Kitten Lounge

Mingling Mondays: One Night Only

KittenCouture — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Weekends are essential! I get very excited about them and this one was even more exciting since Kitten Lounge Food Editor and boyfriend, Paul and I were hitting the road to go to Atlantic City to not only enjoy Halloween night but to get in some good food, spa time and a little poker - obviously not all of these would be enjoyed by me but we were both excited. As many of you know who Twitter me, I kept counting down to Atlantic City and by 5pm, I was picked up by Paul and off we went after gassing up the Murano to tackle Atlantic City. There's something about going on a road trip and if you travel with me, you can enjoy me singing along and doing dances (the closer we got to AC we lost our stations and went to 60's and 70's music which brought back memories of Sat mornings when I was little with my mom, sister and I!).

Paul and I had been invited to come down to Atlantic City and to stay at the Tropicana and to enjoy some dining. As we continued on the Atlantic Expressway into the strip, I couldn't help but think that since we took a few wrong turns, that we should definitely think about the next car having a little navigation and that we definitely want to have an SUV but that we might consider getting a Ford Flex as we will do quite a bit of traveling and you can't deny that it is a head turner - I always feel when you hit certain streets you definitely want to do the whole "see and be seen thing".

Arriving at Tropicana, I was pleased to find that we were staying in the new Havana Tower. Not only do I love that it's new but it's so close to all the food and club.lounge options. Since we were a little late (wrong turns will do that to you), we checked in at the front desk and checked in with PF Changs, went upstairs and came back down. All week I had been dreaming of Lettuce Chicken Wraps and I was not disappointed in the slightest; moreover, munching on the Crab Wontons was equally as satisfying. After a crazy week full of presentations and finishing up the Holiday Gift Guide, I was so glad to have the Mai Tai and later a Plum Collins (an interesting take on the Tom Collins which substiutes the vodka for Plum Vodka and also Plum Wine). Paul being a creature of habit, enjoyed the red wine. For dinner, I enjoyed the Sea Bass which sat on spinach leaves and Paul had large prawns. We shared garlic snap peas and for dessert we shared a chocolate dome.

I have always been a fan of PF Changs as I enjoy their asian fusion menu; moreover, when I have had it in a resort setting, I tend to enjoy the food that much more. During dinner we were able to touchbase with Courtney who is the Tropicana's PR Manager. In addition to attending events, I love meeting the people that you spend weeks chatting with in order to learn about a product or service. She let us know that there was a huge Halloween Costume Contest that would happen in the Quarter which is an annual event. While at dinner we saw various costumes and my favorite was actually a couple that we saw while we were checking in - they dressed as a bride and groom from the beyond and yet they had a pack of beer.

After dinner, we walked out into the Quarter to see all the restaurants and clubs that were available upstairs and downstairs. With more people gethering for the costume contest, we decided to step into Cuba Libre downstairs and enjoy some mojitos and of course to dance. I love lively music and everything is much more interesting when you have so many costumes around you. We popped out to catch the winners of the costume and then went upstairs to not only look down on the winners but to pop in to a few more places for a drink. We are both a fan of people watching and I have to say that the Cuba Libre upstairs has a bit of a lounge which is perfect for that. Although it was past midnight and we had only been in Atlantic City for about 4 hours, we continues to Red Square to enjoy an amazing selection of vodkas.

With such a long day behind us and quite an agenda to cover the next day, we decided to turn in. Nothing is better than having a large corner room with a spectacular view of the cities. Whether I'm in Vegas or in AC, I love seeing the bright lights. Being on the 64th floor we had an amazing view that we took in for about an hour or so.

The next morning, we knew we had a lot to do as we were heading home later in the day. Paul had to play Poker as he had been itching to do this for weeks and I knew I had a spa and both of us would meet up for lunch. We decided to do the smartest thing by ordering a plate of fruit to kick off the day! Paul played poker and I headed out to the Blue Mercury Spa. I had no idea that we have one in the city but as I walked in, I saw products that you could purchase from Model Co, Kiehl's, Molton Brown and more. When I headed downstairs, I found Erin who would perform my Blissfuls Coconut Sugar Scrub. Leaving the lockerroom, I walked into a lounge with pitchers of water filled with oranges and limes and platters of fruit. After nibbling on these, Erin walked with me to our room. This treatment had various stages. Erin rubbed coconut scrub on me, I soaked in a coconut milk bath for 20 mins, I took a shower to cool my body down and then I got an intensive full body massage. This was 100 minutes that I could have enjoyed for quite some time. Interestingly enough, I was starving by the time I met up with Paul and we headed to Carmine's.

Carmine's is an Italian restaurant that we have here in the city in Times Square and on the UWS. This family style restaurant has HUGE portions that are meant to be shared with 2 - 4 individuals. Most items are made on premise. As we thought about the menu, we munched on various breads and dipped them into an amazing olive oil ordered lasagna with a side of spinach. From presentation alone, this lasagna looked so good that the table next to us told us that they wished that they had ordered. We had so much that we knew we had to take it home with us. The General Manager stopped by and shared with us the benefits of a restaurant of this nature. When you have various people eating together, everyone has the opprotunity to share various portions of an Italian meal and everyone is able to chip in. We finished the lunch with chocolate canoli's and decided that we had to walk off lunch.

As we walked the boardwalk, we went to a taffy shop to pick up James' Salt Water Taffy. This is a must if you love this candy and everytime I go to Atlantic City, this is something that I have to do. Our walk found us at the outlets and from a little after 3 until almost 7 we shopped! I knew that AC had outlets; however, the amount of shops was surprising. After all the shopping, eating, partying and more, it was time to head home and to ensure that Sun was all about rest.

Thinking back, there are times when you want to do something fun and don't feel like boarding a plane. Filling up the car right after work to head out to AC is totally doable and once there, you can gamble but there are so many things to take advantage of! Whether it's you and hyour sig other or a large group, you won't be at a loss of things to do. The Tropicana was a great place to stay with so many options and you can still visit other areas. This is definitely an option for over night, a couple of days or on your way to something else. Atlantic City and the Tropicana was a Kitten Lounge Pick and a great way to kick off the next few weekends where we will be traveling! Next stop: our invitations to Islands of the World Fashion Week in the Bahamas and Skytop Resort in the Poconos.

Trendy Thursdays: NARS is Our Go To For Fresh Faces

KittenCouture — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:00:00 -0700

Today we have a treat from our friends at NARS. NARS International Senior Stylist James Boehmer give us tips on how to have a fresh face and to make sure that we all look our best! The second video, has NARS International Senior Stylist Uzo ensuring that that you have the perfect contoured cheek. What I love most about these videos is that you have an amazing series of tips and you'll also see what items they're using so that you can get them yourself. This is a must since we are coming up on the holiday season!

Trendy Thursdays: Beam Brings You Into the Daylight

KittenCouture — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:00:00 -0700

I have to say that one of the things that I love most about Fashion Week above and beyond the shows is that it's a time when people come together to see people you run past daily or who you only talk to via emails. It's also a time when you have the opportunity to meet others through people that you already know. This can take place at shows, in the tents, parties and so much more. Simply put, it's a great way to relationship build!

Well, the night before Fashion Week, Total Beauty kicked off this week of events by throwing a party and via Sam from Dark PR, I had the pleasure of meeting Andrea and Liza Young, the Brazilian sister duo that is behind New York's prominent, Beam Laser Spa (1841 Broadway Suite 806). The night that I met them, I knew that not only did they look adorable but I was definitely intrigued to learn more about the services that were available at this spa. Fortunately, we were able to meet again and I settled on a date and time to not only have an appointment but to learn about the spa!

Trust me when I say that I was a little nervous to have my appointment. Although the idea of never having to shave under my arms again seemed like a dream, the idea of having a laser on me was a little too Goldfinger for my taste. But my apprehension was calmed by being greeted by Liza who has such a great calm personality, I love that she chatted and explained my forms and one look in the office makes you feel a bit of Zen. Andrea has such an amazing personality and beyond having a bubbly personality, knowing that she is a molecular biologist with an MBA and has worked within the hair removal industry for many years, made me feel that she was knowledgeable about various techniques and had seen the evolution of them.

My initial concern was the obvious - pain, I love how she explained that in areas that had less hair, you wouldn't feel as strong of a sensation as denser areas. In fact, the sensation would be temporary. Seeing her demo the laser and watching the puffs of air that came out that cooled the areas that had received the laser was very calming. But another issue that still remained was that I had always heard that African Americans were not able to have this treatment or that many people felt it simply wasn't for them. Even my mom was shocked that I had received this treatment as she explained that back in the 70's she had had laser treatment in her face and that later her dermatologist had explained that it wasn't for women of color. In fact when Googling on various message boards, I found this response along with warnings of scars and spots appearing on the skin as a huge warning against doing this.

Andrea's knowledge and answer to this question was shocking to hear. In spas that have these laser treatments, those who are olive to darker skinned should find out what kind of wavelength is used in terms of the procedure. Those that are darker need to make sure that their facilities have a dual laser machine which has an Alexandrite and a Yag wave. The YAG wave is for those with darker skin and although it penetrates deeper into the skin layer bypassing the skin color, it has a slightly reduced effect that still removes the hair without lightening our color. I found this amazing and was pleased to know that laser treatments could be an option for all skin tones.

Andrea explained everything, answered questions and continued to make me comfortable. Now for those who are thinking of getting this treatment, they offer a free consultation where they do a patch test. This is where you choose a small area and they do the procedure so that you can have a sample. In many cases, over 90% of those who do the consultation, come back to actually get it done. With all this knowledge and hearing this percentage, I was ready.

Prior to this, I was not able to shave about a day or two before coming in and (to my grossed out dismay) I didn't have deodarent on. Since I was doing my underarms, Andrea, shaved the arms to make sure it was clean, drew the area that would be treated with a white pencil and then used the laser. This procedure probably only took 10 mins total. At first the sensation of feeling the beam and then the cold air on my arms just felt different as you don't usually have this on you; however, when it got to the denser areas, there was slight discomfort. I love that she guaged my reactions and when I needed a slight breather she stopped. She continued to chat with me and you were able to continue. When it was over, aloe was placed under my arms.

I was shocked that it was over so quickly and after she examined my arms, she said that it didn't look aggravated. I felt a slight discomfort but absolutely nothing major. Now when you sign up you know that you will have to do somewhere between 6 - 8 treatments and they are spaced out by 6 weeks. Each time the hairs are growing in less and you can see the difference. In fact, within 3 weeks, both sisters said that I would notice hairs under my arms but that they would literally fall out. Although I am not a fan of stray hairs, the idea that I am one step closer to not having to shave is AMAZING.

When I got home, I checked under my arms and each day (as this took place on Sun) I am amazed that I haven't really seen anything! They offer so many services and I would start with doing your underarms. Because this is such a new thing for me and I have my next treatment in Nov, I will keep you guys up to date on how everything is going. Three weeks from now (actually from this past Sun), I will let you know if I see any hairs. The sisters reminded me that if I have hairs that are growing in by then and have not fallen out, they would take away the stray hairs at no cost.

The care they take from the time they walk in the door to when you leave is amazing and being comfortable is half the battle! Beam Laser Spa is definitely a place that I will refer to my friends and if you guys go there, you have to let me know your thoughts!

Treasure Tuesdays: The Chow Chow

KittenCouture — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:00:00 -0700

I have known Katie James, the designer of Katie James online for quite some time and I am always impressed by her designs. Today to kick off Treasure Tuesdays which are puppy oriented, I wanted to share one of her super cute accessories. Named the Chow Chow (after Katie's breed of puppy), this super cute pouch clips on to your leash, pocket or loose keys to allow for easy carrying of your treats. It is also made of pleather which makes it nice for cleaning! I would suggest getting the Chow Chow in the Brown/Pink Eyelet as I love the idea of having something that is apart of a limited edition. If you love this, check out her other fab creations as well!