Nars Douceurs De Paris Palette Saks Exclusive

I stumbled across Nars Douceurs De Paris (Pleasures of Paris) eye shadow palette around the same time I was contemplating Chanel's fall 2010 collection. It was actually this Nars palette that helped me decide to pass on the  Enigma quad. While the colors are not similar except in a general fall atmosphere, it's the incredible versatility of the Nars palette that won me over. All six shades are wearable and blend together perfectly. The textures go from matte to satin with shimmer, so there are daytime options as well as evening looks.

I've been having a lot of fun playing with different combinations of the eye shadows, pairing and blending. The one color I wasn't too sure about when looking at it in the pan was Violetta. I was worried it would be a bit too cool and lavender, but as you can see from the swatch that's not the case at all. Since my eyelids are actually darker than my wrist, Violetta works as a smoky nude, and when combined with the highlighter, Abyssinia, I get a subtle no-makeup look. Just add the thinnest possible line of black eyeliner, black mascara and a bold lipstick and the result is, indeed, very classic French.

All shadows in this palette are very soft and silky, even Cordura, the shimmery dark brown. Pigmentation is very good, blending is easy and you can build up the color if you so desire. An eye primer keeps the colors in place for 12 hours or longer with no need for touch ups.

Bottom Line: excellent and fun.

Nars Douceurs De Paris Palette ($55) is exclusive to Saks and available online.

All photos are mine.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick- Byzantin (Saks Exclusive)

Apologies for the late start today. We've been without our normal internet connection since Saturday's storm that resulted in some serious damage in the area. A huge tree fell just around the corner, blocking th estreet for days before they even managed to remove it and clear up the debris around it. The cable company still has no idea how long it'd take to get things up and running. My laptop is connected through my phone which makes things both slow and spotty, but I really can't complain- it could have been a lot worse.

But back to the fun stuff. The new Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks are worth the love they've been getting across the blogsphere. The new formula is creamy and comfortable while feeling very light. Gone are the days of goopy, greasy lipsticks. This is a lightly moisturizing, intensely pigmented with a satiny finish and a decent staying power (sipping from a water bottle doesn't affect the lipstick). The dark colors do require some prep, and since I've been fighting an evil head cold since the weekend I also need some extra lip TLC before applying any color, but that's more me than the lipsticks.

I'll be showing several more shades in the coming days, after I finish thoroughly testing all of them. The lovely Sabrina from The Beauty Look Book is focusing on the lighter colors while I'm, as always, all about the reds and plums. Thus, Byzantin, which is exclusive to Saks, was the one that grabbed my attention instantly. It's a medium red berry- strong but not over-the-top. I went to Saks several weeks ago between snow storms (hard to believe now that spring seems to have arrived), wearing a very nude and muted look that seemed to fit the gray surrounding outside. But the harsh light in the store (when are they going to design appropriate lighting for the beauty departments?) made me look all washed out and tired. Hannah, the beautiful and helpful SA, immediately made me try Byzantin and it made all the difference in the world. It can be worn easily even for the office when you keep everything else minimal, and of course everywhere else.

The photos show the color both indoors and in full sun. All were taken by me.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks ($30) are available from all decent department store as well as from Chanel.com. Byzantin is a Saks Fifth Avenue exclusive, online and in store. I bought it at my local mall.

The Cranky Shopper- Part Eleventy Three

Strange things happen when you are just twenty five minutes away from Bergdorf Goodman. The place I regularly call "my local mall" isn't your average Jersey strip mall. The Shops At Riverside, formerly known as Riverside Square, is where you can find an Hermes boutique as well as a Tiffany store, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and other pretty nice options to spend a not-so-small fortune. There are also two department stores: Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue. Neither would be considered as slummin' it.

I went makeup shopping last week. There were a couple of items I already knew I wanted and a few others I wanted to check in person before making decision. And, of course, there's research. After all, I'm here to try stuff so you don't have to.

Online swatches, photos and reports from fellow bloggers have left me undecided about the Giorgio Armani spring collection. The palettes and most of the colors seemed several degrees too light, but I had to try them on skin first, so I headed to Saks. There were four SAs in attendance at the counter, something that rarely happens- the place is deserted more often than not, so I expected to be helped and get some good suggestions. However, all four ladies were busy doing their own makeup, often blocking my access to the products. One of them informed me that they were getting ready for a special event at the country club, which apparently required piling on the eyeliner. I finished testing and swatching, considered buying one of the palettes, but as I just couldn't catch the attention of any of the SAs, decided to move on and go to Bloomingdale's.

I wanted to decide between two colors of the new Guerlain Rouge G Le Brilliant and to have a good look at the new version of pressed Meteorite powder. I already knew I should avoid the new eye shadow quad for spring. That black violet color makes me look like I got a shiner, which the SA agreed would not be a good thing. Instead, she suggested I tried one of the regular quads, which had a gorgeous teal with some more questionable silvery shades. Since I wasn't too sure about it, I asked the SA to show me how to apply and make it work.

She was very nice and friendly, just chatty enough and a complete opposite to the four Armani ladies with the eyeliner of doom. I sat happily in the uncomfortable high chair and expected some magic. It is Guerlain, after all. Red flag number one appeared immediately, when the SA didn't bother to remove my makeup. I was wearing Chanel Black Jade eyeliner with eye shadows from the Kashka Beige spring quad mixed with a Shu Uemura something or other. It was a pretty neutral look, but you still couldn't miss the fact I was already wearing a full face of makeup.

Wielding her brushes, the SA told me enthusiastically about the training seminar she had the previous day at the Guerlain Spa, how well the company treats the employees and how lucky she felt to work there. It was nice to hear, really, and I was concentrating on the conversation more than on some strange looks I got from passers by on their way to the YSL and Laura Mercier counters. When she was done with my eyes and took a minute to help another customer and bring some blush and bronzer I looked in the mirror and was horrified.

First, there was a ton of teal and silver fallout on the apples of my cheeks. I'm quite familiar with Guerlain eye shadows and have never seen them create such a royal blue mess. My half educated guess is that the eye color was applied with the wrong brushes. I wish I paid more attention from the beginning so I could know for sure.  But that can always be cleaned up. The problem was what used to be my big brown eyes now lost in a sea of teal and blue that were smudged all over and not necessarily in the most symmetrical manner. Hideous doesn't even begin to describe it. When the SA got back to me I requested she'd clean and tone it down significantly, which she tried, but the rich pigments weren't cooperating too well. Some makeup remover and frantic smudging later I was left with a little less teal which was still way too much. She tried  to blend it with some peach toned base only to create a bigger mess before deciding the problem was lack of balance between my pale face and the dark eye. So to balance things out she fetched a blush in a scary red tone and some bronzer and proceeded to try and find my cheek bones.

Crusty the Clown was looking back at me from the mirror.

I thanked the SA for her effort, paid for the items I intended to purchase in the first place and escaped into the darkness and the snow flurries.

Then I couldn't remember where exactly I parked my car.

In Which I Smell Annick Goutal Un Matin d'Orage

...and have a little déjà vu.

According to the flowery blurb on the Annick Goutal site, the inspiration for their newest fragrance, Un Matin d'Orage, was Camille Goutal's trips in Japan where she experienced storm drenched Japanese gardens. I've never been to Japan, so I cannot comment on how evocative the scent is in this regard, but shortly after spraying it on my arm I felt it was somewhat familiar. It took me several hours of obsessively sniffing my arm to realize where I've smelled this before.

But let's go back to the beginning. Un Matin d'Orage is currently only available at Saks (it looks sold out online, but if your local store is as much of a ghost town as mine, it's probably in stock), which meant braving the normally sour-faced SA at the counter. There's a significant improvement of the attitude in the store, probably related to the fact Saks is in dire straits these days. The SA apologized profusely because she had no samples of the perfume, but was eager for me to spray "the new orange perfume" (seriously!). Which I did.

Unlike the SA, I knew there wasn't any orange there (my French may be limited to a terrible pronunciation of "Serge Lutens" and "Pâte à Choux", but this is not the first Orage I come across, and it translates to "a stormy morning"). What I got was a hit of charged, ozonic air which led the way to wetness: wet greenery, wet florals, wet earth. My skin is an infamous flower slayer, so I can't say much about the promised champaca, jasmine or magnolia. The one flower that stood out and stayed put was gardenia. A surprisingly green gardenia, bare of any sweetness or gilding that you often find in gardenia-based scents.

Because of all the air and water that stand between my nose and the gardenia, my main impression was of a flower seen through a window while rain is pouring. That image has stayed with me for several hours until I remembered the last interesting gardenia I've smelled:

JAR Bolt Of Lightning

Seriously.

I don't know about Japan, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Isabelle Doyen, the nose behind Un Matin d'Orage, got some of her influence at the JAR boutique in Paris. Think of it: a stormy, ozonic opening, wet earth and tons of gardenia. It's not that UMdO smells like Bolt Of Lightning, but there are some striking similarities here and there as the scent develops. Bolt of Lightning has a much more dramatic and dangerous opening. It hits you forcefully before the gardenia arrives. Un Matin D'Orage isn't shocking. It draws you in and is decidedly prettier. But it's not a typical Goutal scent and has a lot more edge than one would expect.

Is it the poor man's Bolt Of Lightning? At $80 for 1.7 oz, It's less than 10% of the JAR price, so one could even spring for the special butterfly bottle ($220 for 3.4 oz) and still feel sort of thrifty. Is it an adequate substitution? Probably not. Un Matin d'Orage is thinner, lighter, airier. It belongs in the same group as other new tropical greens like L'Artisan Fleur de Liane and that aquatic disaster from Hermes, Un Jardin Apres La Mousson. It's also infinitely better than both.

I can see UMdO being a perfect summer scent if you're looking for something green with a touch of florals that will not turn on you. It's different than the calonic-melonic fragrances which can be stomach-turning if you're sensitive to their aromachemicals. And it's definitely pleasant to wear, unless you were hoping for something like Grand Amour or Quel Amour!. I don't agree with the ultra-feminine label they're trying to stick on Un Matin. I'm pretty sure many men can pull it off easily, as long as they don't have the skin chemistry that amplify white flowers and broadcast them to the stratosphere.

Do I need a bottle? I'm not sure. I'm not in the market for air and water. But talk to me in late July and I might change my tune.

Image of wet gardenia by Susan Boden Dillon

Sniffed Around Town

(For the 2008 Perfume Retrospective, please see yesterday's post)

I've been revisiting a few previously-sniffed scents at the usual NYC haunts. These are not full reviews as I haven't (yet?) bothered with samples and full wearing under different circumstances, unless noted. Just impressions.

Chanel Beige- (part of the Les Exclusifs range and only available from Saks flagship in the city). The first time I tried it, I commented that it just doesn't go with my hair. It was too floral, too Chanel, too Upper East Side. Totally not me. It's still isn't, but I sort of get it now. Apparently, Muffy Sloan-McPrep has been skipping some Junior League meetings because she's having steamy randezvous with her tennis instructor. And she's invested in some killer shoes.

Champaca Absolute (Tom Ford Private Blend)- I didn't expect to like this one. A biggish floral with some fruit in it (plum?) is not my normal thing. But like many of the other ones in the line, it melds with my skin and becomes smooth and musky (in a good way). It doesn't screech or does weird gestures, so while I probably don't need to have it (unlike Tobacco Vanille and Purple Patchouli), I would wear it happily if the stork drops it at my door (what? storks bring the oddest things to this house).

Fleur de Liane (L'Artisan Parfumeur)- I really shouldn't have bothered with this one, as it's everything I hate. A sheer green aquatic with more than a hint of melon. I don't always assign colors to scents, but this one is a poisonous, radioactive aqua. While Fleur de Liane is a Bertrand Duchaufour creation, I can practically hear Jean Claude Ellena cackling behind the scene.

Aedes de Venustas Eau de Parfum (created by L'Artisan)- Another Duchaufour, this time a pretty nice one. On my skin and to my nose it's cool, clean incense, very similar to Heeley Cardinal and CdG Avignon. I liked it better as a room spray or on my husband, though he was not impressed.

Amouage Lyric For Women- Yes, please.
Gorgeous, sexy, rosy, spicy, woodsy. Lasts forever. It's the very late drydown that I'm not yet sure about. It loses some of the mouthwatering quality for more wood. Still beautiful, though.

Carnation (Mona Di Orio)- I think I can live without it, after all. This one must be tested and re-tested on skin, as what you get on a scent strip would lead you to pull a Luca Turin and hate hate hate it. My skin loves it, most of the time. Occasionally it turns into something boring and bland like a low-grade musk. Other times it's lovely.

Dans tes Bras (Frederic Malle)- Either they tinkered with the formula since I first smelled the tester in June (long before it was released, so everything's possible), or my skin really does a number on this. The sprayed card I got in Paris retained its powdery scent for days, while on my skin (and practically everyone else's) things have mellowed down considerably and it's not that heavy on heliotrope, either. I've been known to kill violets, so maybe it was to be expected. In any case, Dans tes Bras is a pleasant skin scents, suffers from longevity issues and a mushroomy accord, and smells a lot better in the open air than indoors. Like, but don't love.

Oriental Brulant (Guerlain)- The only one out of the three Elixirs I like. The problem? My skin makes it very very sweet. Even Isaac, the cutest SA at Saks 5th Avenue had to comment on this. The drydown is so Shalimar-like (just without the interesting parts) when I wear it that it's more than a little redundant, especially at $250 per bottle.

White Patchouli (Tom Ford)- No can do. The rose-jasmine combo in the middle turns sour on my skin every time I try.

Sycomore (Chanel)- The one Exclusif that might just force me to break my resolve against family-sized bottles and actually buy one. It's a beautiful, smoky vetiver with an ethereal quality that keeps it from becoming too butch (not that it ever stopped me before. I can't keep away from the Blond's Vetiver Extraordinaire, Route de Vetiver or his Guerlain). Want.


Photo of Saks 5th Avenue: Voted Off The Island

Let's Talk About Saks, Baby

Like many good consumers, I was doing my part to stimulate the economy during Saks 5th Avenue's Friends & Family sale. Not that they made it easy for me (other than providing the discount, that is).

It starts with the fact that my local Saks doesn't carry Diane von Furstenberg at all, so I had to order the items I wanted online. It's not a big issue since I didn't pay shipping, but still, it would have been nice to get the immediate gratification. I still went to the store to see what I could find, but their selection is not exactly what I was after (unlike what they offer online). Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt this way, since the store was mostly dead. The only heavy traffic on the fashion floor was at the Elie Tahari and Theory sections, which are still much smaller than their parallels at Bloomingdale's across the mall (which is where I ended up shopping: they had a pre-sale and offered the same discount % as Saks, and even had my size in stock). Someone up there should take notice what sells and what doesn't, and realize that an empty store during a major sale event indicates more than a crappy economy.

The ghostly fashion floor was depressing, but it didn't stop me from heading towards the light: the makeup counters. Unlike their piranha-esques colleagues from the flagship across the river, the suburban SAs have made ignoring their potential customers into an art form. Not all of them, of course, not for every brand, but several counters were deserted while bewildered customers were trying in vain to get some attention from SAs who have turned into an army of pink lipsticked Helen Kellers with highlights.

At the Bobbi Brown counter, the efficient and gracious Libby was picking up the slack left by her coworkers who had better things to do. The only problem was that I had to wait 15 minutes before I could even test the palette I wanted (more on that later this week). The Estee Lauder counter was buzzing with activity while across the path at Lancôme there was mostly confusion and frustration. I have no doubt that they lost sales as a result.

This isn't just a Jersey issue and I'm not the only one who noticed. Check out this makeupalley thread from three days ago. Someone at Saks should be very worried.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Karl Lagerfeld For Saks

This might be my favorite special product for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Karl Lagerfeld designed this t-shirt for Saks 5th Avenue. It's quirky enough, with a portrait of Karl himself on the back, and thankfully, not pink.

The shirts are sold online and in store for $40, out of which $35 go to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund.

BBN_BCA

Oh, the things we have smelled!

Or: The Scent Twins Take Manhattan (and make SAs cry)

One of the best things about a sniffing expedition with your scent twin is that it instantly doubles the available skin space (and if he is a very tall and long-limbed guy, all the more skin to use). When said scent twin is such a wonderful companion as mine is, the pleasure is more than doubled. And he makes me laugh.

Tom came from L.A. and we spent Thursday afternoon relentlessly spraying, sniffing each other, and pondering the wonders of skin chemistry. We started at Saks, which could have been a much more pleasant place without the piranha-like sales assistants. There were too many of them at every counter and they were aggressive and cloying at the same time, shoving scented cards under our noses and trying to spray us with whatever they were hawking, telling us how it's the most popular thing and we really must try. No, thank you.

They were strongly promoting the not-so-new DSquared2 He Wood and She Wood. While it looks quite official that woods are making a comeback to mainstream perfume, I was not impressed and my prediction is that these scents would end up at most discounters in no time. More interesting was the discovery of a fully stocked Guerlain counter, offering the L’Art et la Matiere line as well as some of the more interesting bottles of the house. We both discovered the wonders of Derby and I just loved seeing Tom's face as he tried Sous Le Vent. I had the same look when I first tried it in Paris.

Tom introduced me to one of the more interesting Saks exclusives, Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel, which lasted for most of the day on my hand, making me realize that I absolutely need a bottle. I'm not an airy-beachy girl, but this salty, herbal wonder is unlike anything else I have and it evokes the kind of shore experience that has nothing to do with Jersey's boardwalks and everything to do with an emotional place.

The other Saks exclusive we were curious about was Chanel Beige (only at the NYC flagship for now). It's pretty in a floral Chanel way, lady-like and understated, but as far as I'm concerned it lacks an edge, and it's not that original, either. I liked smelling it, but have no desire to wear it. As I said to Tom, it simply doesn't go with my hair.

From there, we continued up 5th Avenue to Henri Bendel, which was a huge relief in terms of SAs. You can freely browse, spray and try things without a SA breathing down your neck. What a concept! We were waiting to see some poor unsuspecting soul spraying itself silly with Secretion, but it didn't happen. Tom and I seemed to be the only ones interested in the Etat Libre d'Orange bottles, which do seem a bit out of place there. Try as we did, we couldn't find one that really felt full bottle worthy in that line. We're just not that into them (though I still like Encens et Bubblegum).

A block or so down the road was the temporary Colette mini-store at The Gap. It's the weirdest thing and quite disappointing. They had some (not very interesting) t-shirts and a whole lot of ugly plastic knickknacks that looked like crap the Paris store was looking to unload somewhere instead of throwing it into the Seine. They did have the Paris-exclusive Le Labo Vanille 44, which I now hear is (temporarily) sold out. What we didn't know is that the price is more reasonable than in Paris ("only" $150 for 1.7 oz, compared to the ~$300, depending how bad the dollar is on a given day Le Labo seem to have some pricing issues and have re-adjusted the price to $260 for 1.7 oz). I'm still not sure it warrants more than a decant, but I do like its fuzzy muskiness and warm labdanum body.

Other fragrances you can find at that store are a few of the Comme des Garcons in silly packaging with gold tails and muzzles (not kidding), and there was something else I can no longer recall. But the most ridiculous thing at that place were the Kiehl's products. Yes, you read it right. I don't know who was the genius who though that what NYC needs is repackaging of a local product with a French seal of approval. They had the popular body creme in the regular bottle that had "Colette" printed on it (yay! or something), and sets of travel size products. Why? And who buys it?

We pondered these questions on our way to Bergdorf. We stopped at the Serge Lutens stand, where the (very nice, if a bit scared of us) SA showed us some interesting layering combinations (apparently that's what they do with the Serge savvy customers). Who knew that Douce Amere and Ambre Sultan go amazingly well together? I'm going to try it tomorrow night. The other thing I learned is that I probably do need Bois de Violet after all.

Next came the JAR experience, which was Tom's first time. This is going to be a separate post, because I have a lot to say about it, but I'll give you a teaser: We tried Ferme tes Yeux. And lived to tell the tale.

We left Bergdorf feeling drunk. We needed a break, because trying anything after the JARs seemed a bit futile (the poor Jo Malone SA had no chance with us). Besides, we were starving, so a very late lunch was in order before we could proceed to our last stop of the day: Barneys.

Barneys has a lot of good stuff. From some exclusive Serge to Nasomatto and Le Labo. But as far as I'm concerned, the main attraction (and the nicest SA) is Fredric Malle Editions de Parfums. They didn't have the new one, Dans Tes Bras by Maurice Roucel (though the tester is expected within weeks and there's going to be a grand launch event, including an appearance by Roucel himself. No word about the state of his moustache), but the rest of the line is always wonderful to smell and try. I accomplished my mission for the day by purchasing my beloved Musc Ravageur. Tom got me to sniff L'Eau d'Hiver, which might just be the Jean-Claude Ellena creation I won't be able to resist, proving that if you put enough musk and heliotrope in a bottle, I'm going to love it. It still does not absolve him the sin of the melon, but it comes close.

That was the last of the day's adventure. While I didn't beat rush hour traffic out of Manhattan, I smelled so good that I couldn't work up a decent road rage.

Image: wikimedia.org

From the diary of a cranky shopper

Let's talk about sales assistants.

Everyone I know has a story or two and I've heard some amusing theories about special training in customer-terrorizing. Considering my experience lately, I'm starting to think it might be true.

I know a thing or two about perfume. If I'm telling you that I have no interest in big white florals, please (please!) don't try to grab my wrist and spray it with Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. And don't argue with me about the effect of gardenia, ok? I can smell it from the bottle just fine and there's no way in hell that stuff is getting on my skin. Ever.
Strike number 1 for Saks 5th Avenue (my local one, not the flag store in NYC).

Another Saks moment, from today: I was trying on handbags, in a futile attempt to find the perfect black purse. Despite my request to browse by myself, the bag lady insisted on striking up a conversation. I can deal with that, as long as I'm not being crowded (and I was). Also: Do not contradict a customer. If I feel that a purse is too wide for me, then it is. If I tell you it's too small for my needs, then I'm right. Seriously: If I'm going to have to choose between carrying my wallet and my cell phone, then it is too small. Why argue?

But the one that takes the cake is what happened to me a couple of weeks ago at the fashion floor of Barneys in Manhattan. Picture this: Here I am, wearing a little black dress and high heels, carrying an unmistakable red Valentino purse and a small Barneys shopping bag from the beauty department (I indulged in some Lutens). As I was stepping away from the escalator, two sales assistants were eyeing me. Apparently, not with approval, because as I was approaching the racks, one of them stopped me and said: "It took you way too long to get here!". I was about to say "excuse me?" when she and her friend started snickering :"Oh, I thought you were our seamstress".

Granted, I don't look very Upper East Side, and my very long hair has something slightly bohemian about it, but I'd think that my appearance still said "potential customer". And the thing is, the smirking made it obvious that it was meant as an insult. I started half-heartedly browsing the Lanvin display, kicking myself for not responding with a snappy comeback. I found a sweater I liked, but decided I'm not giving them my business. Why should I?

Let's Talk About It (Ask The Non-Blonde)

Some of the latest crop of email I got is worth public discussion, for better and worse.

"I was going to buy a few items from Saks and get the GWP, but I've heard it's not available online. What's the story?"
J. from Columbus, Ohio

My reply: The Saks (not too impressive) GWP is most definitely available online when you use the code REELBEAUTY on any beauty and fragrance purchase over $100. I know it for sure as I've shopped and already received mine. What isn't available online is the special GWP from the individual brands. I can't say for sure that it's true for all brands, but according to Paul, the customer service rep, the Lancome gift is only available in store.

Like many of you, I find it quite irritating. The beautiful beauty event catalog lists all the brands that take part in the event and what they're giving (the Lancome one is by far the best), but nowhere in there do they say it's an in-store thing only. Since the catalog specifically tells you that you can shop online with the code, one would assume everything in there also valid online. More so if you remember last month's Neiman event: They extra gifts were sent to all qualified shoppers. There's nothing we can do except to remember it for the nest round in six months.



"Loved your green nail polish review. How did you like the other colors in the collection?"
Tonia, Michigan

My reply: The ones I've tried so far (other than Irene The Green) are Juno (dark purple) and Kamilah (bright red). I love the purple. It's another stunning color. However, I'd be careful about wearing it during the day, as it's much brighter than it looks online (or even in the bottle). It draws a lot of attention in broad daylight and under fluorescent lights. I'd save it for night, dates and holiday parties.
The red didn't agree with my skin tone. The color looked garish on my hands. It's much better suited for cool undertones. The quality in both cases is just as exceptional as with the green.



"You never updated us about your quest for the perfect serum. Are you still using the Super C from Remede?"
Kathy, Auburn, Maine

My Reply: I thought about trying a different one because of the horrible, spouting bottle. But my skin was so happy with this serum that I gave it another chance. The next bottle didn't do the fountain thing, though I still need to watch the nozzle and be careful while pumping. It's a shame that such a great product is so badly packaged, but I'm willing to forgive. The serum helps with discoloration, hyper-pigmentation and corrects minor skin flaws. I might not look like a photoshopped-to-perfection picture of Liv Tyler, but my skin is noticeably (to me) better.



"If this is a beauty blog, why do you spend so much time and space blogging about perfume? It's not that interesting."
Becca, UK

My Reply: I apologize for boring you. However, the blog is about any beauty, fashion or lifestyle subject that I find interesting. That's why I'm here, writing. While not all beauty bloggers are perfume enthusiasts, I am one. Perfume counters are to be found in the beauty departments of stores all over the world. The two are closely related, often manufactured by the same companies. Personal fragrance is part of the beauty and grooming routine of millions men and women. It's always been part of mine, so I intend to continue talking about it.

Recent Sniffing

Not full reviews, because I didn't wear most of these for more than a day or two, usually for good reasons.

Racine (Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier)- This is one of their masculine scents, which indeed starts with the usual manly citrus that develops into a wood/vetiver combo. It's pleasant but predictable. The surprise was how late in the drydown (moderate sillage, lasts for eternity) it turned all Bandit on me, leather and that infamous note that we usually refer to as "hemp". Easier to wear than Bandit, that's for sure.

Chanel Chance-I've had the mini EdT for a couple of years; every time I've dug it up and gave it a try things went the same way: smelling the fruitiness, making a face (see image), holding breath, scrubbing off, still smelling fruit. Lather and rinse until all is gone. This week I decided to brave it and see what happens. I still dislike Chance, but eventually there's a drydown in which I get the faint whiff of something better and a hint that Chance might really be related to a few grown-up and quite decent perfumes.

Prada Infusion d'Iris- I like it. I really, really like it. But I have issues. Until that moment the the scent settles on me and does this pretty iris-woody thing, it plays hide and seek, and when it hides it feels like I'm not wearing anything. It's totally gone. My guess is that I'm anosmic to some important heart note. The sillage is minimal, which is another fact I'm not happy about and the lasting power questionable (two to three hours at most, no matter how much I soak my skin in jojoba oil). On top of that, Iris Taizo from Parfumerie Generale is prettier.

Bond no. 9 DNA For Her (Saks Exclusive)- Tom said that I would probably like this non-lethal white floral, and he was right. It doesn't have the tentacles of death that suffocate me in most Big Whites. Probably because it isn't Big. Yes, it's white and floral; it has jasmine, tuberose and gardenia. But the three sisters of doom are mellow, powdered with a layer of dusty earth, courtesy of the decidedly un-diva vetiver, and very wearable, even if it's not really me. My husband, though, didn't approve. It's too floral and ornamental for his taste.

D&G The One- This is the kind of synthetic fruity-floral crap that is going to kill mainstream perfumery. Surprisingly, it didn't cling to my skin for dear life, so I can't really call it a scrubber, as it was mostly gone by itself within 20 minutes and saved me some soap.

A little fashion exercise: Find the Fug

The other day I was going through the latest bunch of email newsletters and promotionals. Some are deleted with no second thought, others get a second of my time and select few have me act like a good little consumer by clicking them and giving them my undivided attention and consideration.

That was how I found myself browsing the modern and contemporary collections on Saks.com. There are quite a few items I really liked, a couple are going to end up in my closet, but the most interesting thing is the way the little photos of these coats and dresses highlight the biggest fashion problem we have at the moment: Some cuts and shapes are bad for you. Unless, of course, you really want everyone to believe that your waist is bigger than your boobs. If that's the case, I see Stacy and Clinton in your future.

I'd go out on a limb and say the models are most likely tall and skinny. You wouldn't know it from looking at some of the pictures. Also, notice the model who wears these three dresses. It's the same woman, and despite the sack she's wearing on the left, she actually has a beautiful figure:
All I can say is: Don't try this at home. Please.

Images are screen shots taken from Saks.com.

No longer annoyed. Just glowing

My feud with Lancome is over. After two un-answered emails I used the "contact us" form on their web site, and that did the trick. I got a quick reply, an apology and today: a small package containing the promised gift and some extras.

It's good to be back on good terms with the company that provides quite a few of my staples. Not to mention my recent discovery.

Saks' beauty event (that is still going on until Monday) has provided me with several interesting things to try (what I bought was a YSL gloss and a bottle of my beloved Bond no.9 New Haarlem which I've been wearing non stop. By now, though, the good people at Bond have already got the site problem fixed and this scent can finally be purchased there).




Among the samples in the bag I received was Lancome's Secret de Vie. I put it aside to be tested at a later date. However, the change in weather has made my skin very unhappy. My trusted Mario Badescu has all of a sudden stopped being effective, and the delightful tube of Besame Cosmetics' Delightful Rose moisturizer wasn't cutting it either, except for smelling very very good. This is one I'll have to retest later, when my skin isn't screaming bloody murder.


So I picked up the little tin of Vie, not expecting much and without even looking that up online. I applied it at night and it felt great. I could tell that something was working. The next morning I could hardly believe my eyes. Something indeed worked. The dry patches were gone and my skin looked happy, well-rested and full of life. I was definitely not expecting such dramatic results. I'm not sure what it does or how, but all of a sudden my skin is exacly the way I would have wanted it to be. And it glows.

So I went online to find out more, and holly diamond and platinum batman! This cream costs $225 for 1.7oz. Apparently, it is worth it, but am I already at that age that you spend this much on a face cream?

My Adventure at the Chanel Counter

‘Tis the season for new makeup, new looks and the general renewal. Combine that with my sister’s upcoming wedding and you see why I was heading to the Chanel counter at Saks. Well, my formal excuse was that I was running out of my beloved Vitalumier foundation (in beige. I’ve never had a foundation that matched my skin tone so well). Also, I’ve come to realize that the dark under eye circles have won permanent residency on my face and are about to apply for citizenship, so with a special occasion looming ahead there might be a need for a good concealer.

The Chanel lady insisted that I try a stick concealer. I’m not a fan of those, because they are just too heavy for my under eye area. But I relented. It was awful. Even the warmest beige turned ash grey on my skin (that’s what green undertones would do to you) and it was cakey and pasty, setting into the skin in a way that aged me 20 years, and not in a graceful way. The thin barely-there crow feet became instant wrinkles.

A quick clean up and my friendly (but tired and not very interested) Chanel lady has produced the liquid stuff. Medium beige, and this time it was the right color, right texture, just a dab erased the green and I was happy enough to start playing with the new eye shadow palette- Goldrush.



I’m usually a bit skeptic about shadows so light- too often they don’t have enough pigment in them to actually show. But these were great. I can use the gold and bronze for evening and the shimmery pink and beige for day. It’s the kind of pretty that makes you happy.


While the helpful lady was at the back I checked the Glossimer and nail polish. The nail colors were not for me- one too coraly and the other one too shimmery. I did get the Glossimer in Summer Plum. It only adds a hint of color to my naturally dark lips, but again with the pretty.

Then came the disappointment- they were out of the concealer. Unfazed, I paid for my other products and went across the mall to Bloomie’s, where I’ve learned that Chanel have actually discontinued their liquid concealer. You can still find it at a few stores and online retailers, but the formal Chanel retailers (like gloss.com and others only offer it in one color- roselight, which I suspect that is very wrong for me. I ended up getting my medium beige from beutifulperfume.com. It’s the first time I’ve bought something from them, so I opted to pay with PayPal. We’ll see how it goes.

That was my Chanel adventure. It reminded me why I don’t like cosmetic counters, but sometimes they are necessary evil, since my local Sephora (and the other one I frequent more, near my husband’s Union Square office) don’t carry Chanel, so I can’t experiment on my own.

And on a side note, the big online stores need to improve the way colors and textures are displayed. What you find at Chanel’s is so 1999. Lancôme’s web site is way better in this regard.