Tocca

With the Tocca Crema da Mano Hand Cream Collezioni, Variety Is the Spice of Life

December 11th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

I’m a bonafide hand cream addict. Raise your parched paw if you’re one too. 🙂

With the $32 Tocca holiday Crema de Mano Collezioni, you can moisturize your mitts with a different scented hand cream every workday of the week, because it comes with five fragrant tubes, each one with a slightly more refined, less sweet scent, in my opinion, than many of the other hand creams I’ve tried.

They say that variety is the spice of life, and I think that totally applies to hand cream. With these five, which are all about the scents, you can go with grapefruit and cucumber on Mondays and bergamot and gardenia on Thursday, for instance.

Tocca is known for their floral, feminine, long-lasting fragrances (I love the names they give their perfumes!), and for $32, you get five 1-oz. tubes of Tocca’s bestselling scented hand creams, including vanilla and sandalwood Collete, grapefruit and cucumber Cleopatra (I’m wearing that one today), bergamot and gardenia Florence, watermelon and frangipani Simone and peach and muguet Liliana.

The moderately moisturizing formula, which is almost as moisturizing as Soap & Glory Hand Food or L’Occitane Shea Butter Whipped Hand Cream, is enriched with coconut oil, shea butter and aloe for real-deal hand help.

Even though I don’t think these are the most moisturizing hand creams around, they still feel substantial. I can’t stand it when I put on hand creams that are practically water (so useless). These, on the other hand, pack serious moisture, and sometimes I like using them when I know I’m going to be out of the house for a while, because they leave behind a light residue that feels like a protective barrier against the elements.

Plus, helloooo! — I think they smell lovely.

You can find the Tocca Crema da mano Collezioni now at Sephora, SpaceNK and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

September 2nd, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

1. Pears

Mmm… Sweet green, juicy pears. I love them so much right meow! I got a huge bag of organic pears at Trader Joe’s last Sunday, and most of them have already managed to find their way into my tum. 🙂 I might be on the verge of a full-on pear obsession.

I get that way sometimes about certain foods, where I ravenously crave them every day, over and over for weeks or months, and it’s starting to happen with pears.

I still haven’t succumbed to the temptation to “borrow” any from the huge pear tree I pass every day on my walk, but today may be the day… We’ll know by around 7 o’clock tonight.

2. Tocca scents

I keep a bunch of perfumes on this cake stand display on top of my dresser, but the only one I’ve been wearing lately is Byredo Gypsy Water, and I’ve been wearing it for months.

Hmm… This might be a good time to try a different scent every day with a scent of the day series on Instagram! That might be fun.

In the process of sniffing some of these today I discovered that a couple of them had gone sour. 🙁 The ancient bottle of Estée Lauder Private Collection perfume I’ve had forever smelled like moonshine, OMG!

It broke my heart to ditch it because it was a gift, but in the process of test sniffing these, I rediscovered some old faves, like, basically, EVERYTHING from Tocca.

Why did I ever stop wearing Tocca?? Their scents, while delicate, still have such presence, and whenever I wear one I just feel…chipper and glad. And, hello! — they last all day long too.

Today I’m wearing Violette, which I really like (but I like Bianca and Graciella even more).

3. Aveda Clove Color Conditioner

I have caramel highlights in my hair from about the mid-shaft to the ends, and I’ve been using and LOVING this Aveda Clove Color Conditioner ($21) to keep ’em looking vibrant and fresh.

All I do is wash my hair, then use Clove instead of my regular conditioner, and I leave it in for a few minutes before rinsing it out. I think it makes my highlights much richer (Clove in place of my regular conditioner once a week is enough to keep the highlights poppin’), and it has a fresh, very Aveda-esque herbal scent that I like. The only thing is…it’s kind of pain to keep the shower stall clean when you use it because it’s pigmented, so it’ll leave a stain in the tub if you’re not careful.

That’s why I bring a scrub brush with me into the shower, and after I rinse my hair, I’ll quickly scrub the shower walls to remove any spots or smears.
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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

August 21st, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

1. Tocca Cleopatra Candela Luxe ($54)

Kind of a sucker over here! Yep, I’m a sucker for fancy candles, and this one is from Tocca, the makers of Bianca, which is one of my premiere most perfect perfumes of all time. Candela Luxe is a new collection of luxury candles inspired by their fragrances, and each one comes in a gorgeous glass you can repurpose. They’re also rated to burn for 60 hours (!).

The one I have is the Cleopatra, which fills my immediate vicinity with the aromas of clean, crisp cucumber and sweet grapefruit.

Ahh… 🙂

2. L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Last Nailcolor ($9.99)

These dynamic nail polish duos have twin tips! One end has a colorful base shade, and the other end has a (very lightly) tinted top coat. The idea is that you can skip an additional base coat, and just use one of these with its accompanying top coat.

They come in a variety of colors (I’ve been wearing them a lot in videos). I’ve tested a creamy light blue shade called Endless Sky and a creamy taupe called Timeless Taupe, and Endless Sky chipped on me pretty quickly (like within a day!), but Timeless Taupe made it about five days before the first chips appeared at the edges, which isn’t bad for me, considering the heck I put my nails through every day, all day.

I’m going to try Always A Lady next, which is a dark reddish brown… I guess I’m in the mood for fall!

3. Trader Joe’s Sour Gummies ($1.99)

ERHMAHGOSH! There’s a key lime sour gummy!

I think I may have mentioned that I’ve been all about sour flavors lately (especially lime), and that’s why I put this in my shopping cart the other day.

Man, oh, man! — I’m so glad I did. They’re delicious. They’re gummier and firmer (furmier? LOL!) than regular sour gummies… They also stick to my teeth worse/more, which isn’t ideal, but I can overlook that on account of them being so tasty.

The flavors are lemon, grapefruit (YUM), lime and tangerine, and they’re all in little “T” or “J” shapes.

I WILL be getting another bag on my next trip to Trader Joe’s.
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Treat Yourself to a Little Everyday Luxury With the Tocca Love Yourself Luxury Spa Set

February 12th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

No shower for me today (and possibly tomorrow) because of the sutures on my boo-boo arm. This makes me sad. 🙁

You don’t understand — it’s like Anakin Skywalker with the Force. The drive to clean is strong in this one…

Doesn’t matter how tired I am at the end of the day. I will always (well, 98% of the time) find the energy to take a shower. I just can’t sleep with sticky skin.

So imagine my shock yesterday when the surgeon told me that I shouldn’t shower for a while. He said that I should give the sutures a couple days to heal before getting them wet.

My first thought was, “No. Huh-uh. Not gonna happen,” which was quickly followed by a more reasonable, “Well, if I’m stuck taking sponge baths for a while, you better believe those sponge baths are going to be epic.”

I gotta get my beauty thrills wherever I can, and today I’m getting mine with Tocca’s $78 Love Yourself Luxury Spa Set.

The luxurious three-piece set will get you squeaky clean, and when you’re done, you’ll float out of your bathroom like an elven angel smelling lightly of gardenias… 🙂

This morning I lit the mini Florence candle that comes with the set and used my imagination to pretend I was at a spa. One sponge bath with the Bubble Bath and a few spritzes of Eau de Parfum later, and my day was off to a great start.

If you need to treat yourself to a little luxury, you can find the $78 (a $110 value) Love Yourself Luxury Spa Set now exclusively at Sephora stores and sephora.com.

The set includes…

1.7 oz Eau de Parfum
2 oz Mini Candelina
6.8 oz Bubble Bath

Tocca Luxury Spa Set, Bubble Bath — The Bubble Bath has notes of Bergamot and Gardenia

Tocca Luxury Spa Set, Florence Perfume Bottle — Florence’s fragrance notes: Gardenia, bergamot, violet, iris and blonde wood

Tocca Luxury Spa Set Box — I love the thought of this set being an everyday escape…

At the Barneys New York Love Yourself Beauty Event on Sept. 20-22, Get a Sweet Bag of Samples From Chantecaille, Sunday Riley, Deborah Lippmann, Tocca and More

September 20th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

Okay, here it is: you, me, Tabs — we blow off the rest of the afternoon, drive into the city, hit an ice cream shoppe, and then go cruising for makeup.

What do ya say? Come on! You know you want to. 🙂

I need a break… Tabs has been working my paws to the bone! This morning, we had a “gravy emergency.” I won’t go into it now, but needless to say, I’m pooped.

I could really do with a few hours of meow time right now.

Let’s see… We could start with fresh-squeezed lemonade and semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies at Specialty’s (yep, that’s really how it’s spelled), do a little shopping at Union Square, maybe stop by Nordstrom to see Dick Page work his magic at the Shiseido counter.

And after, a trip to the Barneys New York beauty department where they carry one of my favorite under-the-radar makeup lines, Sunday Riley, and niche perfumes you can’t really sniff anywhere else (hello, Frederic Malle Geranium!).

And right now they’ve got a pretty sweet gift with purchase set.

It’s to celebrate their Love Yourself Beauty Event, going on now ’til September 22. Spend $200 on any combo of makeup, skin care and/or perfume, and get a blue and tan makeup bag bursting with fancy beauty samples like…

Hourglass No. 28 Primer Serum
Sunday Riley The Influencer Extra Volume Glossy Mascara
Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in Money Now Sleep Later
Koh Gen Do Makeup Color Base in Lavender Pink
Sue Devitt Defining Eyeliner in Oslo
Radical Skincare Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads
Giorgio Armani Regenessence Multi-Corrective Rejuvenating Cream
By Terry Creme De Rose Nutri-Lift Comfort Cream
Malin+ Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer
Chantecaille Rice and Geranium Foaming Cleanser
3Lab The Cream
Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask
NARS Skin Double Refining Exfoliator
YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum
L’Artisan Parfumeur Paris Eau de Toilette in Batucada
Costume National Deau de Parfum
Tocca Violette Eau de Parfum
Kai Fragrance

The offer also includes men’s grooming products, so you could snag something for yourself and/or your woman/man. In my case, I’m not so sure about that… El Hub acts like face moisturizer and eye cream are the devil’s work!

If you can’t make it to Barneys, the offer also applies to online barneys.com beauty purchases, too. No coupon code necessary. Just fill your cart, and the goody bag automatically pops up when you hit the $200 barrier.

barneys new york love yourself beauty event — Makeup and nail polish samples from Sue Devitt, Deboran Lippmann, Hourglass, Sunday Riley and Koh Gen Doh

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Bonjour, Mon Amour: With Tocca Violette Eau de Parfum, It’s Chic to Be Shy

May 30th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tocca violette

It’s her smile you notice first.

You’re strolling across the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris on a crisp, clear spring day when you see her standing by the railing, a shy smile on her lips, her hair swept in a chic chignon. A scarf is draped effortlessly around her neck, and she’s holding a bouquet of violets by her side.

She pauses to take in the City of Light and the River Seine below, leaning against the railing with her hands tucked beneath her chin and staring off into the distance, her eyes faraway and dreamy.

Ah, you know that look…the look of first love, when the mere thought of your beloved awakens every cell in your body with a tingling that begins at your toes and works its way up through your spine.

A breeze turns toward you, bringing with it an intoxicating aroma of vanilla, rose, musk, black currant berries and violet.

The girl breaks from her reverie, caught by your gaze, and smiles warmly. You return the feeling, knowingly, as you pass her along the bridge, recalling another time, so many years ago, when you, too, stood in almost the same spot, basking all-too-briefly in the same glow with your American writer, so tall and beautiful, with his brown hair and hazel eyes.

Whatever happened to him? you wonder. Does he still think of you, like you think of him?

Almost across the bridge now, you close your eyes once again and breath deeply, drawing in as much of the scent as you can, letting it sweep you up in its loving embrace.

Another happy girl on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, 2005
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Mother’s Day Gorgeous Gift Ideas: Tocca Bagno Profumato Body Wash and Crema da Corpo Lotion

May 8th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tocca giulietta bagno profumato body wash and crema da corpo body lotion

Some of my clearest, fondest childhood memories are of watching travel shows on PBS with my mom, and I think those great times we spent together exploring the world via taped broadcasts from the comfort of our couch at home are why I’ve had such a fierce case of wanderlust as an adult.

Back then my mom and dad were busy making ends meet and raising my brother and I, but now that they’re both retired, and my brother and I have flown the coop, Mom and Dad have been able to embark upon more travel adventures.

Later this month, they head to the Philippines for a visit, where they both still have lots of family, and next year, they’re hoping to explore the Great Wall of China!

They’ve yet to make it to Italy, but just as soon as I win the lottery (fingers crossed!), I’m sending Mom on an all-expenses paid, luxury vacation to explore the Italian countryside.

Until then — until my lucky numbers hit! — Tocca’s new Bagno Profumato Body Wash ($18) and Crema da Corpo Body Lotion ($20) will have to do.

If your mom dreams of faraway lands and international adventure, take a look at Tocca for Mother’s Day this year. Their products are some of my favorites for gift giving all year round, not only because they always look lovely sitting on a counter, but also because of their fragrances, whiffs of which whisk (say that fives times fast, haha!) me away on day dreamy adventures.

tocca giulietta bagno profumato body wash and crema da corpo body lotion

I think my mom will like Giulietta. One of three new Tocca Body Wash and Lotion fragrances, it’s a light and crisp fruity floral with notes of pink tulip and green apple.

(Psst!. They’re also available in a grapefruit and cucumber scent called Cleopatra and an Italian blood orange scent called Stella — ya know, in case you also feel like picking up a little something for yourself.)

tocca giulietta bagno profumato body wash and crema da corpo body lotion
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