5 Swedish beauty brands you may not have heard of

AGONIST "is a Nordic fragrance brand launched in November 2008. AGONIST creates pure 100% natural fragrances inspired by the Nordic climate and culture. Raw materials and product give form to a Swedish but even more Nordic clarity, – fresh with a vigourous weight and beautiful low tones."

BJÖRK & BERRIES "is an ecoluxury beauty brand derived from Swedish nature and traditions. It all began with hand-picked birch leaves that were turned into natural perfume. Our experts refine natural and organic ingredients of the highest quality into essential products for face, body and home for the caring consumer in the contemporary world." 

BYREDO "is a Stockholm based fragrance house founded in 2006 by Ben Gorham. Products currently include perfume, home fragrance, body care products and accessories. All products are made in Sweden with a distinct focus on craftsmanship and quality."

ESTELLE & THILD "is more than just a organic brand: it's about providing a sustainable, effective skin care solution with a feeling of everyday luxury."

FACE STOCKHOLM "is the only Swedish cosmetics company that offers makeup and skin care that is true to the Swedish beauty ideal – naturally based, trend forward, simple, clean, gorgeous and fun. FACE Stockholm offers a spectacular and unrivaled range of colors and uses only the highest quality ingredients."

Winter is coming | a dozen ways to prepare

It's now 100% autumn, and I'm sure many of our readers have already started to feel the chill of winter creeping in - here in Sweden, the leaves are all pretty much gone, and the other morning I woke up to snow.  Snow.  In mid-October.  Winter is coming (I happen to be reading Game of Thrones right now, which only makes it more fun to talk about this), and to be honest I can't wait.  I love winter, it is by far my favorite season.  But the anticipation leading up to it - autumn - can be just as fun.  Here is my personal checklist of things to do to prepare yourself mentally and physically for the coming months of darkness and cold.

1. Start getting up earlier.  The days are already starting to get shorter (by December in Sweden the sun will be setting at 3pm!), and your body will start to drag as that sun vanishes earlier and earlier.  Beat the blues by conditioning yourself to get up an hour (or two!) earlier than normal.  Use that extra time to...
2. Exercise in the morning.  Best winter weight gain by starting this practice now, in the fall.  Because we spend so much time sleeping and sitting around and eating once it gets cold out, the best way to keep your metabolism revved is to start your day with some simple movement.  Yoga or some basic ballet conditioning are a great way to wake up your body, and they won't seem as daunting as a jog in the snow - although, if you're a morning person and feel compelled, definitely go do that instead!  Personally I like to take it slow in the morning, so setting the small goal of doing a couple Sun Salutations in the morning means that I'm much more likely to actually get up and do them.
3. Buy a gigantic sweater.  Nothing is comfier than a sweater 10 sizes too big.  They are one of the easiest things to find at second-hand stores, so do a little thrift shopping and invest in a giant frumpy knit sweater that covers your butt.  It will be your favorite thing to fall asleep in, or to curl up in with a book when the snow falls.
4. Let there be light.  Invest in a couple new scented candles or string lights to add a bit of cozy ambiance to your room.  You'll love it during those long nights and cloudy days.
5. Get re-acquainted with your bookshelf.  With the holiday season coming up, it might be wiser not to buy a bunch of new books.  Instead, go through the books you already have.  Look harder, and you will likely find a book or two that you never read.  Even better, you might find an old favorite to re-read, like a Jane Austen novel or The Golden Compass.  If nothing catches the eye, borrow a book from a friend.  A second-hand book, with its creased spine and folded corners, fits the autumn spirit better.
6. Take it easy on the pastries.  Your body is going to suddenly love fatty and sugary foods more than ever, because your polar bear instinct is kicking in for winter.  Just be aware of this and don't go too overboard with the holiday chocolates.  Instead...
7. Get some vitamin D!  Start eating salmon, milk, eggs, and ricotta cheese if you start feeling a bit of the winter blues.  These are some of the top sources of vitamin D!  Pretty much all fish will be a good option.
8. Go for walks.  That crisp autumn air is good for you, and don't you just love layering up and grabbing your favorite scarf?  Take your BFF or your dog for a stroll through the park and admire the orange and red leaves.
9. Kill some time.  Come up with a new pastime in advance, something to fill those idle hours of the coldest months of the year.  Do you want to master a dozen new breakfast dishes?  Write a novel?  Find something that can done in the comfort of your home, and get started now.
10. Revamp your wardrobe.  Evaluate your 2012 fall/winter wardrobe.  Are you boots falling apart?  Do you need a new coat?  The five core elements to a fall ensemble are: ankle boots, coat, scarf, sweater, and dark trousers.  Shop for a new one of any of these; you'll certainly be using it enough to make it worth the investment!
11. Get re-acquainted with friends.  Look up a couple buddies you haven't caught up with in a while.  Go out for coffee.  The end of the year should always be devoted to re-establishing the connections that you want to keep in the new year.
12. Find a snuggle buddy.  Dog or human.  Unpack a knit blanket that hasn't been seen since last winter and you're all set.

tried and true: best sunless tanners and tanning strategies

There are countless self-tanners on the market, and dozens that you'll see when you walk into pretty much any store right now. It's that season - everyone's showing off their beach bodies! The sun has started to shine again, and clothes are coming off...

I strongly believe that a good, healthy tan is one of the best ways to improve your look for the summer (or any time!). A golden tan helps make your skin look more firm and healthy, and will increase muscle definition. Who doesn't want that bronzed, fresh-out-of-the sunshine look for the summer?

However, spending too much time directly in the sun can be harmful to your skin. And tanning beds are definitely not good! I have spent many years trying to perfect the art of tanning, indoors and out, and am passing on the things I've learned through much experimentation and studying.

OUTDOOR TANNING is an art that needs to be practised with care. At least, that's the way I look at it. But this doesn't mean that you have to put a ton of effort into getting a beautiful, even outdoor tan! The key to a strong, long-lasting sun tan is regularly building with protection. I recommend spending time in the sun every day, an hour or less, with a lower-level SPF sunscreen (I use 30 SPF) with broad spectrum protection. An all-natural sunscreen option to consider is coconut oil, though limit your exposure even further if you choose this. It also helps to exfoliate beforehand, so the skin you are trying to tan is new and won't slough off for a while.

Though it will be difficult to get colour while wearing sunscreen, when you earn your tan after careful daily exposure, it will be more healthy, deep, and will last far longer than the burn you get after spending a whole day outdoors without any protection. This strategy may sound counter-intuitive, because sunscreen is supposed to stop the sun from getting to your skin. However, the sunscreen will let enough sun through to tan your skin (without burning!) if you do this on a regular basis. If you expose your skin with no protection, it will burn, killing and removing the layers that you are trying to tan! It's damaging those cells and after your burn peels off, you'll have to start from scratch. Tanning with a moderate amount of sunscreen will protect your skin enough to build a truly deep, long-lasting tan.

It is also very important to moisturise after exposure! Keeping your skin moisturised and nourished (even when you aren't burnt) will lock in and preserve your tan, and you will avoid dry and brittle skin. Make sure to avoid mineral oil in your tanning and moisturising products: it will strip away the colour you've been building up. Australian Gold Moisture Lock is my favourite after-sun moisturiser: this tan extender is soothing and mineral oil-free.

INDOOR TANNING should always be done in a bathroom, not in a bed! The risks of tannings beds are too high to justify using them, and there are so many safer options. Sunless tanning lotions and sprays are safe and easy to apply: I highly recommend this option instead! I feel like I've tried almost every sunless tanning lotion and spray out there, and I'll describe my favourites here.

Cheaper: Australian Gold is my favourite cheap-ish tanning brand. Their products can usually be found in drugstores, and their Self Tanning Lotion sells for $8.99 online. Several of their sunscreens also include a light self-tanner, and I feel that their products offer a more natural colour than others at this price range. Several friends of mine (who prefer a spray-on option) use Tanwise Tanning Spray, which looks very natural and can be applied smoothly. You can get a light to medium-dark tan with this spray, depending on how often you use it, and it's $9.00 a can.

Middle Budget: I use Mary Kay Subtle Tanning Lotion every day in the winter, and it gives me just enough colour that I don't look like a vampire, but not enough to look fake. This is a great, natural-looking daily bronzer for light colour. It sells for $16.00 on Mary Kay's website, and $14.00 on Amazon.

Higher Budget: St. Tropez is frequently rated as the best luxury line of suncare products. They have a very extensive range of lotions, mousses, and sprays, from a Gradual Tan Lotion (with anti-ageing and firming options too!), Self Tan Bronzing Mousse, and Self Tan Dark Mousse.  Their mousse products are a great streak-free alternative to lotion. The gradual tan and self tan products allow for very natural, light-to-medium colour. In the summer I use the dark mousse, and the unique thing about this lotion is its olive tint. Many dark self tanners tend to just be a darker shade of gold or orange, which never looks good, but the St. Tropez dark range has an olive tone that will look much more natural. Since this shade is so dark, I usually blend it with a dab of my daily moisturiser to soften the colour. You will also definitely want to use gloves when you apply this one (unless you opt for the spray) - they have an Applicator Mitt on their website, but I usually just use latex gloves from the drugstore. However, this beautiful dark tan will cost you - the St. Tropez products run between $30-44 per bottle.

Protecting your skin over the summer should be a top priority. Whether you go about it by wearing a light, daily sunscreen or using an indoor tanning product, make sure you take care of your health first!! It is very possible to have beautiful, bronzed, and safe skin this summer. Happy tanning!

slim down with green smoothies or a juice fast

Let's just start by saying this: we don't condone juice fasts or diets that involve drinking all your meals. Not providing your body with solid food for an extended period of time is not healthy and overtime can result is all sorts of physiological and psychological side effects. However, a lot of recent research has touted the benefits of doing a short-term (we recommend 1-2 days for beginners) juice fast or green smoothie fast. We recommend reading this Livestrong article, which talks about the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss and lifelong health. For juice fasts you will need a juicer; for green smoothie-ing, a blender will be enough. Both juices and green smoothies are simply a convenient alternative to preparing a meal. They're quick and easy to make and can be taken on the go. They are satisfying, healthy, detoxifying, and can include whatever particular supplements your body craves.

The cheapest option is to blend/juice your own fruits and veggies. For beginners, we recommend that you start with simple blended smoothies. These are the fastest/easiest to make, and a blender is a lot cheaper than a good juicer. Also, because you're chopping up the entire fruit/vegetable, you're getting a solid dose of fiber. Your body will have a much easier time adjusting to a (short-term) liquid diet and will also feel fuller if you include this part of the plants.

You can start with Dr. Oz's 48-hour cleanse, which includes multiple juice recipes (some of which can be concocted sans juicer) supplemented with vegetables and healthy recipes (like quinoa with prunes). If you're willing to take on a bigger challenge, try a 3-day cleanse like Jason Vale's Super Juice Detox or this one by Freutcake.

If you want to buy pre-made and money is no option, you can get juice cleanse kits delivered to you! If you happen to live in California or NYC you have the option of simply picking up these cleanses, meaning you won't be shelling out $20-$50 for shipping. Always a plus.

• BluePrint has 2-day cleanses for $150.
• Pressed Juicery has a 12-juice package for $160.
• Juice Shop has a 2-day beginner cleanse that's $126 (you have to be in the San Francisco area).
• CoolerCleanse has a 3-day cleanse for $174.
• Red Carpet Cleanses cost $90 a day.
• LifeJuice is $60 a day.

When it comes to blending and juicing on your own, you have to make sure you have the proper equipment first. Blenders are the cheaper option by far: a decent blender will run you $20 to $60, whereas a truly decent juicer (one that extracts all the nutrients) falls in the $50 to $200 range. Check out Amazon.com for the best selection and prices. Once you've got the equipment, surf the web for recipes and stock up on fruits and veggies! Some easy beginner recipes can be found at Food Network or Eating Well.

We'd love to hear your favorite recipes - feel free to share them in the comments below!

new beauty must-have: cc creams

Let's face it: we don't really set aside time to painstakingly apply makeup every morning. Most of us barely have enough time to grab a bite to eat before we need to be out the door! BB Creams created a sensation when they came out: they were tinted moisturizer and food for your delicate facial skin all in one, covering imperfections and even providing built-in sunscreen.

And now they're rapidly becoming obsolete. New "color control" or CC creams have hit the shelves, and these all-in-one miracle formulas are doing even more than BB creams. Not only do they provide excellent coverage (for those of us who prefer tinted moisturizer to full-face foundation, CC creams are an excellent replacement for a complex multi-product morning ritual), they also work to reverse damage to skin cells, correcting everything from wrinkles to dark spots. Over time, well-designed CC creams will reduce signs of aging and nourish your skin, making it naturally more even-toned and brighter!

Olay CC Cream comes in three shades: Fair-to-Light, Light-to-Medium, and Medium-to-Deep. It can be found in common drugstores and is probably the best bargain at $17.59.

Clinique's Moisture Surge CC Cream is the best bang for your buck. At $35, you get to choose from nine different shades (three of which are the top-selling blends from Asia, where CC creams are already a well-established product) and you get the brightening, hydrating, and protecting power of a company with years of expertise in color-correction for skin. The only downside- it hasn't been released yet!

Smashbox's Camera Ready CC Cream comes in five different shades and emphasizes dark spot correction, something that the previous two CC creams don't particularly focus on. $42 at Sephora.com.

Peter Thomas Roth's CC Cream is another fantastic choice. It comes in three shades and is formulated with an Amazon superfruit called camu camu, supposedly a vitamin C powerhouse. This one probably does the most for your skin over the long-term, fighting free radical damage and nourishing it to undo multiple signs of aging. $48 at Sephora.com.

Chanel's CC Cream is the best, but at $80 it won't come cheap. Formulated with soothing cornflower water, it evens out skintone and does wonders for skin imperfections with extended use. It also has SPF 30 and has a lightweight, airy texture.

“by nord” designs: gorgeous scandinavian aesthetic

I am in love with By Nord.  The Copenhagen-based company was founded in 2008, and has truly mastered the beautiful, natural simplicity of the Scandinavian aesthetic.  Embracing light and nature elements like wood, water, cotton, pottery, and plants, By Nord’s products encompass the idea of creating a home which embraces the outside world, even invites the elements of the surrounding environment in.  Everything is made organically, with no dangerous added chemicals or artificial materials.

Probably their most popular product at the moment, By Nord’s gorgeous duvet covers each showcase a striking greyscale photograph of a northern-dwelling animal, and each is paired with a pillowcase (sold separately) that reads like an Arctic wildlife guide.

Wouldn’t you know it, the company also makes tea!  I was unable to find descriptions of what’s actually in each blend, but the titles are thrilling: Deep Forest, White Energy, Morning Breeze…  I’m also in love with their throws, all of which are chunky and think-knit.  The colors are soft browns and blues, and the fabrics are wool or cotton.

By Nord incorporates nature photography into nearly all its bedding designs.  They have a huge assortment of pillowcases which evoke a rainy-day scene of the rugged Scandinavian terrain or of the equally rugged animals which dwell there, from reindeer to Icelandic ponies.

You have to check out their catalog to see some of the gorgeous photos, as well as their full collection of household items.  If you fall in love with the Scandinavian aesthetic as I have, I also recommend checking out the French store Boutique Scandinave, as well as the Stockholm Design Lab.

victoria's secret fashion show - it's almost here!

Who else is uncontrollably excited for the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show? This has got to be one of my favourite days of the year. I think it should be a national holiday and everyone should just get the day off. However, since our government doesn't seem to sympathize, I hope I can still find a way to get the night off work and throw some kind of lingerie/Pink party and drink champagne.

This year, VSFS is scheduled to broadcast on Tuesday, December 4 at 10 ET. It'll be shown on CBS. Unfortunately for us mortals, the show already took place on November 7 to a select live audience, but we won't be allowed to watch the entire show until December 4. Rihanna and Justin Bieber headlined. Miranda, Adriana, Candice, Alessandra, and dozens of other out-of-this-world models strode down the runway mostly nude for millions to see. Even though I wouldn't classify the Victoria's Secret show as a real fashion show, it is one of the most glamorous, fun, and sexy nights on television - and made much more special because it only happens once a year!

The show is always divided into different segments with individual themes. My favourite last year was 'I Put a Spell on You', in which the models wore boudoir-noir, classically inspired balconette bras, corsets, long gloves, and bows. The fun bit of the VSFS - aside from the truly perfect models and celebrity musical highlights - is the variety that encompasses all the themes and outfits. There is lingerie that is drop-dead sexy, playful, girly, tough, delicate, and wicked. Every outfit is marvelous and novel, even though some (most?) are a little bizarre.

I hope to have time to watch the shows from past years that I missed (which I found links to here, though you can also find broken-up versions on youtube) before this year's show. Comment with recommendations! I've only seen those from the past couple of years. I can't wait to get into the shows from the 90's - that sounds like too much fun.

Make sure you check back here to keep updated: we have a countdown to the VSFS air date at the very bottom of this blog, and we will DEFINITELY be posting the night of. See you then!!

scent of the season: bottega veneta

I am obsessed with this scent! Bottega Veneta's eau de parfum is the perfect scent for the winter season. Tomas Maier, the creative director, describes the inspiration for this scent as being "an old house... I envisioned a room with old wood floors, library walls and leather-bound books with the windows open wide, the breeze coming in... That’s where we started."

The perfume is composed as follows:

Top notes: plum, Italian bergamot & Brazilian pink pepper
Heart notes: Indian Sambac jasmine, oakmoss & patchouli
Base note: leather accord

The surprising whiff of plum is my favorite part, especially in such a musky, woodsy, almost masculine or cologne-like perfume. I love how Scentsate's review describes the way the scent evolves over time after application:

"The opening is the most beautiful. Not only is it the most overtly leathery part of the fragrance, but it brings with it a decadent outburst of plum. This effect lasts for about half an hour, impressive for top notes.

"It gets sweeter towards the heart, half-an-hour in. This is where the pepper and rose become more noticeable. Bottega Veneta has been described as a chypre, and I don’t think this is technically incorrect. Lots of perfumes contain the ubiquitous chypre triad of labdanum, bergamot, and oakmoss. But it is featured softly, as an accent rather than the main show. The heart reminds me a little of the 2008 Chloe with the softness and the transparent rose. But it’s better than Chloe, and remains dusky and soft.

"Towards the aforementioned forever-lasting end, all of the accents fade, and you are left with a lovely suede rose. The best thing about Bottega Veneta probably the natural feel of the leather note. Somehow it feels like you are actually wearing kidskin gloves, instead of just having sprayed chemicals on your wrist."

This is certainly on my Christmas list. Don't you love it when you discover a perfume that connects with you, something that you want to wear alone, without clothes to smother it. Just as Marilyn Monroe said in an interview...

"You know they ask you questions," Monroe said during an April 1960 interview with French journalist Georges Belmont. "Just an example: 'What do you wear to bed? Do you wear a pajama top, the bottoms of the pajamas, or a nightgown?' So I said, 'Chanel No. 5!' Because it's the truth! And yet I don't want to say 'nude,' you know? But it's the truth." For more on Marilyn Monroe and Chanel, check out this article.

rihanna fever

We love Rihanna! In GQ's December issue, which was just released, she poses nude and shows off her newest tattoo (read the full article here, see one of the spread's photos to the left), which is a thickly-inked angel with wings outspread below her breasts. Especially racy as of late, she's been on tour for her newest album, aptly named Unapologetic.

Today, at 4:00 pm EST, check out a live exclusive from Rihanna's 777 tour on Facebook here! River Island (a British store we love!) is providing this awesome footage. The tour is cleverly named for the fact that Unapologetic is her seventh album. Also, it was just released... today! Check it out on iTunes - "Diamond" has already become a hit single (check out the music video!), but we also encourage you to listen to "Stay" (Eli's fave) and "What Now."

Also be sure to check out River Island's Rihanna t-shirts! We like this one.

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