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Friday, November 2, 2012

The Friday Forum - November 2

One of the prettiest photos I saw as Sandy moved into New York was the one above (see update below - turns out if was fake). Who could have known that the storm would leave this in its wake.

Our week has been dominated by Sandy, but it will be years - if ever - before some recover. The pictures and stories have left me with incredible sadness for the many victims. There's not much more we can say. About all we can do from afar is remember to help those in need by contributing to the charities that are providing aid. The needs - for humans and animals - are great, and we can send money, even if we can't personally send fuel or pump out basements. Our governments, federal and state, must do that. I think they are up to the job. Katrina taught us many lessons; one is the importance of the role of the federal government as we begin to recover from natural disasters. It's important to all of us.

You know I'm not a big fan of celebrity spokespeople, but I got a charge out of Julianne Moore's comments after Sandy. The recently appointed L’Oréal Paris spokeswoman told WWD she had, "ventured uptown from her powerless 11thStreet apartment to use her brother-in-law’s car as a charging station for her cell phone. I’m sitting in a car on the Upper East Side with my phone plugged into a cigarette lighter." I felt a kinship with Julianne. She's one of us! She will be a great asset for L’Oréal.

It was a slow beauty week for me. Plenty came in, but we've had cloud cover and occasional drizzle almost continuously - the aftermath of Sandy - preventing me from taking photos. Charlie is still hanging close, trying not to leave my side. The little darling kept me warm during my own power outage, spreading out from my waist to my knees to sleep - continuously. He was a welcome heat source as I napped under blankets trying to pass the time. He seems to have missed the part about the heat coming back on. He still wants to cuddle continuously. It's pretty cute. I got my power back at 10:00 pm Tuesday. Wednesday morning, I awakened to find him cuddled near my neck, and I had both my arms wrapped around him in a big "C." I have no memory of doing that overnight.

Sephora's Friends & Family V.I.B. sale will start on November 8. As many of you know, they have already had the original F&F sale - you had to know a Sephora employee really well to get the discount code. At first Sephora had announced that there would be no traditional F&F sale this year. They must have caved. I was certainly unhappy to read the sale was off. I know no Sephora sales associates. I shop online, spend a small fortune, and seldom bother with the store. How would I have ever found someone to give me a code?

In the interests of full disclosure, a blogger who belongs to the Beauty Blog Coalition works at Sephora and shared her code. I was able to order once last week because she was very generous. Not every V.I.B. has been as lucky.

Make sure to order early when the sale starts. Often, the most desirable items sell out. They will be restocked, but not until the sale ends. Do you plan to order? What's on your list?

Last night, I was playing a silly word game with myself. Use a beauty brand name (or part of one), combine it with another word, limit yourself to five syllables, and coin a word or term. Want to play? My favorites were Métier mania, Guerlove, and Lauder Luscious.

Let's talk about your week of beauty. It's time for the Friday Forum, our open chat. I love this part of our week. Have you selected your favorite holiday collection - and purchased a few new treasures? 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.

Don't forget there are two giveaway contests this week.
  • Sephora Favorites in the Glow set at this link.
  •  An impromptu giveaway of M·A·C's Baby Blooms Lip Bag here.
The deadline for both is Saturday, November 3, at midnight. Good luck!

Update: As you can read in the comments, the photo at the top was man-made.  Too bad. It's a really cool photo. I had seen a version with a cat in the clouds. That one was cute. I'm torn between leaving it up and taking it down.

Photos courtesy of times.com, cms.montgomerycollege.edu, and a photo provided to WWD by Julianne Moore's spokespeople

29 comments:

  1. Charlestongirl, I loved reading about you and Charlie snuggling!Our pets are true family members. I love coming home each night to our yellow Lab, Honey. Animals are such a blessing in our lives. I hope that I will always have at least one to share my life with.

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  2. Hi there-respectuflly, that is a photoshopped picture of the storm over the statue of liberty. I agree, it is a pretty photograph. The storm was coming from a different direction, not the west, and the chop started in the river at least a day before Sandy's arrival. As always, love your blog...

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  3. CG - interesting to find out that Julianne Moore lives on the same street as my stepdaughter...although I'm sure her apartment is quite different from the 3rd floor TINY walk-up we visted a few weeks ago! Fabulous neighborhood though!

    I keep reading more stories that bring me to tears...especially about loss of life. It's terrible that so many have lost everything...but they will eventually replace things...the woman whos children were swept from her arms will never be the same.

    On a much lighter note - I am looking forward to the VIP sale - I have to check my cart to make sure I have a few "must haves" in there. I was able to get a code fo the F&F sale, thanks to a lovely SA who posts on the Purse Forum, so I did place a small order. This one will also be relatively small - in fact, I'll have to think hard about what I "need"!

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  4. Hi CG. I was glad to hear you, Charlie and your mom were ok this week. I live directly north of NYC and the damage is terrible. Reading and hearing about all the loss of property and the tragic loss of life makes me feel so grateful to be well and safe.

    On a beauty note, I was supposed to go into the Tom Ford beauty anniversary event where I was supposed to be parted with a lot of money, but wasn't able to travel anywhere due to the storm. Well, there is that, at least.

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  5. Hi CG,

    Glad that everything is almost back to normal over there. A lot of words can be said, but since I am not much of a verbal person, would you accept hugs instead ? Part of my family is stays there, they are fine, but I was worried about my cousin who is a 1 year old cutie.

    On a absolutely fun note, I recently adopted a 40 day old kitten, pictures are on my facebook page if you'd like to see, I named her Cleo. She's a beauty. She loves cuddling and playing a lot. She's just teething,s o she bites too ! But she is adorable.

    On the beauty front, I have been playing with neutrals lately and turning more for mauve-red lipstick shades, like Chanel rouge coco Venise. I am so tempted to splurge at Zuneta on EB and LMDB, but I just am not able to pay the high shipping costs. I lost my shipment the last time on normal shipping.


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  6. OMG I am so sorry ! The prompt below to type something publish comments is malfunctioning ! I am so sorry ! :(

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  7. Got a few of the CHANEL holiday items late yesterday. The quad, the duo, the blush, the Malice polish and the lighter lipstick. There is no staff any longer for my CHANEL counter at Macy's in Okemos, Michigan. This is a shame and a black mark on the Macy's bigwigs there. What are they thinking? But kindly SAs from other departments called me when the stuff came in and up I went, driving around 100 round trip. They are smarter than their bosses.

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  8. Dear Cgirl and all those affected by Sandy, my heart goes out to all of you. I wish you all the very best of health and wellness as you get through this time, no matter how greatly, or not at all, Sandy has affected you.

    I feel strange writing about beauty during moments of sadness, but this reminds me of a patient I cared for this week. New terminal cancer diagnosis. She probably has a month to live, at best. She's very weak, poor breathing, etc, but she has whispered to her sister that she wants her 'rouge and lipstick'. My kind of woman <3

    Meanwhile, I"ve been testing this Caudalie spot whitener on my little sun spot, for about 2-3 months now. Ineffective. No change at all.

    Have a restful weekend if you can.

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  9. Hi CG,
    I am so glad you and yours are ok after the storm. As a west-coaster, I feel so helpless in these situations. I've been trying to focus on what I can do and being thankful for what I have. I really hope the recovery continues as quickly as possible for everyone affected.

    A note: that picture is a fake. The actual storm is real, but was taken in another place a few years ago. You can read more here:
    http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/nystorm.asp

    No new purchases this week. I am looking forward to the Sephora sale. I need to stock up on moisturizer, and hopefully have room for a few treats as well. We'll see!

    I hope everyone has a lovely, safe, warm weekend.

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  10. Hey Jessi, did you see the one in which they Photoshopped a cat's face into the clouds? Thanks! Didn't know this one was faked too.

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  11. Hey thanks, CGirl. I knew the one with the cat in it was fake, but thought this one was real. Pretty nice picture. Too bad it was shopped.

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  12. Hi grlnxdor!

    Our pets are family. Charlie is sitting on my lap as I write. :)

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  13. Hi Bisbee,

    The story of the two children really got to me yesterday. I cannot imagine the pain.

    I'm going to go browsing tonight at Sephora. You never know what they may have received in the last two days. :)

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  14. Hi Bellyhead,

    I'm glad to hear you are safe. So many aren't.

    I'm not sure if Sandy did your wallet a favor or not. :)

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  15. Hi CG, I am so glad that you and your family (human and animal) are safe. My fiends and relatives on the east coast are safe too. They just had to endure a few hours of power loss. My heart and prayers go out to those whose lives will never be the same again becuase of Sandy.

    On a beauty note, this week I received in the mail the Tatcha oil cleanser and rice enzyme exfoliant and I love them. I bought them after reading about the line on your blog and they are great products. I also bought Malice nail polish from the Chanel holiday collection and today I placed an order from Barneys for the Chantecaille highlighting powder you featured yesterday and the Armani Holiday palette number
    1. I can't wait to get them but expect there could be a delay due to the storm's aftermath.

    Have a great weekend everyone!

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  16. Hi Swathi,

    No prob. I deleted all those deleted comments. It happens. :)

    Aren't kittens fun? I envy you. I'd love to get a little Charlie, but Savvy might claw me to death.

    Wait for one of Zuneta's free international shipping events. They have them every so often.

    Thanks! Now we are expecting a Nor'easter next week. Scary.

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  17. Wow, Nemo, I'll bet they are looking for someone. No doubt an SA quit, and gave minimal notice.

    Have fun with the new Chanel!

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  18. Hi Lovethescents,

    I don't know how you do it. Working in an ICU would kill me. I'd leave every day crying.

    We are safe and well here (for the most part), but those in NY, NJ, CT, and surrounds are not. They need our help. There's a telethon tonight, with "The Boss" and others. I hope they raise a lot of money.

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  19. Trying the new line of cosmetics/skincare by 29 Cosmetics! Why not? HA-
    Ordered a new Chanel blush from the holiday collection...and so on!

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  20. Don't get me wrong, Charlestongirl, I cry a lot too! That's why my Armani waterproof pencil is a crucial part of my makeup wardrobe.

    I hope they raise a lot of money too.

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  21. There were a lot of fun photoshopped photos relating to this storm! My friends and I had fun with some of them, it was a welcome distraction in the middle of the chaos...best to you!

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  22. I'm always uncertain every time the VIB event comes around.. I never know if I'd get the discount code or not.. sometimes I just never get the post card or the email. Who knows... the date is getting pretty close and I never received anything in the mail.

    I'm really glad Bloomberg cancelled the marathon. (if any new yorker or non-new yorker are even interested in this news.) It's been a heated discussion for the past day or two. This morning the newspaper posted pictures of massive generators in central park that could be used to provide electricity to people still without power.. yet they were going to use them for the marathon. Let's just say people were very very upset. I just got power back yesterday. I walked around my neighborhood this afternoon... honestly I never expected Sandy to be this bad. I sort of assumed it'd be Irene all over again with people hyping up the whole thing... It's really sad and unbelievable to me that places I've been to as a child and as an adult will never be the same again.

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  23. Also I've been craving a good latte and all of my favorite coffee shops (sadly they're all in downtown manhattan) are still without power..

    Glad you and your mother are doing well. I have a lot of friends in MD and they all seem to be doing okay post-storm.

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  24. Hi AZ,

    I live in So Cal, but I was absolutely shocked when Bloomberg said continuing with the marathon would be good for the people of New York. With the rising death toll; so many people feeling lost and forgotten; homes, businesses, and lives shattered; how could he possibly think for even one brief moment that it would be better to use resources to accomodate a group of runners rather than the suffering citizens of his city. I was so pleased when the outcry caused him to reverse his decision about the marathon. As for some of the runners who were whining about the money spent flying to NY, at least they have a home to which they can return. Unbelievable!

    Sorry for that rant, everyone.

    As for beauty, I can't really think of anything that I need or want from Sephora other than some Jack Black lip balm and JB protein booster serum. I'm actually much more interested in Nordstrom's Mascara Madness tomorrow, the Black Friday Chanel quads and new volume mascara (very nice, by the way), and the 10x points day that will be coming up at the end of November. I've actually started a holiday shopping list for that event :-)

    Wishing everyone a restful and peaceful weekend!

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  25. Hi everyone,

    It's been a quiet week that I spent mostly at home due to the storm. Highlight of the week was the delivery by Fedex of a new Tom Ford lipstick in Diabolique. Yes, Fedex braved the storm aftermath to bring a girl her red lipstick! lol I also received the holiday set of Tarte SmolderEyes that I order which, at least when swatched on my arm, do not budge.

    To be honest, I'm usually much more cheery after I receive makeup but I'm pretty down with everything that has happened here in NYC. I have the most ties with Staten Island and I know those areas that were damaged and the loss is incredible. We have a lot of person to person networks going on to collect items families need to supplement what the Red Cross can't provide. Also yesterday, going into lower Manhattan was sad on the shuttle bridge. Everything was completely dark except for the occasional police spotlight. At least I can say on my 4hr trip home from work (let's not discuss that) some lights were on in the Bowery! yay! Today I think almost all are lit again.

    The whole tri state area took an incredible hit but we'll make it through...if they bring us gas! You don't realize how much you use certain things until they are not around.

    Well, now I'll try to look forward to the VIB sale. Haven't gotten anything except a card for a one on one personal beauty advisor consultation. lol I might just do it for the fun of it and see what they do to me at Sephora. Fortunately there's a Barnes & Noble next door with a bathroom where I can wipe off anything ridiculous!

    Hope your weekend is peaceful and restorative.

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  26. Hi AZ,

    Those generators infuriated me. Imagine, each could power hundreds of homes. Bloomberg's refusal to call off that marathon until the last minute was worse than insensitive. It was stupid. If I had been a runner who spent thousands to get there, I'd be hopping mad.

    I'm glad you got your power back. I've got friends in New York who are still waiting. Then there are those who lost their homes - everything - or their loved ones. I feel like I'm grieving with them.

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  27. Hi Jo,

    You and others have convinced me I must order that TATCHA cleansing oil. I'll order from TATCHA. Barneys NY shipping is horrendously slow as a rule. Can't imagine how long it would take now.

    I'm glad you are safe and well.

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  28. Hey there JEM! 29 Cosmetics is a nice line. I have a limited selection.

    Those Chanel brushes are very nice. I think you'll be pleased. I ought to feature the ones I purchased. I forgot. I'd love to have the new brush set for the holidays. Wonder if I can talk Chanel into sending me one. LOL

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  29. Hi Evelyn,

    Sending hugs. Gas is on the way, courtesy of the Defense Department. They are sending tankers to give out 10 gallons of fuel free, but that may be in New Jersey. Cuomo has lifted the tax on inbound tankers, so the supply should free up as soon as the stations get power back. That has been the biggest impediment to gas stations - and thus the public.

    I understand the lack of excitement. We've all been putting things in perspective over the last few days. I got a few boxes that remain unopened. I'll open them when I need a shot of happiness.

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