Sniffa/NYC trip report:

Cavewoman and I went to NYC on saturday to split time at the Sniffa, finish our holiday shopping and visit with friends.
It was a whirlwind.
There was not enough time to get everything accomplished but we managed to do some financial damage, meet new friends and reconnect with old ones.

The day began at Barneys. We arrived late on the scene. The first person I spotted was Connie. She looked beyond fabulous. Parisjasmal would have been so proud of her sexy jeans. She was wearing Snow Fudge and it smelled out of this world good. I am not a gourmand fan but this fragrance might be the one to change my mind. It is more than a chocolate based scent.

The rest of the Barneys time became a whirlwind of activity. I met Stanzi,Twizler& Lenotchka, saw Mr Artie, hugged liongirl(the sniffa organizer), angelcat, desiree, chrisskins, lupa &Karenska, and finally met my blogger buddy Kristin from Beauty Addict.
http://beautyaddict.blogspot.com/
Kristen is fabulous and I adored her instantly. She posted about the day on her blog and she wrote that she felt like she had known us forever. On the bus ride back to Ohio Cavewoman was saying the exact same thing. It was like she was always part of our gang.
Our crazy perfume loving gang!

The next stop was a quick stop to the Caron boutique to take advantage of their 20 % off sale. I decided on French Can Can and a dusting powder called Venitienne. We met up with Chattykathy(looking like a ice queen goddess), spent quality time with the lovely Lenotchka(Yelena) who was very chic and had a fab bee pin, and explored the urns. As we were leaving I got to see lovely Farran in a jawdropping coat and purse. She pretty much was one of the main highlights of the trip. She is one of my friends that I adore.

The next trip was to TAK. We did some shopping and I wandered the store feeling lost without John Henry. The store will never be the same for me.
I got to spend more time with Lupa(who has made me proud once again. I turn into Teri Shields when I am around her. I raved about her fragrances and her accomplishments like Rosalind Russell in Gypsy. )

We went downstairs and ate lunch with a few friends. I love the tea room in the basement of TAK. I think it is a hidden jewel of NYC and my personal favorite place to eat. Everthing is so delicious and presented in such a beautiful way. Like works of art.
I had my usual raw tuna steak salad. I truly did want to order something new but just could not resist it. I cleaned my plate. Who knew raw tuna could set my heart ablaze and make me deliriously happy?
This trip I ordered a rose tea and was instantly smitten. I purchased a bag of it before I left.
According to the card in the bag:
"Takashimaya Rose is a wonderfully sophisticated chinese black tea blended especially for us with exquisite roses from China. The flowers impart a complex taste, a rich smell and a pleasant appearance".

Our next stop was Bergdorf Goodman. It was a madhouse.
I had never seen it so bustling.
I repurchased my chantecaille future skin foundation and the new stick fond de teint. I was not waited on once again even though I had my BERGDORF credit card in my hand and a list in the other. It is like I am invisible at that darn counter. Once again I gave them my business even though I should just buy all my chantecaille products at Barneys.
All the anger went away when I was treated lovely at JAR and saw the dashing Tom at Etro. JAR deserves their own seperate post. Huge thanks to Tania for insisting I sit down and test the fragrances. The scents are amazing and way out of my price range. However they are worth coveting and wishful lemming. My personal favorite was called Diamond Waters. It was around $400.
Was it worth $400?
I think it might be.
It was like nothing I had ever smelled before.
Cavewoman was not a fan. Throughout the day I would thrust my wrist under her nose and say..."Whatcha think about it now?"
She nixed it each time.

We strolled through the Bergdorf handbag section and were not impressed with any of the offerings. They had Chloe paddingtons, the Marc Jacobs velvet bag with the leather roses(impressive in person), some Bottegas and no YSL horn handle bags(or I would have caved!). The highlight at Bergdorfs was the spotting of Verdura cuffs.
Bergdorfs had the best holiday windows. They were lavish and just mindblowing. They are worth visiting before Macys or Barneys.

Next stop was SAKS. We barely survived the crowds.
I think we lasted 5 minutes. I spotted deantiquer and other muaers. I got a few quick hugs and we were off. I never had a chance for a John Henry hug.
I did smell P Diddy fragrance. This scent is not worth the huge price tag. It was unremarkable. I felt bad considering that I like him.
Even though SAKS was swamped....I was greeted and asked to be waited on everywhere I went. The NYC SAKS store is the most friendly and professional of all the SAKS stores.

The next stops are a blur. We had dinner at Arnos. I had a fantastic rissoto.
The staff at Arnos were all charming older men that told each of us that we had ordered beautifully. There is nothing like being told that you have chosen well.
I loved the old charm of the place and the food was wonderful.
I give it high raves!

The end stop was the Sephora close to Macys. This one was clean, had all of their testers in good condition, and was well stocked. I caved on Shiseido Hydro powder eye shadow in whitelights. Actually we all caved on it. Each and every one of us. We cleaned out their stock.
If you like a glittery eye it is a must have purchase.

So overall the day was a blast but was too short. I missed so many muaers(kateymae and cjblue) and wished there was more time to chat with my favorites.
I do not regret not caving on a Guerlain. I will spill the beans on that one later.

I promise to post more on the day this week. I was able to sniff the strange invisible perfumes and was charmed by the sales clerk who looked exactly like John Galliano.
Like a twin seperated at birth.
I should have taken the mans picture.
It was uncanny.