Cream Of The Crop from page 8

Todd's Room in Birmingham is a gar-
den of heavenly scented lotions and
potions. They come in bottles and
tubes, blue and green and white and
lilac, large and tiny. Helping you nav-
igate your way through is Michelle
Colbert, who works at Todd's Room.
A perennial favorite with cus-
tomers at Todd's is the Sugar Blossom
Hand Treatment from Fresh. An exfo-

out a second mortgage on your home
if it becomes a favorite. The Olivina
sells for $15 for 2.5 ounces, with
additional products in the line
including a bath oil, body butter and
body scrub.
Another Colbert recommendation
is Yu-Be, the favorite of mountain
climber Sumiyo Tsuzuki and other
women throughout Japan. "It's good
for seriously dry, rough skin, calluses,
split cuticles, hard-cracked heels,
chapped lips and sunburn," she says.
Yu-Be lotion also gets raves from
Theresa Hamilton, whose Poppy
Beauty Bar in Royal Oak smells
something very close to paradise.
Though outside the air is cold and
sharp, distinctly winter-like, stepping
in Poppy Beauty Bar is like walking
into spring, with scents of gardenia
and vanilla and spice.
Hamilton says Yu-Be, which comes
in an orange-and-white, Creamsicle-
like container (it's $15 for a 1.25-

liating cream, it features hibiscus
flower acids, which help with cell
renewal, Colbert says. She also appre-
ciates the fact that while it has a sweet
smell, "it doesn't overpower you the
way some lotions can, which means
you can still wear your favorite per-
fume and the two fragrances won't
clash." The Fresh Sugar Blossom
Hand Treatment is $37 for 3.4
ounces.
Another treasure at Todd's Room
is Napa Valley Olivina Hand Creme,
which we "love, love, love," Colbert
says. "It has a lot of anti-oxidants,
aloe vera and sea kelp, so it's amaz-
ingly moisturizing."
It's also not going to mean taking

ounce tube, $24 for a 4.25-ounce
tub), is great for "hands in serious
need."
Fresh Sugar Blossom Hand
Treatment, which sells for $36, is as
popular at Poppy Beauty Bar as it is
at Todd's Room. "It really gets the
dead skin off," Hamilton says of the
cream, "and it smells lemony, very
nice. A lot of people are driven by
scent" when choosing a lotion.
"You really can't go wrong with
Fresh or AESOP products," she says.
Finally, for the all-natural crowd,
Hamilton recommends Davies Gate
Hand Cream with jojoba seed oil,
which costs $27.50 for 6 ounces. Its
secret: "It's very rich," she says.

you may find yourself using up an
entire bottle in a day and still endur-
ing dry skin.
Howell further advises consumers
to understand the differences among
lotions before buying. Hand lotion
really is meant only for hands,
because it's a more emollient cream
than body lotion, she says. Nor
should either of these be used on the
face, for which a whole different set
of creams is necessary.

Gimme Some Sugar

CHICO'S

RUNNING FIT

DAKOTA BREAD

SOLOMON & SON

GREETINGS FROM

STAGE DELI

HERSH'S

STEVEN FRANKLIN OPTICS

KaBLOOM

STONE'S JEWELRY

KOOCHIE KOO

SUNDANCE SHOES

MARGUERITE

SWIMWEAR

NEW YORK BAGEL

THE STUDIO

PORT CITY JAVA

TRESSA'S

REAR ENDS

UNDER IT ALL

RUBY'S BALM

YOU'RE FIRED

orchard lake road I south of maple I west bloomfield

10 • DECEMBER 2005 • JN GIFT GUIDE II