A Bergdorf Goodman Shopping Report

I was at Bergdorf yesterday for a Guerlain event. It was a good opportunity to sniff, swatch and find all the new stuff. And, of course, tell you what's in stock and what's yet to come.

Since we're talking Guerlain, the nine new eye shadow quads are in stock and looking as pretty as the photos and swatches you might have already seen on  Best Things In Beauty. There are a lot of similarities with last year's stunning 6 color palettes, so if you already own a couple you might want to look carefully and choose the colors you don't have. Swatching them in person helped me tremendously and I picked just one, Les Perles (08). I'll show it and review in the coming week.

Next stop was Chanel. I know, I know. I thought I had enough. You thought you had enough. The world might have thought it had enough. As we speculated and feared, Chanel really seems to be going the MAC way with a limited edition something or other every six weeks. Soon there's going to be a backlash, but the truth it is that when Chanel gets it right, they're incomparable. There are two special collections in the store right now: Les Aquarelles de Chanel and the Sophisticated Eye Collection. Les Aquarelles is the one with Les Ombres Tisses, the beautiful texturized three color highlighter that does absolutely nothing for me. At $75 it's more interesting as a collector's item than a truly outstanding makeup must-have. Once the overspray is gone it's just a warm pink highlighter. Some of my friends disagree, but for me it's a dud.

The Les Aquarelles also includes a pretty but redundant almost matte Gris Exquis single shadow (see Sabrina's swatch) and several pink things (blushes, Rouge Coco Shine lipstick and a nail polish. See Natural'n'Chic Makeup's review and swatches). There's another single eye shadow, Fauve, from the Sophisticated Eye collection. It's a beautiful mauve-taupe color in too gritty a texture and shimmer galore. Had it come in a texture similar to the quads I'd be all over it. As it is, I had to pass. But there are some exquisite pretties in this collection, and not just the black eyelash curler (see Cafe Makeup for a full review). I already twitted and posted a photo of the Lagons quad and will show you more in a few days. Bergdorf also had the tester for Vanites, but haven't received them for sale yet so I had to order it online.

At the Laura Mercier counter, the Classic Smoky Eye Palette was front and center. It's a great value since the brushes are nice and gives you the black cake eyeliner and four nice sized eye shadows. However, unless you need it all in one compact, if you already own several of them as I do you can safely pass. I picked up a second Eye Finishing brush so I can use it with cream products.

Le Metier de Beaute has the new skin care line ready for sale. The Silk Road Kaleidoscope for fall is also there, and you can see the gorgeous photos on Messy Wands.

The Chatecaille counter had part of the fall collection ready for sale. I picked the two Lip Chic colors (Calla Lily and Violetta). I'll post a preview for the Facebook group, but you can already see them on Best Things In Beauty. The eye and cheek palette will be there in a couple of weeks. I saw the tester and decided I can live without. It's of similar shades to the Dolphin palette, just a bit toned down in the shimmer department.

I stopped at the Estee Lauder counter, but the one at Bergdorf has a very limited selection and didn't have what I was looking for. I played again with the beautiful highlighter (check out this post by Visionary Beauty) but still couldn't see the point. I hope they make eye shadows in this texture, though. Eyelids are the  one place I'm willing to use a metallic texture.

The Tom Ford counter had testers of the three upcoming perfumes. I'm taken with all three. Violet Blonde will be part of the Signature Collection (the non-Private Blend) and is perhaps the sunniest happiest violet scent I've had the pleasure of sniffing in years. Santal Blush is peppery spicy sandalwood, not as creamy as Tam Dao. I only sprayed a little but it made me feel this is a gentler less cuminy variation on Uncle Serge's Santal de Mysore. The big surprise for me was Jasmine Rouge. It's a sweet and green-less jasmine with excellent longevity. All three will be officially launched at Bergdorf in two weeks. The makeup line won't be there until October, which is good, I guess. The good news is that the Private Blend lipsticks are not going to disappear. They're best sellers (for a good reason) and will still be available for purchase.

Other stuff to check this weekend: another fall collection that didn't hit the spot for me was Dior Blue Tie. Nevertheless, Rae's tutorial is excellent, especially if you bought the palette and have issues using it.

London Makeup Girl features a guest post by a mutual friend about getting a polished look and still leaving the house in five minutes. Just make sure to feed the cats before you're gone.

Modesty Brown brings us the funniest confession by JoeyBunny. Speaking of the Bunny, she has an interesting multi-use oil to show us. I'm a sucker for these kind of products.

On Ars Aromatica, Li Wen shows us how to wear bold colors together and reminds us why Shiseido eye shadows are so good.

Makeup Magpie talks D&G blushes.

Viking Beauty and I share the same shoe lust.

Everyday Beauty is all about Ellis Faas concealer and Chantecaille eyeliner. I love both.

EauMG shows us a gorgeous vintage-inspired makeup look.

Fab Over 40 gives some love to a much neglected line, 29 Cosmetics. I second every word.

Dane of Pere de Pierre talks flankers:  No. 19 Poudré (Chanel) & Habit Rouge Eau de Parfum (Guerlain) .

And with this I bid you good reading and excellent shopping!



Image: a Bergdorf Goodman ad from 1934, the Dirty Thirties on Tumblr.