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Universal sizing can either denote a designer’s delusions of grandeur (“My creations are so amazing they will perfectly suit one and all!”) or plain laziness. And even though Dior can do no wrong across the board, the company’s announcement of its DiorShow Brow Styler ($28), a superfine pencil in one shade that would work on anyone's arches, inspired a twinge of skepticism. But it’s refreshing to be wrong, as this skinny little retractable stick of tinted wax has proven. It’s a semi-opaque golden brown that darkens as it layers, and smudges softly when lifting brows with the grooming wand on its polar end. Available in July at department stores.
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Disclaimer: there aren’t many items in this column you actually need in your life. All you really need is food, water, air, shelter and enough clothing so you don’t get arrested for indecency—and then maybe once in a while a hug. But we’re going to go out on a limb here and say that when it comes to skincare, Dermalogica truly is must-have stuff.Western medicine and Chinese holistic treatment cross paths in rigorousness, and that’s what makes Dermalogica so great. The company recently opened a spa in Manhattan, and "ooh" is the first thing there is to say about it. Focused more on skin health than beauty, the therapists have all been trained at the International Dermal Institute and are ready to educate, even if you just sit at their gleaming-white round counter and soak in all their knowledge, have your skin expertly examined and evaluated, and then take off. You really should stay, though, even for a 20-minute microzone target treatment ($35). If your experience is anything like ours, even a major issue several years in development will start to change, big time, within a matter of days. The hour-long facial ($110), held in an immaculate pod room that softly pulsates a rainbow-like light spectrum—though it’s no rave—is a serious pore spelunking mission that isn’t a death blow to the ego. You’ll hear what you need to hear, kindly, and then it’ll be taken care of in a soft and efficient manner. And days later, when usually your face is still catching its breath from a facial, sweating all kinds of nasty stuff that makes you wonder why on earth you bothered to do it in the first place, you’ll be smiling at yourself, sans makeup, in the mirror.
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You can scrub your feet with just about anything gritty and cooling—try peppermints crushed up in tile grout, if you like—but nothing beats really lovely foot products. Not even the priciest, newest, most hi-tech serum on the market that you magically got today, even though it’s available for everyone else tomorrow. Liz Earle’s new Scrub ($20) and Repair Moisturizer ($24) minimizes the contrast between what you’re used to at the spa and what you can get at home. Your face expects the best anyway. Available through the website and Fred Segal in Santa Monica.
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Putting rose otto in anything used to make your body or home smell, feel or look better is almost cheating; it’s going to be fantastically soothing and nourishing, no matter what it is. So Ren’s Sugar Body Polish, the latest addition to their fair-trade Moroccan Rose Otto line, is a no-brainer in terms of functionality and addictiveness, as is everything rose-related this quasi-Buddhist bioactive company has ever made. But it goes beyond that, even. This stuff, after it’s sloughed the devil off of you, is so emollient it nearly leaves the skin humid. This, then soap, is all you need before a visit from the razor—no, really. And it's so beautifully fragranced that you need to be prepared for the after-effects. Mostly, you’ll be smelling yourself wherever you’ve used it, so start working on your excuse now for why you’re trying to stick your nose in the crook of your knee. $60 at Barneys New York and Space NK.
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A brush and shampoo are summer hair’s worst enemies—the sun is just about the only styling product most of us need in the summer. But please rescue your tresses well before pre-dread zone with Umi Tonic, a nutrient-rich detangler and foundation spray that strengthens the cuticle and soothes the scalp. A little bit gnarly is good, but you've got to hit the reset button every few days. $10.50 for 2 oz, $22.50 for 6 oz through the website.
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