I got veneers & next thing I know, I’m hanging with Cindy Crawford!

Having a great smile is so important. A great smile can lighten the mood, make people feel open and welcomed by you, it eases tension, I’d even argue that it can help you not only in your personal life, but also in your business dealings. Almost everyone does something during their lifetime to improve their smile. Actually, I’d bet that people do lots of things during their life to improve their smile: braces, whitening trays, whitening strips, Invisalign and even veneers!

For me, I’ve done almost all of them. Including the good old home remedy of brushing with baking soda & peroxide. The braces made them straighter, but as soon as I stopped wearing the retainer they became misaligned again. And I could change the color, but I never could change the actual shape of my teeth. In pictures, they looked okay as long as it wasn’t a close up. The video that broke the camels back was our Punta del Este video. I have a very close up scene and when we were previewing the video on our 50″ plasma, all I could see what how awful my teeth looked. I wanted to crawl into a hole, and die. Here are the problems I had with my teeth.

#1: The Snaggle ~ I hated this tooth! It was always glaringly obvious to me in pictures. It haunted me.

#2: The Yellow Bonded Tooth ~ This is the Snaggle’s sister tooth. Apparently some dentist decided to bond it and it turn a lovely shade of summer yellow. Great for dandelions, bad for teeth.

Okay, so my teeth weren’t the worse case in history. But they made me feel uncomfortable. Especially when we’re traveling around the world and doing our travel show. My husband has veneers, and smiling next to his pearly white chompers was always intimidating! So, we decided to get me matching veneers. Here’s my story.

First, let me say that the choosing the cosmetic dentist is the most important choice you will ever make. It’s right up there with deciding who you’ll marry and whether or not you want to have children. The dentist can give you a beautiful smile or you could end up with a mouth full of Chicklet-looking teeth. The way you choose a dentist is easy, look at his/her work. Not pictures, but find actual real live people who have had work done by the dentist and check out their teeth, ask questions, get all your answers. If you don’t know anyone who’s had them done, ask the dentist for references. Or you can just go to my guy, he’s awesome!

Dr. Robert Joiner did my husband’s veneers as well as my veneers. He’s definitely one of the best dentists in the South East. He will give you his honest opinion on what will look best for your teeth. What you want is a perfectionist, and he is one. He won’t let you walk out of that office until your teeth are perfect! I know I’m really talking him up here, but it’s the truth. I’d send anyone to him without any worries. Here’s the process of how he made my teeth go from problem to perfect in less than one month!

Day 1: Consultation, X-rays, Preliminary Impression

Dr. Joiner looked at my original God given chompers. He checked out my x-rays and decided how many teeth showed in my smile (the top 8). He made a model of my teeth and sent it to the lab to see what the they thought could work. His estimation, 6 Lumineers and 2 crowns (Yellow & Snaggle of course, the problem children). Lumineers are super thin layers of porcelain that just slip right over the natural teeth and are cemented in place.

Day 2: Teeth Shaping, Veneer Impressions, Temporary Crowns/Veneers

Dr. Joiner was correct. I needed 6 Lumineers and 2 crowns. So, this visit was to do the work for the crowns and shape the teeth so the Lumineers could be placed over the teeth. It was a long visit, and I’m a baby with a needle. But, Dr. Joiner has a magic thing he does to make the needle not hurt. We also chose the color on this visit. Once the Snaggle and Yellow were gone, my teeth were pretty white. We decided to go with 1M1 for color. Which apparently is very white. Here’s what my teeth looked like after the shaping and with the temporary crowns. When I left the office, I felt like my teeth looked 100% better, even without the Lumineers. I couldn’t even imagine what the finished product would be like!

Day 3: Final Veneers

V-Day as I like to call it. This day changed my smile and pretty much my life forever! This is the final appointment. I saw the veneers in the tray. They were so tiny, literally like a contact lens! He numbed me up with his magic needle and got to work perfecting my smile! Once the veneers are cemented on, Dr. Joiner shaped them, adjusted the length of the teeth and basically became a dental artist. I think he had a vision of what he wanted them to look like, and he wasn’t stopping until they looked just right. I can’t even explain how happy I am with the finished product. Here it is:

Here are some after photos:

Here’s two great examples of Dr. Joiner’s work!

Now for the Cindy Crawford part of the story. The day after I got the veneers, I was in Randy Gerber’s lounge, Whiskey Park at the W-Hotel in Atlanta. In walks Cindy Crawford, she’s so damn tall, so damn beautiful and so sweet! Here’s a photo from the night. The beautiful blond in the photo is my friend Lori. (Ya, know you think you’re pretty right up until you’re in a photo with Cindy Crawford.)

Well, that’s it. If you have any questions about veneers, Lumineers, Dr. Joiner or Cindy Crawford, feel free to email me. But, for real, if you’re thinking about veneers, you need to check out Dr. Joiner and let him work his magic on your mouth.

See you all next Friday!

Kimberly

Tips for Spending New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro

(Before you begin reading, click here and let the song play in the backround. I’m setting the ambiance the post.)

For us, New Years Eve is the ultimate in Hip vacations. We always find a fantastic location, lots of culture, a sexy party and warm sunshine! For these reasons we head into the Southern Hemisphere to Rio de Janeiro!

Rio de Janeiro has inspired many wonderful things in the US: the Brazilian bikini, the Brazilian wax, the Brazilian butt augmentation(thanks to the perfect Brazilian booty), Cachaca, the Brazilian Steak House and of course the Girl From Ipanema.

Check out Rio for yourself and see what inspires in you!

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s leading NYE destinations. That’s the reason that you need to book your air and hotel ASAP! You could be sipping champagne on a roof top overlooking the Copacabana at 11:59pm (23:59) counting down with over a million people dressed in white or you could be sitting at home watching the ball drop with Ryan Seacrest wondering which shellac he used that night for his boy band hair. Which sounds better to you? Don’t be a dumb ass, book your trip by August at the VERY VERY latest.

Here’s some tidbits about Rio:

Hotels: There are so many hotels to choose from. Usually, the hotels in Rio are very inexpensive, even a 4-5 star hotel can be shockingly cheap. However, times are changing and now that the Fasano has opened a new spot in Rio, they are really raising the bar and the prices! The South American and European jet-set are flocking to the be among the hard bodies laying at the only hip pool scene in Rio. For my money, this is the place to be. And I will actually be there this New Year’s to ring in 2009 in style!

If the hefty price tag of the Fasano is too much for your bank account, you have hope. There are great rooms and even greater rates at the hotels like the Rio Internacional. This hotel provides great service (with an English speaking staff), great suites and a roof top pool that has views of the Copacabana and Christ the Redeemer. The price is right and it’s a perfect place to watch the millions gather on the beach below for the ultimate in NYE fireworks displays.

What to Bring: Rio is all about the body and the bikini. Ladies bring plenty of bikinis and men cool swim wear. Also, on NYE everyone in the city wears white, and I mean EVERYONE!

Know Before you Go: Two things:

#1: Get a Passport & Visa You’ll need a passport and a visa. Make sure you send your passport to the Brazilian Consular in enough time for your trip.

#2: Go on a diet! Do us all a favor and skip the cookies for the couple months preceding your trip! Chances are even in your best shape, you won’t stack up to the Brazilians. Yes, they are naturally gifted in the physique department, but Rio is also one of the major Plastic Surgery capitals in the world.

Drinks: You can sip the native drink, a Caipirinha for about a dollar at any of the many beach bars. But be careful, they go down quickly and if you stand up to quickly, so will you!

Food: Rio is filled with amazing local restaurants. Skip the tourist traps and hit the local scene in Leblon for interesting and sexy Brazilian flavor!

Shops: Rio is the home of the Brazilian Bikini. Therefore, you should stock up ! I don’t mean the fake ass American version. I mean the real deal, and you need a Brazilian to wear a Brazilian, if you know what I mean! Rio is the best place to find unique bikinis that you can wear around the world. Just think, you won’t have the same bikini as any one else on your next vacation. Also check out the Havaianas.

Flights: From many US cities you can fly delta directly into Rio’s airport. It’s usually an overnight flight both ways (depending on where you are coming from) The Rio de Janeiro airport code is GIG. When you go to customs, you will be asked to hit a button that’s connected to a stop light. If you get a green light, you may proceed and leave the airport. If you get a red light, squeeze you ass because they’re unpacking EVERYTHING! That’s the real “random search”, there’s no racial profiling there!

Safety: I can’t tell you how many people have asked me about my safety in Rio. Basically, my answer is this. Yes, it’s a dangerous city. But so are New York, Miami and Detroit. Use common sense. Stay in well lite areas and don’t go anywhere with strange people you don’t know. Don’t go into the ghettos. Don’t wear big flashy jewelery or watches. Don’t flaunt money. Same things you’d do in any big city. One thing that made us feel really safe is the “tourist police”. Yep, they are there to protect you, the tourist. We had absolutely NO problems. The Brazilians were lovely!

Other weird and interesting things:

• I decided that the national dog of Rio is the poodle. I actually named it the Rio Poodle because I saw them EVERYWHERE! No really, EVERYWHERE!
• Strip clubs in Rio are basically places to pick up a Brazilian prostitutes. However, all the women are clothed and it looks more like a 70’s disco party than a strip club. Buy a girl a “wine cooler” yes, I said it, a “wine cooler” and you can begin to discuss the price. Don’t ask how I know this. Weird story that’ll stay in Rio… hopefully.
• The national language of Brazil is Portuguese and it’s incomprehendable even if you speak Spanish. Hello is Oi. Thank you is Obrigado. Need I say more. Good luck, English is not widely spoken outside the hotels, but that’s the fun of it all.
• The currency is the Reais. Currently the rate is about 1 USD to 1.7 Reais. Still a great exchange rate in comparison to the Euro!

That’s it. Get online and start booking your trip. If you’re gonna wait until next year, make sure to check out our website for the Rio de Janeiro Movie & The Hip List: Rio de Janeiro. They should be available in January of 2009.

If you have any questions…feel free.

Kimberly

The Nikki Beach Review: St. Barths, Cabo & Marbella

I love to travel.

Everyone says that, don’t they. But we all have different styles of travel. For some travel includes checking out the museums and historic sites and for others travel is climbing waterfalls and checking out the multiple species of monkeys along the way. But for me travel is finding the sexy and hip culture that lies in each hot spot around the world. I love stalking the sunshine, laying on beautiful beaches and partying around the world. I love going out to unique and sexy restaurants with my husband. I love exploring the culture of a city through it’s scene, food and people.

Nikki Beach makes finding the hip culture, sexy vibe and scene in many destinations around the world. The story of Nikki Beach is very interesting. As you walk into each, white on white, beach club you’ll see a photo displayed of a beautiful dark haired girl. This is Nikki. She lived her life to the fullest, she loved the beach and she loved to party. Unfortunately she passed away at a young age and in her memory, her father decided that he’s build her a place that she could always be by the ocean and their would always be a party.

Nikki Beach is a place where you will usually see celebrities like Chris North, Ciara and Diddy, models from all over the world, and of course the usual socialites like Paris Hilton and her higher-class and sexier European heiress counterparts. Now there are plenty of Paris and Tara Reid wannabes but, you can just skip right over them and find much more interested people to spend your time with. If you are a member of Nikki beach you’ll be invited to parties all around the world and enjoy V.I.P. benefits at any Nikki Beach.

Of the currently, fourteen locations, I’ve been to about half of them. Nikki Beach Clubs are all around the world. Here is my review of a few: St. Barths, Cabo & Marbella.

1. NIKKI BEACH ST. BARTH’S

St. Barths is the perfect place to get away from it all in style within a few hours of the US. The season here is definitely the winter. The island itself has near perfect weather, over twenty gorgeous beaches. Nikki Beach has a premier location adjacent to the super exclusive Eden Rock Hotel. Everything at this location seems scaled down in size. The restaurant is smaller than most locations, there are minimal sun beds and just a few sun chairs. But, you also have to keep in mind that the beach area is much smaller as well. Also, Nikki Beach Clubs usually offer a beach club, restaurant and nightclub all in one. In St. Barth’s the Beach Club is separate from Casa Nikki Nightclub and The Strand Restaurant which are both located a few miles away in Gustavia Harbour.

NB St. Barths Wrapped in a Bow:

To me this Nikki Beach is perfect for relaxing and soaking in the sun (topless of course) and watching the tiny planes fly in over your head. It’s also a great place to be among many American celebs and the very weather yachting types. Great fresh food, great service in a much more intimate environment. No pool, but the ocean is warm and calm. In season its a great place to party, off season is a great place to have peace and a cocktail!

2. NIKKI BEACH CABOS SAN LUCAS

* NO PICTURES OF THIS LOCATION WERE TAKEN, JUST NOT WORTH THE KB IN MY MEMORY CARD.

I really, really, really wanted this to be amazing. Cabo is so close, the resorts in Cabo are among the best, the weather is fantastic…I really wanted this Nikki Beach to be amazing! Unfortunately it’s not up snuff with every other Nikki Beach in the world. First of all, it’s basically the hotel pool of the ME Cabo. When we walked in, the hotel charged us $75 and gave us a “coupon” for $75 to use at the Nikki Beach Club. Okay, no problem. We usually spend way more than that anyway. BUT, as soon as we walked out to the beach club, we knew it just wasn’t the normal Nikki Beach experience. It was a little run down, and definitely not the exclusive Nikki we are used to. Service was almost as terrible as the food and the drinks! We had two Margarita’s, thinking in Mexico, they can’t be bad right? Wrong. Simply put, the worst Margarita’s of my life! Nikki’s food is usually very creative and surprisingly delicious. But, the menu here was more like a local bar than classic Nikki, so, we opted for a few appetizers such as Calamari and Brushetta. Both were almost inedible! We quickly gave them our $75 coupon which covered the cost of the meal with drinks and left quickly. We were very very VERY disappointed.

NB Cabo San Lucas Wrapped in a Bow:

To me this Nikki Beach needs a serious overhaul of food, drinks, service, staff, ambiance, exclusivity….the whole thing is bad. Don’t bother going to this one until they get it up to par with true Nikki Beach style.

3. NIKKI BEACH MARBELLA

Nikki Beach in Marbella is fantastic. If you are staying at the Don Carlos, you can easily walk to this beach club location in 5 minutes. This location doesn’t have a pool, but it does have plenty of sun beds which can be rented for the usual daily rate of 125 euros. This Nikki Beach has the best staff of any Nikki Beach we’ve ever been to. They are gracious, down to earth and very quick with service. There is an amazing masseur on the beach who has worked on everyone, even David Beckham. During the week it’s calmer, a great place to have lunch, and enjoy the Cost del Sol. As you get closer to the weekend it gets harder to get in, wristbands become mandatory and reservations are a plus! Sunday is the weekly Champagne Party (or so it seems). There is usually some insanely wealthy gentleman that’ll purchase magnums of champagne to spray the crowd, spending thousands and thousands to be the life of the party.

NB Marbella Wrapped in a Bow:

Marbella is a perfect summer destination and Nikki Beach gives you all the sexy that you could ever be looking for! Nikki Beach Marbella is second to none with it’s true Nikki Style. Everything is right on. To be fair, I would skip the nightclub parties. There are other great clubs in Marbella and Nikki’s nightclub could be amazing, but for some reason falls short. Possibly it’s location about 20 minutes away from Puerto Banus.If you want to experience the Costa del Sol’s intense sun in style, This Nikki Beach is the place to be.

That’s all for now. I’ve been to more, and I’ve got more to say. But I’ll do that in another post.

Thanks for listening:)

Kimberly