UPDATE: We have a winner! A shy reader from Watertown correctly answered that the look below was shown by Martin Margiela as a birthday present to Sonia Rykiel.

OK 'philers.. it's giveaway time!

I've got some product sitting on my desk that I'm itching to send you. First, it's AminoGenesis's DermaScyne, an anti-aging compound/moisturizer. This is high end stuff kids, it sells for $139.

Because it's Thursday and I'm in a sassy mood, I'm tossing in a bottle of Waterford's Lismore perfume, it comes in a Waterford crystal bottle that can be used as a bud vase when the perfume is gone.

So, the first person who can answer this style quiz will win these goodies. Remember, if you're my mother or a friend, you're not eligible, sorry mom. Email your answer to muther@globe.com (don't post in comments, e-mail!). Now, look at the photo below, and tell me which designer showed this hairy look on the runways of Paris this week. Good luck!

With each email, you're helping me clean my desk. Next up: I'm giving away "25 Apartments & Lofts Under 1000 Square Feet." If you'd like to win this book email me (muther@globe.com) and tell me which fashion designer just released a limited edition condom (!).

***UPDATE: We have another winner. The ever-fashionable Jamielle Walker knew the answer is Marc Jacobs.. Congratulations!

Next up... "Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens." This book can be all yours if you can tell me who won HGTV's "Design Star." First correct response gets the book.

Really? Must Italy outdo us in every facet of design and fashion? How can it be that 300,000 Coca Light bottles will be wearing Roberto Cavalli at fashion week in Milan, while I sit here at my computer in a J. Crew blazer (bought on sale, natch)?

Not fair:

["My, Coca Light, how that dress hugs your curves!"]

The limited edition bottles, featuring Roberto's signature animal prints, will only be available in L'Italia from September to December. Meow.

Frankly, I don't have time to worry whether my portable plastic water bottle could contain bisphenol. I'm pretty busy writing, shopping, socializing, and being generally fabulous. Let's skip the consternation and snag an aluminum bottle instead, shall we?

And what better bottle to buy (say that five times fast) than Shinzi Katoh's adorable apple option:

[Cute to the core, right?]

Katoh is an Japanese illustrator and designer who specializes in zakka: "the things that make people feel happy and exist like a comfortable air," according to his website. Well, his twee designs certainly make me giddy, keep me hydrated, and allow me to be health conscious in style.

Now, that's a tall, cool glass of water if I do say so myself.

More? Here are some other BPA-free bottles for your drinking pleasure.

I'm completely smitten with the new Ray and Charles Eames stamps that arrived at the post office yesterday. And the timing is ideal because I'm getting sick of using the comic book stamps that I've had for the past year-and-a-half. The sixteen stamps feature the Eames's contributions to art, design, and architecture. I'm such a huge Eames fan that I may geek out and buy a set to frame. Stop looking at me like that! You know you were thinking of doing the same thing.

Here's what each stamp respresents:

Christmas Card
Charles and Ray Eames delighted friends and family during the holiday season with Christmas cards they designed themselves.

Hang-It-All
The Hang-It-All was designed in 1953 as an accessory for a playroom or child’s bedroom.

Crosspatch Fabric Design
Crosspatch is one of two fabric designs submitted by the couple to a 1947 competition sponsored by The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Stacking Chairs
Introduced in 1955, these stacking chairs feature single-shell seats made of plastic that comfortably support the body. The simple design allows them to be stacked for storage or linked together in horizontal rows, a useful solution for temporary seating in public places.

Case Study House #8
Located in Pacific Palisades, CA, the house was completed in 1949 as part of a program to create affordable homes out of materials and technology developed during World War II.

Wire-Base Table
Portable and practical, the petite table was ready for use anytime, indoors or outdoors.

Lounge Chair and Ottoman
A recognizable symbol of 20th-century design, the lounge chair and ottoman modernized the traditional English armchair and became an instant bestseller.

La Chaise
Charles and Ray Eames submitted La Chaise to the 1948 International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design sponsored by The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The Film Tops
For 7 minutes and 15 seconds, more than 100 tops from around the world dance and whirl across the screen to a score composed by Elmer Bernstein.

Wire Mesh Chair
Introduced by the Eames Office in 1951, it was the first piece of American furniture to receive a mechanical patent.

Magazine Cover
Ray Eames created this cover for the May 1943 issue of California Arts & Architecture, an avant-garde design magazine based in Los Angeles.

House of Cards
Developed in 1952, the deck consists of 54 playing cards decorated with a starburst on one side and a photograph on the other.

Molded Plywood Sculpture
During the 1940s, Charles and Ray Eames experimented with a method for molding or bending pieces of wood in different directions. This abstract plywood sculpture was one of many they created as they experimented with the process.

Eames Storage Unit
Charles and Ray Eames introduced the Eames Storage Unit (ESU) in 1950 as a sleek and practical solution to home and office organization.

Aluminum Group Chair
The Aluminum Group Chair offered an affordable option for those seeking high-quality indoor-outdoor seating for the home or office.

Molded Plywood Chair
One of the Eameses’ most popular designs, the chair was mass-produced using a method for bending or molding plywood that they had developed during the 1940s.

I'm one of those individuals who always thinks if you spend more, you get a better product. I know this is both classist and complete balderdash, but, like my affinity for "Celebrity Rehab" and Little Debbie Zebra Cakes, it's something that I can't change. Anyway, Diptyque, one of my favorites, is always a bit more expensive than the standard candle. But compared to other scented candles, they are absolutely heavenly.

But wait, they also make fragrances?!? To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Diptyque scent, the company is releasing three unisex scents: L'Eau de L'Eau, L'Eau des Hesperides and L'Eau de Neroli. All three were developed by perfumer Olivier Pescheux. They're fresh, crisp, and great for summer. Natch, they're not cheap. They sell for $150 each at the Diptyque store on Newbury Street.

I'm man enough to confess that I'm am completely obsessed with skin care products. Wrinkle creams, shave oils, toning sprays. You name it, I'll slather it on my face. It's really the only way a gentlemen in his 30's can maintain a youthful, dewy glow -- because Lord knows I'm not about to start eating right and exercising regularly.

In my appointed shopping rounds, I spotted what can only be described as the new Holy Grail of skin care. Estee Lauder has a product called Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Creme. There is the small matter of the price ($250), but faster than you can say "credit card debt," I was smoothing it over my epidermis. I'm not sure if it's the Re-Nutriv, or the dozens of others things I use, but I'm noticing that the dark circles are not as obvious.

My other recent skin care favorite is ClarinsMen Skin Difference. It's an oil that I use at night. It claims to make my beard softer for shaving the next day, and it slows down beard growth, so I don't end up with an 11 o'clock shadow if I have a late night. I don't know about slowing down beard growth, but it certainly makes shaving easier in the morning.

UPDATE: I'm going to declare the Estee Lauder cream a winner. My editor has told me that I look "dewy fresh," and another friend said I look like I'm about 12 years old. Success!

I spent half my adolescent Saturdays stressing over the track listings and cover art for the eight million or so mix tapes I made for people in middle school. I mean, giving someone a mix tape was the real deal. Many, many true loves, lifelong friendships, and road trips surely started over scratchy, half-taped-over 10,000 Maniacs and Tears for Fears tunes.

Mix CDs never had the same clout. They always felt too polished, too sterile, too easy, even.

That's why I'm totally jazzed about Turntable Lab's USB Mixtape. It's a 64 MB USB drive disguised as a particularly monochromatic, '80s-looking tape (the storage space equals that of an actual tape, according to Turntable Lab's site). Ingenious! You get the sound quality of MP3's and the organic, hipster goodness of a classic cassette. Hey, why not spend your adult Saturdays sketching trees and creating collages for the covers? Yep, I'm that cool.

As a short person, I am always dragging my pants on the ground. And if I get my pants hemmed, then I can't wear them with heels anymore. It's a pressing dilemma, as you can see. Nice dress pants ain't cheap! Can I get a witness?

I recently found out about a new product called Zakkerz. Weird name aside, the fabric strips with magnetic ends actually hold a pant roll in place, allowing you to go from flats to heels, or pants to capris, on a whim:

[Ch-ch-ch-changes...]

Currently, Zakkerz only come in black, which would look dorky with jeans, in my opinion. However, the sisters behind the company promise that more colors and extra large Zakkerz (sturdier for holding jeans) are soon to come.

Perfect stocking stuffers for your favorite fashionista?

I heart lomography. Lomo-what? You can find a longer explanation here, but lomography basically refers to the use of various photographic effects, such as fisheye, color saturation, and multiple exposures in the same frame, resulting in dreamy and surreal shots. (I'm the proud owner of a Colorsplash camera, which bathed my Italian vacation in blue and gold highlights. Bellissimo!)

Apparently, Jack and Meg White also heart lomography:

[The White Stripes: Fashion plates and shutterflies]

The duo lent their names and telltale colorschemes to two custom lomographic cameras: the "Meg Diana+" and the "Jack Holga." Both models are known for their swirly lo-fi images and color and contrast saturation and each camera includes a red-and-white peppermint filter — for sweeter pictures, obviously.

[Hipsters on film. The "Meg Diana+" camera, $180.]

I'm absolutely craving these kitschy cameras. If you want to be the sharpest sharpshooter on the block, grab yours today — only 3,000 of each camera were made.

Nothing says "I can tell time and look fabulous" like an oversized, in-your-face watch cuff. Over the past few years, I've been amassing these chunky, menswear timepieces -- they are stylish statements when a stretchy Timex just won't do.

Some inspiration:

[Johnny Depp, hip cat and wearer of leather cuffs.]

I recently saw an ad for Nixon watches in Nylon, and was instantly smitten by the surf-and-snowboard apparel company's "Tribella" watch: a black, angular plastic bangle with inlaid triangle face. And it just so happens that when I hopped on Nixon's website, I wanted almost every watch I saw. Here are a few of my favorites:

["Kinky," $100-$130; I love the tan band with the right-now purple face. Don't know if I'd call this watch kinky, but it certainly tickles my fancy.]

["Skyline," $75; This unique watch has a nautical flair and the crisp blue and white color scheme is definitely sophisticated.]

["Trixie," $90; Serious hardware with a touch of glam.]

Now, pretty please ask me what time it is so I can show off my new purchases.

Finally, I know what's happening with all of the wine bottles that I've been recycling (and trust me, there have been plenty). Artecnica has introduced a line called tranSglass designed by Emma Woffenden and Tord Boontje. It's great to see the original shape and color of the bottles cleverly reshaped into candleholders. They've also designed them as vases and tumbler sets.

Wisconsin-based Green Glass Co. is recycling Mexican beer bottles and turning them into tumbler sets. Not as arty as the Artecnica goods, but still charming in its own South-of-the-Border fashion.

While everyone from Spike Lee to Lindsay Lohan is yakking away on their uber-chic, $500 iPhones, the rest of us peons can only drool. No matter, I've found an equally stylish -- yet refreshingly affordable -- solution to my shopping dilemma:

Or, we could all just wait for Apple's latest must-have gadget to come down in price. Le sigh. Why does my super passé cell suddenly make me think of Zack Morris from "Saved by the Bell"?

Source

I'm a bit crazy when it comes to buying greeting cards. I can never resist picking up cards I like, but when it comes time to send a birthday greeting, I usually get lazy and e-mail a singing squirrel instead. I may have a hard time sending out these cards because they're like miniature works of art.

These are embroidered cards from a California company called Townsend Sakai. I'm particularly fond of the Nelson lamps and the Eames chair rendered in thread. Joanne Rossman in Roslindale Village sells Townsend Sakai cards. I'm not sure if she has these particular cards, but maybe of you ask nicely...

Just a little eye candy for you this afternoon. There's a German company called Xexoo selling iPod Shuffles coated in 18 carat gold. Other iPod models are available in gold, but the shuffle is the least expensive of the bunch at nearly $20,000. I think these would be a hit in a New Jersey gym, I'm not so sure how well it would go over at my neighborhood health club.

Source: Web Squirrel

Try selecting a lunch bag for your kid these days.

Lands' End devoted a whopping 10 pages to the lunch bag in this month's catalog.

There are bags with initials stamped on them. You prefer a full name? No problem. There are butterfly motifs, as well as baseballs, footballs, horses and cats.

There's the roll-top lunch sack style, which looks just like a paper bag except its canvas like.

There's the hot-stuff style, to accommodate soup (like any mom is packing that these days).

The choices roll on.

It's almost rather stressful. Is the cat motif too babyish for a second grader? The soccer emblem too cliche? Are these bags too big, in light of the obesity epidemic?

My computer won't allow me to display these bags for you but you can check them out online at landsend.com:

Meanwhile, Children's Place has bags too:

I like this at Target:

Online, LillianVernon.com has cute ones:

All of this selection and it's only July 20. Better move fast.

Of all the lousy timing. I just watched "Fast Food Nation" and decided (once again) that I would go cold turkey from Filet-O-Fish and McNuggets. But tomorrow McDonald's begins a run of Hello Kitty Happy Meals (with cool Kitty prizes). I'm not above ordering fast food for cool product tie-ins. In the fall of 1993 I gained 7 pounds eating at Burger King to collect the entire series of $1.99 "Nightmare Before Christmas" watches. And it was worth every pound.

I'm most looking forward to the Hello Kitty "style kit" and the "back-to-school kit." Yes, I'm a big girl. Get over it.

I have a story in today's Style & Arts section about the Smart, the tiny two-seater that is finally coming to the United States next year. You can test drive them this weekend in Harvard Square in front of the Border Cafe as part of the Smart USA roadshow. The event runs from noon to 8 p.m. both days.

I had an opportunity to drive a Smart yesterday, which for me was more exciting than Christmas, my birthday, or the day Martha Stewart was released from jail.

First, the answer to the question you're dying to ask: Yes, I felt perfectly safe. I drove on the Mass Pike, Storrow Drive, and the Expressway. I had the top down, the wind in my hair, and the admiration of my fellow motorists.

The best part about driving the Smart is the looks from bystanders. I lost count of the number of thumbs up I received from people on the sidewalks of the Back Bay. I might as well have been a shirtless Matthew McConaughey given all the looks and smiles I was getting in the South End.

Shamelessly, I kept driving around the city because I loved seeing people's reactions to the 106-inch Smart's German design. In Harvard Square, a pair of cute young ladies gave an approving wink, and a cab driver asked how many cylinders (the answer is three), and when he can get one (winter, 2008). My favorite reaction was a pair of greasy (and, let's face it, scary) dudes who were giggling at the Smart like a couple of school girls at a Hillary Duff movie.

Sadly, I had to return the car. With it went my new-found popularity.