Image via Aveda

I just stumbled across their oldie but goodie Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser and I'm so glad, because it instantly reminded me that it's WONDERFUL, plus it's good for you and the planet. It's a daily cleanser stuffed with the energizing mineral tourmaline, certified organic babassu oil, mango butter moisturizer, and naturally-derived jojoba beads that help to remove impurities and skin dulling surface cells. And of course, being an Aveda product, it smells like the bee's knees and the packaging is made of recycled plastic. Just try it.

Make this New York Times skin care article your bible! Staff beauty writer Natasha Singer has written the ultimate no-nonsense compilation of practical advice to aid your personal mission for good skin in 2008. Throwing out your old products is a great idea. Some of us have a bad habit of letting time go by as our products accumulate bacteria, then we dare to slather the petri dish experiment right on our faces.

Nothing riles me up like Rush Limbaugh, and as exemplified by his latest rant against Hillary Clinton's aging "problem," he really does prove himself to be an ass. Maureen Dowd's column in The New York Times speculates that one way men put down women in power is to begin attacking her for more superficial faults. How incredibly gross is this: "So the question is this," the radio personality [Limbaugh] said. "Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?" Uh, did he REALLY say that!?!?!?!? No, wait, REALLY!???

Image via Caudalie

I drink enough wine to consider myself a connoisseur (the nice word for "junkie" and or "addict"), and I have VERY happy memories of my visit to the world famous Caudalíe Spa in Bordeaux. Of course, the only time I've ever doused myself in Cabernet was the time I got it all over my cream-colored sweater, and I do not have fond memories of that experience; plus as I've stated many times, I can't stand products that remind me of food and/or drink. Still, I was anxious to try their old standard, Cabernet Shower Gel, simply because it smelled just like the product literature promised it would: "the smell of the vine under the warm sun," dried straw sweetened by honey and linden (WTF!?) and light, peppery, white wood.