Kitten Lounge

Fashionable Fridays: Maid of Honor Edition ~ My Sister's Engaged!

Kimmie Smith — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:00:00 EDT

People ask what Kitten Lounge is about and it talks about the core areas of fashion, style, beauty and travel. But it's also a place where it evolves as I do! This means that many of my Kittens who read this know about my design collaborations, HSN appearances, spokeswork and now I add another title - Maid of Honor! My sister and her fiance (wow first time I have used this work to refer to my Brother in Law to be) made it official this week and plan to be married next year! Although I have been in a wedding and have attended a few more, I have never been a Maid of Honor and can't wait to take on the duties that I know I will come to me like second nature. Although many details may stay a secret as the groom should be surprised, each Friday you'll hear about what a Maid of Honor should expect to do and all the things that involve that.

These responsibilities are those that I welcome and I know that there may be others that may want to know what options are out there and how we're going on about our process! The next year or so will be a lot of fun and a way for me to think about what I think I would want to do when it is my time - until then, I'll be the best and most researched Maid of Honor and it's yet another journey that readers can take on with me.

Trendy Thursdays: Event ~ Travel Scents With Sue Phillips

Kimmie Smith — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:28:58 EDT

Last week I headed to the East Side in order to experience how one can travel without having to pack and doing so with fabulous fragrances. Most people know that I have recently embraced wearing perfumes daily over the past year and a half. I actually love hearing how they're created and what items I am drawn to. So when friend and beauty/travel writer, Charu of Butterfly Diary invited me, I was intrigued and excited that in addition to a few people that I knew, she had paired the event with travel writers (nice touch) as well as (sitting to my left) Susan Miller who is the founder of Astrology Zone and contributes to Elle Magazine as well. That was an added bonus right there!

This event was like a class setting and any of my readers who went to school with me knows that at heart, I'm that girl who takes a million notes and takes coursework super seriously (we had a questionnaire to fill out). Sue Phillips is renowned for her ability to create phenomenal scents and is the founder of Scenterprises. She led us on a "Scentsory Journey" on Bastille Day (which was perfect as France is the birth place of perfume). Although I am very familiar with the construction or composition of a fragrance (top, middle and base notes), I loved hearing about some of the more standard items within our favorite perfumes from origins to how they were created or have changed over time. We talked about some of my faves including Saffron and Bergamot while spritzing our blotters. This way we were able to create a constructed scent. I learned that I leaned towards florals (as did Susan Miller). I loved this classroom like setting as we enjoyed Hypnotiq's new Harmonie liqueur and nibbles. It was a fabulous night and one that we were really able to play and travel with scents.

Pictures above were taken by Matthew Minucci

Treasure Thursdays ~ Project Detox: Inner Ink

Kimmie Smith — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT

In an ongoing series, Keren Weinstein, our Guest Life-Balance Editor, took a much needed trip. More than the need to go on vacation to a new locale, she wanted to find her own sense of balance and thus Project Detox began. Last week, we horsed around and found our senses! Today, Keren shows us our need for our inner ink.

All good things must come to an end.

Or not!

In yoga, you practice being in the moment in order to truly connect to your breath, body, inner self. Once you are ‘there’ and let all the positive energy you created fill every part of your being, you then focus on taking it into your every day life.

‘Intraconnectedness’. Interconnectedness.

I may be leaving Arizona but the Journey within Myself continues.

Since I utilized my senses and was mindful each step of the way, my experiences on this trip run deep and true to my inner self, making a lasting imprint on my being.

An internal tattoo.

But I cannot depart without paying tribute to the scent that carried me throughout my journey.
I was first introduced to Creosote when I booked my trip. I was immediately intrigued. And, like you would for any potential prospect, I Googled it!

The Creosote (pronounced cree'-uh-sote) Bush is mostly found in the Desert Southwest. It blooms at the end of the monsoon season and is mostly known for its distinct after-the-desert-rain scent. (I LOVE the smell after the rain!). The plant is used by Native Americans, Mexicans and other cultures for medicinal use, ointments and healing teas. It can tolerate extreme drought stress and lives a long life.

Excited to begin ‘Experiencing my Tucson Experience’, I was sniffing for the indigenous Creosote from the moment I stepped off of the plane.

The obsession began.

Our first encounter was on my nature walk through Desert Oasis. Enjoying that desert dry heat. Strolling through a shmorges board of aromatherapy. Fresh desert inhales for a NYC girl. Even though I had already heard about this after-the-desert-rain scent, smelling that unique rain scent in such an arid locale was unexpectedly pleasant.

I was swept off my feet.

(Now I understand why many refer to it as the “heavenly essence of the desert”).

And you Know it must be love at first [sniff], when you fall for a scent that means ‘little stinker’ in Spanish!

I soon found myself asking the locals about it. Tracking its every step.

I admit. I might have been stalking Creosote.

But, I was a few weeks short from being there during the core of this plants’ bloom season and I wasn’t going to let that get in the way! My intention (AKA Horse Power) was set. I was destined to experience it.

And I wasn’t going to just take it all in! This full time working mother on a Project Detox trip was going take it all back. To live. To share. To last.

I literally ‘followed my nose’ chasing Creosote through Tucson. And it lead me to Salud Spa Bar.

Salud Spa is a very chic scent studio located in Tucson and one of the very few places that have bottled the essence of the after-the-monsoon desert scent. Their Creosote Blossom perfume is a refreshing blend of dewy agave, earthy creosote blossom and a hint of desert musk. Unique and fresh, I love it on but it also works great as a home scent.

The master blender Kelly Podorsek Founded Salud to create trend-setting, boutique perfumes and haute tonics custom scents that people can afford. She left a flourishing corporate career to follow her passion (and her nose) to create Salud and inspire people to savor the everyday essences of their lives.

But it’s in speaking with Kelly and reading the quote she posts on her site that made me realize that finding Creosote ‘captured in a bottle’ at Salud Spa Bar was like coming full circle with the essence of my trip.

It was my message in a bottle.

"the average person looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, & inhales without awareness of odor or fragrance." Leonardo Da Vinci

Not me Leo. I’ve been inked!

With my life changing experiences at hand and bag of desert scented products for me to re-live back home, I was ready to depart AZ.

California here I come.

Salud!

Keren Weinstein is a seasoned professional in Fashion & Beauty with over 12 years in Integrated Marketing, Advertising and Celebrity Fashion Styling