(Photo: Kenneth Chen)

Warming Trend

If you’re looking for a cozier feel than the classic steel-and-mirrors gym, check out Elysium Fitness, the Upper West Side’s newest one-on-one workout facility, opened by Equinox alum Tony Hearns. The arches and columns—even the towel containers—are mahogany, and the products in the showers are Clinique and Origins, not your average generic brands. The biggest draws here, though, are privacy and personal attention; at Elysium, there are never more than eight people working out at once (sign up early for that 8 a.m. slot). When you’re finished on the Cybex and Free Motion equipment, ease your aching muscles with massage and physical therapy. Elysium also has a machine that tests your oxygen capacity, as well as Body Gem, a software program—compatible with your computer or palm device—into which you type your daily food intake. It breaks down what you are eating and tells you whether to consume more or less. How’s that for full service? (117 West 72nd Street; 212-721-1010.)

(Photo: Joe Scafuro)

Kissing Up

Matching your bright-red lipstick to your favorite bright-red jacket—as well as finding your most flattering shade—has suddenly become a painless process. Starting next month, Prescriptives will offer Custom Blend Lipstick, which allows you to concoct a personalized product from more than 280 base colors. Once you’ve picked your base, a “custom-blend artist” melts and hand-mixes it, adding small amounts of color until you get the desired shade. You also select the degree of coverage, from sheer to a more dramatic matte; a finish, like cream or shimmer; and even a flavor—champagne or vanilla-mint? ($60 for a set of two at Saks Fifth Avenue.)

(Photo: Joe Scafuro)

Ab-solutely Fabulous

Though there are countless creams and gels for women that promise to improve the appearance of dimpled thighs and sagging middles, the other half of the population has—until now—had nothing to smear on its stubborn love handles. But Aramis’s Lab Series for Men is finally targeting the male ego . . . er . . . waistline. Ab Rescue Body Sculpting Gel has caffeine to stimulate the skin, soybean protein to strengthen it, and acetyl glucosamine to exfoliate—there’s even some menthol for that manly bracing sensation. The company swears that there’s an immediate 20 percent improvement in skin tightness and, after eight weeks, improvements in firmness, smoothness, and tone (we’ll be the judge of that, thank you very much). Shipments just hit stores, so men should be more than ready for bathing-suit season. But don’t give up the crunches just yet. ($30 at Bloomingdale’s.)

Good scents: From left, Roberto Cavalli, Eternity Purple Orchid, and Quel Amour.   (Photo: Joe Scafuro)

Editor's Pick: Valentines in a Flask

Flowers and their bottled essences have long been traditional Valentine’s Day gifts. This season’s scents seem particularly appropriate. Calvin Klein’s just-launched Eternity Purple Orchid is meant, the company says, to be an ode to “committed, long-lasting love,” with notes of orchid, purple plum, and freesia ($40 for 1.7 ounces at Macy’s). Annick Goutal’s new Quel Amour—a blend of wild roses and geranium rosa with notes of red currant, cherry, and pomegranate—is intended to suggest “the beginning of love,” according to the perfumer’s literature ($90 for 1.7 ounces at Henri Bendel). And the new Roberto Cavalli ($66 for 1.3 ounces at Saks) is all sensuality in its pink serpentine bottle.

Related:

• Archive: “Beauty”
• Articles by Beth Landman
• Table of Contents: Feb 3, 2003 issue of New York | Subscribe!