Brickhouse: February 2009

An "Every-Figure" Line from Jessica Simpson?

Well, well, well. Guess who wants to create a new line of trendy clothing for "every woman"? Singer Jessica Simpson. After being taken to task by the Hollywood media for gaining weight, she says she wants to put out clothes that flatter all figures, not just those fitting into junior sizes.

“I know what flatters a woman, and trust me, I’ve been judged a lot in my life. By now I know what works if you’re curvy,” she said. “If my clothing and accessories make you feel great and let you walk proud and tall — in big, big platform shoes — then I’m happy.”
How do we feel about this, Brickhouses? We certainly can sympathize with all the scrutiny that she's received over her new, curvy shape. But goodness knows she's FAR from plus-size. So, can she deliver the goods?

Top Five Body-licious Balms & Butters

There's no stopping Spring. No matter what the Groundhog said, it's staring us in the face. But chances are, our faces will be just fine. It's our arms, legs, and feet that have borne the brunt of Winter. Time to get them ready to come out of hiding. We highly suggest grabbing a body cream that uses shea butter or cocoa butter as the main ingredient, with moisture-binders like glycerin or lecithin. Below are some of our favorite body butters and balms for helping our skin to Spring forward. We have actually tried them- and love them. Bring on the sunshine!

UrbanSudz "Pomegranate De La Creme" is one of our most recent discoveries. But no one who uses it can stop talking about it. It's a very decadent, super-concentrated creamy concoction that smells as if Spring has already sprung. Made of ingredients like unrefined shea butter, kukui oil and macadamia oil, it is highly nourishing. Your skin will drink it in, especially after a nice bath or shower. Around the office we use it all day and particularly on dry hands. When you have it on, everyone wants to know what scent you're wearing.

Benefit Cosmetics Bathina "Touch Me Then Try To Leave"... Cream is an amazingly sensual body cream. It slathers on really smooth with a subtle floral scent that lingers,but it isn't at all greasy. This truly leaves your skin smooth-to-the-touch, as your significant other will be happy to tell you. The difference in the feel of your skin is instantaneous. Benefit knew what they were doing when they made this product. It really is the one to use when you want to feel extra sexy.

Joyful Girl Naturals' Organic Cocoa Body Butter is a new discovery that is quickly becoming addictive. It melts so flawlessly in your palms or on your skin that truly deserves to be called "butter". Smooth this on after getting out of a warm shower and you're guaranteed to feel like a golden cocoa goddess. I used this over the weekend after exfoliating with Joyful Girl's coffee soap and my skin was amazingly soft.

In my house, we call Oyin Handmade Whipped Pudding our all-purpose butter. We use it on every part of our bodies. We use it to tame toddler frizzies. We use it on chapped lips. We use it as a conditioner. We smooth it onto the little one's face before he goes out in the cold. If we could only have one product for everyone in the house regardless of gender and preferences, this would have to be it. Whipped Pudding is completely handmade with good-for-you ingredients like shea butter and cocoa butter. The very gentle vanilla-y, cocoa-buttery, slightly chocolate-y scent is just tooooo heavenly.

Sympathy for the Skin Body Cream
is one of the lighter of these body balms but it still packs a punch. It uses cocoa butter and other natural ingredients to transform weather-beaten skin. This is the one I recommend to my girlfriends who prefer creams that aren't heavy.

The Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Butter is my bread-and-butter body butter. It's the one I always have around to grab in a jiffy. I especially like to rub it on rough heels, elbows and knees. So many people love Body Shop and in my opinion this is one of their best offerings.

Happy Valentine's Day/Self-Love Day!

Here's a box of chocolates for all our gorgeous Brickhouse girls!

Who is Adele?

So just who was the curvy beauty who belted out a sultry song at the 51st Grammys and walked away with the award for Best New Artist? As many of you already know her name is Adele. She's a 20-year-old British singer who has won worldwide critical praise for her album "19". She names soul legends Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald among her influences.
Sunday night Adele performed her hit single "Chasing Pavements" for the Grammy crowd. See her performance by clicking on the picture below. (Her portion starts at about 3:28)