Ava's Faves: Custom-made luxuries

Today's Annoyance: Forgetting to adjust the clocks after daylight savings time
Mantra of the Day: It is impossible to overdo luxury. - French proverb

I'm a big fan of custom-made products, especially if they're super luxurious. A few weeks ago, I listed a few websites where you can create your own clothing, accessories and home goods. I recently found a few sites where you can kick things up a notch and customize some of your more fabulous "necessities":

• Anna Lunna is an online atelier for some of the most fabulous custom-designed boots that I've ever seen. You choose your boot style, heel height, leather type and color. Once you place your order, they send you a measurement kit and Voila! - six weeks later, you are your Anna Lunnas will be inseparable.

• Blue Nile gives you the chance to custom-design your new best friend - diamond jewelry, that is. How fab will you feel wearing an extra special ring, earrings and pendant? And, it only takes a couple of days between order and delivery.

• Maison Guerlain will create your very own fragrance. You even get to name it and personalize the bottle! (Even the website is dripping with luxuriousness.)
  

Can you imagine receiving any of these items as gifts? (not-so-subtle hint implied)

Peace, love and luxury,


[IMAGE: Courtesy of Anna Lunna]

Ava's Faves: Custom-made luxuries

Posted by Ava Pierce at 7:50 AM | Permalink 0 comments

A bra that should definitely see daylight

Today's Annoyance: That a bra could cost more than a villa
Mantra of the Day: A lady is one who never shows her underwear unintentionally. - Lillian Day

A $3 million bra! I know it's art but part of me thinks that if I owned such a thing (which would be a gift to me from someone else, of course), I might just decide not to wear a blouse that day. (What kind of skirt or pants would one wear thought?) The other part of me thinks that I would wear a t-shirt over it, with some jeans and stilettos.

Would you wear it? If so, with what?



[IMAGE: Courtesy of Victoria's Secret]

A bra that should definitely see daylight

Posted by Ava Pierce at 8:10 AM | Permalink 0 comments

A gem of a kiss

Today's Annoyance: That I haven't yet thought of a great product to sell
Mantra of the Day: Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. - Confucious

I like Hershey's kisses (and real kisses, even more) but, a diamond-studded kiss? This necklace was on display at a jewelry store in New York last week:


Not sure that even the diamonds sway me to like it. Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't turn it down if someone gave it to me but, I might just post it on eBay to see what I could get for it. People will buy (and try to sell) anything!

Your thoughts?


[IMAGE: Courtesy of Luxury Launches]

A gem of a kiss

Posted by Ava Pierce at 8:50 AM | Permalink 0 comments

No limits to luxury

Today's Annoyance: That I didn't think to upgrade these products myself
Mantra of the Day: Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. - Coco Chanel

True divas and jet-setters (is that redundant?) are ALWAYS style-conscious. If it's well-branded, good quality, and of utmost importance, FABULOUS, we want it. Here are a few stylish health and hygiene products that should be on every divas must-have list:

• Ed Hardy's various Habit hand-sanitizer products -Now, your nifty little hand sanitizer bottle can match your tattoo and/or your Ed Hardy outfit. Your friends will hate you for being so coordinated.
  
• OW! first-aid travel kit - Everything should be cute, including your first-aid kit.
  
• Toletta premium-brand toilet seat covers - They're bigger and thicker than traditional seat covers, plus they're biodegradable, come in pink or blue, inexpensive, and come in purse-sized travel packs. Perfect.
  
• Sickness or, as the company calls them, "chicness" bags - Although they're targeted primarily to pregnant women, who says you can't be chic in-flight with a designer airsickness bag?
  

It's so true that branding is everything.


[IMAGE: Courtesy of OW! Health]

No limits to luxury

Posted by Ava Pierce at 8:11 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Ultra-fabulous luggage

Today's Annoyance: Disgruntled customer service reps
Mantra of the Day: Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage. Regina Nadelson

The only thing that keeps me from splurging on ultra-fabulous luggage is knowing that, as long as I am forced to travel commercially, my beautiful suitcases will suffer the same horrific handling as everyone else's. Plus, there's always the heightened worry that someone will steal it just because it looks so good.

Just more motivation for my success (and private travel)!

Johnston Imports Hat Box

J Crew Trunk

Tom Ford Luggage ($65,000!)

Samsonite Black Label

Steamline Luggage (Editor Collection)

Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Pagase 50

Heys USA XCase (Zebra)

What's the most that you've ever paid for luggage?



[IMAGES: Courtesy of Heys, Samsonite, Louis Vuitton, Johnston Imports, Luxaholic, BagBunch, Steamline Luggage]

Ultra-fabulous luggage

Posted by Ava Pierce at 7:26 AM | Permalink 0 comments

The posh-est classifieds ever

Today's Annoyance: Impatience
Mantra of the Day: Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world. - Cesare Pavese

A true jet-setter wouldn't be caught dead on CraigsList, right? To soothe the souls of the luxe-obsessed road warriors, there is...drum roll, please...JamesList. What is JamesList, you ask? Well, let's say that you're in the market for a mega-yacht or, you just happen to have a spare Rolls Royce Phantom that you want to off-load. Then, JamesList is the place for you.

Launched earlier this year, the Swedish company is marketed as an elite online marketplace. JamesList already features more than 20,000 listings.

I wonder if there are more people selling than buying.



[IMAGE: Courtesy of JamesList]

The posh-est classifieds ever

Posted by Ava Pierce at 7:09 AM | Permalink 0 comments

All things luxurious

Today's Annoyance: Not knowing what to wear with a $2 million pair of shoes
Mantra of the Day: Repeat after me: I can afford anything I want but that doesn't mean that I should buy everything.

Just in case you are recession-proof and you ran out of things to buy, I found these little numbers for your consideration:

Louis Vuitton band aids designed by Scott Amron - $15

Luxury brand lollipops designed by Massimo Gammacurta

Fashion cupcakes styled by Lisa Edsalv

24kt Gold BlackBerry Curve 8900 - $999

Charades Micro Fiber Plush Bunny Costume - $10,000

World's Most Expensive Dessert - "Frozen Haute Chocolate" - $25,000

GoldVish "Le Million" Piece Unique - $1.3 million
(limited edition cell phone)

Aurora Diamante Fountain Pen - $1,470,600

Bugatti Veyron - $1,700,000

Cinderella Slippers by Stuart Weitzman - $2,000,000

And of course, a pair of shoes had to come last!



[IMAGES: Courtesy of Beyond Jane, Elite Choice, High Snobiety, Luxist, Luxury Launches, Most-Expensive.net]

All things luxurious

Posted by Ava Pierce at 8:57 AM | Permalink 0 comments

The future of personal assistants?

Today's Annoyance: Mail forwarding
Mantra of the Day: If I'm willing to pay for a service, and it's legal, why not?

I've been seriously thinking about getting a P.A. I know the economy sucks and we should be tightening our belts but this would be a good thing because I'd be giving somebody a job and they would have to deal with the crap that I don't have time for. And let's face it, I really don't want to deal with some of my tedious everyday tasks; plus, this stuff adds stress to my life. I'm stressed out enough in my business.

One of the things that I would consider having my P.A. handle is mail and deliveries. What with my travel schedule, I often tend to have my mail held at the post office or forwarded to a different address. I just read an article about an interesting new service offered by Earth Class Mail that will open your mail, scan it and store it online for your review. Services start at $11.95 per month which includes 50 scans. At your request, the company will shred, recycle or forward your mail to you.

Like I said, it sounds interesting, but it can't help me organize my correspondence, travel planning, dry cleaning pickup and delivery, and my ever-increasing schedule of events. Lambent Services, anyone? Maybe they can supply my own personal version of Farnsworth Bentley.

[IMAGE: Courtesy of TV.com]

The future of personal assistants?

Posted by Ava Pierce at 7:25 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Ava's Faves: Ways to express your inner bitch

Today's Annoyance: Passive people
Mantra of the Day: When you care enough to say what you really think.

I'm a big fan of expressing myself, which I'm sure you've clearly figured out by now. I love to communicate via email, text, and even handwritten notes (an increasingly forgotten option). Suffice it to say that I have stacks of stationery from Papyrus. Since the advent of e-cards years ago, I love to send the occasional greeting for birthdays, holidays and sometimes just to say "Hey!". (Hoops and Yoyo, Maxine and Screaming Banshee are personal faves.)


Nowadays, it's cool because you can find greeting cards in just about any language for nearly any situation. Recently, I found two awesome sites that have cards for some of our least pleasant sentiments. (Awesome!) Nastee Notes carries a line of great cards "for the lil devil inside us". There are cards for when you want to call someone a gold digger, an idiot, a dim bulb, a whore, or a "biatch". They even have cards to say "Kiss my a**" and "Be nice. Stupid." (sigh) Such wonderful sentiments.

Then there's Someecards. It's like Hallmark for the smart ass or thoroughly pissed off. They've got an ecard for just about every occasion possible (and then some!), including holidays, weddings, confessions, breakups, goodbyes, and cries for help. Some of my faves are: "Your footwear is disgraceful."; Haven't heard back so I assume you're busy, flaky or dead."; and "If you ever disappeared while hiking, I'd remain with the search party until it started raining."

Don't they just make you want to send notes to everyone? lol

[IMAGE: Courtesy of NasteeNotes.com]

Ava's Faves: Ways to express your inner bitch

Posted by Ava Pierce at 7:31 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Ava's Faves: Emirates Airlines

Today's Annoyance: Service that encourages air rage
Mantra of the Day: I want to travel like a CEO.

Commercial air travel sucks, for the most part. Yet, politicians and the media have been lambasting CEOs for their private air travel expenses. I agree that anyone who abuses their position, especially in such challenging economic times, is thoughtless and arrogant. However, can’t we all just admit that if we had the chance to fly privately, we would jump at it? I know I would. And until that time, I plan to fly Emirates Airlines as often as I can.

Until a recent trip to Dubai, Virgin Atlantic held the rank as my favorite airline. Don’t get me wrong, I still LOVE all things Sir Richard Branson, including his très fab airline. But, Emirates kicked it up a big notch. The whole experience was awesome, from the online reservation system to their in-flight entertainment systems (including electrical outlets on each seat to plug in your laptop). The food was not just edible, it was actually…dare I say it…tasty. I recently found out that they offer private suites and shower spas in First Class on some flights! (Are you kidding me?! I love it!) OK, that’s it, let’s go!!

[IMAGE: Courtesy of biztravelguru.com]

Ava's Faves: Emirates Airlines

Posted by Ava Pierce at 6:41 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Ava’s Faves: Moroccan Steam Bath

Today's Annoyance: Anything that makes me late for the spa
Mantra of the Day: I’m washing my cares away.

For the pleasure of my fellow jetsetters-in-training, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite things that make life much more enjoyable. (Just for the record, these are not paid endorsements.)

First up, Moroccan steam baths. Yes, ladies and gents, this is the best thing since sliced bread. This 2-hour long treatment was worth far more than I paid for it. It starts out with 15 minutes in the steam room. Then, you enter a bathing chamber where you experience an amazing body cleansing ritual for your face, scalp, body and feet. As if that’s not enough, you get a relaxing massage.

After my treatment, I’m almost sure that I heard the angels sing. Mind you, I’ve visited plenty of spas in my day and I’ve tried an endless number of treatments. A Moroccan steam bath is sheer heaven. I’m imagining how awesome it would be for a couple. Go now…take a bath…and enjoy!

[IMAGE: Courtesy of Getty Images]

Ava’s Faves: Moroccan Steam Bath

Posted by Ava Pierce at 10:22 AM | Permalink 0 comments