photograph from my favorite movie The Women.

2 shopping reports from Ohio:

The first shopping adventure took place in Cleveland at Beachwood mall.
Cavewoman, me and Miss Griff met in our local Nordstorm fragrance department for sniffing. We sniffed the new Laura Mercier Amber scent. Hermes does not have to worry. They still hold the title for best amber fragrance. LM's amber is very weak and muddled. Patti and Leah are still trying to decide if they should cave on Lancome's Climat. They tested it again and it smelled fab on them. I have no idea what they are waiting for. It must not be love.
Patti did finally get her bottle of My Queen. I tested it again and still have to say that I prefer Barbara Bui. There is just something about the Bui.
Griffie caved on Omni and some Kiehl oils. I have never bothered with the oils until I sniffed the vanilla on L's wrist. I am under contract not to discuss this fragrance because it will cause a frenzy on MUA.
So I am mum on the subject.

Anyway...Valentino's V is a nice woods based fragrance. It did not slay me so it will not make it onto my vanity.
Griff and I did enjoy testing the new Jo Malone's Pomegranate fragrance. It was available at saks. It was very autumn-ish with leaves, incenses and a juicy pomegrante thrown in the mix. Cavewoman wrinkled her nose and was not a fan.
I have never had good luck with the lasting power of Jo Malone's fragrances so I walked away from the bottle.

At Sephora we tested Baby Phat. It contains an impressive list of notes but it just did nothing for me. It did not inspire passion or hatred.

At Nordstorm I began my search for foundations again. I had taken a rest from my search since I had fallen in love with my Chantecaille. My relationship with Chantecaille is complicated. It was not love at first sight. It was a makeup relationship that grew over time.
Last week I left my chantecaille jar at my friend Mary's house. I reached for my Laura Mercier and instantly regretted it. I needed a foundation fast.
I discovered two at Nordstorm.

1. Chanel's Fluide de teint eclat source de Jeunesse
aka satin smooting fluid makeup:

It is a oil based foundation that glides on like silk. Great coverage with a flawless finish. I found a great match with 20 Clair Cameo.
Oil based foundations perform the best on my skin. They are harder to find so this was an exciting discovery.

2. Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra:

Great lasting power, velvet finish, great coverage, does not settle into lines and has a great fresh look. It is around $35. I thought this was a great price considering what I have spent in the past.
This is a water based foundation that performs like a fine high end oil based foundation.

Shopping with these two ladies is always a blast. We shop well together. We finish each other sentences and gush over the same things. I can not wait for the next cleveland get together.

Today I went with Patti to our local Kaufmanns in Boardman Ohio. It was a beauty product trunk show. The show was pretty crazy with 600 women in a very small space. The beauty sale associates threw freebies in the crowd and the ladies went insane. It was a strange scene.
My favorite speaker was the Chanel rep who was very charming and funny. She refused to throw anything because she could not handle a Chanel product hitting the floor. Instead she just invited everyone to visit her department and she would personally hand them a freebie. The Chanel makeovers looked incredible. Gorgeous skin looks with great bold lips. I will have to try to get a Chanel makeover later down the road.

My makeover was scheduled at the new MAC counter. My makeover was a success. She did a smokey purple eye with Trax, Seedy Pearl, Sketch and Black Tied. I will never be able to do it again...but I purchased all the products. I finally splurged on a MAC brush. It is 224 and is beloved by so many muaers. I also bought my first cream blush called Brit Wit, Prep+Prime(This primer is better than Nars) , Plum Dandy lipstick and Star Nova lustre glass.

The two fragrance highlights of the day were Brittany Spears Fantasy and Lancome's Hypnose. Fantasy is a huge surprise. I am not a foody fragrance fan but this one takes the cake...or the cupcake.
One of the notes is a cupcake heart accord. I am guessing this is the slightly uncooked gooey center. The drydown is what makes this foody scent lead the pack. Impressive and sexy. I am surprised that this is not a bigger hit.

Hypnose is not available yet but cavewoman managed to have a national rep spray some from her lab bottle. It is like Monyette Paris but with a more beach vibe. This one is great and FBW. Patti mentioned bringing back 2000 et une Rose and received a very bored response. Damn those Lancomers. It is now my goal to speak to someone in a position of power in that company. I have no idea how I will do it. But it needs to be done.

Another amazing day with the cavewoman!
Have a great weekend everyone!