With a short work week after Memorial Day, I've done little but work - and make doctors' appointments for my mother. I did get over to Neiman Marcus this week to pick up my new Le Métier de Beauté colors. I also had fun talking to a reporter from the Washington Post who is writing an article on beauty shopping.
With the Neiman Marcus Camp Gorgeous event starting this weekend (June 3-10), there's plenty of shopping to do! There are many gifts with purchase available. I'm looking forward to checking them out. Much of the time, the price of admission to "earn" the gift is extremely high, and I doubt I'll be spending much. Unless a new collection arrives, I've got everything I want - for now. Plus, there was that shopping trip to New York that left me with the I-wants for more Claudio Riaz color and more fragrance (dying for a few Frederic Malle things, plus more Xerjoff from MiN), but with little money.
Make sure to check out your local Neiman Marcus schedule for special makeup artist appearances and other events during Camp Gorgeous. There are some great ones! Here's the line-up for Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie in DC. Eddie Hernandez from Chantecaille will be there tomorrow. For a reservation if you are local, call (202) 966-9700, extension 2240. Erin Lockard, one of my favorites from Le Métier de Beauté will be there for two days! You really need that gorgeous bronze set GWP too. If you are a DC local, call (202) 966-9700, ask for Michael at extension 2258 or 2236, and book your appointment. A Laura Mercier Face event runs from June 8-9. The YSL Summer Beauty event is June 9-10. Plus there are trunk shows: Konstantino, Rena Lange, and Jason Wu. The latter may draw me in! With Father's Day coming up, which I try to ignore since I lost mine to lymphoma, there will also be gifts with purchase.
I'm sure all the stores have a line-up of events. I received event notices for Mazza and King of Prussia, so if you're a good customer, you might have too. Otherwise, call your favorite store.
I'm in the middle of placing an order at Zuneta for new Rouge Bunny Rouge colors. I'll tell you about the new introductions in a feature later today. Why do I always want everything they make? Rouge Bunny Rouge is one of my favorite brands. Since they don't introduce many new products each year, I get revved when a new collection notice arrives.
It's time for the Friday Forum, our open chat. What new products did you discover this week? Did you find any deals you couldn't resist? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers will have moved on.
I loved last week's forum. I took off for New York, and you wonderful ladies carried on, providing information, answering questions, chatting about colors. You made me smile. Thank you.
I have a question for you. Each week, I get many e-mails about contests, promotions, and new beauty releases. Do you want to see short blurbs on any of them? I don't want to become a contest site (I get so many notices), but I could select the best of the week to share with you.
Don't forget this week's giveaway contest. That limited-edition Bobbi Brown Wild Rose Shimmer Brick is extraordinary (I bought two for myself). The deadline is tomorrow, June 2, at midnight. Make sure to enter now. You never know what number random.org will call.
Photo by Best Things in Beauty
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32 comments:
Hi Charlestongirl!
My husband said to me this morning, "This was a long short week," and frankly, I couldn't agree more. By Fridays I am usually pretty tired, and today is no exception. It sounds like you are still dealing with issues regarding your mom's health. I hope you have a chance this weekend to rest a little. And I sincerely hope she is ok and still on the upswing.
This week was pretty quiet in terms of beauty purchases. I do have a serious wish list growing. On it is an Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadow. I cannot believe I don't have one of these already, after reading all the rave reviews by many beauty bloggers. I also need an eye primer. I am debating between the new Edward Bess primer, and LORAC's eye primer. I have read great things about both.
I have to say that I am still totally loving the Chanel Sable Beige bronzer from the Summer 2012 collection. It is really lovely, and provides a nice sun-kissed look. Another favorite that I have fallen back in love with is Edward Bess' All Over Seduction highlighter in Sunlight. It is, hands down, my favorite highlighter. I would love to pick one up in the other color, Afterglow.
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
Kate
I have a few things coming - and I blame Amy at Cafe Makeup for all of it! Ordered Guerlain Shine Automatique lipstick in Rose Pompon - already have it in A la Parisienne and Extrait de Rose (a sample size) and love it! Also coming is the Chanel VITALUMIÈRE AQUA Cream compact and the Chanel Blending Foundation Brush.
Regarding an eye primer, I got the Edward Bess primer, and I have to say I am TOTALLY underwhelmed! I find that I keep going back to the Nars Eye primer - my favorite over all others still!
Have a good weekend!
Ooh I can't wait to read about the new RBR items. I too was contemplating an order but I just placed an order last week at beautyhabit for some RBR items and a rather large Omorovicza order at Neiman's, I figure I better wait until next month. Does Zuneta have a special promotion for RBR?
Camp Gorgeous is up online! It's a little disappointing--maybe BG will be better :). The Chantecaille offer seems plain stingy--where are the nano gold samples? You were right about the Le Metier offer--a bright spot.
A couple of tiny flowers here as well....the lily of the valleys are finished, as are the lilacs. It was a very fragrant two weeks! Now I've just put the toms in the ground as they were getting too big for the kitchen. I was hoping to have them indoors for longer as it's still only 15-ish at night, but that won't change for a while, I think.
Nothing in new in the makeup world for me, but as far as fragrances go, I samples Alexa Lixfield No4 and fell in love. Gorgeous spicy honey with hints of flowers. Also tried IUNX Eau Baptiste and I adore it as well. That IUNX you must try, Charlestongirl. It's OB/neroli and honey (minus the urinous note honey has sometimes, eeek!)
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I second Kate's comment, Charlestongirl, be sure to take some time to relax this weekend. Between work and taking care of your mom, you've got two full time jobs. Speaking of which, I got a chuckle over the thought of you being carted off to a federal prison for breaching national security by taking pictures of lip gloss :-) The things bloggers will do to keep their readers happy! Now, that's devotion! LOL
Not too much going on as far as makeup goes. As I said last week, I'm pretty much set until the new collections begin rolling out. I did purchase Rouge Coco Shine in Effrontée which is a warm, my-lips-but-better rose. It's one of those effortless "me" colors that works with anything. I also bought By Terry Rose de Rose liquid blusher. It's such a delicate, soft pink and is perfect for those days when I want to depart from the usual So Cal sunny looks. And last, but no least, I ordered LMdB's gloss in Cebu. As lovely as Charlestongirl's swatches are, they don't begin to show how gorgeous this color is on the lips. A friend was wearing it when we met for lunch and I was so completely captivated by the dimension of the color, I called and ordered it while we were waiting for our salads to arrive! Whether it was my friend's encouragement, the gorgeous color itself, or the glass of Chardonnay, I don't think I've ever been quite that impulsive :-)
Thanks to Marina's great links (MakeUp4All), I've been on-line checking out previews of the upcoming fall makeup collections. So far, I've seen Chanel, Lancôme, Guerlain, Givanchy, YSL, and Estée Lauder. I don't think there is any one collection that has really bowled me over. I'll probably be picking an item or two from here and there. I love Chanel's promo picture for Les Essentiels but, except for the deeper lip color, it reminds me of the Enigma promo, 2010. Lancôme's Midnight Roses collection also has a déjà vu feel to it. As for Guerlain's Rouge d'Enfer Rose d'Angélique, there will be a couple new products introduced that are of interest to me. There are a bunch of new blusher duos and a new Rouge G L'Extrait de Guerlain which looks suspiciously like Chanel's Extrait de Gloss. Hmmm . . .
Well, it's time to get out and enjoy the day. I'm meeting my husband for a relaxing lunch by the lake. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
Do take time to relax, Charlestongirl, you always seem to be dashing and you are preoccupied by your mother who I hope is recovering well? You need a good rest this week-end and tp play with your beauty finds:-)
Have a gorgeous week-end everyone!
Hi, Cg. The last thing I care about is a contest. Meanwhile, I bought all 4 new Armani glosses that are a part of the summer Ecailles collection. Gloss is gloss, but these are better than most and you can see the color and I love them. Today I heard from Jenny at Bergdorf Goodman and ordered my new summer Le Metier de beaute Chauvet Pont d'arc eye kit and the Copper Leaf and Ginger Snap lippies that go with it. Saw the upcoming Chanel fall collection online and drooled over it and.......
bisbee -
Thanks for your thoughts on the Eb eye primer. I was thinking about getting it, so I appreciate your candid review. I tried the NARS primer a while back and thought it worked well. But then I switched to Too Faced, and now I am not totally thrilled with it, either.
Sigh....choices, choices.
Charlestongirl,
I forgot to mention earlier that I am looking forward to your RBR reviews. I still have yet to purchase something from that line, which is shameful considering the love and praise the line has received.
Kate
Hi Kate!
It was a long short week. That's exactly what I was thinking this morning. Mom's health continues to be upsetting. She had to see a cardiologist this week. Her heart rate is all over the place. Talked to her doctor a few hours ago. Thankfully, the doc is wonderful and gets back to me whenever I need to talk to her.
Remember how shimmery to glittery the Eyes to Kill Intense shadows are.
Both of the primers you named are great. I love Edward's right now, but you can't go wrong with LORAC.
I had to purchase both of Edward's All Over Seduction highlighters. Love them both!
Happy weekend!
Hi Bisbee, I'm not sure if you saw my feature on the Chanel compact. It's REALLY nice.
I'm sorry you don't like the primer. Most of us love it!
Hi Anahita,
Zuneta has a freeship promo, but only in the UK. I ordered all the new colors. Now I must wait for the mail to arrive. I didn't want to pay a lot for three-day shipping.
Beautyhabit is taking pre-orders on the new Cheek Wand. Zuneta has it.
Hi Charlestongirl - Just an FYI - Beautyhabit has a free shader brush with any 65.00 RBR purchase use code RBRSHADER. Have a great weekend.
Hi Eileen,
I hope your lunch was lovely. If you wore your new makeup, you looked amazing, I'm sure!
The weekend will go by too fast, I fear. I have a hair cut appointment, need to stop by to see Michael at Mazza, and have plenty of photos to take. Fortunately, sun is predicted.
I love the Rouge Coco Shine in Effrontée, but I've been wearing En Vogue a lot - and merited a few compliments. Only a few years ago, I wouldn't have imagined wearing an orange-toned shade.
I'm glad you got your Cebu. It's so pretty - and you can't really see the shimmer in my photos. I wrote to LMdB, but have not yet received an answer. Perhaps they cut out early on a Friday afternoon.
I agree with you on the upcoming collections. None of them have bowled me over - yet. However, I'm still waiting for some favorite lines, so I expect it will be an expensive fall season.
Happy weekend!
Hi Clarisse!
Although you are in France, not the UK, we are all very interested in the hoopla over the Queen's 60th. Can you imagine? A four-day holiday?
How is your new president being received? What about the first lady?
Hi Nemo,
I'm all lined up for Chauvet Pont d'Arc when it arrives. It's going to be gorgeous - and sell out.
Hope you are having a great time with your new goodies.
Thanks much for the answer on the blurbs!
Kate,
I adore my RBR foundation. You might want to try it. :) I will warn that it's great for my dry skin, but I don't know how it would be on others.
My new things from England should arrive late next week or the early the following week.
Thank you, Beauty Bug!! I think I'll go shopping. :)
Hey there, Laetitia!
I need to go check out the online info. Thanks! So much to do, so little time.
I'll do it now, until the tornadoes circling DC head my way.
Hi Lovethescents!
I was going to send my friend to IUNX when he went to Paris, but at the last minute, I called off the spree. Decided it would have to wait.
There's always another time, and you and I have a mutual Facebook friend who volunteered to help me with Paris fragrances. Since I have no children, she and I might hit it off, LOL.
Lovethescents,
Readers might not realize that you were citing Celsius temperatures. That's what you use in Canada, right?
The Chauvet Pont d'arc eye kit is here, as is the lip one, and they are on their way to me now. I love that the eye kit is named after the cave paintings discovered in Dec. 1994, the oldest yet. Wow! Plus, it is terribly romantic, too.
Nemo,
Where? BG and NM have not yet received them.
toughdoc and Eileen,
Thank you Toughdoc and Eileen for your daily cleanser suggestions! My hairdresser suggested Josie Maran Argan Oil Cleanser. I've been using it for a few days. So far, so good. I bought my daughter the Clarisonic for Christmas. Once the argan oil cleanser is finished, I'll purchase a sensitive bristle head and see how that one works.
Hi Charlestongirl,
Your NYC trip looked fun! Internet friends, shopping, drinks... Oh! You looked so pretty and stylish! Glad you were able to take the day for yourself.
On the beauty front, I was tempted to purchase Illamasqua neutral palette. The highlighter seemed too chalky for my skintone. Instead, I purchased laura mercier matte eye shadows in cafe au lait and vanilla nuts. I needed something matte since I don't have any.
Getting microdermabrasion done tomorrow. Going to try to get my zen on since I literally break out into hives thinking about it. Haven't had a microdermabrasion in years since starting Refissa. I took a break from Retin A, so I thought I'd do it before I restart it again. I must see if I still have a tube of Skinceutical's Epidermal Repair to use afterwards.
How's your mom doing. Wasn't she experiencing some swelling? If so, ask her cardiologist if manual lymph drainage massage is safe for her. It might help to reduce the swelling and pain associated with it.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks for the suggestion, Wendy. She's taking Lasix, but it's not working as fast as I'd like. I will ask.
Remember, cleanser should be mild. As mentioned, it doesn't stay on your skin for long, so don't go overboard on expensive ones. I do, but don't follow my lead! Actually, some of my fave expensive ones have been gifts.
For oil cleansers, I actually like Bobbi Brown's the most. There are, however, others that are just as good.
Lately, I use the creamy John Masters Organics one I wrote up not long ago. In the morning, I use the Natura Bissé NB-Ceutical one.
You can't go wrong with Laura Mercier. Such pretty makeup!
As for the microdermabrasion, be prepared for red skin! Ask your "provider" to recommend (or give) you an after-treatment. Most of them have samples. Good luck. Let us know in two weeks how you liked it. Next week, you may be too red to know. The procedure is too rough for my skin. I'd be apoplectic about it. Hope it goes well.
New York was fun! I was just talking with Dustin. He took off Saturday for the first time in eons, and Gaia and I showed up. We were all bummed. The day was fun, though, and I'm so glad I went.
Happy weekend!
I actually met Dustin at the King of Prussia NM during their beauty event. Unfortunately, he was caught in traffic getting out of NYC and didn't make it to the store in time for my facial/makeup. I met him when Sara was finishing up my makeup.
My face gets very red from microdermabrasion too. I will be a hermit this weekend! It will be nice to get samples instead of having to purchase more product.
Thank you for the cleanser suggestions. I'll have to see if I can get a sample of BB's oil cleanser. I've tried LM's oil cleanser... It was alright. My mother-in-law loves it though.
Your mom might not be a good candidate for manual lymph drainage if the swelling is heart related. It can move too much blood in addition to lymphatic fluid. Her cardiologist will be the best to ask. Best wishes!!!
Hi Wendy,
Glad you've found a nice cleanser. In truth, if I had to pay full price for my SK-II, I'd use something else. I have a friend, though, whose mom owns a spa in Korea so I get a very generous discount on my rose scented cleansing ritual :-)
I hope all goes well with your microdermabrasion. Personally, I never had any problem with it causing redness for more than a day, but then we are all different. I also think, in part, it has to do with how aggressive your practitioner is. Definitely dig out that Epidermal Repair cream and your skin should respond quickly. All the beta-glucan and centella asiatica really help to quell the redness. Because I use retinoic acid nightly and have IPL every year, I always have a huge "Pro" sized (8 oz.) tube on hand for post procedure or any time my skin is feeling and looking stressed.
I really like the Clarisonic, but I found that using it while also using retinoic acid eventually over-exfoliated my skin and caused it to be super sensitive. Something had to go. Since the retinoic acid exfoliates and is the main player in my anti-aging regime, I gave the Clarisonic to my son who loves it. It's great for guys with heavy beards. Since using it, my son doesn't get ingrown hairs and he gets a closer shave.
Hi Bisbee,
You're going to love the new Chanel brush. It does a great job applying foundation and is really wonderful at applying liquid and cream blushers, highlighters, and bronzers. I use mine almost every day and plan on buying a second one when Nordstrom has its anniversary sale. Our Chanel counter is planning an event and I want to be eligible for all the goodies :-) I'm a die hard Hakuhodo and Suqqu fan, but these new Chanel brushes are creeping into my collection. They're very nice, indeed.
Hi Charletongirl,
I laughed when I read your comment about fall being expensive. So are holiday, spring, summer, and all the inter-season collections! LOL Although one single collection hasn't commandeered my attention, that's not to say that there aren't plenty of beautiful things to pique my interest. And we haven't even seen anything yet from the likes of LM, Nars, D&G, CdP, Chantecaille, etc. Ah-oh! I better start saving :-)
I'm glad this week is over, it's actually been a rough 2 weeks personally so I thought I deserved a treat. I bought myself the other Korres powder in Mykonos and the Guerlain Pucci bronzer which is great on me actually. I was surprised to find that the bronzer portion actually is the color I naturally tan (or close to it). I was very happy about that.
I bought it at Sephora and a SA wanted to help me pick a lipstick. I mentioned that I like pinks, roses and mauves so she handed me a coral lipstick and then a beige lipstick. hmm Unless my eyes betray me, pinks, roses and mauves are not beige or coral! lol
Ah well, I'm excited about the new Rouge Bunny Rouge items, I think the blush stick is something I'd like to try. I guess while I wait out the monsoon outside my window I'll shop. ;-) Oh, and be teased by checking out promotional photos of fall collections so I can plan ahead.
Have a wonderful and not too soggy weekend everyone!
Oooo, Eileen! My nephew is stationed in Korea. Any suggestions on what he can pick up for me before he comes back to the states?
My last practitioner was very aggressive. This is a different lady. Hopefully, mine will be like yours and only last a day. Crossing all my moveable body parts.
Have a great weekend!
Hi Wendy,
There are some outstanding Korean skin care lines like Sulwasoo, but unless its something you know and love and you're getting a real bargain, I'd concentrate on things like Addiction eyeshadows (awesome colors), Suqqu brushes (Hakuhodo is easy to get in the US), various Asian exclusives, etc. They're not cheap. A luxury brand is a luxury brand, so I'd focus on things that are difficult/impossible to get in the US. How often have you read a blogger's comment, "Thanks to a friend, I was able to get . . . ". If I had an Asian connection, I would have gotten Chanel's Fleur de Lotus collection months ago. Now I'm hoping it will make its way to the US this summer like Rose Envolée did last year.
Apropos your microdermabrasion, tell your lady about your past experience. She can use a lighter setting. Good luck! You're going to be gorgeous :-)
I'm sorry that your mom is having so many health issues. I hope you get to relax this weekend.
I received three Dolce and Gabbana Monica lipsticks, and I love them. The colors are vibrant, lasting, and they don't bleed. I am very pleased with them.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Hi Charlestongirl,
Yes,we do, indeed, use Celsius in Canada. I am going to spearhead this mission to have the US join the rest of the world in the use of the metric system. It'll all start here, on BTiB :-))
We do have a mutual "friend", naughty you! Although regardless of children, I think you still might be concerned about the Bipolar cheeks :-)
I really must send a sample of Eau Frappee. Please remind my Swiss cheese-like brain!
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