With apologies to Gaia at The Non-Blonde, who wrote an ab-fab Bergdorf Goodman Shopping Report yesterday (I appear to be stealing her idea), I want to show you some highlights of my trip to Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria yesterday. Early in the morning, I attended a "Media Mavens" breakfast at which the talented Neiman Marcus team showed us the fall and winter shoe, fashion, beauty, and home style trends. Stay tuned for my feature about that. I'll publish fall trend tips tomorrow.
At the breakfast, Lisa Lingis gave us an introduction to Le Métier de Beauté's new skin care. I'll also be featuring that as our week starts. I've had an opportunity to try some samples, and I'm extremely impressed.
After
the breakfast, where every possible taste for food and drink was generously satisfied, I aimed for the beauty department, where there were many lovely new makeup previews to tempt me. This past week, many testers arrived, but the products were not available for me to purchase. Because it was raining outside, I tried to swatch inside the store. My swatch photos were miserably dark, so I'll hold off on most swatches until I get my hands on my own beauties, presumably this week for the fall collections.
Chantecaille's New Classic Palette ($85) is shown in the photo above left. The new palettes with the gold overspray are always supremely gorgeous, and this one's no different. This in-store photo appears a little more "pink" than the colors looked to my eye. I swatched them, and the two eye shades remind me a lot of my favorite Tiger in the Wild neutrals. They aren't duplicates, but they are in the same color families. The palette is totally gorgeous, and I'm anticipating its arrival with excitement.
I also got to see The Evening Duo for holiday ($84), again appearing more pink in this photo than it is in person. It's Chantecaille's first-ever, limited-edition Swarovski crystal palette that you'll want to show off. I was able to get a "just OK" swatch photo of the duo shades in the store. With a champagne shadow that wil
l light up your eyes and a liner to define them, this palette will make you an elegant holiday dreamboat. It will be available in October.
Chantecaille has lots of other exciting items coming with the holiday collection. A Poudre de Perle in South Sea Pearl ($55), a soft and illuminating golden pink with finely processed light-diffusing optics, will be packaged in a limited-edition gunmetal for holiday. It will remain in the permanent collection, but in the regular silver packaging.
Chantecaille's popular fragrances will be available for your holiday shopping in roll-ons. Available in Petals, Kalimantan, Tiare, and Frangipane, each will be housed in a faux-croc envelope-like pouch that color-matches the full-sized box of the fragrance. At $68, you'll want to pick up a few in October for holiday presents. You'll want to add another holiday value set to your shopping list. Chantecaille will launch a Candle and Roll-on Gift Set for $98. A full-sized scented candle and roll-on fragrance packaged in a brightly colored faux-croc zip pouch will be available for $98 in October. The sets will be offered in Frangipane and Tiare. As if that weren't enough, Chantecaille is also creating an Aromacologie Starter Set with a collection of its best-selling skin care in a convenient travel size. Priced at $180, it's a $209 value.
Chantecaille will also offer hand-decorated, signed, and numbered Swarovski-embellished bottles of its fragrances, created by Cimon, a world-renowned artist. Cimon's fanciful Swarovski-adorned small sculptures are priced at hundreds of thousands of dollars and collected the world over. Each dazzling bottle may be special ordered only at Neiman Marcus at Bergdorf Goodman, starting now, and your fragrance of choice will be delivered in the collector's edition four weeks later. The price is $600. The bottles are extraordinary.
After reluctantly leaving my friends at Chantecaille, I moved on to visit my friends at Giorgio Armani Beauty. All the new testers arrived Friday without product to sell. Take a look at these three beauties from the Jacquard Collection for Fall 2011 - one for face (#1) and two for eyes (the greys are #2, and the greens are #1)!
The face palette is shown at left, with the two exquisite eye palettes in the center and at right. Believe me, these palette will take your breath away if you love makeup as much as I do.
My swatch photos taken in the store were so bad, I'll only show you one.
I'll own these palettes soon enough, and I'll get photos worthy of their fabulousness. I took a lot of swatch photos in the store, but I didn't want to use a flash and wash out the shades. As a result, there wasn't enough light to get good color representations.
There are four new Rouge d'Armani shades on display for fall. Here's a swatch photo (taken in the store) of all four shades in pink, beige, and red colors. I'll be headed straight for Pink 525, shown at the top of my arm, when the products arrive.
I also got a peek at the two new Blushing Fabrics for Fall 2011, Camel and Scarlatto. They are sheer and stunning on the skin. Surprising to me, Scarlatto is absolutely fabulous on my fair skin. It jumped right onto my to-buy list.
I've got only a blurry, low-light iPhone photo snapped inside the store. It shows Camel on the left of my arm and Scarlatto at right. I applied each heavily with a sponge, and their sheerness is still evident. Totally gorgeous! Don't let the dark-colored tubes for these beautiful Face Fabrics scare you off. Try them.
Think I had fun?
Before I leave the subject of lust-worth beauty, let's take a very brief stroll around the Internet.
The Non-Blonde is leaving me with brush envy. See her feature on the Hakuhodo's G series Foundation Brush.
Messy Wands published a fabulous tutorial on mixing Le Métier de Beauté's Lip Crème shades. I've shown it to everyone.
Thanks to Daly Beauty, I'm going to have to go purchase Spa Wisdom Polynesia Monoi Miracle Oil.
Fab over Forty's feature on BECCA's Pressed Shimmer Powder intrigued me.
Café Makeup compared the exquisite Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée to some other popular highlighters.
All are worth a read. I've got lots of news lined up for this week's features. I'm excited about fall's fashion and beauty launches.
Photo at top courtesy of Neiman Marcus; other photos by Best Things in Beauty
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30 comments:
Be still my heart!!! The Chantecaille palettes look GORGEOUS and shall be mine!! When do they arrive on counters?
Tracy, the fall palette will arrive this month. The holiday makeup and fragrance and other goodies will arrive in October.
Aw, I miss Lisa Lingis! Looking forward to reading your reviews of their new skin care line. If it's anything like Peau Vierge, my wallet's in trouble.
Ava, your wallet's in trouble.
Lisa pops into all the stores here now and then. I'll try to get her schedule for a multi-hour appearance for you.
Yes! Another Poudre de Perle! Thank you, Chantecaille. Biwa Poudre de Perle is such an exceptional coral-pink highlighter/blusher. From the very first swipe, as soon as I saw that gorgeous translucent glow on my cheekbones, I knew I wanted more colors for different seasons. And, to judge from how quickly this was selling out at the counters, I obviously wasn't the only one who knew Chantecaille had come up with something extraordinary. Now I can hardly wait to see this holiday edition. Finally, news that has shaken me out of my summer doldrums :-)
Hi Charlestongirl! I'm envious of your day at NM! Such a treat to be among all these gorgeous items:-)
Good morning, Clarisse! Although it may be afternoon in France!
I felt like a kid in a high-class candy store!
Eileen,
I have a print photo of it. It appears to be a pearly highlighter. Love!
I noted your idea of buying the refills for these. I bought two Biwas. Maybe for holiday, One of my two will be the refill, which I think is about $25.
I had so much fun with the visiting Chantecaille trainer!
That custom made swarovski bottle for Chantecaille is beautiful. I just wish it wasn't $600. Oh well, I can always dream about it.
I feel like a kid on Christmas Morning evey day when I go in to work this time of year - little boxes packed with the new fall colors! I surely do hope that the Chantecaille and Armani arrive this morning! It is a special feeling to see and touch the newest cosmetics from some of my favorite lines, especially in August, when nothing is happening here in DC. Savvy shoppers will have to delay that instant gratification, though, and wait for the Neiman's Beauty Event - it starts September 8, and runs for ten days. I say SAVVY because in addition to the mock-crock Neiman's tote packed with samples, you will also get a nice GWP from pretty much every other vendor in cosmetics, skin care AND fragrance.......if you can wait that long! :) If you see something you can wait one teensy month for, the pay-ola is worth, it, trust me. I see the gifts coming in every day too! ;)
That Chantecaille palette is incredibly beautiful. The Kalimantan is gorgeous juice, no matter what bottle you stick it in ;-)
And those Armani Jacquards? Come on!! Too fabulous!!
Hi Anahita!
We "mere mortals" can buy all the Chantecaille fragrances in regular bottles. The crystal-encrusted ones are for collectors. :)
Ahhh, Miss Brahms, your store has some cool fashion events in August! I'll post about them later. We like clothes too. :)
I am going to start hyperventilating soon if my Armani doesn't arrive.
Hey there, Lovethescents,
We are all anxious to know what you picked up in New York! Don't think anyone forgot your Friday Forum comment last week. :)
Hi Charlestongirl,
As you know, I'm a fan of Sephora's plastic jars with sifter discs and stocked up during the last F&F sale. ($6.20 a piece) I particularly like that they have a clear top so you can see what's inside. They're about 2" in diameter and easily accomodate a Chantecaille refill with room to spare. Since Poudre de Perle just isn't the type of product I'm going to carry around with me, it doesn't make sense for me to pay more than double the price just to get a portable brush attached to a container.
In case some of your readers are wondering just how much of a price difference we're talking about, it is substantial! Here are Chantecaille's Biwa prices: refill = $25; container with brush = $55.
Eileen, Charlestongirl - sure wish the cosmetic companies would make those old fashioned mesh sifters. I suppose they are more expensive, but it's easier to pick up product from a container that has them. I have an old Alexandra de Markoff compact that has one, which is impossible to replace now. I haven't been able to find one of any brand on the internet. Haven't tried Evil Bay.
Hi Charlestongirl! I didn't get enough stuff, unfortunately. Just a quick list of what I did buy:
LMdB Mascara in Jade
LMdB nail polish in that dark purplish colour
LMdB Magic Cream thingy
Chantecaille Poudre Perlee Biwa (refill!!! Thanks, Eileen!)
EB Storm and brush
Red Flower Wild Lime Silk Oil
I'm happy but I missed too much :-(
Thanks for asking!!
Uh-oh, I'm in trouble. I'm a sucker for highlighters. I must look into this Chantecaille Biwa. Especially with Eileen's tip of it only costing $25.
Kathy Shoreman is going on speeddial. =)
Hi Ava,
I remember when my mother gave me a beautiful loose powder compact with a silk mesh sifter. Oh, how I treasured that beautiful compact! In those days, even cheap drugstore boxed powder had mesh sifters. Then along came pressed powders and we became so enamored with the mess free nature of it that we forgot how to deal best with loose powder. You're absolutely right. There's nothing like a fine mesh sifter.
Eileen and everyone,
While Sephora's containers are a good deal if you want to purchase one or two, I use a wholesale source that's much less expensive.
http://www.sks-bottle.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=sifter&osCsid=2g8pu81pr042apj3n29rugiaq6&x=0&y=0
Now you know my secret source!
I'm laughing, Soni. She's there today - sold me a bunch of stuff. :)
She wants everyone to have her cell phone in case you can't reach her on NM's phone. 571-212-8399
Lovethescents, sounds like you had a blast! What fun you'll have fun this week (and many more to come)!
Ok- I have to know: which is deep red pink Rouge d'Armani at the bottom of your arm? Love it!
Julia, it's a new shade, Rouge 406.
Perfect! I put her NM # AND her cell # in my speed dial. ;) Hope she doesn't regret giving THAT info out.
I'm torn between calling her now & ordering a bunch of stuff or waiting until the NM event and getting in on all the GWP stuff.
September seems so far away...
I agree, Soni, and some stuff will sell out by then. I know she can hold it for a little while, so give her a call and talk about what you want to purchase and when. :)
I just DROOLED over the Chante palette. Oh please, let it work on me, let it work on me!
xo
Thanks for the wholesale source, Charlestongirl!
Ah, you had me at "Swarovski"! :-) What a great marriage, beautiful Swarovski and beautiful Chantecaille. I even went to Chantecaille's website, trying to see if I could get a look at the component that houses the holiday shadow duo, but I couldn't find it. I did see another item that really caught my eye though (not sure how I missed it on my previous visits to their site), and that was the Papillons Eye Shade. Butterflies are one of my most favorite things, so I loved seeing that beauty (I also really liked your photo with the butterfly sitting on your hand from the Armani Blushing Fabric post, how neat!). :-) I can't wait to see more pics of the Swarovski items, it's really nice that they added the crystals to the perfume bottles as well. :-) Thanks for the preview!
this was interesting for me! great
what you thinking about Alexandra de markoff?
it is now closed (http://alexandrademarkoff.com/cosmetics/) but it was good
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