MBeze is a natural + organic cosmetics company with a line of fragrances and deodorants… and Deodorettes! Ok, so the packaging pulled me in first. The graphics… the cheeky naming… and then the concept… i’ve never seen a Deodorette. And while in travel shopping mode, it’s a dangerous thing when every mini/sample/travel-size/etc looks far too tempting to toss in for those “you never know when you may need it” moments. It’s precisely all these that might add up into a heavy suitcase. None the less, these little deodorettes a the size of a shortened roll of quarters. Perfect for gym bags and purses. Take a peek at more pics ~ and the airplanes on the Aim To Be Pleased Collection are totally my favorite… see the close ups on the next page!

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The latest in the Dear NOTCOT guest posts… here’s one from my old friend, Jackson Stakeman, who just might become our food editor… if we’re lucky! He was kind enough to help attend what sounds like a delicious event, and being a professional photographer AND food connoisseur, his pics are looking awesomely scrumptious!

Laid out underneath the enormous iconic tree of the Santa Monica Fairmont Hotel, StarChefs held its annual Rising Stars Revue. Tables were laid out in a massive ring, and there was fabulous food and drink in all directions. Being there an hour just before sunset, there was a lot of running around trying to photograph everything before losing the perfect light.

The food was fantastic, these rising stars were picked for a good reason, there was lots of amazing tastes, and fun playful ideas as you went table to table. The surprising and minimalist cube sculpture above is actually Jordan Kahn’s violet sauce topped white chocolate cube filled with cream a sponge cake served on a white kitchen tile. Equally amazing was having the chance to experience such a variety of dishes and drink pairings all in one event. It was also a great opportunity to watch many of this year’s rising star chefs prepare these delicacies before my eyes.

Culinary interests aside, the plates were also especially NOTCOT worthy. All of the 13,000 plates were provided by Verterra, whose compostable disposable dinnerware are not only beautiful, but made from fallen leaves!

Ready to dive in to see my favorite dishes of the night? There are plenty more courses on the next page…

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After a long week, sometimes you just need something totally random and silly to reset you… tonight that ended up being…. grabbing a friend to get food, suddenly fog rolls in, and as we drive by the little santa monica airport… we vow to go wander around it if its still foggy on our way back (she was hungry, so food naturally had to come first). Well it only got foggier in the interim, so it was on! And here are the pictures that came from that exploration… driving around the parking lots, tiptoeing through bushes, and trying to find that perfect light that made the fog covered planes glow so awesomely. And suddenly we heard shouting and laughter… and as we got pretty close to the insanely foggy brightly lit soccer fields… we saw there were people playing! (Yes, it was foggy enough you had to get rather close to be certain!)… There’s something so other worldly about the way things felt in the ominous fog… see it all on the next page!

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On random saturday night inspiration ~ while hanging out at a friend’s i got mesmerized by the way the wicks were burning… and the crystal clear reflections of them in the melted wax… and then i couldn’t help taking a bunch of pics!

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Fashion’s latest from Notcouture. Click the images to find out more.

Had the pleasure of visiting ad agency, RPA, to see a friend today ~ and amidst the creative spaces, and many pics i couldn’t resist taking, firstly, i have to share their murals in the Acura team’s office that have inspired me to want to take a sharpie to my white walls… Jump over to the next page to see how beautiful these murals by Sainty and David Whittle are on the next page!!! Apparently they made these murals in the rp& offices (a division of RPA) while working with them on the insane Acura RDX advertisement where they spent 10 days on 1 wall with 17 painters and used 455 gallons of paint… to make a hand painted 30 second animated spot. WOW. So check out the close ups of the murals, as well as the actual ad spot and the making of! Beautiful stuff!

p.s. love that they are rp& ~ part of me wishes they were secretly behind The Ampersand blog! Or at least ON it more!

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Popped by the Architizer launch party tonight at the A+D Museum (major work in progress going on across the street from LACMA) ~ and then the Cool Haus Ice Cream Truck came! And it was ice cream for dinner…Architectural ice cream! From Richard Meyer Lemon to Frank Behry and Rem “Coolhaus”… the imagery for the Cool Haus brand of architecturally inspired ice cream is adorable… sadly the ice cream cookie sandwiches are just normal looking… i secretly hoped for a plate with a fake lawn and a cookie sandwich shaped like a house… that i could then decorate with doors and windows of sugary faux-glass panes? Take a peek at the scene and the truck and my cookies and cream smooshed between oatmeal raisin cookies on the next page!

p.s. the paper is edible, they’ll even let you print your own logo on it… but just because its edible doesn’t mean it tastes good!

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Checking in from NOTCOT.org, where it has been an exciting week. This week’s picks include skulls, creatures, architecture, and much much more. Something catch your eye? Click on the pics to get the scoop.

Aston Martin’s Rapide touts itself as “The World’s Most Elegant Four-Door Sports Car”… while it is certainly entering a growing market of 4 door luxury sports cars… and you can read quite a bit about it all over the web, what struck me most about it in person were the tiniest details. Some found on quite a few Aston Martins, others quite Rapide specific… if you’re ready, take a peek at the details that grabbed my attention… most notable are definitely the tiny sphere of a trunk opening button and the +/- cut matte metal and leather paddle shifters… and what an aggressive face it has when you look at it straight on! Also while from the exterior it doesn’t actually look all that much bigger than the others, yet once you’re inside its ridiculously spacious ~ and the rear seats fold flat! Anyhow, take a peek at all the best details on the next page from my tour at the Aston Martin Factory!

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One of my favorite things about my mom, she’s always cut out comics, pulled magazine articles, cut up newspapers… and now emails me links all the time as well… perhaps she was one of the curators of my world and editors of NOTCOT before it even came to be… one of her recent saves for me, which i couldn’t help sharing, LA Times Magazine has this awesome feature of 50s ~ in this case, 50 Signature Handbags ~ Cachet and carry ~ beautifully illustrated by Jameson Simpson. While i love the way the 50 look on the page (so i had to take a scanner to the mag for you) ~ i love the functionality of the web version ~ it slides along as you hop between numbers… but i’m torn, i do love my visuals more on the ‘overwhelming, all at once, let me choose what i want to see’ side of things… BUT on the web you can see the fun illustrations of our fashion classics up close! Anyhow, browse them all on the next page!

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On travel obsessions, someone just reminded me one of the few items that has made my MUST PACK list ~ i’ve been so busy using, i have yet to write about it. humangear’s GoToobs have been indispensable. Sure they are similar to Paul Koh’s Bubble Bottles ~ but they are much better. A more airport security 1 quart ziploc bag friendly shape for packing… the ring allows you to select Soap, Shamp., Cond., Lotion, Sun, … so no sniffing to figure out what’s in there, and no need for labels… wide mouth opening for cleaning/filling… the one thing i never thought i’d use, yet have many a time ~ SUCTION CUP! So far they come in green, blue, clear, pink, and a newly added orange! See more pics on the next page…

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I feel like such a tease. I keep showing you parts of Oakley HQ, but not the insides… well not the normal insides, just the secret bar so far. And since these are in fact their real offices with 1500 people or so… there is a lot of work going on, and the majority of it confidential… so for everything i CAN show you, just know that there were probably 10 things i was dying to take pics of to share with you… whether they were prototypes, new designs, renders, sketches, or even amazing future wall tiles that i’m still lusting after… BUT that being said, take a peek at how awesome the architecture is, a peek down memory lane of Oakley’s history, the ejection seats CEO Colin’s waiting room… and his mine… camouflage covered cubicles… a few allowed sketches… the GI Joe looking guy dropping out of a helicopter on me when i looked up… machine gun in the hallway… AWESOME diorama’s to put your childhood shoebox setups to shame… and a bit more.

On Oakley fun facts: Did you know the name came from that adorable dog up there? And you can see the original 70s acorn logo from their bike grip days on the next page too!

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Ok, so i have been calling One Icon, Foothill Ranch - Oakley HQ, but part of me feels like i should be calling it Oakley’s Secret Lair. or Oakley’s real life video game set of a compound (it’s very steampunk industrial massiveness)… or… yea, you get the idea. And since its friday, and closing in on Happy Hour in my time zone… next up i had to show you their SECRET BAR!!! Seriously, its behind a secret panel, in a secret location, that i promised not to share… so long as they let me show you some of the awesome lustworthy details of their bar… like the Marais stools i loved (which so happen to be on sale at DWR today)… the floor plan of the Secret Lair etched into the glass table… the walls covered in signatures and notes of what i imagine are Oakley folks and friends… their amazingly design taps (made by Oakley designers of course)… SO ~ if you happen to find your way over to Oakley, see if you’re lucky enough to go have a drink in their inner sanctum… the ER. Or perhaps you can have a top secret meeting in there, amongst the buzz and humm…. oh, i’ve said too much. Good luck finding it! See the few pics i got permission to share on the next page…

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Here are just a few of the delicious drinks over on Liqurious. Just click the images to find out more.

So, today was incredibly inspiring. Popped down to Oakley HQ in Foothill Ranch ~ and was quickly overwhelmed with everything from the beautiful view on the drive into the space… to the entrance… to the design studios… architecture… ejection seats… history… future… and secret bar… but, lets start outside. Between the Helipad and the Tank out front… POMEGRANATES! Tiny clementine sized pomegranates growing on the more adorable bushes lined the pathway between. And i was tempted to climb on the tank… but didn’t, and in retrospect, i’m now extremely curious what those little pomegranates taste like. But before we get inside the building… take a peek at at the fun outside Oakley.

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