is red door synonymous with red carpet?

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa @ The Hotel Chatwal

I would like to start off by saying I am so sorry for my hiatus from kellmenow. Life happened, aka graduate school and an insurmountable work load took priority. The good news, finals have commenced and I am back :) I've missed you all so much. I hope you are having an absolutely lovely holiday season - I can't wait to read all about it!

On the topic of holidays, 'tis the season of giving! However, don't forget to give a little something to #1 (you!) I am all about rewarding yourself for accomplishments, big and small. In your mind, if you feel you have completed something worthy of celebration, you go ahead and celebrate it. You teach others how to treat you by how you treat yourself. If you don't celebrate your achievements, why would anyone else? In my case, a celebration came in the form of a facial at the illustrious Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa @ The Hotel Chatwal. 

The Hotel Chatwal @ 44th St.

The Red Door Spa I selected is located within The Hotel Chatwal @ 44th St. Yes that's right, 44th St. Time Square. A haven for tourists, and a deplorable place for New York natives. I guess I understand the draw: big, shiny, bright, neon lights and overpriced items. A New Yorker would avoid this place unless you've had one too many cocktails @ PhD Rooftop lounge overlooking the damn thing and exclaim, "Let's go to Time Square!" Odds are, a fully functioning brain would never pose such an idea. Time Square is also arguably the loudest place in the loudest city in the world. Despite this fact, The Red Door Spa was a vacant ghost town. You completely forgot where you were. A hard thing to accomplish in New York.  

Upon arriving I am greeted by a slightly hungover, slightly British attendant. A 5-star spa that  is empty due to it's less than desirable location, I am presuming since everything else is fantastic. Whatever, all those snobby individuals loss is my ultimate gain! After my hungover buddy shows me to my room I am confronted with a shower that doubles as a steamer/sauna, lotions that smell of cherubs, and access to an ethereal blue lit pool. 

After I thoroughly enjoyed the lazy blue pool, I adorned the greatest robe ever made. That's right. It's that good guys. *hint*hint* my birthday is in march* I then ventured into the gym where my eyes immediately caught the gaze of a chair made of tennis balls. Instantly, my design aesthetic side was inspired and in total admiration of it! Despite reminding me of my WASP-Y heritage (smh), the thing is totally rad. It's happening guys. Tennis ball chairs are a thing now. 

Time for my facial. I am reluctantly (but not really) pulled away from all the amenities by the facial whisperer, Agnes. Agnes was tremendous. You could say the elevated levels of pollution in New York, accompanied with the almost intolerable stress of moving your entire life across the country by yourself, left my skin wrecked. To put it nicely, Agnes had her work cut out for her. The facial itself was thorough, but I also felt I should have ordered a more in-depth treatment. After it ended, Agnes didn't push expensive spa products on me but instead suggested affordable ones I could purchase at a local drug store. A friend she is. I spent an hour after the facial ended just talking with her about life. I've noticed that since I moved to New York, I spend more time talking to people than would otherwise feel comfortable or appropriate. I learned she is also in graduate school, and a mom! A feat in and of itself.

Overall, I would say that YES, The Red Door Spa is synonymous with red carpet minus all those annoying pesky people! If you ever get the chance, please do check it out and request Agnes! Cheers my dears! XOXO

when was the last time you got a new shower head?

I was thrilled and slightly surprised when Tmart.com reached out and asked me to review products from their expansive online store. Tmart is the international online destination for high quality products at lower prices. They offer an enormous range of inventory from electronics, make up brushes, to LED shower heads! A destination for almost any type of consumer. I was completely overwhelmed by their colossal selection that I opted to have my customer service rep choose products on my behalf. I was given an LED shower head and an immense collection of make-up brushes. I am happy to share my thoughts on Tmart and their products below.

Product 1: (20) Make-Up Brushes

I am not someone who wears make-up often. That being said, it is with much sadness that I must report I have no idea what any of these brushes are for! I was given a plethora of them, 20 in total. The packaging was lacking, just plastic film with a sticky enclosure. Not visually appealing by any means, therefore I opted to not include it. Since I'm unsure how to use these brushes and a self proclaimed novice when it comes to make-up and beauty products, I welcome your thoughts and opinions on the quality and proper use of these! I definitely learned my lesson in allowing a rep to pick out products for me. Not all girls wear make-up!

Product 2: LED Shower Head

Now this was a rad come up! Upon first receipt, I laughed at the packaging. My 14 year old self watching herbal essences commercials surfaced for a quick moment :) The shower head I had prior to this one was a horrid rectangular shaped thing that was supposed to create a "waterfall" effect. Instead, it was cheaply installed became nothing more than a puttering sprinkler that cobbled on itself. I was ecstatic to remove it and place the new LED Shower Head in it's place. The best part? This shower head requires no batteries, no on switch, absolutely nothing is required from the customer aside from screwing it in place and turning the water on. On initial installation there was a slight exposure at the top. This resulted in water spraying all over me! October showers bring.. November flowers? No.. That's not right. Needless to say I was "resourceful" and put scotch tape around the connecting part and it worked like a charm!

I am now able to shower with the lights off (how economically conscious!) I did not tell my roommates I was installing this, in order to see their authentic reactions. They were overwhelming positive! One even mentioned how it started strobing blue and red on her one morning and she felt she was being chased by the cops (in a cool way!) 

Conclusions:

Overall, I have mixed feelings about Tmart.com. The shower head product is wonderful, but the make-up brushes are essentially unusable at leas by the likes of me. The packaging is something I place importance on and I was underwhelmed by their presentation. It feels almost like Tmart wants to sell cheap things, make a lot of money, while not making a solid effort in retaining a customer base. Which I suppose they can get away with since their product range is gargantuan. I will say my rep was very communicative and quick to respond to any questions I had. But is that enough to get me to spend my money with Tmart.com? Not sure.