Best Buys -- Greer Wylder

Mephisto of Newport Beach is having its first close-out sale. The sale

features discontinued styles, factory close-outs and samples. Sample

sizes are men’s 8 and 8 1/2, and women’s size 7 and 7 1/2. Mephisto has

more than 300 stores in the world and is the leader in a trend of comfort

footwear. Mephisto offers a wide range of specialty handmade walking

shoes. Martin Michaeli in Sarrebourg, France, founded the company. There

are 25 Mephisto stores in the country, including Beverly Hills, La Jolla,

Chicago, Boca Raton, Seattle, Scottsdale, Denver and Aspen. It’s open 10

a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The

store carries the entire collection of Mephisto footwear for men and

women, including dress, casual, comfort walking, sandals, outdoor hiking

and trekking, and golf. It’s at 1727 Westcliff Court, Newport Beach.

(949) 642-FEET.

California Style Home Collection is now open at Westcliff Plaza in

Newport Beach. It offers home furnishings, antiques and decor for every

room in the home. A local mother and son, Lois and Michael Streit, own

the store. The store features French Country, California casual, South

Pacific and other styles in furniture, lamps, art, Italian pottery,

kitchen accessories and more. There are custom-made silk floras, custom

accessories with seashells, hand-carved tassels of semiprecious stone

beads and decor from all over the world. California Style also employs

two designers to help with selections and in-home consultations -- design

consultant Joni Redman, formerly of Select Furniture in Laguna Beach, and

Tammi DeCarlo, formerly a Vietri Dinnerware specialist with Pottery Shack

in Laguna Beach. New shipments arrive daily, and shoppers can custom

order furniture. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through

Saturday, and Sunday by appointment. Westcliff Plaza is at Irvine Avenue

and East 17th Street in Newport Beach. (949) 548-8899.

If you’re into pampering yourself after the holidays, Fashion Island

has all kinds of places to go. Fashion Island has three salons, including

Christophe Salon, Perla Hair Studio or Toni & Guy Hairdressing. For

beauty and relaxation, there are massages or a day of beauty treatments

at the Greenhouse Spa. It also features Elemis Aromapure, a new line of

home spa products. There are also numerous stores that carry skin and

bath products. L’Occitane is at Fashion Island and is one of the most

popular skin care shops in Paris. Many of their products contain shea

butter -- a rich moisturizer from Africa. The Body Shop, Bath & Body

Works and Caswell Massey also sell an assortment of scented soap,

lotions, candles and other products. The Body Shop, known for its

environmentally friendly philosophy and all-natural products, has a new

store layout, with an area for its new Body Shop Colourings cosmetic

brand and a free standing sink for customers to sample products. (949)

721-2000.

Flare for Women will have a big January sidewalk sale Friday and

Saturday. Women’s apparel and accessories are reduced up to 75%. Up and

coming collections to be added to the store include Custo, Miss Sixty,

Jane’s Army, James Perse, Paper Denim Cloth, Welkin and William B. The

store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It’s at 369

E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. (949) 650-6360.

Neiman Marcus is selling London’s hottest skin care and fragrance

creator Jo Malone’s products. Malone’s original creation was a nutmeg and

ginger bath oil that she made in her kitchen. At the time Malone, was a

popular facialist who designed the fragrant oil for her top 20 skin care

clients. One of her clients loved the oil so much that she ordered 100

bottles from Malone to give out as gifts, and 86 of the recipients wanted

to order more, and, soon after, the Jo Malone brand was created. Neiman

Marcus is carrying her Nutmeg and Ginger bath oil with Verbenas of

Provence Cologne, and the Nutmeg and Ginger Bath Oil with Tuberose Body

Creme. Malone’s fragrances were designed so that two or three different

scents can be worn together as she calls “Fragrance Combining.” The Jo

Malone collection includes colognes, bath oils, body lotions and shower

gels available in a variety of scents. Neiman Marcus is at Fashion Island

in Newport Beach. (949) 759-1900.

* BEST BUYS appears Thursdays and Saturdays. Send information to Greer

Wylder at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627, or via fax at (949)

646-4170.