Buyer Beware ~ Don't Ship Ceramics From Taormina!

As a rule I don't believe in negative blogposts - if I don't like something I just won't say anything about it.

But a travel reporter contacted me the other day asking if I had any "Buyer Beware" stories about travel in Sicily. I told him about an awful experience at Bar Papisca in Canneto Beach on the island of Lipari (to read my post on magical Lipari click here) and then I told him about my only other bad experience traveling in Sicily, or anywhere in Italy.

Buyer beware, do not buy ceramics in Taormina and have them shipped home.

Sicily is famous for it's spectacular ceramics. They are just beautiful. Hand painted, distinctive, uniquely Sicilian.
They harken to the stories of Sicily's past and at the same time are ingrained into it's present.

Ceramics on a balcony in beautiful Taormina

Taormina is not only one of the loveliest places in Sicily, but it is also one of the loveliest places in the world. I cannot wait to get back there again, hopefully next summer.

beautiful Taormina Sicily

Last year I bought some pieces of local ceramics in Taormina and dragged them around Italy with me for 5 weeks before heading home to the US. I loved the pattern so much that I decided to buy a complete dinnerset as well as additional pieces when I returned this year.

I was a little hesitant to ship a giant order home without a trial run, so (thankfully) I just purchased a few pieces to try out the shipping, with a plan to order and ship place settings for 10 if all went well.
Which it didn't.

buying some test pieces of ceramics in Taormina. Not all of  these items got home in one piece.

I purchased the 5 pieces at a store called Sikania Ceramiche located at Via Luigi Pirandello 18 in Taormina. The shipping was expensive - 65 Euros including shipping insurance.

They informed me that it would take about a month to arrive, that they have special packaging that guarantees that everything arrives in one piece, and that infact no one had ever had anything arrive broken. But not to worry - if the package didn't arrive or arrived damaged in any way there was insurance to cover it.

Cool.

Except, not cool.

The shipment arrived stateside about 3 weeks later, and I have to say the packaging was fantastic, the only problem was that when the ceramics were packed they were wedged in too tightly, and some of the pieces broke.

I telephoned Sikania Ceramiche the next morning and spoke to the store owner. When I told him that pieces had arrived broken he said that was impossible. 
Then promptly decided that he no longer understood english, and hung up.

No problem - I have tons of friends in Italy, so I had one of them call him and conduct the conversation in Italian. The owner said yes he understood that I had goods arrive broken, and that he just needed me to email or text him photos. He gave my friend the cell phone number to text them to and the email address to email them to.

I immediately did both - texted him the pictures as well as emailed them. 
Both of which he steadfastly ignored.
He ignored follow up emails too.

I have to say at this point that it shouldn't have been a big deal. Replace the broken items - minimal cost to the store - keep the customer happy, and get a giant order for the rest of the set that I wanted.

Had Sikania Ceramiche actually purchased the shipping insurance that they charged me for, this wouldn't be a problem, would it? 

I mean no big deal - have me send back the broken pieces and just replace them. Insurance will pay for it all.
Which of course makes me think they didn't actually buy the insurance and just pocketed the extra money.

Sicily is famous for it's gorgeous ceramics. 

And they are everywhere. 

There are many options and many stores to buy them from. 

All over Sicily.

Ceramics are everywhere in Taormia

But as some merchants own multiple stores, and allowing for the fact that in a small place like Taormina they all know one another, 
there are probably others in town running the same dirty game.

So the way I see it you are better off to buy your ceramics elsewhere. Buy them in Ragusa or Giardini Naxos, Siracusa or Savoca. Just not in Taormina. And maybe only buy what you can carry back home in your luggage - avoid the shipping scam.

And avoid Sikania Ceramiche like the plague. 

New Year's Eve Makeup ~ MAC Lightness Of Being

After the heavier, bolder red lip of Christmas, 

I love this icy cool look for New Year's Eve.

 MAC Lightness Of Being Collection

It's time to liberate yourself from the dark tones of fall and the bold hues of the Christmas season, instead exploring the iciness of  the freeform movement of frosted lavender, mint green and pearlized champagne. Eyes and cheeks move into sheer pastels, complimented by rosy lips. 
The deep dark colors in pre-Christmas nails give way to hushed beiges and muted lavender.

Pair this look with winter whites, winter pastels, icy silvers and metallics, dove greys.

How To Complain At The Airport ( and actually get what you want)

The friendly skies are going to be full over the next few days....
With a big week of travel ahead it doesn't hurt to have some problem solving tips up your sleeve.
This is a repost of Christine Sarkis' article for SmarterTravel.com's
Today In Travel. Well worth reading, and maybe think about tattooing the first two to the inside of your eyelids before heading to the airport...

How To Complain At The Airport (and Actually Get What You Want)

Airports are hubs for more than just flights. Complaints fly nearly constantly across check-in desks, customer-service counters, and gates at every airport in every city in the world. And, sure, with delayed flights and bad seats galore, there's plenty for passengers to rightfully complain about.

But with so many gripes, the best way to be heard when you have a problem is to rise above the din. Here are our tips for complaining the right way next time something goes wrong for you at the airport.

Center Yourself: Anger is likely fueling your complaint, but all that rage and indignation will work against you when it comes to negotiating a satisfactory outcome. Before you lodge your complaint, take a minute to breathe deeply and re-center. Once you feel calmer, you'll be able to order your thoughts, complain strategically, and recognize a reasonable outcome when it comes your way.

Don't Be a Jerk: Don't put your listener on the defensive with abusive language, eye rolling, fist pounding, or, that old classic, the nostrils-flared, jaw-clenched combo. Instead, before you start your complaint, take a moment to say hello and make eye contact.

Know What You Want: Effective complaining requires you to know what you want. Don't leave it up to the gate agent to read your mind and know what you would consider a reasonable resolution. Before you start, decide what you hope to get out of the complaint—for instance, food or hotel vouchers, a reimbursement, or airfare credit.

Be Reasonable: Know what you want, but be reasonable about it. A delayed flight doesn't warrant an upgrade to first class. And remember that the person you're talking to can't make a flight board faster or a plane come sooner. Make your requests reasonable and you'll have a much higher chance of seeing your needs met.

Choose Your Wording: Saying "I demand" or "I insist" is a bad way to present your reasonable request. It cuts off any negotiation and puts the person you're talking to on the defensive from the get-go. Instead, try something less instantly confrontational, such as, "Here's what I think seems reasonable," or "This is what I would like."

Make a Complaint Sandwich: Win over your listener with this classic strategy by starting with an "ear opener": something that plays on the sympathies of the person you're talking to. Then state your request and follow it up with a phrase or sentence that will motivate the listener to help you. For example, if you get to the airport and realize the aisle seat you paid extra for has, on your boarding pass, turned into a dreaded middle seat, you might say something like, "I've been flying with your airline for years, and I have generally been very happy with the service. The aisle seat I reserved has been changed to a middle seat, and I'd like to get it switched back. I really want to continue being a happy and loyal customer, so I would appreciate if you could help me get an aisle seat."

Ask a Question: If you're at an impasse, ask the airline employee what they would do in your situation. Another way to help them see you as a reasonable person is by asking them how they think the problem can best be solved.

Be Patient and Persistent: If your request is reasonable and feasible but you're not getting the outcome you'd like, ask politely to have the matter escalated to a superior. Or, head to a different counter and ask another person. Or call the airline's customer-service line.

Use Social Media … Wisely: Many people have good luck catching the attention of an airline via a tweet using the carrier's Twitter handle. If you take this route, play to your audience. A gripe won't get you as far as a succinct and heartfelt narrative that allows the airline to publicly help a customer. So instead of saying, "@Airline is the worst! Going to miss another connection," try "@Airline, delayed flight=miss birth of niece. Help w/ another flight ASAP?"

Don't Complain If You're in the Wrong: Instead, acknowledge your fault ("I was late, I missed my plane!") and then focus on winning the agent over to your cause. In cases where you're in the wrong, the best you can do is help them see you as a person in need, rather than an angry customer.

How To Buy A Beauty Gift

Need some help choosing a beauty gift? 

( ahem, husbands, boyfriends and significant others!) 

Here's a 6 step road map for you:

How To Buy A Beauty Gift

1. Be careful of the message your gift is sending.
Never buy anything that says "anti-aging" or that addresses a specific problem. It's likely to offend, even if the item matches her needs perfectly. 
Instead opt for something with overtones of luxury. 
Like Creme de la Mer. 

2. Stay Away From Weight Loss Products or Services 
Or anything to do with size reduction. If she's desperate to have Cool Sculpting, buy her a gift card for the Medi Spa she wants to go to. Let her buy her own cellulite cream, and know that weight loss products of any form are a slap in the face, not something lovely to open.

3. Ask for help choosing makeup products.
Rather than guess which color set is right for her, ask the sales clerk for help. With all the makeup gift sets that hit the market for the holiday season there is something for everyone. If you don't know whether she is a cool tone or a warm tone, the sales assistant can help you figure it out.
Check out some eyeshadow gift sets here

4. Spoil Her.
Buy her something luxurious.
There's magic in opening a box of anything from Tatcha. The detail in the packaging alone is completely luxurious, and the product themselves are spectacular.

I've loved everything I've ever received from Tatcha. Check out their gift sets on my Luxe List here

5. You cant go wrong with bath and body products.
Unless she doesn't have a bath. 

via Getty images

But assuming she is a girl who likes to take long soaks at the end of the day you cannot go wrong with bubble bath, beautiful bath oils and bath bombs, and its easy to pair them with matching body washes and body lotions.

6. Buying fragrances or perfumes can be tricky.
Fragrance is such a personal thing, and even if you know that she likes a given perfume on someone else it doesn't mean it will work with her body chemistry.
Rather than trying to pioneer a new fragrance for her, find out what she wears and loves and buy her products to layer with it.
If you are dead set on finding her something new figure out if she is a floral girl, a green scent girl or a woody/spicy/musky girl and go from there.
A good sales associate at a fragrance bar can walk you through it, or better still go to a Jo Malone store or counter and create some layered magic.

8 Reasons To stay At Aria In Las Vegas

This week I had a fabulous little mid-week get away to Las Vegas

for my birthday, hosted by the gorgeous Aria Resort.

I love Las Vegas in the winter. 

In fact the cold months are my favorite months to go to sin city. The crowds are much more manageable, the resorts aren't full to the point of bursting, you can actually stroll around without getting caught up in the shuffling masses. If you've ever tried to see the Bellagio fountains thru a human curtain during the summer months, in the winter you'll appreciate the freedom of standing front and center with no one rubbing shoulders with you, no strangers at your elbow, and a completely unfettered view of the dancing waters.

Waiting for the Bellagio fountains, draped in (faux) leopard and free of  crowds.

Winter in Vegas is fantastic.

And Aria is my new favorite resort in Las Vegas.

Sleek, modern Aria

Here are eight reasons you should choose to stay at the Aria for your next trip to Las Vegas:

1. The Aria is super modern, sleek and chic.

Unlike the theme resorts with their kitchy take on everything from pirate life to rides up the Eiffel Tower, Aria's facade is smooth and luxe and the interior design is sensational.

You can breathe inside the Aria. There is air and space and a fresh new feel. And it is beautiful.

Christmas decorations in the lobby at Aria

Even the Christmas decorations at Aria are minimalist chic

2. The casino feels secondary.

I know the world goes to Vegas to gamble, and the casino is king,  but not everyone wants to spend their getaway weekend infront of clanging slot machines.
You don't enter Aria through the casino. The main entrance sits to the side of the casino and is part of a vast and spectacular lobby that momentarily takes your breath away. 

There is also a promenade entrance that lets you bypass the slot machines and arrive via the shops.
Either way you feel like you are arriving at a major hotel, somewhere fabulous, rather than yet another casino on the strip.

3. It sounds like a hotel.
As you are walking thru the Aria to get to your restaurant, go to the shops, make a coffee run, or just to enjoy it's beautiful design you are not assaulted by the clanging bells of the casino.
Funnily enough the slot machine bells are the main reason I never spend more than a couple of days in Las Vegas. They drive me mad. And they cheapen everything about the resorts, some of which are otherwise gorgeous.
At the Aria you feel like you are somewhere fabulous. You can enjoy the casino when you feel like it, or completely ignore it - the choice is yours. 

4. The concierge is super helpful, and nice.
I was really taken with how wonderful the concierge was at the Aria. 
Over the years I have pretty much stopped using the concierge at resorts, mostly because they either make you feel like a nuisance or are so supercilious that you'd rather pull out your eyelashes one by one than spent 60 seconds in their domain.
Not so at the Aria. Due to arriving in Las Vegas later than expected, and thus missing some appointments, I was at the mercy of the concierge to make a few things materialize. He was (like everything else about the resort) sensational. Exactly the personality you would hope for. Nothing was a problem, he was helpful, thoughtful, volunteered some great recommendations, and organized unbelievable seats for Cirque Du Soleil's O at the neighboring Bellagio. He even messaged the box office at Bellagio to tell them it was my birthday, which was a lovely surprise when I arrived there!
With that type of leadership I wasn't surprised to find the same friendliness and helpful attitude permeating the staff all over the resort, from the valets to the check in desk, the housekeepers to the dudes who guard the access to the guest elevators. Everyone smiles, everyone makes you feel both welcome and appreciated.

5. The elevators are fast.
With 4004 rooms, Aria is the 11th largest hotel in the world. 
The sheer vastness of the place could mean pure elevator hell. Instead at Aria the elevators are broken up into banks, each of which serves 5 - 10 floors. My room was on the 22nd floor, my average elevator waiting time was 30 seconds, and even when people were getting off on multiple floors before mine, the trip up was speedy. My elevator bank fast tracked to the 16th floor and maybe maxed out at the 26th floor. Sleek and efficient. Less elevator time means more time for fun.

6. The state of the art rooms.

The rooms at Aria are chic and fabulously appointed

The rooms at Aria are amazing. Mine was the most state of the art room I have stayed in anywhere in the world. 
(I'm told Shanghai and Tokyo both have super high tech hotel rooms, but I've not visited either city. Yet.)
Of course the bed was beyond comfortable, the bathroom was luxe, everything was incredibly well appointed, and the ceiling to floor windows offered  sensational view. But what made it all even more brilliant was the ability to control everything - lights, curtains, TV, music, temperature from a control center beside the bed. 

You can program your wakeup so that the curtains open (either just the blackout curtains or the blackout and the sheers) the lights turn on (some or all, at whichever percentage of light you want), television or music come on, and the temperature adjusts to your preferred morning temp. You can also do the reverse at sleep time, and there is even a "goodnight" setting that you can program to close the blackout drapes, turn everything off and confirm that the deadbolt is set.
I loved it.

7. The bathroom was perfect.
Being that I'm all about hair and makeup I'm always looking for hotel bathrooms that have the right mirrors, the right light, and the ideal counter space to cope with (quite literally) an obscene amount of makeup and hair products.
I love love love to soak in a bubble bath at the end of the day, so just adored the separate bath room with its deep deep bath long enough for me to stretch out in, and with room for glasses of wine and whatever else you like on hand at bathtime.

8. There is so much to do.
Aria boasts 16 restaurants, (if you are G-free you will love The Buffet - due to the chef having wheat allergies it has the most gluten free offerings in Vegas), 15 bars and lounges, 12 shops, 3 pools, an 80 000 square foot spa with 62 treatment rooms, and a state of the art gym.
Their in house Cirque Du Soleil show is Zarkana

Aria is part of the city's $8 billion City Center complex, comprising the Aria, Vdara and Mandarin Oriental, 2 condo towers and a
500 000 square foot shopping and entertainment district. You never need to leave the complex, but should you decide to there's the Aria Express tram that zips you thru the sky to the Bellagio and Monte Carlo.


I can't wait to get back to the Aria.

Their Cirque show, Zarkana, was dark when I was there, and barMasa, the restaurant I had wanted to eat at was closed for the season, both of which give me more reason to make another impromtu dash back to Las Vegas sooner rather than later.
Next time hopefully I will get to stay a few days longer.

Five Fabulous Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

Need some inspiration for some super fabulous 

last minute stocking stuffers?

Look no further ~ I gotcha covered.

Add caption

End Of Year Wisdom

The year is nearly over.

As you contemplate the year to come and reflect on the one that's ending, here are some words to think about.

The only time you should ever look back

is to see how far you've come

xo