S: Is for Hurray Spa Week!

I attend a preview of Spa Week and it comes at the perfect time. The level of stress New Yorkers have been feeling is reaching epidemic proportions. We all need to find a balance in our lives. Viola, Spa Week arrives just in the nick of time. A week-long refuge where you can choose from a multitude of services for just $50. Twice a year thanks to Cheryl Reid PR guru extraordinaire, who used her successful careers within the luxury spa industry and publishing spheres to create a treat for all. Is your back aching for that well needed and earned massage or other spa treatment. This simple premise of a discounted treatment has opened up the economy bridging the gap between the middle class and the elite. Cheryl's and Spa Week’s goal is to make “wellness” more than just a word--we intend to make it a reality. By educating consumers to the health benefits of the “spa lifestyle,” Spa Week is taking a leadership position in the campaign to change the unhealthy course the country is navigating. From October 13 through 19, you can see this for yourself. To find out what spa's are participating log onto www.spaweek.org. I picked out a few to entice you.

Finesse Day Spa: 212-352-3434
Choice of 60 Min Hot Stone, Deep Tissue, or Swedish Massage, 60 Min Deep Pore Cleansing Facial, or 45 Min Mango Ginger Brown Sugar Scrub with Vichy Shower.
Special: $50; Originally: $85-$105

La Peau Day Spa 212-334-7071
Choice of Eye Treatment, 50 Min Swedish or Deep Tissue Body Treatment, 50 Min C Plus Facial, Deep Cleansing Facial, or Gentleman's Facial, or 60 Min Manicure, Pedicure and Reflexology.
Special: $50212-334-7071

Nina's European Day Spa & Laser Center 212-594-9610
60 Min Go Green Organic Anti Free Radical Facial or 60 Min Go Green Detoxifying Body Wrap or 60 Min Organic Stress Release Massage or Laser Hair Removal for Chin, Lip, Sideburns, or Underarms. Offer is for new clients only.
Special: $50; Originally: $145

Randee Elaine Spa & NY Laser Center 212-229-0399
Choice of Manicure and Pedicure, Eyelash and Brow Tint, Ear Candling, 15 Min Oxygen Face Treatment, or Brazilian Bikini Wax. For new clients only.
Special: $15

Remember these fill up quick so call and make your reservations soon.

For 2008, Spa Week is proud and excited to announce the inclusion of jane iredale The Skincare Makeup as its Title Sponsor. I had never heard of this company but I am planning on testing it out ......so look for a column about it i the future.

First we had Restaurant Week that put on the pounds and now we have Spa week to take them off and that is a healthy F.A.C.T.

T: Is for Third Term........NO!

He tested the waters for the presidency, then the vice presidency, when that failed the World Bank now Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seeking a third term. He changed from Democrat to Republican then to Independent. 15 years ago NYC residents voted to impose a limit of eight years, or two terms, on the mayor and the city council. In 1996, voters again rejected a 12 year extensions. Extending the term limits is in many council members' advantage because unless the law is changed, more than 60 percent of the members will not be able to run again in 2009. According to Newsday New Yorkers vote yes to this idea, but here in lies the problem. We don't get to vote. Our rights will be taken away. If you start bending the rules, what's to stop the next person from bending the rules further. Look at Wall Street. According to Michael Bloomberg, he wants to stay because of the financial crises but where was he when all this was happening? When Warren Buffett put his money where he believed, where was Bloomberg's? He is currently listed on the Forbes 400 as the eighth-richest American, with a net worth of $20 billion. Bloomberg has been in office since George Bush. Where was he in imposing and regulating Wall Street? Mr. Bloomberg, is a former trader who amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune through his news organization, and in the past has been against extending the terms. Could this be another bid for the presidency in 2012? Despite the fact that 68 percent of New York City's registered voters are Democrats, Bloomberg decided the city should host the 2004 Republican National Convention. The Convention drew thousands of protesters, many of them local residents angry over the Iraq war and other issues. The Police Department under the Bloomberg administration arrested approximately 1,800 protesters. Ask Democrats if they want Michael Bloomberg for Mayor again and I am sure you will get a different answer. Also despite how New Yorkers feel he opposes a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. He balanced the budget by raising property taxes and making cuts to city agencies thus hurting New Yorkers.

Did you know: In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and given a $10 million severance package. He went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems. In 1982, Merrill Lynch became the new company's first customer, installing 20 of the company's Market Master terminals and investing $30 million in the company.


He gave Goldman Sachs $1.65 billion in tax breaks.
Billions of dollars in public subsidies are payed out to real estate developers in NYC. Here is a partial list.
$155 Million cash to Silverstein and $2.9 Billion in reduced rate financing Silvertein
The Atlantic Yards was sold without allowing any bids for $3.5+ Billion in cash, tax breaks, and financing, plus likely hundreds of millions in pending cost offsets not yet calculated
The Bronx Terminal Market was sold without allowing any bid for $14 million in cash $32 million money-back guarantee
$400 million in low rate financing Unaccounted tax breaks
Yankee Stadium gets $795 Million in financing and tax breaks
Mets Stadium gets $177 Million in financing and tax breaks
West Side Railyards Jets Bid (never realized)
.
He is currently seeing former New York state banking superintendent Diana Taylor.

If New Yorkers did not extend the term of a Mayor when put to a vote when 9/11 happened, why now? Why him? I can't say who would make a better Mayor because I don't know who will run and neither will you if our right to vote is taken away. I polled several people today asking what they thought. Most did say it would be ok until I told them what I had found today and then they were all adamantly against this blatant grab at power. Research and see if what I am telling you isn't true and then fight for your rights before they are taken away, for they are about to and that is a F.A.C.T.

C: Is for continuing all things LUSH!

My love affaire with Lush continues.I mean as the economy is crumbing and your savings is going down the drain, don't you deserve to pamper yourself? It wasn't until recently that I discovered that the right bath and body shower gel can make a huge difference. My level of enjoyment went escalated a 110%. Until Lush baths bored me to tears. Now I am making time to relax, which is making my doctor ecstatic. As I stated the aromatherapy scents that are used in particular brands of shower gels are worth the extra pennies. But hey, You're worth it, aren't you? The Lush products blend perfumes so they have a specific effect on your mind and body. There newest product is emotibombs. Essentially, emotibombs are like bath bombs for the shower with the same fragrant fizz. Put one on the floor of your shower under the water flow. As warm water hits it, natural perfumes are released, filling the bathroom with fragrant steam to influence your mood. Hungover?
Try Too Drunk…Its peppermint, marigold, fennel and sweet orange essential oils gently wake you up, soothe your sore head and slowly bring you back to life. Just stick one in the shower, turn on the water and stand there - or sit if you can't manage the vertical. But you don't have to have a hangover to use one. Other emotibombs scents include: citrus, ginger, lavender and chamomile. When you inhale the resulting clouds of fragrance you’ll feel the full effect. Do you want to be asleep in the near future, to feel relaxed, happy, calm or frisky? No problem! Emotibombs let you have fun in the shower.

For an affordable face version try Vitamin C Toner Tab with rose and vitamin C to refresh tired mature skin. There's also Tea tree and vitamin E for just a couple of $

Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser delicately cleanses and exfoliates for softer skin. Ground almonds gently exfoliate, rose absolute tones and lavender oil soothes. A pea-sized amount mixed with water in the palm of your hand to create an even paste is all you need. I used it all over my body and my skin was so smooth and soft afterwards. Water literally beaded up after touching my skin, but it was not greasy. The smell was subtle and not overpowering with a hint of lavender. My skin drank up the oils from the soap.

Jellies - Fancy a bit more fun in the shower? Use a slice of fragrant, frothing jelly all over your body; crush a chunk and wash your head with it. Nutritious seaweed gel conditions your skin and softens your hair. Use them in the bath for bubbles too: hours of endless amusement. I used it for my laundry and now my sheets, comforter and blankets are lulling me to sleep in aromatherapy.

Not only does this product sell separately but they come in beautifully wrapped box sets. When you can’t decide what you want, or you need it to look as wonderful as it smells. Viola, a green gift that will have anyone you give it feeling special and that is a F.A.C.T.

A: Is for Anime!

It seemed as though Halloween had came early to the Javits Center last weekend as hundreds of cult-like people dressed in Japanese anime-inspired costumes at the New York Anime Festival. In Asia, just as in Western nations, comic books and animated film/TV series are wildly popular. Japanese artists and directors are at the forefront of this particular creative movement in the Far East, having produced the highly distinctive genres known as manga (printed comics) and anime (film/TV productions) that are admired all over the world. Japanese comics feature a wide array of unusual and memorable characters — the sky is the limit in terms of the qualities they are assigned by their creators. However, more attention is given to features such as hair and eyes. It is quite common to find characters with fluffy and/or flowing hair in bright colors that would never occur in nature (and combinations of such colors) along with more natural shades. The eyes of Japanese anime and manga characters are especially large and expressive, and appear in a variety of hues as well. The upper portion of the face, where the forehead and eyes are located, tends to be wide and rounded, while the face's lower portion, where the nose, mouth, and chin reside, tends to taper dramatically into a narrow and delicate base. Characters with silver or white hair, accompanied by red or blue eyes, frequently appear in anime and manga. This type of coloration usually suggests the presence of at least one supernatural power, and/or origins of either a heavenly such as Sailor Moon or demonic such as InuYasha. Often these characters are in a state of limbo between the magical/spiritual realm and that of humans, participating in both yet not fully at ease in either. The focus of some of these characters' efforts involves reconciling a painful past and coming to terms with the duties and traits that arise from their ancestry and destiny. In anime and manga, angels and demons do not always represent pure good and pure evil. This particular choice of coloration probably arises from Japanese myths of tennyo (celestial nymphs), oni (demons), gods, and other magical creatures. One such supernatural being is the yuki onna, a beautiful ghostlike Snow-Woman with white skin and a white kimono who appears during blizzards and steals the life-breath of those without proper shelter. In many tellings of the legend, she takes pity upon one particular young boy in danger of freezing to death and spares him on the condition that he never mention having seen her to anyone. When he gets older, he falls in love with and marries a young orphaned maiden, and they have children together. Over the years, she never seems to age, and one evening, the lamplight cast upon his wife's face reminds him of his strange encounter with the yuki onna, which he mentions to her. His wife flies into an icy rage, and it becomes clear that she and the yuki onna are one and the same. She refrains from killing him solely for the sake of their children, and leaves him forever, disappearing into a frosty white mist.


In Japan, anime makes 2 trillion yen a year in profit and it is artist-writer-director-producer Hayao Miyazaki who is called "the Walt Disney of Japan." His animated theatrical features have been smash hits in Japan, and many, including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke are already familiar to American audiences. Spirited Away, in 2002 won more raves and international awards for this animation master. Miyazaki to be not just a master of the art of animation, but a meticulous craftsman who sees his work as a medium for shaping the humanistic and environmental concerns of our times.

Inuyasha is the one of the most popular Japanese anime out currently. And it all started with a comic book series written by Rumiko Takahashi. But what makes this anime series so popular and why do over 130,000 people a month search for Inuyasha on the Internet search engines? InuYasha is Japanese for "dog spirit" and you will discover this is fitting for a title. The story is about a time-traveling student, Kagome Higurashi and Inuyasha who, with other exciting anime characters, fight to protect the Jewel of Four Souls. This jewel gives hugely increased powers to anyone who has it and will mean catastrophe if it falls into the wrong hands.

Anime often has people fighting for the good and you can see it's roots in Greek Mythology and Grimm's fairy tales but it is now woven it's way into a viable art form and that is a collectable F.A.C.T.

F: Is for Fabulous!

I was invited to a preview, introducing the new products by Lush. Now except for the F.A.C.T that one of their New York stores is near where I live and my landlord uses the product, I knew nothing except this was a premire line of bath and body products. What I didn't know was that I would fall and love and want to rant and rave about why. I very rarely use products with soap as my skin is highly allergic. I end up taking and bath and wanting to claw my skin off afterwards. At the unveiling I tried the products and was surprised at how soft I felt. I was given several products to try and as I do each one has me singing their praises just a little louder and higher. I am dedicating several columns to this product and you will see why as I go along.

First: This is a green company. This is enough for one whole column, so more later.

Second: The product is 99% natural and the 1% is to keep the products fresh in the bottles.

Third: I use to think the only way to cheer myself up when I was blue was a manny/peddy. I was wrong Lush far surpasses that.

The same night I also attended the opening of a Haunted House. By the time I got home I was tense and achy. I came home to find out my building was also turning the water off the next day until God knows when so I thought .........lets try this product. So I ran a bath and dropped in a Vanilla Fountain bath bomb. Within seconds the room was steaming in delicious vanilla crème brûlée scent that was aromatherapy heaven. I was so loathe to get out of this amazing sensation that it took until the water got cold to move me to the next sensations. The comforting vanilla scent comes from natural vanilla with a touch of restful sandalwood and a note of burnt caramel. For$5.95 this bath bomb was still going even though the water was done. Even after the shower my skin was soft and tinged with a scent that was lightly reaching my noes in bliss.

I followed this up with a shower and used their Ibiza shampoo. Pimento berry and the hint of lemon and grapefruit again had me in an ecstasy of scents. My hair is to my shoulders and there is a lot of it. Shampooing normally takes a lot of product and my hair needs a great conditioner to untangle the mess. Even without the conditioner my hair felt silky and manageable. Next a conditioner that I was loathe to open. Okra which is the name just does not sound appealing. Oh how wrong I was. This spicy vegetable combined with nettles, grapes, vinegar and rosemary oil add a fresh herbal fragrance, this is one strong conditioner.

This whole experience had me falling asleep easier, with heavenly smells and luscious dreams. After blow drying, my hair was soft, full and in the best shape I have ever seen it. At first I thought this was all in my head but the next day I got more compliments on my hair than ever before. I went to an opening and ever one I hugged commented on how good I smelled and this was 12 hours later. If everyone used Lush the world would be in bliss and smell heavenly and that is a wonderful F.A.C.T.