Where is  55 Secret Street anyway?  You can’t find it on a map, but you can find it on the web.  ThisNext talks to Nichelle the blogger behind the personal online magazine 55 Secret Street, to find out which products are on her mind.

TN: What’s 55 Secret Street? 
55: Well, I like to think of it as my own little personal online magazine.  I have another blog ( Anovelista.com) where I talk about popular culture, books, movies and whatever else comes to mind.  However, I felt funny talking about something serious one day and gushing about lip gloss the next.  I also like fashion, art, books, good food and wine and I wanted someplace where I could talk about them.
 
TN: Biggest response a product post of yours has received from readers?
55: Probably the dresses, shoes and bags from Old Navy in one of my $55 and Under columns.  The response was way bigger than I expected - probably because Old Navy is attainable for most of us.  The latest big hit is the Wine Flavored Sorbet that I mentioned in my 55 Spring Favorites list.  I can happily report that the champagne flavor is indeed delicious.
 
TN: The product that’s the biggest inspiration behind your blog?
55:  Hmmm.  I don’t know if I can name a single product as the inspiration.  I did get the name 55 Secret Street - and my tagline (Everybody knows from the coy little wink, the girl’s got a lot on her mind) from Sheila E’s song “The Glamorous Life.”   It was perfect because I do have a lot on my mind - makeup, skincare, hair products, food, books - I want to talk about all kinds of things. That’s why I think of 55 as “my little online magazine.”  My attitude is Come Fly With Me!  55 Secret Street is for everybody and yet it’s very personal.

TN: If you were a product, you’d be_________
55: A bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier Classique.

TN: Your favorite product discovery in the last six months… Or something that inspired you?
55: I have a column called Virtu that features art - paintings, sculpture, photographs, whatever.   At first, I wanted an excuse to show off the pictures the Harlem Renaissance habitue Carl Van Vechten took of my aunt Margaret Tynes.  I am just finishing a memoir about her and her 50 year career as an opera singer.  However, there were so many wonderful pioneers in early black entertainment and the arts  that I couldn’t help showing them off too.
 
TN: Most prized possession?
55:  I have a mango-colored Chanel backpack that I bought at a sample sale several years ago.  It was originally $900 and I got it for $200.  It’s fun, unusual and, heck, it’s real Chanel.  I love it, but I only really use it in the summer.
 
TN: A product love secret you’re too embarrassed to share?
55:  Embarrassed? Moi?  Ha!  I can’t think of any product love secret that I’m too embarrased to share.  I have no shame.
 
TN: Name an item under your bed?
55:  Books and magazines! That’s about it. And probably a few stray index cards.
 
TN: Something in your closet that is not apparel, shoes, bags, etc.?
55: All of my hair products, past and present: curling irons, combs, brushes, ponytail holders, end papers, rollers, the works.
 
TN: Fav trend for spring?
55: The pretty dresses! Anthropologie is just killing me lately.  Everywhere I go, I’m seeing pretty dresses. It reminds me to hit the treadmill!
 
TN: Least fav trend for spring?
55: The turbans.  No one is really pulling it off well.  Not even the models.
 
TN: Can’t leave home without my______?
55: Mascara - for my hair.  Lipstick, my iPod, a book, a magazine in case I don’t feel like reading a book; a journal, pens and my cellphone. I’m a real bag lady.
 
TN: City or suburbs?
55: City!
 
TN: Loft or the perfect house with the white picket fence?
55: Loft and the perfect house with the white picket fence.
 
TN: Flip-flops or sneakers?
55: Really nice Flip-flops.
 
TN: Coffee or tea?
55: Coffee.  I’m a writer. I think it’s in our bill of rights or something.

See more of the Nichelle’s Favorite Things For Spring list by Anovelista at ThisNext.