I’m very excited to share that Barneys New York has featured me on the style bloggers section of their fashion site The Window. You can read the feature here. Check out the interview to read about what inspired me to start blogging, what my winter skincare secret weapons are, my go-to scent this season and what I would do if I were “accidentally” locked in Barneys overnight (aka dream come true). If you haven’t been to the Barneys Beauty Counter recently, I highly recommend a visit. The floors have been remodeled into beautiful wide open beauty spaces making Barneys the ultimate beauty playground. Here is a sneak peek from my last trip to the Beverly Hills store.
I’ve discovered a number of wonderful fragrance lines at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. Each trip I’ve only been able to sample a few since the nose can only take so much and there is only so much arm space before the spritzes start to blend/mix altering the true scent. I’ve been eyeing Carnal Flower by Dominique Ropion for some time but hesitated due to the heavy floral notes and steep price tag. I don’t consider myself a tuberose-loving kind of person, yet I’m strangely drawn to L’Artisan’s Nuit de Tubéreuse. A week ago I had on my wishlist to purchase one fragrance from Frédéric Malle: Carnal Flower, En Passant or L’eau d’Hiver. I had my sister and the sales associate help me choose. The final vote went to Carnal Flower in the 10 ml trio ($155 for the set) so I could split it with my sister. Little did I know that while I was distracted browsing the other goodies at Barneys, my sister (in stealth mode) made her way back to the counter to purchase the En Passant by Olivia Giacobetti trio for me. I didn’t realize until late in the evening after I was home that she had slipped in a little wrapped black Barneys box with a sweet note. I am truly blessed to have such a sweet and thoughtful sister. (Thank you CL!)
The perfumes by Frédéric Malle typically come in two different sizes for the bottles, 50 ml and 100 ml. Prices per fragrance have a diverse range due to ingredients (so I’m told). Carnal Flower unfortunately is one of the priciest at $230 for a 50 ml bottle. Fortunately they also carry these in trios of small 10 ml vials. I find these perfect for me since I have a finicky nose that tires easily of fragrances. Here you can see the size of the 10 ml vials. (On the nails is Chanel Pirate Le Vernis.)
Carnal Flower is strong floral primarily tuberose. There are varying descriptions online of the notes, but what I can smell includes hints of white musk, coconut, jasmine and orange blossom. I agree with Scent Hive that this is a fragrance that will either have you swooning or nauseated. I personally was not fond of the scent upon first impact but fell in love with the drydown. On my skin I found it turned slightly to give a luscious floral that is slightly creamy, most likely due to the notes of coconut and musk. The Non-Blonde described it perfectly as a luscious floral that is well balanced without being too floral. On me the scent gets better as it wears and fades, although the lasting power is excellent and doesn’t fade too much like many other scents. I think it’s a lovely scent, on the stronger side for me, but not too strong that it is overwhelming. One single spray is sufficient for me for all-day wear. I love that it has depth and is complex, but still fresh and soothing.
En Passant is one of the lighter scents by Frédéric Malle. It has been recommended to me on numerous occasions by virtually every fragrance specialist I’ve worked with at Barneys once I tell them that I adore L’Artisan’s L’Été en Douce. The price points for this one is easier to justify ($95 for the 10 ml trio, the 50 ml and 100 ml versions are also lower in price point compared to Carnal Flower). This is a green scent, less complex, more straight or linear (as described by the ladies at the Barneys counter) with blend of cucumber, lilac and wheat. It’s simple, fresh, elegant. The initial spritz feels more floral (noticeable lilac) but dries down to a more green scent that isn’t quite as floral on me. The wheat becomes apparent in the drydown and helps balance out the floral notes. The lasting power of En Passant isn’t quite as good as Carnal Flower, but still decent. There is a softness that makes this a well rounded comforting scent. I adore it.
The travel sizes are sturdy in the packaging but still rather delicate. Definitely too delicate to carry around in a makeup bag or purse. Due to the strong lasting power, I don’t really need to carry these with me in my purse to freshen up. I almost never carry fragrances with me (except for the rare occasion I have a small sample) because I worry about breakage or spilling in my purses. However, I have found that the Trish McEvoy Delicate Beauty Voyager set (reviewed here) I bought houses 2 Chanel lipsticks and 1 vial of Frédéric Malle perfectly if the double-decker card is removed.
Bottom line: I’m in love. Have you tried Frédéric Malle? What are your favorites? I’m all ears for recommendations! The sales associate kindly gave me sample cards of L’eau d’Hiver and Lipstick Rose which I’m dying to dive into.
Sunday Riley Crème Gloss Sheer Impact Lip Color in Beach Front was one of the goodies in my Barneys Love Yourself Beauty Event gift bag last month (retails for $28 at Barneys). Having fallen in love with her blushes and eyeshadows I was very excited to try her glosses. The product is described as “A true innovation Lip Gloss! A super conditioning, non-tacky formula adds a high hloss sheen to lips, while stable Vitamin C boosts collagen and provides antioxidant protection. Paraben free.”
Beach Front is a shimmery nude-beige color that looks beautiful in the tube. It comes with a sponge tip applicator. Although this is called a “sheer impact” gloss I found this one had virtually no impact when it comes to color. Product Doctor had a similar experience with the same color. Yes it can be layered over other lipsticks for shine and depth but sheer glosses can be found elsewhere for much less which will achieve the same effect. The sheerness is even sheerer than Becca glosses (which I love but often find too sheer to justify repurchasing once used up). The only redeeming factors are the formula and scent. The scent is something I can’t put my finger on but it smells like a spa facial in a tube (in a good way). I think it makes an amazing lip treatment. I swiped it on several times during the weekend to help moisturize my lips. (My favorite lip treatment is still Jo Malone’s Vitamin E though.)
Click to view ingredients:
I am very thankful Barneys included this in their gift bag. It was extremely generous of them to let their customers sample full-sized goodies which is definitely a step up from other retailers. I however wasn’t really impressed. I know I will use mine to the very last drop because I really like the formula but most likely will not repurchase or look into shades. I saw the colors briefly before the launch (they had prototypes at the counter during my last visit) and only a few caught my eye. After seeing how sheer these are I’m going to stick with my oldies but goodies from other brands.
This might be old news, but in case you haven’t heard, Barneys is having their beauty event going on right now. It ends Saturday the 11th and if you have a wishlist going, I highly recommend you call your nearest store to see if they have any left. With a $200 purchase you get an awesome goody bag filled with great samples including full-sized products. Check Barneys.com for the details or call your nearest store.
Note: While the GWP is available online, I highly recommend you call an actual store to order instead to ensure the items you want are in stock and to also ensure that you get a gift bag. Stores have more stock than what I’ve seen online.
I ordered from the Beverly Hills store and this is what was in by goody bag (also with a $250 purchase they waived shipping). I apologize if this is late news for you but I just received my package last night so I wasn’t able to post photos of the gift bag until today. Contents may vary per store. As you can see my bag is red and blue. The advertised one is white and yellow. I assume they have different colors but since I’m not near a Barneys, I’m not sure what options there are.
The full sized goods:
Other retailers take note: Barneys blew it out of the water with this generous gift bag. It contains a decent amount of samples I actually will use and the full-sized products look incredible. (I’m so excited about the Sunday Riley lipgloss!!!!) This one really puts most other beauty events to shame.
Did you order anything from the Barneys Love Yourself Event? Act fast and call your store ASAP if you can’t stop by in person! If you missed out on this one, don’t worry, I think they have this other times during the year. Get on their mailing list or check out deal/bargain websites to stay updated on upcoming events.
Continuing my Barneys obsessions with my newest fragrance discovery is a feature on L’Artisan L’Été en Douce Eau de Toilette ($100 for 50 ml/1.7 fl oz). L’Artisan says that L’Été en Douce is “all about purity and light” and I couldn’t agree more. After having fallen in love with the holiday trio (featured here), I was determined to pick up something full-sized from L’Artisan at Barneys. This particular trip was my first experience with the L’Artisan line and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the experience. High-end department stores can sometimes be extremely intimidating and a hit or miss, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I had my fragrance-expert friend with me to help, but luckily we were both assisted by a wonderful specialist named Lily.
I’m still new to fragrance shopping but I’m slowly but surely venturing into more brands. When asked “what do you like?” I still am not exactly sure how to answer. I feel as though it’s more of a “I know it when I smell it” kind of thing. Lily started by asking what other scents we liked and disliked and after a few minutes of questioning was able to pick out some amazing choices. I thought it was incredible that she knew exactly what to select for each of us. I personally narrowed it down to Vert Violette, Navegar (even though it’s for men), Thé Pour un Été, and L’Été en Douce.
Both my friend and I each left with the 50ml version of L’Été en Douce. (Twinsies!) It’s the perfect skin-perfume that is gentle, soft and subdued. It is clean and refreshing with a slight mixture of floral and green. The notes include orange blossom water, green hay and white muscs. Lasting power is decent on me, I’ve read some reviews that say this one disappears on impact, but I tend to prefer scents that fade nicely. It’s soft and very subtle, perhaps too gentle for some, but perfect for me. I can wear it to the office or anywhere without feeling self conscious. My only regret – that I didn’t purchase the 100ml size instead.
My fragrance collection has been growing! Those wanting to know all the fragrances I own can simply click on the Fragrance Tag below this post. I’ve reviewed all the ones I have that aren’t minis/samples. I plan on doing a comprehensive fragrance summary soon. Many thanks to those who offered wonderful L’artisan recommendations to me a few months ago. If anyone else has more, I’m all ears!
Sunday Riley Blushes have me thoroughly impressed. While at Barneys I thought all the blushes looked amazing but limited myself to just two. (After all I caved on four of her eyeshadows, reviewed a few days ago here.) I purchased Blushing, a soft light natural glowing pink on the left, and Honest, a shimmering tawny peach on the right ($30 each for 0.1 oz/3 g). Both come packaged in a sturdy square mirrored compact in a little black pouch embossed with Sunday Riley’s name and logo on top.
I think I may have just found pink perfection in Blushing. The Non-Blonde and Product Doctor can confirm how wonderful this color is (and both lovely ladies have completely different skintones than I do). Soft natural pink blushes are a dime a dozen, but Sunday Riley’s Blushing is a cut above. It has a natural undertone and enough pink with a hint of shimmer to look like a perfect natural light blush. It doesn’t turn muddy or darken with brown tones on the skin. It doesn’t apply ashy or too pigmented. It really is as good as it gets. I wasn’t able to get comparison shots before the sun went down, here are a few lined up to compare. I thought it resembled Bobbi Brown’s Antigua the most, but on the face, BB’s can darken a bit and look muddy if you get the slightest bit oily. Sunday Riley’s Blushing holds up better without darkening.
Honest is equally stunning. It’s a shimmering peach with a hint of nude tones. In the compact it looks quite shimmery but on the face it applies beautifully and natural. Peach lovers, take note, I think it’s something you must try on in person if you’re near a Barneys. Both blushes are rich in pigment with a soft blendable texture. There is a slight powdery scent but it’s not very noticeable.
Side by side, Blushing and Honest, plus swatches below:
I couldn’t fit all the blushes and comparisons on one arm, so I only picked a few to swipe side by side. Do take into account that my swatches tend to look more shimmery due to the flash than these apply in real life. Swatching is hard work, please take these with a grain of salt and check other blogs for different views/angles/lighting:
Overall, I’m in love. These blushes are truly amazing in the sense that they apply beautifully and flawlessly on the skin without changing color as the skin warms up. No tweaking required at all with either of these. They have just enough color to be visible and brighten the face but they are also natural enough that they won’t overpower or overwhelm your look. Both shades can be easily worn year round for a number of looks and occasions. Although I’ve only tried a few shadows and blushes, I adore what I’ve bought. Many thanks to Gaia from The Non-Blonde for helping us all discover Sunday Riley’s cosmetic line. I have a few sample packets of her skincare which I can’t wait to try. My next trip to Barneys can’t come soon enough.
Barneys New York has quickly become my new favorite playground. I adore their fragrance selection and the L’Artisan, Serge Lutens and Byredo counters have been the highlights of my trips to LA. I had been eyeing Byredo’s Gypsy Water for over six months before I finally decided to purchase. My first experience with the line was last June in Beverly Hills. Within minutes of arriving instore I managed to spritz 4 different perfumes sprayed on different areas of my arms: La Tulipe, Gypsy Water, Blanche and Serge Lutens Clair de Musc. My nose quickly became confused as everything started to blend together. I was most drawn to Gypsy Water but still being new and cautious when it comes to expensive fragrances decided to wait. I tested this on two more occasions in store, once in San Francisco, one more time in Beverly Hills. Finally, the week before Christmas I caved and used a gift card to purchase the smaller 50 ml version ($145) from Barneys.com.
Byredo is a fragrance line based in Stockholm founded in 2006 by Ben Gorham. I found the interview featured on Into the Gloss particularly touching and highly inspirational. There are a number of wonderful scents from Byredo, the first one for me is Gypsy Water which is an Eau de Parfum and comes in two sizes (see Byredo.com for more details). To me, smells like a grown-up more sophisticated version of Fresh Sugar and Brown Sugar (both of which I found too sweet, too citrusy and headache-inducing). On my skin, the fragrance can be a bit finicky if I do not spray the right amount on my skin evenly. It is quite intense so two spritzes on the wrists is max that my nose can handle in one day’s wear. If I do not spray enough the citrus notes overwhelm and induce a migraine. However, when sprayed on the skin in an even motion, I smell a beautiful mixture of sweet amber, vanilla mixed with a hint of lemon. The spice notes and vanilla prevent the citrus from overpowering. It’s soothing and refreshing and sweet. It’s uplifting with a fresh and slightly earthy feel. Still, it is a bit tricky to wear and very easy to overdo. I recommend you test and apply with caution.
The notes: Top: Bergamot, lemon, pepper, juniper berries
Heart: Incense, pine needles, orris
Base: Amber, vanilla, sandalwood
I adore Gypsy Water but I don’t think it’s an easy fragrance to wear everyday due to the sweetness. As you can see from the listed notes, it’s highly complex, but in a lighter sense (instead of being a dark kind of complex). I highly recommend testing and letting it sit on the skin for at least an hour before deciding how it wears on you. Even though I’m getting more and more adventurous with fragrance exploration, I’m still more of a no-perfume kind of perfume girl. Gypsy Water is light enough for those who don’t like perfume with a surprisingly long lasting power (as long as you don’t apply too much too close to the skin, I find a concentrated spot makes the scent a bit too cloying). Overall a lovely feminine pleasant sweet perfume.
Have you tried anything from Byredo before? What have your experiences been? Those who have tried Gypsy Water, do you find it wears odd on you depending on how you apply it? Any tips/thoughts you’d like to share? I would love to hear about your Byredo favorites (not just the fragrances, but candles, lotions, etc.)!
I found Byredo at Barneys in Beverly Hills. I believe it’s exclusive to them in the US. Check Byredo.com for listed locations. Also, for inquiring minds, all photos in this post taken with my iPhone 4S, square photos with filters taken with the Hipstamatic app.
