |

 

Dancing Creek Winery

At the Pinot Paradise event back in March, I tasted some very good Pinots from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Dancing Creek Winery’s 2009 Pinot ($27) was one of them. This plummy dark brew, made from grapes grown in Corralitos, has delicious flavors of pomegranate, prosciutto, dried cherries, and mint julep.

 

Paying it Forward

Pianist Benny Green wants jazz’s past to continue to inform its future I can honestly say I’m still learning.” Hearing such an admirable, humble statement from someone like Benny Green—a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and band leader whose 30-plus year career includes performances and recordings with jazz luminaries like Oscar Peterson, Art Blakey and Betty Carter—might be surprising at first. But Green’s insatiable desire to keep learning has served him well. That desire—and his deep love of jazz—is something he wants today’s younger musicians to feel, too.

 

A Very Fine House

Adjacent to the front door, the long, clean wooden bar is surrounded by pumpkin-colored stools. At the entrance to the dining rooms, there is a new low-slung cafe door hung in the wood-covered arch. Where there once was a stage, stocky wooden tables are neatly arranged perpendicularly on a new tile floor, each set with square white plates and burnt orange cloth napkins.

 

Exposed

David Cay Johnston’s new book explains how big companies rob us blind In his late teens David Cay Johnston started to ask questions. “Why do we have these guys in uniforms with guns driving around in cars all day?” “Why is the Santa Cruz County Courthouse being built in such an unusual shape?” He wrote an article, while still living in his hometown of Santa Cruz, proving that the off-kilter courthouse building, which officials had promised would save money, actually cost more than a conventional building.

 

What’s your secret to avoiding the summer swarms?