Temple of Glam

OK, OK. The Sulwhasoo facial I had last week lasted for much longer than seven minutes. And yes, my only experience with the ever-popular "7 minutes in heaven" game was watching, "Highway to Heaven". I'm not being funny; there was an episode where these cruel teenagers tricked the unpopular girl to go into a closet with some cute guy just so he could run out in horror seconds later. Bastards.

Anywhoo...Sulwhasoo time. I did a little research beforehand and was like, "whoa mama...$100 for an eye cream?!".  When I came to, I found myself in the facial room at Bergdorf Goodman getting prepped for my experience. I was pretty impressed by the concept of incorporating traditional Korean medicine to promote skin balance and harmony, as well as within the body.

The facial consisted of seven steps (including cleanser, serum, toner, and customized treatments):

Cleansing foam ($36)

First Care Serum ($80)

Balancing Water ($55)

Overnight Vitalizing Treatment ($50)

After all seven steps were completed, I emerged relaxed, revived and glowy-glowy-glowy. And if you spend $150 at Bergdorf Goodman, you will get a free facial.

Every now and again I get lost in my mom's wrinkleless skin. Quite possibly more than usual, I've been mesmerized by her visage because she just turned 60. I am so stoked about that fact.

To be honest, she doesn't own a face mist, but her skin is constantly er, moist. For those of us who have dry to normal skin, a mist is a must. Yup, your skin can look instantly hydrated and healthier with just a spritz of the right mist.

Just when I thought I'd tried every mist on the market, I was introduced to Glo-Professional Hydration Mist ($18). Its unique antioxidant-shea butter blend preps skin for makeup application, sets makeup, and offers a refreshing dose of instant hydration. Plus, it's housed in an aluminum can that keeps the mixture cool.

I'd never even heard of the Brooklyn Bodega Hip Hop Festival until last week, but luckily I did and attended with two of my road dogs.

By the time Q-Tip performed "Electric Relaxation" and Bonita Applebaum", we were jumping up with drinks in hand, and perhaps landing (very hard) on folk's flip-flopped feet. I was joyfully sweating, singing, and cool-girl head nodding. For the record, the "cool girl" thing vanished as soon as a very-very-surprise guest hit the stage (and I just about hit the floor). Wait till I tell you who it was...you're going to die.

Despite all of the jumping around, the Tocca SPF 30 Sunscreen Towelette ($28 for 8) I gave my friend stayed in tact leaving her skin silky, sun protected, and scented in the blood orange Stella fragrance. Not that I noticed (or cared) how my friend smelled; I was preoccupied with the thought of not being trampled by the crowd when I passed out in shock. Shock? Yes, read on.

When Q-Tip and Monie Love performed "Buddy" and Busta Rhymes hopped out for "Scenario", I was floored. Then Q-Tip asked the crowd twice, "Can we get much higher?". I was paralyzed with anticipation...disbelief...some other word that evokes intense emotion. Kanye West appeared on stage out of nowhere.

Remember what I said would happen if I was in the same area as him? Well, at least I wasn't carried away. And that's all I can say without damaging my street cred.

Instant Karma got me. I was happily walking in a rather congested part of Manhattan and found myself face-to-face (or bony-shoulder-to-bony shoulder) with another woman.

No, let me clarify. She body checked me like it was nobody's business. And THEN she stood there glaring at me, with her Williams-Sonoma shopping bag, as if to say, "bring it, chump."

I was stunned until I remembered bragging about body checking a massive dude who bogarted the train car door last month.

Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into my building; I received an ego-soothing package of Bare Escentuals goodies, including two new skin care items. Stoked.

You see, since I'm a new Bare Minerals convert, I rapped with National Bare Escentuals Makeup Artist, Renee Lynn Smith about tips and tricks for giving good face. In fact, she needs to be canonized for patiently tolerating my constant, "dewy skin, dewy skin" chanting.

So, she sent over every product she used and ones she thought I'd like. She even included a replacement for my newest "perfect red" lip color since I realized I'm allergic to it.

In true Roman Catholic fashion and in light of my recent instant-karmic episode, I decided to not test fate and step away from the histamine-flavored lipstick or at least save it for the days I do good works.

Something tells me I've never shared my poor-student-in-Europe stories with you. As you can imagine, they're quite detailed, so for now, I'll tell you about my STA-Travel flight from New York City to London (by way of Iceland).

I hopped aboard Icelandair to Reykjavik. Though it was a lengthy flight, it was wicked cool to land on a sheet of ice. Yes, that pun was intended...sorry. Who'd believe, years later, I'd return to my Icelandic "roots".

Blue Lagoon Silica Mud Mask ($100) is a mud mask enriched with Icelandic sea water, containing lots of minerals, algae, and silica. Its cleansing and exfoliating capabilities appealed to my drab, post-Fashion Week skin. Seriously. My concealer gave up on me just days into Fashion Week. So at its close, I knew I had to take my visage into my own hands and bring out the big guns.

I kept the mask on for as long as I could, rinsed it off, and noticed my skin was refreshed and its texture was noticeably improved. And since that was the only change in my skin care routine, I give complete credit to the mask.

Want a FREE full-size Blue Lagoon Mud Mask? Leave a comment below or Tweet @TempleofGlam something cute about the mask, Iceland, OR how much you love me and/or Temple of Glam using this #beauty hashtag. If you Facebook "like" this article, mention that in your tweet. My favorite Commenter/Tweeter will win the mask!

I attended the Proactiv meet and greet with Julianne Hough. I had oodles of fun checking out the products and meeting really nice girls. I also learned that Proactiv has makeup. Um, did you know that and not tell me?

It contains sulfur, which helps treat acne; it actually clears your complexion as you wear it! Dope, huh?

I also exchanged bizarre Twitter-follower stories with Julianne Hough. I think mine was a little too weird, but hey, I can only be me. If you're interested in hearing the story, holler. But beware...it's a doozie!

Ron from Beauty Stat emailed me to attend the Philips Crystalize event. Ron is huge in the beauty world...kinda' like "The Godfather". He made me an offer I couldn't refuse: skin imaging with an in-depth consultation.

Honestly, I thought to myself, "C'mon, now. My skin is just about perfect...bring it.".

I parked my bumper into a seat as the Philips Crystalize consultant took pictures of my skin. As I prepared for a litany of compliments, she told me instead that out of a perfect 8 (perfectly balanced, well-hydrated skin) my joint was a 3.6. And then she pointed out my fine lines in the photo. Fine lines? Me...Babyface Brathwaite?

The system also tested my skin's redness (um...), texture, and pigmentation.

To assuage my dismay, she  gave me the products that would help my skin look its very best. So tonight you better believe I'll be trying out my new Vichy products. Here's the dealio: the skin imaging and consultation are free. I got mine done at Duane Reade; go here to see where you can get yours!