Aunt Tata’s Recipe for Beautiful Skin:

1. MIX a Caribbean joie de vivre with a century-old Colombian tradition of beauty
2. STIR IN some Narcissus Bulb, White Willow extract, and Alfalfa from a 1,200 acre organically-certified farm in Vermont
3. ADD a passion for holistic living
4. And SHAKE!

Presto, beautiful and healthy skin!

Staff favorites include the psychedelic REJUVENATING SERUM that dramatically improves the appearance and tone of the skin; and the divine RESURFACING MASK, which eliminates dull and blemished skin cells all while minimizing pores.

Warning: The Tata Harper skincare line is dangerously addictive.

Ms. Harper with her two Children, Hunter and Paloma, on their Vermont farm.

Flowers and herbs are handpicked from the family’s garden.

Today’s “Smell” segment in Loving’s Five Senses is dedicated to Nicolas Malleville, husband of Francesca Bonato, and his perfumery, COQUI COQUI, based out of Tulum on the luscious Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

Legend has it that the Franciscan monks, who settled on the Yucatan Peninsula, picked and catalogued flowers, woods, and exotic herbs under the guidance of Mayan natives. The scientific, yet pious effort gave rise to the most original eau de colognes, emulsions and lotion formulas in the great Spanish Empire, delighting European and Latin American aristocrats for over 300 years.

However, the drawn-out Caste War of Yucatan (1847-1901) put an end to all perfume production and the tradition was lost until Argentine perfumer and hotelier, Nicolas Malleville, decided 12 years ago to embark on an expedition to the Yucatan. His objective was clear: to recover the monks’ lost formulas and fuse them together with the legacy of ancient Mayan medicine. Since then, Nicolas has established COQUI COQUI  Perfumes, based in the mystical and colonial town of Valladolid, Mexico. His fragrances include exotic local notes such as coco, orange blossom, tabaco, floplum, and vanilla.

The COQUI COQUI experience is pure nature. The integration of lush vegetation, fresh air, and turquoise water, provides the perfect formula to awaken the senses and restore the harmony between body, mind, and soul.

Monsieur Nicolas Malleville, hotelier and perfumer.

COQUI COQUI perfumes and bath oils can be found at Castor & Pollux

I know that this news has been out for a while, but it seems especially appropriate now that the mercury is inching a little closer to tolerable every day. (Shhh – don’t jinx it!) First, a little backstory: I recently became a subscriber to PANTONE‘s newsletter, and boy, is it ever awesome getting weekly updates from them about all things color-related. I didn’t know that this organization existed until reading about it in a New Yorker piece about the science and  marketing of color, and having been the child that was too entranced by the visual symphony of 96 Crayolas neatly arranged in their box to actually use them, I was extremely jazzed to find out that there were people who seemed to approach color with the same level of nerdy awe that I did.

Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I am a little late in writing about what everyone already knows: that the Pantone Color of the Year is the springy, floral, ladylike Honeysuckle! (Patone 18-2120, to be specific.)

Color sample courtesy of The Gloss.

When I was a pipsqueak growing up in Philadelphia, all of the honeysuckle in our yard was white, so the choice of name confused me initially. Then I found out that nature offers it in a variety of colorways, including the bright, coral-y, ever-so-slightly fluorescent hue of Pantone’s choosing.

(This image came from a Gone With the Wind blog called How We Do Run On. Thank you, internet, for providing us with wonders such a Gone With the Wind blog!)

Honeysuckle shares a color with one of our favorite things here at Castor & Pollux: quince!  A few flowering stalks of this prickly stuff unfurling out of a ceramic vase creates a mood that is simultaneously organic, feminine, and raw. Its thorniness reminds of the denouement of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, where Maleficent creates the obstacle course of thorns to prevent Prince Philip from waking the princess – only less goth and more Laurel Canyon.

Photo by David Beaulieu.

Reading about the positive power of Honeysuckle made me want to pull everything at the store that jives with this unique, peppy tone. Apologies for the less-than-stellar photo, but how uplifting is this delicious assortment?!

Clockwise from top left: Hacienda Montaecristo silk rebozos, Meredith Wendell Rope bracelet, Stefania Pia Luxury Hardware necklace, RGB nail polishes in Pink and Too Red, Stefania Pia sculpture, Lipstick Queen glossy pencils in Chase and Crime.

So, despite being a little bit late to the Honeysuckle party, we think now is the time to champion it. Let’s all agree to invoke this warm color in the hopes of bringing on the picnicking, shopping, and endorphins weather!

Love, Emily

I forgot to show you this a couple weeks ago. Alexis and I took a flower arranging class together at Saipua that was one of the best Sundays that I’ve EVER had. If you have an extra $250 burning a hole in your pocket – pull out your credit card right now, go to the Flower School website and sign up. I promise you won’t regret it. And please have a glass of  Prosecco with Sarah and Nicolette for me after class.

PS: That’s my arrangement. I sure am a maximalist.