Spa Week Returns Nationwide this October

It’s never too late to indulge in a little “me” time! Lighten your load by participating in National Spa Week from October 15-21! This week-long event will be hosted in spas nationwide. What are the perks of National Spa Week you ask? Well, insiders are saying that full-service wellness treatments that usually cost anywhere from $100 to $500 will be offered for just $50. The treatment menu ranges from facials to fitness and everything in between… from eyelashes to MY personal favorite, lip plumping! To find a list of spas participating in National Spa week near you visit SpaWeek.com. Then call up your favorite gal pals and indulge in relaxation at half the cost. Perfection!

Still not sold? Check out the latest and greatest Spa Week deals on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve even made it easy for all you lovely ladies waiting to wind down in Chicago by providing this complete list of participating spas in the Chicago area. Now you have no excuse…get out there and treat yourself!

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten MPAS, PA-C

Triple Threat Action with La Prarie

Shirley McClain coined the term “triple threat” and La Prarie has hit the market with the triple threat—-of anti-aging that is.  Is your skin suffering from a summer full of sun, sand, and a myriad of multiple assaults? Freshen up for fall with La Prarie.

This is the latest from the luxury skin care line, La Prairie’s new Cellular Power Serum it’s the it beauty product of the season. This serum is the third player in a powerful line guaranteed to slow down every sign of potential aging.  La Prairie’s Vice President, Americas & Oceania claims, “This daily serum is quite literally a triple threat against aging, ensuring synergistic energy, protection and defense.”   With a trio of proprietary complexes for your skin, this Defense-Fortifying Complex is a  plant-infused serum with powerful anti oxidants. According to the company “Cellular Power Serum stimulates your skin’s natural anti-oxidants, the most potent free-radical fighters ever created and sets your skin’s internal sensors on “high alert” to incoming stress and damage.”  Energizes: secures a continuous supply of energy to revitalize the skin at every level. Reactivates and reawakens skin’s natural antioxidant network to help prevent skin surface damage. Finally, defends the skin and stays on continuous alert to incoming damage.

The serum will be available in about 220 specialty stores in the U.S., including Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, and will retail for $475 for 1.7 oz. Pricing is on par with the other items in the collection. Sing, dance and act your way through fall and get some triple threat action from La Prairie.

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten, PA-C, MPAS

Bag This! Crumpler’s Awesome Giveaway, Dry Red No. 3 Just For You!

Monday pick-me-up alert! There’s nothing like taking a little end-of-summer getaway, so you can understand why we’re obsessed with Crumpler bags, the kitschy-cool Australian brand of exceptionally lightweight and sporty travel bags that is making waves in the States! Now exclusively available at Kaehler World Traveler right here at home in Lincoln Park, the cool Aussie folks over at Crumpler reached out to see if you jetsetters might be interested in a travel-themed giveaway of their new Dry Red No. 3 carry-on bag (valued at $220)! Yes. Please.

Dry Red No. 3 by Crumpler.

Crumpler offers everything for the savvy globetrotter, from a full range of luggage to camera bags, backpacks, messenger bags, and colorfully accented accessories. Think sturdy and stylish (if not a bit, well, different) for executive types with a bit of dash, a sense for design and a dose of street smarts.

Dry Red No. 3 by Crumpler.

Like all Crumpler products, the Dry Red No. 3 has enough intuitive features to make it your dream travel bag. Weighing in at under a slight six pounds, the Dry Red No. 3 also has thoughtful design details including elasticized compression straps and six storage zones. You can also rest easy knowing that your bag will withstand all sorts of conditions and terrains––every Crumpler model undergoes a travel-simulation torture test, in which it is dropped, dragged and crushed multiple times. You know, just like how TSA would handle your bag.

Entering is easy as 1-2-3, just:

1. Follow @CrumplerUS on Twitter (because you’re already following @PinkMemo, right?).

2. Tweet @CrumplerUS and @PinkMemo with where in the world you would travel to with your new Crumpler bag.

3. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #WorldTraveler; that’s how we’ll track entries/randomly select the winner.

Oh, and if you win, we would LOVE for you to tweet us a pic of you and the Dry Red No. 3!

Don’t forget to check out the full offering at World Traveler online here or at 814 W. North Avenue in Lincoln Park. Here’s to a little travel incentive to help spur your wanderlust into action!

**Fine print: Open to U.S. residents only (sorry!). Must be 18 or older to enter. One tweet per person, please. Giveaway ends Friday, August 24 at 11:59 EST. Winner will be randomly selected by Crumpler and announced/contacted on or around August 28. Winner must respond within 24 hours to collect their prize. Prize will be shipped to the winner anywhere in the U.S.

Vanessa Williams Rocks Her New Beauty Line

Vanessa Williams. She sings, she dances, she acts. She is the Diva Extraordinaire. In fact, when I was doing my medical internship in NYC I saw her on Broadway—front row center, looking radiant. And who could forget her feline-like performance as Renee Perry in Desperate Housewives? She is the ultimate “it girl”. Williams is currently shooting 666 Park Avenue for ABC (aaahhhh sounds right up my alley) and just published a book that she co-authored with her mom You Have No Idea. Is there anything this mega star doesn’t do?

So, what does the Goddess of beauty plan on doing next? I was amazed to find out that she has suffered from skin problems her whole life. Shocking I know. She has taken her insider’s access to the best dermatologists on the red carpet and incorporated this wisdom into a new skin care line. As a mother of three and serious megastar, a streamlined effective beauty routine is paramount. “Living in the moment is something I always strive to do, hectic schedule or not. So, when the parts were put in motion, to launch this skin care line I knew it was something I wanted to accomplish, wholeheartedly, no matter what else I had going on,” Williams stated about the product launch.  Very hands on during the development of this line, Williams has collected the best-of-the-best skin care secrets from epidermal gurus’  all over the world.

These are the greatest hits that have worked for me as I’ve aged,” she said as she compares her line to her many chart topping albums. “I’ve taken proven skin care concepts and improved them. I am involved in every aspect of it, from the name, the color palette of the packing, the logo and the ingredients. It has been a labor of love and I have loved working on it for years until I knew it was perfect.”  ReVitalistic consists of five Grammy worthy top hits—Re-Start Skin Serum, this should go platinum, Re-Contour Neck & Décolleté Cream, Re-Focus Firming Eye Serum, Re-Quench Anti Age Defense Intensive Moisture Treatment and Perfexture Triple Enzyme Skin Perfecting Peel. Prices range from $48 to $68. This means you don’t need to be a pop star to afford these “hits.”  The line’s super star ingredient is a patented anti-aging oligopeptide complex that uses fights against wrinkles. It also contains hyaluronic-filling spheres designed to attract moisture. And viola. We can look like Vanessa. I wish…

“I’ve tried to age gracefully in front of the camera. The gradual upgrade to high-definition video became brutal for beauty, thus exposing all my flaws. I tried everything from attention to lighting to precise makeup, but despite all the tricks, my skin had to endure intense scrutiny by millions. I needed products that were effective in reversing the signs of aging, sun damage and years of travel and makeup. I couldn’t find anything that worked for me,” she said. “So I decided to create my own.”

I am on the edge of my key board eagerly awaiting the August 3rd launch!

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten MPAS, PA-C

London Calling With Liz Earle

So hot, so cutting edge, her products are not even available in the states. So you either need to hop across the pond (call your pilot and fire up the jet!) or hop on your computer to obtain THE most talked about beauty line. Liz Earle’s Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser was named “The Most Revolutionary Beauty Product of the Last 20 Years” by CEW UK’s beauty insiders. This is analogous to our Allure magazine. This is the British beauty Bible.

Another HOT tip for this scorching month is Earle’s July promotion. What beauty Diva doesn’t like a bit of free loot to stash in her bag?  If you order your  Skin Essentials Regime, (and yes this includes the coveted Hot Cloth Cleanser) before July 28th, Liz will throw in a Botanical Shine Shampoo and Botanical Shine Conditioner for free. Oh yes, this is a word that rarely comes out of my mouth.

If purchased together, the whole lot (as the British would say) would set you back $98.50, but hop on the keyboard (or hop the pond) before the 28th and this amazing system is available for $73.50.

Race you to the computer, ladies!

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten MPAS, PA-C

Beauty Penned With Bio Serum

What is small, stealth, and can slip into your beauty arsenal like a secret agent—and this is no Mont Blanc pen? This beauty pen is uber cool and can leap tall wrinkles in a single bound. The company? Neocutis. The product? Bio-serum. Thank goodness they have a 30ml size, I simply cannot live without this product.

Neocutis is one of the most technologically advanced companies on the market. Accordding to Neocuties this product is “The most intensive stimulating PSP^® serum available with an unprecedented concentration of PSP^® (100% more) to help reduce signs of skin aging in as little as 7 days.” Seven days, are you kidding me? I have waited longer for a pair of Louboutin’s to be delivered.

Can I get hooked up to a PSP^® IV? This technology was born out of Swiss wound healing research.  Their growth factor was actually tested on pediatric burn patients. The patients treated with the growth factor, healed faster, with better healthy tissue, and less scarring than those without.  The “Mega Minds” in the lab have found similarities between the needs of wounded skin and aging skin. Violà—PSP^® was born.

I seriously love the technology behind this company. Not all growth factors are created equal, my friend! There are plenty out there, and in this seasoned clinician’s opinion, Neocutis has the most pure and effective growth factor available today. My opening PinkMemo blog featured one of their products and I have been featured several times on television talking about the “four-in-one” product – Journée. So can I donate my wrinkles to Swiss science?

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten, PA-C, MPAS

NeoStrata: The Mega Multitasker

We all do it—juggling, but can we apply the same multitasking efforts to our beauty regime?  So, just how many beauty products can we worship at once? NeoStrata took me by surprise, dare I say, it rocked my world. Neo strata means New Skin in Italian, and they can repave the road on my face any time. This company was developed by Dr. VanScott and Dr. Yu who founded, yes founded the Alphy Hydroxy Acid molecule. These molecular rock stars love to play around with acids in their laboratory (sounds kinda psychedelic, huh?), and they were first to discover the rejuvenating powers of the super star—AHA. So this is the Big Daddy company of exfoliation and rejuvenation. Ummm, where do I sign up?

Enter NeoStrata Skin Active, the name says it all. How many products can I pack into my anti-aging basket? The Skin Active line contains the most technologically advanced ingredients: Patented NeoGucosamine (NAG) for short—kinda sounds like your mother in law?  But I digress. Patented Maltobionic acid (derived from beer – yay!), Retinol (if you don’t know this player, oh we have to talk) Peptides, the oh-so coveted Glycolic Acid, Super antioxidants (including Chardonnay grape seed extract—really? I am hardly able to contain myself with this one), and PhytoCellTec Extract (Apple stem cell extract).  So I have derivatives from beer, wine, and apple pie on my face? Perfect, all without a single ding to my waistline, I am even more in love with these products than before!

Bottom Line: Reduced wrinkles, reduced pigmentation and increased collagen. All at the sweet price of $79.00 for a kit containing FOUR products (and all multitask).  Visit your local Chi-town Dermatologist for the kit or visit: NeoStrata.

Ciao for now,
Sandra Witten, PA-C, MPAS

Even Skin Needs Therapy: Ultherapy A Non Surgical Facelift

Why, oh why does everything SAG as we age? Gravity is not kind my friends – BUT if there was ever an anti-sag procedure here it is! Ultherapy is the BUZZ amongst dermatologists and plastic surgeons alike. It does for your skin what squats do for your derriere. You could almost bounce a quarter off your cheek ladies. It’s that good. Barbara Walters even spoke about it recently on 20/20. And you know it’s got to be good if it is on “Bab’s” radar.

According to the company “The FDA-cleared device used in the procedure utilizes the safe, time-tested energy of ultrasound to stimulate the deep structural support layers of the skin—including those typically addressed in a surgical facelift—without disturbing the surface of the skin.” Where do I sign up?  Ultherapy has been featured on 20/20, The Today Show, and countless magazines including Allure, Marie Claire, and Vogue to name a few.  What is the best part? Could it get even better? Yes it can. There is no down time. You won’t miss a single night out with your gal pals. For more details visit: Ultherapy.

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten

Summer Essentials Giveaway From 900 North Michigan Shops Just For One Lucky PinkMemo Reader!

We in Chi-town spend our days at the office feverishly counting down to Memorial Day. This unofficial kickoff to the summer means Casual Fridays for many, and half days for the luckier still! But don’t even dream about digging up your least holey pair of blue jeans for the occasion––we at PinkMemo teamed up with 900 North Michigan Shops as their trusted style expert to bring you a sweet post-holiday treat: summer sartorial inspiration in the form of one expertly styled ensemble to take you from work to play! And what’s better than just looking at eye candy, but free money to turn your window lusting into a reality? That’s right, Chicago, one lucky PinkMemo reader will have the chance to perk up their summer duds and pick up some economic stimulus courtesy of a huge gift card from 900 North Michigan Shops valued at up to $1,000! The catch is, it may be redeemed only in-person at any of the luxe retailers at the Shops.

Leave a comment below, then score your slice of summer by entering to win PinkMemo’s look (styled by yours truly) in the Summer Essentials Giveaway by clicking right here! We promise you’ll forget all about your jeans and old kicks once you lay eyes on our look––it is office-approved and also perfect to wear to your A-list destination of choice, like say, that elusive dinner at Nellcôte. While you sit tight for the winner to be announced in July, don’t forget to make your summer wish list at 900 North Michigan Shops!

You’re welcome.

Enter to win here now through June 30.

Lauren by Ralph Lauren Denim Shirt, $69.50, available at Bloomingdale’s. Tina Frey Resin Collar Necklace, $180, available at space519. Michael Kors Marina Shoulder Tote, $198, available at Michael Kors. L.K.Bennett Coral Sledge Shoe, $325, available at L.K.Bennett. Karen Millen Striped Skirt, $175, available at Karen Millen.

Banishing Blotches with Luminaze

Let’s discuss pigmentation. Freckles, sunspots, and those pesky little marks that we get after an acne bump always seem to last FOREVER. Don’t need them and don’t want them, so lets talk about how to banish and reduce signs of pigmentation.

Luminaze is a sexy little blotch banisher. This product is actually derived from mushrooms that grow in the Swiss Alps. Mais Oui, you say! These fun little fungi were actually seen to bleach the tree bark they were growing on.  Melanin doesn’t stand a chance against Luminaze, and it works even more effectively than a common Rx – hydroquinone.  Spots may look good on Rover, but talk to the paw when it comes to our ‘oh’ so luminous visages.  Should I go in the sun when my face graciously returns to a fine porcelain finish? When pigs fly! Sun is El Diablo, ladies. More on my favorite sunscreens in a future post.

Ciao for now,

Sandra Witten, PA-C, MPAS