Santa Maria Novella Body Milk
If you're anything like me, you're probably growing a bit weary of all of the da Vinci hype that has been going around: the movie, the book (now finally in paperback), the lawsuit. All the more reason to mention another name from the Italian Renaissance to whom the Western World owes a great debt: the de' Medici family. Between the 13th and the 17th-centuries, the de' Medici clan was Florence's most famous set of movers and shakers. Their philanthropy brought into the world the Pitti Palace, the Uffizi Gallery and the Boboli Garden, as well as a slew of paintings and frescoes from the all-stars of Renaissance art: Masaccio, Donatello and Fra Angelico.
But what you might not know is that the de' Medicis were also vanguards in the field of cosmetics. The Santa Maria Novella Latte per Il Corpo (body milk, for any non-Italian speakers out there) is made according to the same exacting standards required by matriarch Catherine de' Medici some 700 years ago. This lightly moisturizing body milk instantly absorbs into your skin, leaving nothing but a delicate magnolia scent.
So even if you can't have the clout of Catherine de' Medici, at least you can do your best to smell like her. Price: $72.
