Humidifiers in NYC are a definite must; the dry heat that pumps from your radiators may feel nice at first, but it can certainly wreck havoc on your skin and immune system. Instead of waking up with a sore throat and dry skin, try the new Vicks GermFree Cool Mist Humidifier. This compact device adds essential moisture to your room, providing relief for dry eyes, nose, and skin, while eliminating up to 99% of mold and bacteria, thanks to a handy germ-killing UV light chamber. I felt the effects of the humidifier my first night using it. The soft sound lulled me to sleep and I woke up without a dry throat or any congestion. Another cool, Vicks-inspired feature, is a spot on the front of the humidifier where you can insert a Vicks Menthol VapoPad, to release soothing vapors that will naturally help you fall asleep.
Available: RiteAid, RiteAid.com and Babies R Us
Morning workouts are great if you can actually avoid pressing the snooze button. However, many times even when you do get up and moving that early, your face still looks like it’s half asleep. You know, tired eyes, dull skin, not so pretty. Now you can get the circulation going in your face too, with the Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Awakening Face Massager, proven to combat the signs of exhaustion. This bright green wand contains a rolling applicator, which you massage onto your face and neck. The cool plastic roller feels refreshing and releases the anti-fatigue formula that contains caffeine, Vitamin C and antioxidants. You’ll notice after using it that skin immediately appears more radiant, awake and hydrated. So now even if you got up at some ungodly hour to exercise, your face won’t show it!
Available: drugstores and CVS.com
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Around the holidays and New Years it’s hard to eat well when the desserts, cocktails and appetizers you only get to have once a year constantly surround you. While indulgence is fun now and then, it’s not so fun when you get that food coma or sugar crash hours later! This year try some dessert that’s good and good for you from local, organic brand One Lucky Duck. Committed to organic living, they make their raw and organic products in their own kitchen right here in NYC. Their Chocolate Dipped Blonde Macaroons are a classic chewy coconut treat with a festive dip of raw, organic chocolate. Additionally, they’re gluten and dairy free and are made with low glycemic agave nectar, promoting energy rather than a long nap! Give them, or one of their other healthy snacks, as a gift or enjoy yourself as a way to keep your healthy eating resolutions.
Available: http://www.OneLuckyDuck.com
Retail Store: One Lucky Duck Takeaway 125 ½ E. 17th Street at Irving Place.
Restaurant: Pure Food and Wine, Irving Place
Does the cold weather mean fewer workouts? Try taking the Evian Limited Edition Bottle, designed by Fashion Icon Paul Smith to the gym. This new design will surely inspire you and will make drinking your water in between repetitions fun! Not practical, that’s fine, this gorgeous bottle also makes a great gift for your health aficionado friend or family member. This new bottle has vibrant colors and is clearly a nod to the famous Paul Smith stripes. The bottle captures Evian’s new optimistic signature messaging, which any health-focused person can appreciate, Live Young™. The festive bottle will also make a great final touch to a table during the holidays, so why not enjoy drinking your water?
Available in gourmet food shops and http://www.ShopEvian.com
Vitamins and supplements may fill the aisles in drugstores, but have you ever thought about what is in the vitamins you put in your body? You can be certain NUTRILITE® founder Carl Rehnborg did, as he created the first multivitamin/multimineral supplement in North America in 1934. Today, the brand is a leader in plant-based nutrition, growing, harvesting and processing plants on their own certified organic farms, using sustainable, chemical-free methods to create their products. NUTRILITE products are so unique as they contain the phytonutrients (whole fruits and vegetables) that most people don’t get enough of each day; they help to fill that gap. My new favorite is the Daily Multivitamin, which provides 100% or more of the Daily Value for 12 essential vitamins and eight essential minerals, giving you healthy bones, teeth, skin, eyes and heart. This vitamin is also easy to swallow, has no unpleasant aftertaste and does not make me the slightest bit queasy like some vitamins. Just call it the miracle pill!
For more information go to http://www.Nutrilite.com and to purchase visit http://www.quixtar.com
Crunch gyms all over Manhattan are known for their eclectic range of classes. From boxing to bhangra, these gyms have something for everyone. For those of us looking for a 60-minute mixed bag, the S.T.A.R. workout is the perfect complement to our busy lifestyles.
S.T.A.R. stands for: Spinning, Toning, Abs and Relaxing Stretches and goes thru these four workouts in 20-minute intervals (with abs and stretches combined for a total of 20 minutes). If you’re anti spinning, this class is perfect for you because rather than the hour long spinning classes taken by the die-hard spinners (you know who you are!), the S.T.A.R. instructor has you do only a 20 minute interval complete with hills and sprints. This way, you’re still feeling the burn of a longer class, but the time spent on the bike is much less.
The toning portion involves a medley of squats, lunges, push-ups and other activities using light to medium weights at a fast pace. The music and spirited instructor keeps you going as you push through set after set of toning exercises.
Finally, you’re on the floor working the abs with a stability ball and a wide variety of ab exercises. Panting and staring at the clock, you realize there are only five minutes left and that’s when the pulsating beats stop, the instructor leads you thru a batch of delicious stretches, and you’re done. A fast-paced sixty-minute gym session can officially be checked off your to-do list for the day!
Looking for a unique, playful, gym that actually makes you want to work out? Look no further than David Barton’s newest location in Astor Place. The building, a former Barnes and Noble space, is pure East Village, from the electric colors, velvet sofas, and tattooed walls, to the spot lighting that resembles a nightclub. Truly a fantasyland of fitness, the space has top of the art machines, services and classes that ooze positive energy, something that’s barely apparent from the outside. David’s eye for interior design, detail and his standard of excellence are truly felt throughout the club.
Sound a bit intimidating, maybe, but the vibe is equally intoxicating and inspiring; when the time comes, you really won’t want to leave. The space, which consists of 4 floors, houses several cardio rooms, all which have their own flat screen TV’s and custom track lighting so the focus is really all on you. The combination of the lights plus the tinted mirrors help can help extend your workouts as you don’t need to worry about looking overly red and sweaty as typical florescent lighting can sometimes exaggerate. The 2nd floor boasts impressive areas of free weights complete with a live DJ spinning upbeat tunes from inside a twelve-foot disco ball. The bottom floor contains the candle-lit yoga studio, Pilates room, and the amenity-laden women’s locker room.
Lets face it, sometimes no matter how many miles you run or crucnhes you do, you still need a bit of help getting that form fitting pencil skirt on in the morning for work. For that flawless, Joan Holloway (“Mad Men”) shape, try an amzing new line called Sliminizer™, created by intimate apparel designer to the stars, Kate Liegey. The shapewear provides amazing support in all the right places and comes in 10 skin tone colors incase you are wearing something sheer or extra clingy. The collection includes strapless bras, which I tried and can attest that it not only supports but is super comfortable, as well as boy shorts, camis, control briefs and more, all which provide smoothing and shaping effects. These pieces come in handy for special occasions, weddings, holidays parties or anytime you want a rockin’ shape, but also want that extra cocktail. Visit http://www.sliminizer.com for more information and to purchase the line.
At the gym and even at work I’m all about multi-use products; my purse is heavy enough as it is! My favorite new product is the Wei East 8th Wonder Rescue Balm; a long name for a product that has a long list of uses, 32 to be exact! The coral colored balm contains 8 potent herbs such as Chinese Rose, Plum Blossom, Golden Lotus Flower and will cure pretty much any ailment from dry lips, scalp, elbows, heels and cuticles, to taming eyebrows and flyaway hairs, to soothing chaffed skin and blisters. Not only is this little green tin pretty and fragrant, but it also soothed every rough, dry place I put it on. So, lighten your load and carry this wonder around from now on!
Living in NYC or a small space anywhere, you probably know that a bad smell can travel fast. Have you ever stopped to think that the bad smell may be your stinky gym clothes sitting in your hamper?! My personal savior has been the recent discovery of Febreze Sport, which
instantly neutralizes and eliminates odors on gym clothes, sneakers, sports gear and more, including those items you can’t throw in the wash. How does this work you ask? Well, the product contains a unique ingredient formulated with X-Sweat Technology™ that seeks out and neutralizes tough sweat odors. This sounds too good to be true, trust me I know, but it really works. My post-workout clothes smelled fresh after a few squirts and I no longer have to worry about a stinky hamper. This product is definitely a new gym bag, locker or laundry room staple. For more information on this product and the entire Febreze line, visit http://www.febrezesport.com.
This past summer, I had the pleasure of becoming absolutely addicted to Manhattan-based Physique 57, the thigh-burning, ab-tightening, high-energy workout class responsible for the toned tushies of celebs like Kelly Ripa and Christy Turlington. This torturous workout managed to keep my body in check despite my margarita and tortilla chip habit, giving me muscles I never knew I had. To my dismay, a hectic work schedule and tight budget permitted me from going as much as I wanted. Never had I craved a workout routine quite like this; no matter how much it hurt, I kept coming back for more.
The fitness gods must have heard my prayers, because just a few months ago, Physique 57 bottled up their magic in the form of three DVDs, perfect for any time of day. I got the full scoop from Shelly Knight, Associate Director of Training and Physique 57 guru, who shared some insight on the method and the new DVDs.
BN: What is Physique 57?
SK: Physique 57 is a focused and proven cardiovascular program of isometric exercises and orthopedic stretches. Physique 57 tones your seat, abdominals, thighs and arms; strengthens your legs and back; and improves posture to produce a beautiful, sexy body.
BN: How did it start?
SK: The Lotte Berk Method (a revolutionary exercise routine developed by world-famous ballerina, Lotte Berk and her orthopedist) has been updated and fine-tuned over the years by former Lotte Berk instructor, Tanya Becker, Physique 57 co-founder and head instructor. I joined the team shortly after Physique 57 was founded and sprinkled my Pilates knowledge into the abdominal sections of the exercises to improve on the long-respected and effective technique.
BN: What makes Physique 57 so effective?
SK: Our interval training sets use your own body weight for resistance, and through dynamic exercises your muscles are targeted and overloaded to the point of fatigue, then stretched for relief. We call our process “Interval Overload,” overloading the muscle to create long, lean sexy muscles. It’s fun and keeps you coming back for more.
BN: Tell me a little bit more about the DVDs and the process of creating them. Why now?
SK: It was a blast creating the DVDs. It was long hours practicing and going over cues…there was a lot we wanted to say in a little amount of time. We even did our own editing so you can imagine how many times we watched them!
We created the DVDs now because we have noticed over the years that our clients’ bodies can transform so quickly with Physique 57 that we felt it would be well received to distribute this unique workout to those who are not able to make it to our NYC classes.