reef madness

this past weekend, a longweekendstyle operative was shopping and came across flip flops from a surf company called reef. while loving the color choices and economic price of flip flops, what is not loved is the lack of arch support. especially when a podiatrist is involved and said podiatrist diagnoses your feet with a really serious case of flat foot AKA sunken arches, which sounds like a mcdonald's that has fallen on hard times, but ladies and gentlemen is a condition that can weaken your foot/ankle muscles from the soles up, giving you a lifetime of foot grief.

seriously.

yikes.

ok, so enough about fallen arches. too depressing. let's circle on back to the hot topic of discussion: reef flip flops.

quite honestly, flip flops had totally fallen off our radar due to their inherent nature of being absolutely flat and giving the foot simply zero, zip, zilch in the support department. sure, flip flops come in like a gazillion colors but this fashion choice can lead to endless foot issues that will follow you 'til the end of your days.

ladies and gentlemen of the jury, may we introduce the flip flop by reef - complete with (mucho necessario) arch support.

reef flip flops LOOK like regular flip flops with all the color and comfy, cushy rubber soledness that we likey to BUT reef flip flops also offer up "anatomical arch support" so your arches won't be sinking on your casual fridays or at the beach. LWS likes the uptown, a chic snakeskin pattern that transitions from beach to bar to whatever, all the while giving your feet the firm support they need to keep you from falling down (later). yayness!

the uptown by reef $22, women's sizes 5-11, available online through the official reef website http://shop.reef.com to view the complete reef line or check out what local retailers are sporting them near you.

summer skin saver

okay, longweekendstylers, it's hot outside.


like really hot.


in some locales, really, really, really hellfires hot.


and nothing bugs more than skin irritation in hot weather. so you gotta moisturize up or risk yyour skin looking like something is trying to escape from within you.. let us introduce you to NOW solutions 100% natural shea butter.



NOW solutions 100% shea butter comes housed in a big ol' 7 oz tub, is non-scented and melts like butter. it is an absolute skin saver in hot and the cold months ahead, if we ever experience cold weather again (thanks global warming). brought to our attention by a LWS operative who is currently knocked up in her almost-7th month, this stuff really does the trick from moisturizing cracked heels (it IS high flip-flop season and nothing, i mean nothing evokes that ewww-gross response more than seeing dry cracked heels everywhere you look), soothing sun parched lips, preventing stretch marks and just really, truly, deeply moisturizing the skin you're in. today. tomorrow. and on and on.



each 7 oz tub is packed with solid shea butter, which once scooped up, is easily warmed in the palms of your hands, creating a creamy, soft moisturizing deliciousness ready to be soaked up by the skin.



it's non-scented but that is easily remedied by adding a few drops of lavender then mixing the whole concoction with a popsicle stick. easy peasy.


NOW solutions 100% shea butter 7 oz tub is available at whole foods stores nationwide for the mighty moisturizing price of $10.29.


so stop scratchin' and get some.

cherry bomb

ok, so a HUGE fan of cherry kool-aid, cherry slurpees, cherry popsicles, cherry jell-o, and well, anything "cherry/red" flavor generally, i am not so much a fan of the actual cherry itself.

unless we're talking rainier cherries, which are the absolute cherry bomb of cherries.

rainier cherries are here and gone in the blink of an eye; they make their appearance 3rd or so week of june and are completely MIA by mid-to-end of july.

rainier cherries, known by their distinctive dual coloring of red and yellow, sometimes looking like a sunset over the beach when the 2 colors blend together in a seamless lusciousness. they are totally, superbly sweet, unlike the traditional bing cherry that is usually a tad bitter as well as THE cherry that comes to mind for most people. rainier cherries are like no other - creamy sweetness, plump juicy taste, and on the downside, more expensive than the bing, being that their window of opportunity is tiny-tiny. the rainier cherry is the cherry child of the again, traditional bing cherry and the van culitivar, making it's debut in 1952.

so get 'em while they're here LWS'ers, only a little while left before we're left wanting and waiting until next summer's crop of rainiers to hit stores.

hot. like. fire.

as we continue to ring in summer, this is currently what's on repeat in the LWS office these days: "hot like fire" by the XX.

"hot like fire" originally penned by missy elliot & timbaland for aaliyah, we cam across this amazing version by glish indie band the XX . it's a short one, clocking in at under 4 minutes, it hynotizes mind and body like a hot summer day with a softly plucky guitar and a deliciously breathy, lazy he said/she said back-and-forth about the virtues of holding out.

the XX's version of "hot like fire: is a bonus track from their xx album. let this set you afloat in the summer heatwave . . .

www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ZyJrSeI7A

argh mateys, it's argan oil

so, as of june 21st, summer has offically arrived. have you adjusted your moisturizing routine accordingly? are you looking for a moisturizer that is light, completely moisturizing AND all natural?

well, longweekendstylers, look no further because we've found your next go-to facial product.

josie maran argan oil ticks off all the boxes - fragrance free, 100% natural, organic, paraben, toxin AND petrochemical free, vegan plus it's also a cruelty free product, meaning no little animal cuties were used for product testing.

always wary of any skin product with the word "oil" in the name or even in the vicinity myself, being of oil slick-like skin variety, oils, or serums as they are typically refered to these days, have been formulated by scientists to literally sink into the skin upon application. ahhhh. making serums and oils more skin friendly, especially to those who have shunned oils/serums in the past.

hailing from morocco, where argan is organically grown, this vitamin E-rich oil is known for it's ability to treat a mulititude of skin ailments - from acne, eczema, psoriasis, and even the oft-dreaded stretch marks plus it can double as a cuticle softener and smooth split ends.

just a drop goes a long way to helping your skin into a better version of itself. josie has designed her product with a built in drop dispensing dropper. absolute perfection. the perfect dose each and every time. and because of it's light and supa dupa fast skin absorbing properties, josie maran argan oil can be used morning, noon and night. giving you beautifully supple, dewy yet not oily skin on demand.

$48 for a 1.7 fl oz/50ml dropper topped bottle that is completely recyclable as well as a travel size 15ml bottle for $14, josie maran products are available online through the product's official website, www.josiemarancosmetics.com. also sold at all brick and mortar sephora stores or online: www.sephora.com

bath time in the tropics

mistral's pamplemousse has to singlehandedly be the most authentic yellow grapefruit scent that is out there on the market.

this soap has always brought us to our knees in a grapefruit swoon and made us ask "is it time for a bath/shower? wait, did i even bath/shower today? perhaps not, so i better go now. and i'll be taking this bar of mistral pamplemousse soap with me!"

weighing in at a whopping 7 ounces/200 grams (not .7 ounces but let us repeat, SEVEN ounces. whew), this giant bar is scent-a-rrific with the likes of the aforementioned yellow grapefruit, red currants, white jasmine and freesia plus it's filled with the ultra skin moisturizing goodness of shea butter. each bar is handcrafted and triple milled in Provence, France. pamplemousse is tart, tangy bathing awesomeness in a bar.

also available as a hand soap, body lotion and body scrub. ahhhh. delicious bath heaven.

pamplemousse AKA grapefruit soap by mistral, $8 for a 7 ounce/200 grams bar. or shall we say chunk? available online, via http://www.mistralsoaps.com/ and specialty bath shops throughout the country - just punch in your zip code in their boutique locator to find a retailer near you.

cover your tracks

"cover your tracks" a dreamy, floaty, synth-y pop-esque song layered with jamaican steel drums and low thumping beats by montreal quartet, young galaxy.

from their hot-off-the-presses new album, shapeshifting, released this past february is full of complex, textured tracks that will make you swoon, but "cover your tracks" is the one that especially gets us here at longweekendstyle and has been repeatedly on repeat all week.

expertly and lithely produced by Dan Lissvik of duo Studio in Sweden, the band only heard the completed album some 9 months after Dan had initially received it and via the computer at that. technology has really changed the face of music production. the result is shapeshifting, young galaxy's music rethought and reshaped by Dan Lissvik and each track is absolutely, totally, completely, amazingingly ethereally beautiful and massively layered.

give your ears a present today and give "cover your tracks" a listen here:

www.youtube.com/watch?=MjoafRIMaRA

or treat yourself (because you know you want to!) and just buy the entire album, shapeshifting by young galaxy, available on iTunes or www.amazon.com. you can also check out their website, www.younggalaxy.com but be aware, it appears that several sections are still under construction but on the upside, you do get to listen to streaming young galaxy!