The Scent of Summer, Italian-style

I know that by now pretty much everyone has heard of Santa Maria Novella - I've known about the cult line since high school - but that doesn't stop me from wanting to blog about it.

For those of you not in the know, the skincare line comes from Florence where it has been produced for over 400 years not far from the namesake basilica. It's one of the world's oldest pharmacies, a testament to the old saying, "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

Their gorgeous vintage packaging (this is, after all, a design blog!) and wonderful products have stood the test of time. And now you don't have to make a pilgrimage to Italy to pick some up! They sell it online at eluxury, and at high-end department stores like Takashimaya. That's where I grabbed their marvelous hand cream.

It was one of those slightly impulsive and very frivolous purchases that I have yet to regret. The cream itself is buttery smooth, and sinks rapidly into your skin, leaving it soft but lacking that nasty slippery, waxy feeling I get from so many creams.

Anyway, that wasn't what really excited me. I took a whiff of it yesterday and stopped short with amazement. See, I inherited my mother's sense of smell, or near lack thereof. Thanks, Mom. It can be very convenient at times, but also rather sad. I get really excited when I can pick up a scent clearly. Its even rarer that I am able to smell a non-overpowering, non-nasty scent so clearly that I can associate it with a memory. But as soon as the scent of this hand cream washed over me, I immediately smiled with delight and thought, "that smells like summer." I couldn't figure out why, exactly, until I realize that the light, fresh lemony scent reminded me of sitting in the grass on hot summer days slurping up lemon sorbet, which was a favorite treat when I was a kid.

What could be lovelier?

I Heart NY, part deux

More things I love about New York:

My breakfast yesterday, at the most fabulous cafe outside of Vienna. Sorry, Julius Meinl...you'll have to console yourself with second best! The gugelhopf (ginger cake) melted in my mouth, and the hot cocoa...while not Angelina...was very good.


This gorgeous fabric by Dagobert Peche. Find it at the Neue Galerie on one of Josef Hoffman's neoclassical chairs. If you haven't been yet, please go to this tiny gem of a museum - if only for the Klimts and the drool-worthy design shop! It's called Schwalbenschwanz (butterfly). This is the best image I could find of it. You can buy this skirt and other Schwalbenschwanz items at this German design shop.

Takashimaya. I mean, hello? They carry Santa Maria Novella! Yeah, I know, you can get it at Eluxury now but I was still excited. Ultra-refined, ultra-beautiful everything. The tea room's great too. I had a limited number of stores I had time to go to yesterday, but I made sure I got there, because it's definitely an all-time fave. Bendel's was disappointing in comparison. Despite the speedo-clad, blonde-wigged male models gyrating in the window for some MAC Barbie promotion.


My new lace earrings and Muji notebooks from the Moma Design Store. Awful picture, sorry.



Van Dyck's characteristic elegant, tapered hands - you just know those sitters had short, stubby fingers! See them several times over at my favorite American museum, the Frick Collection.


The gorgeous shawl of the Comtesse Daru, by Jacques-Louis David. The ultimate Neoclassical ladies' accessory. Unfortunately the color's a bit off - the green is really much more fresh and vibrant. The comtesse also lives at the Frick.


This symphony in black and white in the window at Calypso last night.

I hate...the horrible taxi drivers who, if you can even find one, ask you where you're going and zoom off if it's not to their liking.