Le Metier de Beaute at Nordstrom and Julie Hewett Sale- Online Shopping News

Enabling ahead!

Best news of the week: Le Metier de Beaute is now available online from Nordstrom. The color swatches are better than the ones on Neiman and Bergdorf sites, so that's a real upgrade. They have everything, from the miracle that is Peau Vierge to LMdB superb makeup brushes. Especially worth noting: the Face Kaleidoscope. It has everything you need- powder, highlighter, bronzer and the gorgeous Echo blush in one palette. I have most of these items separately, but having them in one kit is even better. I actually wish I had it right now- I have some traveling coming up and this would be perfect.

Many of you emailed me lately asking what was going on with Julie Hewett. The web site is back, everything seems to be in stock and there's quite a bit to explore. Julie Hewett has great red lipsticks for just about anyone- including those who are scared of red. I love her cream cheek colors and the Hue Colour in Newsprint Bleu has been a staple in my makeup wardrobe for ages. There's also a little sale going on until the 7th: 25% off on Bijou lipstick in Jacqueline (sheer fuchsia) and Duo Blush Palette in Carmine/Coral. Use code SSA2010 at checkout.

Tarte emphasEYES Liquid Eyeliner (Brown Bronze)

Sometimes it's hard to find your way through the distribution maze of Tarte Cosmetics. The products are sold at Sephora, Henri Bendel, QVC and the company's own website (by the way, there's a 30% discount code on their front page that's valid until July 5th). Each venue seems to have a bunch of products that are not available anywhere else and following what to buy where takes more mental energy than I'm willing to spare for one brand. It's too bad, really, because Tarte offers some great items. My sister is a devoted fan of the Park Avenue Princess bronzer and I just sent her the Kabuki brush which she loves.

As an eyeliner addict, I've been very curious about Tarte's various formats and formulas. Once again, each venue seems to carry different items. The inner rim pencils come directly from Tarte's website, Sephora has the emphasEYES aqua-gel pencils, QVC mostly sells trios of colors and who knows what's available at Bendel- they don't have e-commerce. Seriously.

This arte emphasEYES Liquid Eyeliner is sold at Bendel and was part of a recent GWP there (QVC has this in a trio of colors- black, brown and navy). The color you see here is Brown Bronze and I like it a lot- it's perfect on a summer morning but still dark enough to provide good definition. The pen is small but easy to control and the tip is precise. Staying power is great- morning to night without smudging or flaking even in humid weather (I always use a primer).

Bottom Line: Next time I'm in Henri Bendel I'll probably get this in Navy.

Tarte emphasEYES Liquid Eyeliner ($21 for a single full size or $32.76 for a trio) can be found on QVC or in store at Henri Bendel.

Photos by me.

I Love Serge

I was trolling the summer sale on Olivolga, my favorite online destination for funky jewelry, when I saw this ring by The French Factory. I'm pretty sure they don't refer to our favorite perfume prophet (who would probably strongly disapprove of this kind of nonsense), but it still amused me to no end. 

46.40 € on olivolga.com

A Perfume Shopping Companion- My Little PSA

I don't believe in buying anything, including perfume, just because it's on sale. That said, there are a couple of things worth the savvy shopper's attention in the current Parfum1.com promotion code (20% off with code TWENTYOFFPW valid until May 9). Here's what I spotted:

Best Deals I Could Find-
Cuir de Lancome and La Mome by Balmain are both discontinued (the latter was a limited edition to begin with).    Even before discount they are incredibly priced ($30.75 for Cuir, $22.50 La Mome), and the 20% off makes both an incredible bargain.
EnJoy by Jean Patou is also in this group. $22.75 before discount.

Serge Lutens-
Uncle Serge is not exactly bargain basement material, so finding his perfumes at discount is always nice. Not all the scents are available, but take note that Santal Blanc, which is rumored to be pulled from the export line into the Paris exclusive range next year is in stock ($108 before the additional discount).

Other niche brands-
Bois 1920, Atelier Flou, Il Profumo, Les Parfums de Rosine, Comme Des Garcons

Also worth mentioning- Lalique Encre Noire (the men's version is by far superior), Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon Parfum and EDP (just skip the EDT), Jil Sander Pastel series (I've never tried them, but I know a few readers who are fans, a handful of Annick Goutal scents, Comptoir Sud Pacifique and Tom Ford for Men.

With $1 of each sale going to ASPCA, finding a bargain here feels even better. Just don't buy unsniffed. Seriously. There's still time to get a sample before you commit to a full bottle.

Are you ordering anything? Do you have any other tips?

And, no, I am in no way shape or form affiliated with Parfum1 (or any other retailer, for that matter). You'll notice I don't link to their site and I don't get a commission or any incentive. All links in this post lead to my own reviews.

A Quick Shopping Tip- Neiman Marcus vs. Bergdorf

You probably got the email newsletters about the 40% sale going on at both Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Since the Bergdorf one was at the top of my inbox, I clicked on it first to check what DVF items they had on sale. I found a top I really liked so I proceeded. During checkout, I realized they were about to charge me $16 for shipping and I couldn't find a free shipping coupon anywhere.

Now, Bergdorf and Neiman Marcus share not just the user interface but basically the entire site. As far as I could tell, the 40% sale is the same at both online stores, so I switched to Neiman, found the blouse- same sale price and used the current free shipping Coupon, SHOPNM.

So, if you're planning to indulge, do it at Neiman.

Sephora Friends, Family, Frustration

It's 4:15AM. Do you know where your Sephora shopping cart is?

Sephora's Friend&Family online sale was supposed to start tonight (20% off nearly everything with code FF2009. US only). I thought I'd beat the web crowds by shopping at 3 am. After all, I had a wishlist longer than my hair. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with the same brilliant idea, and Sephora's website crashed. It's 4:15 now, give or take a minute and the site is still down.

Saks used to have the very same problem during their F&F sales, but this season it went smoothly, as far as I could tell. Maybe they can give the people of Sephora a number to call, or something.

A note to the good people at Chantecaille

Dear Chantecaille People,

Having a spiffy new website is great. It gives us a sneak peak of new products, web exclusive- it's all good stuff. But don't you think that selling top-of-the line makeup requires color swatches that don't look like it's 1999? Seriously, Lancome, Clinique, Nars and others have figured out ages ago that people who shop online really like to see what they're buying. Your products are usually better than theirs, so why can't your website be? Otherwise we have to face the sour-pussed SA at Saks, and that makes us cranky.


P.S. The Bengali Tiger Compacts are to die for.

Love,
Gaia, The Non-Blonde


Images: Chantecaille.com

Two Jewelry Sales

If you need a good pick-me-up this weekend, there are two jewelry sales taking place right now, offering some pretties at a good price.

Anna Sofia makes jewelry of Japanese paper. Sounds a bit crazy, but it works. She makes the beads by hand, glazes them and constructs earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I've bought several necklaces over the last couple of years and they always get me compliments- they really are quite unique. I think the earrings are the best items Anna Sofia offers, which is ironic because I don't wear any (my ears aren't pierced)...
To get a 20% discount, use the code Summer09 at checkout.



Another favorite store, the French retailer Olivolga is having a huge summer sale. It looks like everything is %30-40% off, and those of us outside the EU also get the VAT taken off at checkout (and free shipping over 90€). I've bought from them several times and was always very happy with the customer service. Shipping time to North America is about 10 days.
The necklace above (48.30 € ) is by Skalli.

Mona di Orio Chamarre (and more disturbing news)

The good news is that Chamarré, the new perfume from Mona di Orio, is quite lovely and doesn't have the disturbing opening found in so many of Di Orio's scents*. The bad news is that if you're in the USA, there's no way to buy it (unless one of the few remaining European distributors is willing to ship).

The even worse news is that the only place that still carries the Mona di Orio line here, Spafumerie (2nd Ave. and 48th st, NYC. A must-visit destination), will not be getting Chamarré and according to the SA with whom I spoke today, is most likely to stop offering the other MdO perfumes. The reason? It's a hard sell. Customers just don't get it and are unwilling to give the fragrances the time of the day once they smell the unpleasant opening. The store still has a few bottles of the older perfumes (Lux, Nuit Noire, Carnation, Amyitis and Oiro) and the scented candles, but as of right now, they would not be getting any more.

But back to Chamarre. The opening is very friendly with a burst of lavender and clary sage. The official notes also include aldehyde, but this isn't what you expect from an aldehydic perfume- the ghosts of No. 5 and Arpege are definitely not here. There's just a light and airy burst that keeps the lavender from smelling like a traditional cologne. The first time I wore Chamarre, it made me think of the top notes in Tauer's Reverie, but it might have been just a craving on my side, as the perfumes are nothing alike, despite the herbal aspect.

As the opening wears off, Chamarré becomes much more of a skin scent. The florals are powdery and subdued, I get more violet than rose and it all dries down into an almost fuzzy, nubby texure. It has a musky presence, and just like in Carnation, the result is more than a little carnal. The effect has also reminded me of Frederic Malle's Dans tes Bras (sans earth and mushrooms), though Chamarré is brighter.

I wish Chamarré had a better sillage and was longer lasting. After three hours one risks a neck injury from the nose-to-cleavage action (there was nothing left on my wrists). The leftover scent on my clothes reveals a warm and dry violet, elegant and not too rich. I'm starting to think of is as a violet scent the more I wear it, probably for this reason. My husband tried it once and found it pleasant enough and men-friendly, but nothing to rock his socks. I like it quite a bit and think it could have been more popular than the other di Orio perfumes (personally, I still prefer Carnation), if not for the little problem of marketing and availability.

As I've mentioned in my previous post on the subject, Mona di Orio perfumes are no longer sold at Bergdorf Goodman and Aedes in NYC. If I understand correctly, the problem is not limited to the US and other European distributors have also removed the line from the shelves, though unlike the USA situation it is not confirmed. Liberty London only has Lux, Nuit Noire and Oiro, but Les Senteurs actually has Chamarré in stock, which is a very good sign. If any of my readers know more details, please comment. The MdO web site does not have e-commerce at this time (why? You'd think they'd learn something from Ormonde Jayne, Andy Tauer, Vero Kern and many others. It's not that complicated). It's sad how such a deserving line is getting lost not because of quality, but because of poor marketing and communication from the house and mostly an oversight when it comes to the house's biggest and best potential fan base.

The perfume enthusiasts are online. We read (and write) blogs. We post on message boards and join Facebook groups. We email , we Twit and most of all: we shop online. That is, if you let us.

*My husband's intitial reaction to Nuit Noire on a scent strip was "vile". Then I sprayed it on and he agreed it was beautiful and sexy. Take that, Luca Turin.

Art: Violet Nude by John Keaton

Beauty.com - Truth In Advertising

Or: how to really annoy your customers

The other day I had to replenish some of the usual suspects in my beauty arsenal and was also in the mood for something new (anyone wonders how I became a beauty blogger?). It wasn't a case requiring instant gratification, so no need to deal with the sale assistants at Bloomie's or the mallishness of my local Sephora.

Beauty.com is one of my regular online shopping destinations and has been so for many years now. A click on my bookmarks list brought me to the front page, which told me about a great promotional: spend a certain amount and receive a bag with an impressive amount of samples, minis and full size products, many of them were already on my ever-growing list of "must try soon". I'm usually not a big fan of beauty bag events and have skipped all the recent ones from the serious department stores, as they offered ridiculously sub par crap. My policy is to buy what I need when I need it, and never because someone is offering a frosted aqua eye shadow when you spend enough to feed a small village. But I already planned to spend just over the required sum, so it wasn't an issue. And the GWP was really the best I've seen in ages.

Five minutes and a few clicks later and I was ready for checkout. My shopping cart has informed me that the GWP would be sent separately within another week with no added cost. No problem on my part. A couple of more clicks, the order was confirmed and sent. I was satisfied and free to go read some celeb gossip sites.

Today I got an automated email informing me that the second part of my order, the one with the GWP, was cancelled.

It doesn't matter much and I would have made the exact same order regardless. I don't feel entitled to a GWP and it's obvious that Beauty.com cannot be expected to send something they no longer have in stock. But this was not a case of an email promotional that I clicked too late, after it expired. The beauty bag was advertised right there on the front page of the site at the time I placed my order. This warrants at least a decent apology, and is a good lesson of why you should not make a purchase just for a GWP you may or may not receive.

Let's Talk About Saks, Baby

Like many good consumers, I was doing my part to stimulate the economy during Saks 5th Avenue's Friends & Family sale. Not that they made it easy for me (other than providing the discount, that is).

It starts with the fact that my local Saks doesn't carry Diane von Furstenberg at all, so I had to order the items I wanted online. It's not a big issue since I didn't pay shipping, but still, it would have been nice to get the immediate gratification. I still went to the store to see what I could find, but their selection is not exactly what I was after (unlike what they offer online). Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt this way, since the store was mostly dead. The only heavy traffic on the fashion floor was at the Elie Tahari and Theory sections, which are still much smaller than their parallels at Bloomingdale's across the mall (which is where I ended up shopping: they had a pre-sale and offered the same discount % as Saks, and even had my size in stock). Someone up there should take notice what sells and what doesn't, and realize that an empty store during a major sale event indicates more than a crappy economy.

The ghostly fashion floor was depressing, but it didn't stop me from heading towards the light: the makeup counters. Unlike their piranha-esques colleagues from the flagship across the river, the suburban SAs have made ignoring their potential customers into an art form. Not all of them, of course, not for every brand, but several counters were deserted while bewildered customers were trying in vain to get some attention from SAs who have turned into an army of pink lipsticked Helen Kellers with highlights.

At the Bobbi Brown counter, the efficient and gracious Libby was picking up the slack left by her coworkers who had better things to do. The only problem was that I had to wait 15 minutes before I could even test the palette I wanted (more on that later this week). The Estee Lauder counter was buzzing with activity while across the path at Lancôme there was mostly confusion and frustration. I have no doubt that they lost sales as a result.

This isn't just a Jersey issue and I'm not the only one who noticed. Check out this makeupalley thread from three days ago. Someone at Saks should be very worried.

A Happy Update: Pretty French Jewelry

The other day I posted about Olivolga, a French online store that offers the brands I mentioned in my Paris shopping reports and ships internationally, but I couldn't find Canada in their list of countries. they emailed me to confirm that they do ship to Canada, and not only that: Those of us outside the EU are exempt from the tax, so the actual prices are 16.39% less than what's listed. I'm seriously eyeing the Skalli necklace above.

We'll Always Have Paris

My posts about the gorgeous and fun jewelry stores I visited in Paris, Taratata and Skalli, triggered many emails from readers eager to see more and buy online. My friends in Europe had it easier, but there was little to none for us here in the US.

Earlier today I got a lovely email from an executive at Taratata, who gave me a link to an online store, Olivolga, that sells part of the Taratata line, as well as Skalli and several other brands. They ship worldwide, including to the US (though apparently not to Canada) and if you spend more than 90 euros (which is frighteningly easy), shipping is free.

EDIT: See update here

I think I'm in love with this elephant necklace by Sabrina Dehoff:

Anatomy Of A Lemming: Balmain Ambre Gris

E-commerce and marketing experts do not usually hang out in perfume forums. Too bad, really, because the random stampedes that originate there are worth some serious exploring.

Take, for example, the case of Ambre Gris by Balmain.

Ambre Gris came out earlier this year and until last month was only available in Europe. This alone is reason enough to get all of us, crazy perfume people, twitching and yearning. Uncle Serge has made this into an art form, after all. A couple of months ago one of the more reliable e-tailers suddenly had it in stock and in an incredible price, to boot: Sephora France lists the 40 ml (1.3 oz) bottle for 38.10€ and the 75 ml for 55.40€. I saw the 100 ml (3.4 oz) bottle at Le Bon Marche in Paris for about 70 € (nearly $100). Compare this to the $25-$30 for the largest bottle that you were charged here!

The info spread quickly on every message board and related threads sprouted several times a day. I wish I knew exactly how many people made a purchase, but it seemed that just about everyone did. And the interesting part that separates the Ambre Gris phenomenon from the Chaos rush that followed a few weeks later was that almost everyone was buying blind without ever sniffing or sampling.

Part of the reason is the name. Ambregris is a highly regarded note, even in its synthetic or plant-derived substitute form. It conjures fantasies of precious materials, pungent scents and an air of mystery. Add to that the elegant grayish bottle (it is the season of gray, after all) even with the odd golden golf ball cap, and the reputation of the house of Balmain (looks like everyone manged to ignore the butchered reformulation of their classic Vent Vert), and what you get is biggest stampede since March made everyone crave Kenzo Jungle L'elephant.

Then the bottles started showing up on doorsteps across North America and the first disappointed threads appeared on the usual message boards. Why?

Mainly because there is nothing out-of-the ordinary, mysterious or especially unique about Ambre Gris and it won't take you on a journey to times and places where real ambergris was used in the great perfumes of yore. What you get in the heavy bottle is a modern juice that goes from light and airy (though not in the horrible aquatic way too commonly found) to very sweet. The official notes (translated from Sephora France): pink pepper, cinnamon, tuberose, immortelle, myrrh, gaïac wood, benzoin, white musks, ambergris.

Basically, people were hoping to get some exotic animalic funk, but instead found themselves with a huge bottle of candied wood.

The thing is, I like Ambre Gris. I actually sniffed and tried it in Paris (it was everywhere from Colette to Le Bon Marche). While I thought it was nice, it certainly wasn't worth the retail price. I had much better uses for my perfume budget. But when I had the opportunity to get a bottle for less than I've paid for any perfume in ages (if $25 wasn't good enough, there was also a 10% off code and free shipping). With minimal expectations this was a pretty good deal.

I find Ambre Gris to be a very wearable pretty little thing. The opening has the lightness of a late summer morning. It's cool and barely there (or maybe I'm half anosmic to something). The sweetness follows quickly. It's almost fruity (I blame the pink pepper and cinnamon), but the tuberose gives the heart a little kick before handing the torch to the pudding. The immortelle and benzoin lend the dry-down a decidedly gourmand feel. But for an ambery-vanillic base it still maintains an interesting clarity that makes the perfume more of a crystallized sugar than a heavy syrup. If you don't like sweet perfumes (think L'Occitane Amber or Givenchy Pi), you're not going to enjoy this one, either. But if you're fond of them, you might find that Ambre Gris is a friendly fragrance that (sprayed lightly) works surprisingly well even in hot summer days, and is sure to be just as nice when fall sets in.

But, you know what's really funny? While Ambre Gris seems to be easy to find now from several online discounters (just google it and you'll see), even if the price has gone up a little, LuckyScent, of all places, is now selling it (why?) for full Paris-worthy retail price (screen capture from their web site, because it's really hard to believe):



Bottle image: Balmain.com

Is Henri Bendel Owned By Young Mr. Grace?

I considered writing a long rant in which I'd question the genius business minds behind Henri Bendel, and their decision to keep their online presence to an absolute minimum. Yes, there's a web site, but you can only buy the store brand signature items. If you desire a striped makeup bag you're in luck. If you want to buy Secretion Magnifique, not so much.

But then, why bother?

Here's the link, see for yourself how one of the top department stores in NYC (and the US) operates its web business in 2008:
http://www.henribendel.com/shop

Yes, there is a concierge service, which I'm guessing means you can order by phone, but the website doesn't even list what exactly you can buy there.

Are you being served?

Original store image from Henri Bendel site. Botched photoshopping: Mine. Harold Bennett as Young Mr. Grace from somewhere on the net.

Buying DVF On eBay- A Cautionary Tale

Early last month I did a stupid thing. I was wasting some time on eBay and somehow wandered from my regular browsing for vintage perfume into the dark realms of apparel. I did a quick search for Diane von Furstenberg and was happy to see a large selection of items. I'm a big fan and a very loyal DVF customer, so an opportunity to add an item or two to my collection at a very attractive price was just too good to pass.

You see where this is going, right?

While I know how to spot a fake perfume seller and haven't fallen into that particular trap in nearly a year, it didn't occur to me that a DVF dress, photographed from different angles and offered by a regular seller (not a pro) with a 100% feedback and a total score of 100-something could be anything but what it was claimed to be. I clicked "buy it now", paid immediately and waited for my dress to arrive.

What a disappointment! As soon as I touched the fabric I knew something was wrong. I have several of these silk jersey wraps, and they all are soft and smooth to the touch. The dress I was holding had an unpleasant synthetic texture and the print looked off, as did the seams. A few minutes of internet research made it clear I was taken for a ride.

Apparently, there's a huge industry of counterfeit Diane von Furstenberg dresses, and eBay is a prime venue for its distribution (unlikely to change now, that the US Court cleared eBay of responsibility to authenticate items and sellers). Fortunately, there are pretty easy ways to spot them. In my case, the telltale signs were:
1. fabric
2. seams
3. a label saying "silk jersey" instead of just "silk"
4. lack of an inside tag identifying the style (this one should appear in every silk wrap purchased from a department store, as this dress was claimed to be.

Giving the seller the benefit of doubt, I contacted her and informed her the dress was fake, and whoever sold it to her wasn't honest. She insisted she bought it from Saks in NYC and paid $325. My next step was opening a claim with PayPal and informing eBay, for good measures.

That started a long and painful process that only ended last week. In order to prove my claim, I had to bring the dress to the DVF boutique in the Meat Packing district, who took it (upstairs) to their headquarters where a VP of production identified it as a fake in writing. All that had to be done within a very short time frame (PayPal rule), which meant I had to hound the DVF people to finish the process so I could fax the letter on time. A regular retailer can't/won't do anything to help, by the way. While Saks, Neiman and the others are authorized distributors, their stores would not do anything to help, other than sympathize with you.

After that bit of fun I had to mail back the dress. But PayPal's instructions were a jumbled contradicting mess that couldn't be cleared until I returned from Paris, begged and pleaded for them to reopen the case, had my husband take over the phone interaction because I was seeing red at that point, mailed the wretched dress and finally got the refund last week.

So there you have it. Personally, this was the last time I buy a DVF (or any designer) item outside of retail store. But if you're planning to take the risk, check out this guide to spotting a fake DVF: Part 1, part 2 and part 5 were especially helpful.

Photos are from the actual auction I "won". Credit belongs to the seller.

The Posh Peasant- New Option For Online Perfume Shopping

One of the most frequently asked questions in emails I get is about perfume shopping and sampling. My advice is always to get samples. Reviews and note lists are nice, but I'd hate to see anyone buy a full bottle of Miel de Bois just because I adore it, only to discover that their skin does the unthinkable and pushes forward the funk described by haters as feline waste. Sometimes you can't even count on your scent twin. If you're a regular reader, you might remember that Tom and I share an almost identical skin chemistry, except for Luctor et Emergo, which on me is all kinds of cherry incense goodness with a side of marzipan, and for him it's nothing but play-doh. So, I urge everyone to get samples first before going for the full bottles, but let's face it: Many of the most interesting scents can't be found in Sephora or Macy's, but there are few places to get samples and decants of these perfumes.

This is why I was happy to see a new online venue joining this very exclusive club: The Posh Peasant. The store offers both full bottles of brands like Aroma M, Sage Machado, Keiko Mecheri and others, as well as samples, sample sets and decants of many classic and niche brands. There are dozens of them: from Guerlain and Caron to Serge Lutens (including several of the exclusives), Frederic Malle and also really small houses like Ava Luxe.

The lovely bottle in the photo is the special Sage Machado Onyx Vanity Bottle (a 1/4 oz). The weather is getting warmer, and despite the gloomy, rainy weekend we just had here, I'm getting a craving for this gorgeous dark coconut and tobacco scent, and after going through numerous samples of both the EdT and the oil, it just might be time for a full bottle.

Another Sign of Fall

That would be Barneys GWP event, titles "Love Yourself.

You know the drill. You go on a shopping spree, spend $175 on fragrance and/or cosmetics and in return they give you the little bag full of samples you see in the picture. It runs now both in store and online, but the only problem is that nowhere in the newsletter or on the website do they list what exactly is in the goody bag. Some, like a sample of Kai perfume, are pretty obvious. Others- not so much. Actually, the web site has absolutely no mention of this GWP, not even when you check out. I've gone through the whole ordering process, up until the "click to confirm your order", and it doesn't say there's a gift in my future. Must be an honor system. Or faith.

Since I'm already ranting about Barneys web site, let me just say that their online beauty department is a disgrace. Poor presentation and navigation, questionable information architecture, and to top it off: No color swatches. At all. They must underestimate the importance of online shopping (and researching) to their business, but in 2007 this is not a good excuse. They need an e-business pro on their team.