Trends

Stressed or not at all, starting yesterday through April 18th, it’s spa week in Gotham and the perfect excuse to be pampered. Treatments are $50 just for signing up at spaweek.com and this year, city spas are participating like woah.

Some things you should know before you go: 1) Spas book up quickly, so make reservations in advance…as in today. 2) Tip well. On average, 15-20% is the going rate to tip on your massage therapist or facialist. Because spa week treatments are less expensive but not less work, we recommend tipping higher than that on your treatment or tipping 15-20% of the regular cost of the treatment if your budget allows. 3) There are participants all over the city, so use this opportunity to try something new. Have a massage near that Upper West Side restaurant you’ve  been dying to try. New Yorker’s need any excuse to get them out of their hood. 4) Learn more. Other fun ways to follow the Spa Week action? Follow them on Twitter at @SPAWEEK and read their blog, Spa Week Daily.  5) Get Vajazzled. Yup, that’s right. Because nothing says “I’m relaxed” than overpriced crystals adorned to your flower.  6) For a serious laugh, check out Spa Week Daily’s Spa Crawl video blog of this girl – I guess she works for Spa Week – mid-slather, lather and shine at her once a day $50 treatment.

And amidst all of those instructions and options remember to breathe deeply. This is supposed to be relaxing.

Emma Dinzebach

Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and even other, smaller drug store chains have long fought for their share of the beauty market but now are upping the ante. On a recent trip to CVS, I was approached by a petite woman with glowing skin who asked if I was interested in a free skin analysis. She sat me beside a clean, brightly lit counter and examined my pores, propensity to wrinkle and tone. On a formal card, she listed products I needed to make my “youth last,” and just as she started in on best selling points, my phone rang and I had to go.

While I might not have been in the mood for a hard sell in the drugstore beauty department, the truth is that she was quite thorough. It seemed to me that she knew just as much as Gerry my Chanel guy and probably more than the flaky staff at Soho Sephora.  And some drugstore beauty products rival quality of department stores. My CVS sells dermatologist’s beloved La Roche-Posay products, and while they are far from cheap, the crow’s feet erasing eye cream will set you back $36 for .5 oz, they are certainly less than Crem de la Mer. You might be better off with the comparably Roc eye treatment at $22 for .5 oz or the ever reliable Aveeno line’s version for $20.

Like all eye creams and skin products, researching your skin’s sensitivity and specific needs and comparing products is key to finding something that works. If you have the patience to do so, it will save you a pretty penny.

Emma Dinzebach

New Yorker’s know the wave of relief they feel when they see their favorite bodega scored a B+ in Sanitary Inspection. Most of the time we don’t consider the letters as most nice restaurants and over 30% of all city restaurants score “A” averages. But what about that little sushi place you order from on Wednesday nights or the quesedilla you rely on to cure your hangover. What does that B+ mean?

The inspection procedure, according to nyc.gov is an unannounced visit to restaurants, retail bakeries and “take outs” conducted by Public Health Sanitarians who have college degrees in health sciences. Sanitarians spend most of their time observing the food workers practices including (via their website) “the manner in which they receive and store foods, how they process foods, and the temperatures at which they cook, hold, and reheat foods.” Then they get out their red pens and grade – A,B,C. Inspection frequency increases depending on grade, and establishments receiving a B or C have one chance to improve food safety procedures before they are required to post their grade. (Some violations are as small as dented cans or leaking faucet.) B and C restaurants do not pose health threats to their patrons. Those restaurants are shut down. “A” students receive their letters to post on the spot. 

By July, all restaurants – yes, even Per Se – will be required to display cards upon entrance. By requiring the grades to be posted, New York anticipates a marked increase in restaurants following near-impeccable food safety and sanitation rules. When L.A. implemented grade posting, the number of restaurants meeting the highest food safety standards rose from 40% to 80%. So it’s only slightly gross to eat at 20% of L.A. restaurants. From one New Yorker to another, we aren’t there yet, but we are on our way.

Emma Dinzebach

Retailers jonesing for greater access to global markets are hoping that the Obama administrations health care win will free up some time to focus on trade. Unlike the former administration’s focus on free trade agreements, this round of trade talks will likely trade infrastructure such as port management and creating system efficiency. Many would still like to see Congress consider lifting transactional duties on countries like Vietnam, South Korea and Columbia to allow for more movement and option, factors retailers find key in their goals to further tapping untouched markets.

For the sixth straight week retail stocks were up as retailers try to play catch up with the economic recovery. By day’s end Monday retail stocks outpaced all others with Dillard’s, Williams Sonoma and Tiffany’s leading the way. Also in the black were Tod’s, New York & Co. and Ross.
Former Anne Klein design director, Isabel Toledo, is working on a new line for Topeka, Kansas based shoe and bag retailer Payless. Toledo will join designers Christian Siriano, Alice & Olive, Lela Rose to shoes and handbags for the masses.  Olympic gymnast Natsia Liukin plans to team up with Penney’s to create a girl’s apparel line. Esprit opened their newest and biggest flagship store on 34th Street, and it’s not what you expect. Gone is the signature red door, white walls, bright lights and nauseating nautical theme. Esprit is focusing on their global consumers as well as re-purposed wood paneling, chic mannequins and a more sophisticated environment. In sportswear, Nike kicks off it’s FIFA World Cup marketing. In the Northwest, Saks closes it’s Portland store and warns more closures. In beauty, Sephora plans to unveil exclusive brands in Europe. In Milan, Marc Jacobs store is all the rage. And online, Anthropologie looks to open an international site.
Finally, why does it pays to be busty? Literally. Larger bra sizes are creating more sales for lingerie companies like Victoria’s Secret, Haneswear and even Harlequin. In the 70’s and 80’s the median bra size was a whopping 34B. By the late nineties and early aughts, it rose to a 36C, and last year, more and more women asked for D, DD, and sizes up to K. (Oprah Winfrey pulled a G cup from her closet.) Individual stores say they can’t even keep large sizes in stock, and a spokesman for Calvin Klein’s full-figured line, Lane Bryant, said they are increasing production for bra sizes E-H every year, which is wonderful news for ladies who need a extra support.

So in your effort to keep retail going strong, consider a lingerie overhaul, until next week…in shopping.

Emma Dinzebach