I just want to preface this post with a note regarding the title. I had no idea that Bloomingdale's was calling it's recent beauty seminar Beauty 101 when I wrote my Perfumey 101 story. It would seem that this is an unofficial beauty school week for me. I will not be adding "101" to the end of every post... Last night I had the pleasure of attending Bloomingdale's Beauty 101 seminar at the Soho store (thanks to Chloe for the special invite). What a delight it was! Greeted with mini cupcakes (with pink icing) and apple scented champagne, we sat front row, enthralled by all the products on offer. Various representatives and managers from brands like Bobbi Brown, Clinique and SpaceNK introduced new products and holiday gift sets, and promoted their existing collections. It was a fun, interactive way to get to know brands we already use, as well as hearing about some new ones. One thing I learned--Benefit started out as strictly a 'brow' focused company. I can't believe I didn't know that! I'm definitely going to consider taking a trip to one of their brow bars if I decide to stray from threading...
Although everyone had a great array of products, the two presentations that really had my attention were MAC (already a fan) and Nars (a recent follower--thanks to Cath and her Laguna bronzer). I have to tell you all right now that MAC has the most amazing holiday beauty collection coming up!!!! Seriously. The A Tartan Tale story is not only on trend, but totally gorgeous. Beautiful velvety plaid packaging on everything from the blush tri-pack (in awesome colors), to the lip glosses and pigments. Even the eye shadows have a plaid pattern etched into the color.
But, the real show stoppers are their brush kits. Wow. Reasonably priced at around $50. Not only do you get a set of 5 brushes, but the bag they come in is to die for. Best of all, it contains a strap hidden inside that you can attach and wear as a purse. Genius. Chaundra, the MAC sales manager at the Soho store, told me they are likely to sell out. So, head to your nearest MAC and pre-order! You want at least one of the pieces from this collection. Trust me!
After the event, we were free to stay late and browse the cosmetic department. I stopped off at the Nars counter and talked (beauty) shop with April and Samantha. I discovered a product that seems too good to be true--as April put it "like a unicorn for you skin". It's called the skin smoother (about $30). Does anyone use this already? I don't know how it's slipped past all of our beauty bags. It literally smooths out pores, fills in fine lines and mattifies your complexion--so your foundation can glide on flawlessly. Miraculous. This product is going to be my next purchase (well, maybe after my pre-order of the MAC collection).
