Something Different Sunday - Neiman Marcus Project Beauty

Neiman-Marcus knows how to put on a show!  If you ever get a chance to come to one of their events, I recommend it.  The Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida were invited to their event, "Project Beauty" which featured a renowned nutritionist, Dr. Susan Mitchell, to talk about beauty from the inside, and then there was a runway show of many of their beauty brands, to maintain that beauty on the outside.

Getting ready for the event!  Neiman-Marcus gave us little goody boxes with fruit tarts and cookies, and plied us with mimosas. I'm with Steph from Imperfectly Painted, and Alyssa from Pretty Little Bottles.

Dr. Mitchell gave us a quick mnemonic to help us remember the important points:  BEAUTY.

B is for Berries - especially those in season, which contain Vitamin C and antioxidants.
E is for Eggs, a good source of protein, needed to rebuild damage.
A is for Almonds (or other nuts) which are rich in Vitamin E
U is for Unsweetened Tea and other liquids to stay hydrated. 
T is for a Trendy vegetable - she really likes kale, and gave us a smoothie recipe with it.
Y is for You.  Taking care of yourself, making time for yourself, remembering who you're doing all this for!

Dr. Mitchell's kale display (and swiss chard, because apparently we don't have that many varieties of kale here. The wrinkly kale is her favorite for mild taste.

Dr. Mitchell was so warm and friendly!  She was definitely the highlight of the show for me.

After her talk, the runway began!  There were too many product lines to count, but I had to include one of my faves, Kiehl's!

Ah, Dior.  Someday, maybe, I will own one of your beautiful polishes.

It wasn't just about makeup, either.   Bellecore had these amazing massagers that are supposed to vibrate the fat right off and tone you up.  I don't know about that, but she used one on me, and it was about the most powerful vibration I'd experienced.  You could seriously buff your car with that thing.

The markeup artist from Bobby Brown was hysterical, getting the DJ to play him a beat to wake us up and dance.  He was so passionate about the tools of his trade.

There were oh, so many lovely things to see and try.  Every line presented a few products that were either new, or their pride and joy.  Some products had patents and prizes, others gave to charity.  I recommend perusing the makeup counters at Neiman-Marcus to see all the lovelies.  The staff really know their products, and many have samples for you to try.

Not the best pix of me, but they looked too good not to share.  I can take one for the team.. 

Many thanks to Neiman Marcus for including the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida! 

Guerlain Femme Fatale or Femme D'Amour

The Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida were invited back to Neiman -Marcus for a special presentation with Guerlain!

It was called, "Guerlain & Champagne" which drove me nuts, because Guerlain rhymes with Milan, not champagne.  But, I'll overlook it, because it was a fabulous event.  And, because they plied us with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.  We took a little quiz to see what color scheme we would prefer from their new Fall launch (a month before other stores would get it!)

Femme Fatale were the darker reds and plums, and Femme D'Amour were the more romantic pinks and peaches.

They have a brand new lipstick that comes in a beautiful little compact with a mirror.  Most of the shades are a semi-matte, but there are also two glosses.  I fell in love with M60.  I got a makeover in the new colors.  This is my serious Duckface.

Alicia from NiftyBA! took all these pix (Thanks, Ali!) and took duckface pix with a bunch of us.  Girls just wanna have fun!

I loved the lipstick the best.  It is the perfect color for me for fall - a semi-matte dark red.  I got compliments all over the place.  It is definitely a luxury item at $48 a pop.  The Guerlain ladies talked about how a lot of customers have that one cosmetic that feels luxurious and completes the package for them.  This lipstick was like that for me.

Did you know that Guerlain was the first company to put lipstick in the iconic tube that everyone uses today?  

Afterwards, a few of us got some noms at California Pizza Kitchen.  It was pretty cool to get to know these blogger ladies better!  That's me on the left, then Alicia from NiftyBA!, Phyrra, Steph from Imperfectly Painted, and Judi from Judixo.

My nails for the occasion:  China Glaze Ingrid (a tan with shimmer) and Fergie Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night glitter on top. I loved both of these.  Ingrid was typical China Glaze - great formula, beautiful color.  I'd never tried the Wet 'n Wild Fergie collection before, but I was pleasantly surprised!  Two coats of dabbing gave me as much glitter as I could want, and it distributed pretty well over the nail.

Guerlain is having a mega-event from August 6-11, 2012.  Anyone is welcome to come by for a quick facial or color refresh throughout the event.  Also, any purchase will receive a free sample of their Shalimar Perfume Initial (an updated version of Shalimar), and if you spend $350, you'll receive a Limited Edition set of makeup brushes valued at $250.  These are natural bristle brushes in a suede carrying case. They were beautiful!

Do you have that one (or more) luxury item that makes you feel amazing when you wear it?

The bloggers all received a few samples of Guerlain beauty products, and the makeover and event was at no charge to us.  I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions presented are mine and as unbiased as possible.

Let's hear it for Neiman-Marcus!

This past Saturday, the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers put together an event with the cosmetics dept. at Neiman-Marcus.  I know this blog is mostly about nail polish and art, but it was so amazing, I have to share.... and it inspired some nail art, too, so stay with me!

The morning began with mimosas!  How awesome is that.  They also had some breakfast pastries and coffee drinks... but champagne!  Already I'm feeling like a VIP.

We split into groups and switched between 4 counters with various product lines set up.  I don't think we heard about everything, but we got a lot of info.  Seriously, these people know what they are talking about.  And each representative is trained on other product lines, so if they don't have something in their line that meets your needs, they can direct you to another product line that does.

My first stop included one of my favorite experiences - the perfumes.  I love perfume, but I have so many, I wasn't looking for any more.  They gave us a few samples, and we got to smell a few more.  And I have a new favorite - Bottega Venetta.  It is the most sophisticated fragrance I've ever experienced.  I went shopping at Target later, and felt like a princess walking around the Taj Mahal.

 
POLISH!  Unfortunately, we didn't get any polish samples. But I can't wait to go back and try some.  This line is exclusive to Neiman's, and is called Le Metiere de Beaute.  Look at those colors!

Chanel had another amazing nail polish line.  In fact, they said that they can hardly keep it in stock!  They only had one or two bottles left.  I will admit to buying a few dupes of some of their famous colors.  In general, I prefer makeup counter products to drugstore ones, with a few exceptions.  I won't always spend the money on the expensive stuff, but I always notice the difference when I do. 

At the end of the breakout sessions, we all gathered together at the Deborah Lippman table, aka Polish Mecca.  You could almost see the sky part and the single beam of light that shone down on the table, and hear the angels singing. 

We were all taking notes about the products and new polishes... and our personal lemmings, I'm sure!  Don't we clean up nice?  Everyone was so dressed up and looking good.  Neiman's gave us all a bag with some information and samples to try - and if you go, you can get samples, too. They really want to make sure that you're going to be happy with the product you buy.

I really can't stop gushing about the experience!  Thank you so much, Neiman-Marcus!

After the wonderful experience at Neiman-Marcus and their obvious love for Deborah Lippman, I was inspired to break out a couple of my Lippmans and do a mani.  I picked up the Footloose collection at HSN on clearance, and I'm glad I did!  They really are among the best polishes ever.  They are 5-free, and not tested on animals.  All Deborah Lippman polishes have nail treatments right in the polish - so your nails are stronger and healthier after you use them!

I started with two coats of Let's Hear It For The Boy, a pale baby blue.  If you love pale blue and hate that chalkiness that some pastels have, you need this color.  I know my application wasn't perfect here, but I knew I'd be covering it with nail art, so I forged ahead.

Next, I created a Ruffian with DL Dancing In The Sheets.  This is a gorgeous blue with hints of purple.  I don't know if it's technically a duochrome, or a blurple.  The first coat has a lot of the purple undertones, and the second coat brings out the royal blue.  It has amazing depth, and look at that shine!  This is two coats, no topcoat. 

As much as I loved this, I noticed that the Ruffian style makes my short nails look even shorter, especially on my right hand.  It may not be the most flattering style on those of us with short fingers and small nail beds.  So I added some flowers and filigree to distract the eye and keep me busy for a little while.  I think it looks like a damask fabric.

DL polishes usually run $18-$20.  They are so worth it... but I'm glad I got mine on clearance! 

And, if you get a chance to shop at Neiman-Marcus, do.  Their staff is so knowledgeable, so focused on customer service.  I can't wait to start trying some of my samples.  I'll be sure to let you all know what winners I find.

Thanks again, Neiman-Marcus!