On Saturday, my friend Leila and I enjoyed a girls day out. Our afternoon began with brunch at cozy bistro Fig & Olive (left). Over a pair of delicious egg dishes (cassolette for Leila, scrambled eggs with mushrooms for me) and a shared warm apple tart, we talked about work overload, upcoming overseas travels and recent developments in my love life.
I filled Leila in on the real estate analyst whose once-a-month availability has dovetailed nicely with my new dating mantra -- just have fun.
An Upper East Side block party celebrating Czech Independence gave us the excuse to stroll along Madison Avenue and browse in a few posh stores. We stopped in Michael’s, a ritzy consignment boutique where you can score everything from secondhand Manolo’s to vintage Chanel, and an item that’s 50% off can still set you back $300.
Next, we headed over to the Clarin's Skin Spa, where I was delighted to discover Instant Smooth, a line-reducing product that lives up to its name. Even better, it doesn’t have the chilling impact on your face or wallet of Freeze, the last brand-name anti-age serum I sampled. A 0.5 ounce jar of Instant Smooth is just $29 versus $100 for the same amount of Freeze.
Though Leila and I left the other stores we visited empty-handed, the Clarin’s find made our shopping excursion a success. Discovering a product that appears to defy the aging process, and sharing the fun of that with a good friend is more than enough to make me smile, facial lines be damned.
