In My Suitcase (1)

I am back in Los Angeles! As I unpack, I thought I'd share some items with you, straight out of my suitcase.
I'm mostly a fan of American cosmetics, from Neutrogena to quirky organic brands, but when it comes to sunscreen, the French have got the best - many ingredients haven't been FDA approved yet, mainly to give American firms the time to do research and find similar molecules; Vogue did some thorough research on this a couple of years ago. Though I've always been a fan of Anthelios's sunscreens by La Roche Posay, I gave an emulsion by Avène (above) a try and frankly, I'm hooked. It's very light on the skin, smells nice, and its SPF 50 strength protects my white complexion from sun damage.
As for Lipikar, a wonderful moisturizer that's my favorite in France, I just can't resist its fresh and zesty scent.
Also in my bags: many many presents for my friends, such as fancy Roger & Gallet soaps, pots of special artisanal mustard (with herbes de Provence), fashionable yet very traditional pink biscuits de Reims - the recipe is over 300 years old...
And books! I'll show you my reading list in a couple of days.

One this I wish I could have brought with me is Yamazaki's green tea slushee with its anko topping - I always enjoy this summer treat at their Porte de La Muette outlet, an award winning pastry shop that offers French treats with a Japanese twist.

Clean-Burning Scented Candles

I love scented candles but stopped buying any some time ago after I read about the release of toxic substances into the air when burning; some are carcinogenic. Synthetic scents, lead in the wick, paraffin wax and other ingredients are to be avoided if you want your candles to burn "clean". Make sure you buy soy- or beeswax-based candles, scented with essential oils.
I found two wonderful options.
At Soaptopia, a wonderful place I told you about where everything is handmade and natural, they offer scented candles that are really exceptional: shea-butter based, they melt into a hot massage oil. So sensuous!
I also got a lavender & lemongrass one at Whole Foods. So fresh!

Ouch!

Dance classes are a great place to learn about all kinds of remedies, ointments and what not... A fellow ballerina, who is also a somatician and a Pilates instructor, told me that when she has migraines, which I am prone to as well, she rubs some Tiger Balm on her neck - on the sides of the neck, going towards the hollow place right behind the ears where the jaw ends. She told me that white flower worked even better than the regular camphor and menthol in Tiger Balm, so I bought a little bottle of that. It also works wonders to massage sore muscles.
Another great buy is the Salonpas patches; loaded with camphor and menthol, you apply them like a band-aid on the place that hurts and it will just heat the pain away.
Like more and more people, I like avoiding heavy duty medication - do you have any tricks for any kinds of aches and pains?

Update: based on the comments I'm getting, it seems many of you are interested in migraine. Here's a recent article from the Los Angeles Times about migraine triggers such a temperature and changes in air pressure.