55 Secret Street

Web Snob Weekend

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!  See you on Tuesday! 

Stiletto Jungle features the hottest handbag line you've never heard of: Knox Handbags, the soon-to-be darling of Fashion Week.

BagBliss Exclusive: Visionaire gets wonkafied by Louis Vuitton’s Miroir.

Beauty Snob adores the smoky appeal of MAC!

Bag Snob shows you how to get exotic luxe for less with Smythson Mara!

Capes are no longer just for caped crusaders! Instead of a coat, choose from one of fall's must-have capes advises Fashiontribes.

Whether or not you're addicted to Grey's Anatomy, Coquette says it's all about gray for fall.

GlamChic sizes up the most stylish mother-daughter duos in the fashion industry, including the Trumps, Wintours, Versaces and more.

Clean-up your closet for fall: SheFinds has expert tips for organizing your closet to get the most out of your hangars, handbags and shoe storage.

Fashion Indie's Noxema Jackson gives you the 411 on this seasons real must have, The Metro Man.

Available in any shape, size or color this fashion piece is a real treat. Piaffe makeup brings a little perfection to Girlawhirl’s routine.

KRiSTOPHER DUKES thinks these second-skin Christian Louboutin boots will make you a very pretty woman. Lewd wink, wink.

The Jewelry Weblog digs up some jewelry treasures at Konstantino. Denimista Week:

Stylehive's Top 10 High Waisted Heroes - stars who did the hard-to-pull-of high-waisted jeans look.

The "Queen of Mean's" dog is one lucky bitch. How would Second City Style get into 'Trouble' with that inheritance? Check out our dream shopping spree.

Christina reviews and demos the super nifty HairZing at eBeautyDaily.

Papierblog looks at photos and videos from Fall's fashion week and invites you to their fashion event in New York City this fashion week.

Danielle's Essential Experiences blends an "emotional" experience into body products that wins kudos at Ex-Tracts NYC Show says LA-Story.

Styleaholic Najwa Moses catches up with Shoe Blogger Miss Meghan to talk about her new show on HSN!

Get ready for cooler weather with StyleBakery.com's Top 10 Fall Trends to update your wardrobe, plus over 200 favorite picks at every price.

Tucked In My Purse: Prescriptives Tint Balm

So, I really like this stuff.   It's like the perfect storm of necessary elements for a great lip gloss:  it's shiny and smooth, very moisturizing and it's topped off by a delicious watermelon flavor that keeps me reapplying as often as possible.  So far, I have it in Sunset (a coppery pink) , but I promise you that Mulberry (berry with a hint of pink) will be "tucked in my purse" very soon.

Prescriptives Tint Balm SPF 15 - $14.50.

Chocolate Girl

When I think Philip B., I think amazing hair products like his and Rejuvenating Oil For Dry Hair or his African Shea Butter Shampoo. 

So, I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I stumbled upon Philip B.'s Chocolate Milk Body Wash.   I am so surprised that I like it because, as a rule, I am generally not a fan of "food" related beauty products, if you will.   Martini, pina colada or strawberry-scented shower gel? No thanks.  But something about this shower gel really works for me.  Maybe it's the cocoa butter or the aloe, but the smell didn't make me make me sick to my stomach - which is always nice if you plan to bathe with a certain product, right? The Chai Latte is nice too. 

I'll Do Your Dirty Work

 

Ordering cleaning products from New Zealand?  I may just have to do it.  I saw these eco-sexy products by B.E.E. - Beauty Engineering Forever on Swissmiss and fell in instant like! 

If you live in New Zealand, Hong Kong or Australia, you're in luck, but the rest of us will have to wait until they at least get an online store up.  Wouldn't these look great in your laundry room or kitchen?

My Little Brown Eye...

I saw Rhonda Ross last Friday at The Triad, a club on 72nd street with my cousin and a few friends.   Rhonda is the daughter of you know who of course, and she's also a pretty good jazz singer and songwriter.   You can hear for yourself on her music on her MySpace page (click on My Kinda Man - love that!)

It was a bittersweet evening as many people, including Rhonda's husband Rodney Kendrick (who accompanied her on piano) had attended Max Roach's funeral earlier that day.   In fact, Rhonda dedicated a song to his memory.   I can't believe that I can't remember which song it was, but it was by Abbey Lincoln, a great jazz singer in her own right and Max Roach's ex-wife.   As a prelude to her very sweet rendition of Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly, Rhonda told the story of how she and Rodney met.   Rhonda went to Brown, where she was studied jazz.  Her mom gave her a ton of CDs to listen to including some by Abbey Lincoln.  One day a friend invited her to come and see Ms. Lincoln sing in Boston, which is about thirty minutes from Providence.  That was the night she saw Rodney for the first time - he was playing piano.   Rhonda was so moved ("Mascara was running down my face!")  that she didn't take her mother's advice and go backstage to meet Ms. Lincoln.  That would happen six months later at the legendary New York jazz club, the Blue Note.   Once again, Rodney was playing with Ms. Lincoln and the rest, as they say, is history. 

And for my fellow beauty junkies out there, you may have noticed that Rhonda is an afrobella.   In fact, the first time I saw her show a few years ago, her locs went down to her knees.  I asked her what she used on her hair and she had to think about it for a minute.  "I don't know - just some stuff from the drugstore and a little castor oil.  That's all."   I had to laugh because she really had to think pretty hard about it.   

After the show, we had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Nice Matin.  I started with Shrimp in Garlic Oil with Italian long hot peppers and the Ravioli Nissarda for the entree.  Ravioli Nissarda is short rib ravioli flavored with orange and sage, red wine daube sauce and parmesan.   Delicious!

Dinner and a Movie - and Books - at Home

Speaking of good food, Cookthink is a site that I found through one of my pals, Natalie of Coquette.   Basically, you just plug in the type of food or even just the ingredients you've got a taste for and Cookthink comes up with suggested recipes for you to cook.  I typed in "salmon" and "exotic" and a tasty recipe for Broiled Thai Shrimp came up.   Close enough - I'll give it a try.

Netflix for Books -  Bookworms meet your new best friend Bookswim.  I found it via one of my favorite, favorite sites Swissmiss.  If you are a design hound like myself, bookmark her immediately.

All of my favorite craft people have been talking up this book, Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco.  If you're the crafty entrepreneur type, this one's for you.

Junot Díaz Karate-Chops His Writer’s Block via New York magazine.  One of my favorite writers has conquered his writer's block ("You want to talk about a perfect storm.  This was a perfect storm of insecurity and madness and pressure and you name it.") is back with his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Web Snob Weekend

Looking for a luxe makeup line made just for Asian complexions? Check out Stiletto Jungle's spotlight on the very glam Thi Cosmetics.

Bag Bliss reveals Karl Lagerfeld’s plans for a new purse line.

Bag Snob cheap thrill of the week: Kooba Bags!

Eat your way to health and beauty with Acai Gummi Bears from Beauty Snob!

School marm suddenly gets sexy as Coquette dishes the scoop on Fall's hottest shoe -- lace up oxford booties.

The best new boots were made for walkin'. Fashiontribes rounds up fall's must-have flashy flat boots.

Fashion Indie contines with its history of "Fashion Firsts" with the launch of Fashion Indie Magazine. Celebrate this historic event at our Fashion Week Bash, featuring Love Brigade and our very fashionable celebrity friends.

Take Girlawhirl's Fall 2007 shopping survey! And enter for a chance to win a girlawhirl giveaway!

Glamchic gets packing tips from Ports 1961 designer Tia Cibani.

Second City Style hows you how to put the look together and bring out your inner Garbo.

SheFinds loves Liv Tyler’s Uggs and tells you where to get them.

Styleaholic Najwa Moses goes one on one with Gossip Gangsta Blogger Perez Hilton on her monthly video podcast The In List.

Stylehive talks to Zooey CEO Alice Heller who ‘s becoming a lean, mean, green machine, committed to taking her whole Zooey line organic.

The Jewelry Weblog explains how clay turns into silver to make cool fine silver jewelry.

eBeautyDaily is once again grumbling about the current eyebrow trends and Sienna Miller on the cover of Vogue.

You're Invited

 

New York's Fashion Week begins on Wednesday, September 5, so if you'll be in town stop by and say hello to me and some of my not-so-snobby Web Snob pals from Fashion Tribes.com & Papierdoll.net.    Our friends at GlamMedia are among the sponsors and you'll be shopping for a great cause - 20% of the evening's proceeds will go to God's Love We Deliver.