This is how my hydrangea looked the day after the snow storm last weekend - sad, shocked, and downcast. As the blossoms dry each fall, they are glorious. I'm afraid their color development was stopped dead. This may not be the year to bring the blooms inside for a winter display.Today's Friday Forum must be short. I have a 10:00 meeting to negotiate with a developer over the trail location in our conservation easement. That means I have to move along, remembering to eat breakfast so I'll be "sharp." When I get back, I'll publish swatch photos of one of my Le Métier de Beauté Stoc-Ken Stuffers. They are great gifts. Buy them now at Neiman Marcus. They will definitely sell out. I purchased mine the minute they hit the store.
The Bethesda Lululemon murder trial concluded this week, with a guilt verdict - an appropriate finding, but it won't bring back Jayna Murray. I found the evidence astounding, and I must comment.
Apparently, as the beautiful, young Murray was brutally beaten to death, she screamed for help - for over 10 minutes. Several workers at the Apple store next door heard her cries for help, but did nothing. Nothing! How hard would it have been for them to call 911 and say something like, "I don't know if this is an overreaction, but this is what I'm hearing from next door." Aren't Apple employees supposed to be smart? The case brought back memories of Kitty Genovese, who was murdered outside her home in Queens while 38 witnesses did nothing to save her. Nothing! There have been many analyses of the Genovese case, but the public reaction to the Apple do-nothings has just begun. Someone left a flower-laden 311 outside the store yesterday. It was removed. Apple PR refused to comment about whether those employees still worked there. I think it's time Apple trained their employees in ethics and social responsibility. Unfortunately, empathy can't be taught.
The testers for Giorgio Armani Beauty's new foundation and holiday color have arrived at Neiman Marcus, but no product to buy! I hope today changes that. Meanwhile, for you Chantecaille fans, here's a deal. Go to Chantecaille's Facebook page, like it, and then click on Thank You on the left sidebar. You'll be rewarded with a 10% discount code. If you've been pondering a purchase, now's the time!
Sephora's V.I.B. sale starts next week (November 10). If you are a V.I.B., you should have received a card in the mail. If you aren't a V.I.B., you aren't spending enough [big smile].
Don't forget this week's giveaway contest. You can enter to win the Ultraflesh Perfect Pinks 6-Piece Lipstick Set at this link. The deadline is tomorrow, November 5, at midnight. Good luck!
Update 2:32 pm: I got word while I was gone this morning that the Giorgio Armani Beauty makeup arrived at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria.
Photo by Best Things in Beauty
Charlestongirl, let me start by saying how shocked I am. I had no idea about the Lululemon murder. I did some quick research now, following your article, and I'm horrified. Why did Norwood kill poor Murphy? Has this been disclosed? Of course she's a psychopath. I cannot understand those Apple employees. They're actions, or rather, INactions, are vomitable. They should be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteThis week I've been playing with tinted moisturizers. I've been trying Stila, which doesn't seem to absorb well at all. I'd be afraid of wearing a light coloured turtleneck with this! It also has a strange smell. It's a miss, for sure. I've also tried Laura Mercier, which I like quite a bit. I wonder, though, what people use to cover those dark spots on the side of the face from sun damage? My concealer is too light for that, and the Laura Mercier is too sheer.
I've also been trying out Butter London polishes as I was told they were reformulated. I don't see a difference. They still chip on day 2. Pass!
I've fallen for two fragrances. Shocking, eh? :-) Chanel Jersey is so light and easy to wear. Have you tried it yet, Charlestongirl? I think you might like that one. I've also been REALLY loving Armani's La Femme Bleue. Iris and chocolate and a slight hint of leather, so pretty. It's like Guerlain's Iris Ganache with less ganache :-)
One huge issue this week was the Klorane Bleuet eyemakeup remover for sensitive eyes. This was a major miss. Not only did it burn my eyes, it wasn't effective at removing the makeup! Sigh.....
I hope things go well with you and your meeting. Let us know what happens! We have a protected wooded area near our house. There are deer there, apparently, and there have been one or two wolf sightings as well. Thankfully, not by me!
Have a great weekend :-)
Neiman Marcus Tyson's has received the new Armani foundation and the entire holiday collection. We received it today.
ReplyDeleteHi Miss Brahms! Please give us your impressions on this new foundation! How is it compared to the previous ones? I love GA foundations, they work perfecly for me (n°1!)Thank you:-)
ReplyDeleteHi Charlestongirl! I hope things are going well and sharp for you at your meeting. Tell us how it went when you return!
ReplyDeleteThe murder trial you write about is just horrible, so sad to see human beings devoid of mere...humanity! Animals do try to help themselves...As you say empathy can't be taught but ethics can and it's about time it were : there are similar cases of cowardness all around the world, so sad and shameful...
Have a very lovely week-end:-)
It's hard to imagine how so many people can be frozen into inertia when faced with violence. Why even one person didn't say, "Maybe we should call the police." and then actually do it is a tragic commentary on the lack of empathy and common sense that could have been life saving. We'll never know if the police could have responded in enough time to have saved her life, but there is always that possibility and perhaps just knowing that the police were on their way would have deterred her assailant.
ReplyDeleteYou can't blame Apple for this anymore than you can blame any of the hundreds of thousands of businesses that don't discuss what to do in every type of scenario that might arise. Being a good and responsible citizen is something that the employees should have learned at home and in school but I'm sure they've used "lack of training" as a scapegoat in rationalizing their lack of appropriate response. It's a terrible tragedy, but as Clarisse pointed out, such examples of ethical bankruptcy occur all over the world.
On to beauty . . . I've been putting together my holiday list in preparation for Sephora's VIB 20% sale Nov. 10 - 14. During the F&F fiasco I only purchased my Dior Skinflash Radience Pen and a bottle of Giulette (a field of flowers waving in a Mediterranean breeze). But now that holiday sets and stocking stuffers are arriving, I'll be putting in a much larger order this time around.
Hi Lovethescents,
Just what do ladies do about the sun damage on the sides of their face? Depending on how dark the spots are, they use a buildable foundation to get a bit more coverage or they use a concealer. I know you don't like to wear foundation per se, but current wisdom is that you only apply it where you need it. If you're more comfortable working with concealers, Laura Mercier has a concealer duo set called Secret Camouflage which has two colors that can be custom blended to suit the area where you are applying it. I mention LM since you seem to like her tinted moisturizer. Personally, I only use concealer when I have a major boo-boo that needs covering up and then I reach for Clé de Peau. Perhaps some of the other readers will have some good suggestions for you. Ladies?
A restful and relaxing weekend to one and all!
Hi Lovethescents,
ReplyDeleteJayna had caught Norwood stealing from the store, and Norwood decided to kill her so that she would keep her job. Can you imagine? Next time we underestimate a co-worker...
If concealer won't cover dark spots, try Dermablend. It was developed for heavy-duty coverage, and it's excellent.
I haven't tried either of those fragrances. You are always so much more knowledgeable than I am when it comes to perfume!
Thanks for the warning about Klorane Bleuet. That's one we can all skip now!
The meeting went well. The developer is willing to consider and push through the county the alternatives we put on the table - mostly, I suspect, because it will save them a ton of money. Thanks!
Excellent news, Miss Brahms! I'm excited!
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen,
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to believe that those employees - no matter what the store - heard what was happening and didn't call the police. If it had been a small business store, I might have chalked up the employees' behavior as simply a lack of personal responsibility and accountability. However, I do expect large corporations to set expectations for ethical behavior. Certainly one of those expectations would have included a "lend aid when needed" behavior. That you can teach.
You are absolutely right, I think, when you say that being a good and responsible citizen is something that the employees should have learned at home and in school. Amen! What we are finding in the workplace in ethics departments is that they didn't. It's hard for me to understand, but I've accepted that responsible behavior doesn't come naturally to some people and they have to be taught. While you can't teach every situation, you can instill some basic values - values that might have saved Jayna's life.
The Bethesda police are always close-by in that area. They could have been there in less then two minutes. Imagine...a young woman and her family and friends could have been saved from such sheer, senseless tragedy. It makes me want to cry.
This topic of discussion is so utterly sad and disturbing that I almost hate to skip right on to beauty.....but, after saying a prayer for this poor girl's family I wanted to ask you,Eileen: somewhere along the way you brought up that you received a sample of Chanel Cuir de Russie and, having read the description on chanel.com, I'm wondering where you scored that sample? It sounds like an amazing perfume - but I don't dare order sight-unseen (er, scent un-smelled ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI got my sample from theperfumedcourt.com. They have all kinds of classic fragrances. You can get vintage or reformulated. I got both just to compare although I bought Chanel's current edition off the Chanel website. I absolutely adore it and it wears beautifully on my skin. I've gotten so many compliments it makes my head big! :-)
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteMe again! I forgot to say that since you do pay postage for the samples you purchase, it's always more cost effective if there are several that you are curious about or might be interested in. They have a gazillion from which to choose so I picked up several samples that a friend had recommended to me and some that were just curiosities.
The Chanel boutique that I originally contacted had a sample, but they wouldn't send it. Obviously, they wanted me to come in and shop :-(
Thank you! I will check it out; sounds like my kind of scent. I'm planning to check out tom Ford "tobacco vanille" also because, well, it's tobacco and vanilla!! Hoping that it won't be a disappointment as it sounds so fabulous!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone seen the new Chantecaille fragrance roller balls over at Neiman Marcus online? They look amazing. I'll definitely be picking up Petales! I wish they were shipping out immediately though.
ReplyDeleteHi Laetitia,
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen them in person - only the photos - but I can look today when I pop over Montgomery Mall. I'll let you know here if I find them.