I love New York so much. For three Days. I”m on my third day, and it’s time to haul my sorry, tired feet and butt back to Colorado – yoga and quiet.
This was a trip for me, my sister and my niece. We’ve had a blast – from lounging in the Palace courtyard drinking wine to the 1:30a knock/ringing of our hotel doorbell from some unknown clearly oversharing maurauder who shouted to let him in so he could “make the pee-pee!!” We didn’t.
We went to Bergdorf — wait, right up front, I should tell y’all that I really didn’t sniff perfume this weekend, except the new Byredo. Not sure why, just didn’t get around to it. I did smell all the new Malle candles, the ones I don’t have, and now I think I need them all or most all – I may be able to exclude a couple maybe. I’m pea-green with envy after reading Anita’s post from Monday about meeting Mr. Malle. He’s done some amazing work with scent, and his candles really take it in a completely new direction. More on that later – maybe today or maybe Thursday. I did ask if they’d ever make some of the candle scents into perfume and was told no, never.
Bergdorf was the place for my much-wanted Le Metier makeover. Since there was the first of two parades going on Sunday, we sorta had the place to ourselves, and the super-fabulous Dustin gave me a spectacular lesson with all the Metier products. It’s a pricey, but a great line. He did tell me that Le Metier uses no tar in their mascara, which does make sense since theirs is one of the few mascaras that do not bother my eyes in the least when I have it on. Most mascaras do have tar in them, he said. I have no idea what’s in anything, but when he told me the two brands that had the most in them, they are the two brands I absolutely can’t wear without my eyes just going into red revolt. Hmmm.
The rest of the Le Metier products really work for people like me who just get weary of having to know where my brow crease is since it keeps moving every year I get older. The kaleidoscope face, lip and eye palettes are so easy to use and look flawless when you finish, but not overdone in that face masky kind of way. The concealor blended into my undereye area perfectly and didn’t look like I’d just put on concealor. The true test of his skills is when I put my own face on this morning, and it looked just like the one he gave me yesterday that I loved.
Complete success on that mission. And I picked up another pair of boots that I need about as much as I need another eye shadow or lipstick.
Today (Monday) was a jaunt up to the upper West (?) side to see St. John the Divine Church, which is pretty spectacular, but why do people pee in the area by the churchwith the statute? Maybe it was the same guy that wanted to “make the pee-pee” Sunday night. For some reason, I thought we were walking like 30-40 blocks. It turned out to be like 80 blocks, halfway through Central Park, and we weren’t even halfway there. My hips, feet, calves, ass are so sore right now. At least we found the good sense to grab the subway back to the hotel, swan up to our room in a hurry, change clothes and walk over to the Plaza for tea. Tea at the Plaza is lovely. Not as lovely as the teas I had in London, but really charming.
Okay, the candle thing will take too long to put in this post, sorry! Plus I’ve just burned two of the three I picked up, so I can’t talk about them all, except to say these three have the same great throw as the other two. I do have a question to ask, how do you New Yorkers walk they way you do in heels? Is there a trick to this? I walk in flats, but even then, my feet feel like hamburger. I can’t imagine how 7 hours walking would feel if I’d worn my stacked heel boots. What do I not know? Or do y’all just have heels on from the time you’re 3?
Having worn heels for many years in NYC, I am now suffering the price. I can hardly get through half a day in them now, and my feet KILL. Today I am wearing a pair of heels, and I want to rip them off and throw them out a window. BUT they do look nice, and beauty is pain.
Sounds like you’re having a great time. I’ve never been to NYC. I’m a Chicago girl :)
~Sophia
Fit&FabLiving
Your trek up to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine reminded me of a similar walk that I took back around 1989 when I walked up there to deliver a letter to the library in the cathedral. I had written a letter to Madeline L’Engle, the author, and knew that she worked there. I didn’t see her, but she wrote back a few weeks later. :-)
Back in those years, I worked downtown in DC, and I was one of those commuters who wore tennis shoes with her business suits and changed into pumps at work.
Are you still using the Armani products that you raved about earlier this year? Do you still think it’s really effective? Le Metier sounds like primo stuff.
What a great story!
I am still using the Armani products. Love them just as much. The true test of any moisturizer on my face, though, is coming up with the Colorado winter around the corner. So I’ll know if it’s really bulletproof by February. :)
Do tell — IS there any such thing as a smudgeproof, waterproof mascara? Or any product one can apply to the skin beneath them to prevent it? I’ve never found either.
Clarins makes a product called Fix’ Mascara Waterproofing Seal which I don’t use very often, but it does seem to work. You brush it on on top of your mascara and it acts like a little raincoat for your lashes.
The Metier comes as close as I’ve been to it. The Kiss Me is really good, too, it has the little tubes that go around your lashes, but they just don’t make them as big as I’d like.
Now I really want to smell those Malle candles!
Running around in high heels reminds me of Eva Longoria as Gabrielle on Desperate Housewives. She totally cracks me up – always wearing high heels, and always on the rampage in them.
I always think of Bette Midler and her teeny-weenie girly steps.
They are wonderful. I did get the Amy’s Country Candle gardenia candle, which is a reasonably priced substitute for the Malle Gardenia one. don’t get me wrong, the Malle scent is otherworldly gorgeous gardenia/tuberose. The Amy’s candle is a little more plasticky, but it has a great throw, and I’d probably be really happy with it if I’d never smelled the Malle.
This is so fun. Last week I was in NY for the very first time, and I also got a makeover at the Le Metier counter, aaand… I also left with the mascara and a few more goodies. :) And I wasn’t even going to buy anything, I was just keeping my friend company but they roped me in for a quick makeover and I was hooked!
Oh, what fun! Was it Dustin that did it or someone else? What else did you get? I’m fairly immune to big makeup busy anymore, but I did find too many things I really liked.
It wasn’t Dustin, it was one of his colleagues (I didn’t get her name). I got the mascara, the eyeliner, a single eyeshadow in a lovely cool greyish purple and the Flawless Face Kit Kaleidoscope. And got an eyelash curler as a gift. :)
I’m pretty immune to big makeovers too, but I let myself cave in because I got so much stuff in NY that you can’t get in my neck of the woods. Anyway, I’m sort of making an unoficcial vow not to buy more makeup until 2012 :d
Hi Patty,
Sorry didn’t run into you since I was in NYC on Saturday – and made a stop in Bergdorf’s, too! Although my makeover was over at the Guerlains counter… I’ll make my way to Le Metier someday. Everything is so pricy!
Anyway, just an fyi: St. John the Divine is actually located in Morning Side Hts – which is just on the outskirt of Harlem. It’s the same neighborhood as Columbia U.
Wow, close call! It’s all pricy. I’ve just given up complaining. Either I’ll get the stuff or not, prices don’t seem to be coming down.
Yup, that’s where we were, up by Columbia. We had to make a quick skibble over there so Samantha could pick up a t-shirt.
Have been dying to try the Le Metier line ever since I tried that sample Patty! What new heights of credit card debt are you trying to lure me too now??? New York sounds fun and I’m glad you had a good trip. Safe travels!
Sorry!!!! Glad you liked the Peau Vierge sample. The nice thing is, you don’t have to go too far in. their concealor is great, if you need it. And the face kit is essential. I love the way they layer eyeshadow and lip palettes, but you don’t *have* to have those. :)
As I remember from my years in NYC in the go-go 80’s they pioneered the habit of ladies trading heels for sneakers as soon as they were out of the door of the building. That or have a car service.
Watching the fashion sequence in “The Devil Wears Prada” (the montage with Anne Hathaway set to “Vogue”) I remember thinking A) “that coat would stay while about three seconds in the subway” and B) “she’ll be needing a good podiatrist if she’s going to be walking NYC in those shoes..”
Right, Tom! You see women in doorways all over town swapping out their shoes. And in all those years of Sex in the City, not one of those girls rode the train. New Yorkers DO take the train everywhere (taxis are for weenies and tourists) but not so much in stilettos and furs.
Ha! “and” Sex AND the City. Freud much?
Carter-
The LA version of that is having “restaurant shoes” As soon as you pull up to the valet you put on the killer heels then get to your table before you’re hobbled by them..
I was watching for that, but just didn’t see that much of it in person. I guess they’re good at the quick change. :)
The trick to walking any distance in heels in relative comfort is to stay below 3 inches, a nice supportive foot bed, and a platform of about a half inch to lessen the pressure on the ball of foot. Even then, be prepared for pain.
3 inches?!?!? Yikes. I can manage about 2 1/2 for an hour or so, but 3 is really pushing it for my ankle. But, Lord, I love how they look on!
P –
What are the two ‘tarred-up’ brands? I would love to avoid them – my eyes are trigger-happy and anything I can do to avoid the Red Eye Blow Up, well…:-?
Sounds like you had a great time!! I’m jealous!
Btw – I did ask M. Malle about candle-into-perfume and he did not say no. In fact, he looked somewhat enigmatic when we were yarking about the muguet (Ier Mai). Now…..take everything I say with a grain of salt: it’s 5 days later, I was slightly lit for the back-half of that Event and the mind plays tricks. But ya nebber know…
xo >-)
Zackly what I wanted to know: which are the tarry mascaras?
We prolly won’t learn that here – having given the SAs name and all – imagine how much trouble that could cause (for the informant). My SAs would FREAK at the notion of me sharing any of that kind of stuff – I imagine they all do!
But I decided to do a little sleuthing and came up with a couple of links –
http://bitbythebeautybug.com/2007/03/29/is-there-tar-in-drugstore-mascara/
answers.com says ‘no. absolutely not’ – but I dunno if they are the Evil Love Slaves of the Mascara Industry or something 😕
this has nothing to do with tar, but is fascinating
http://www.fashionmagazine.com/beauty/regulararticle/83/
okay, I have to get back to the grind.
Carry on!
xo >-)
I promised not to tell publicly.
That makes total sense to me!
xo >-)
ps I’m not jealous about your NY trip at all – nope! (insert whistling emoticon here). I’m off to Des Moines!
xoxoxo >-)
I answer to your question is being young and caring way more about fashion than your feet!!
I used to wear heels all the time walking around NYC. Then I got older and my feet hurt more and I just couldn’t take it!! It’s crazy and I have the foot damage to prove it. Now I walk around with my sneakers and orthotic inserts (you would think I’m 60 from that statement, I’m not, but foot damage happens quickly!!) and it is heaven, may not fashionable, but my feet feel great.
Glad you had a good time here, it was a lovely weekend!!
My pal Babs and I ruined our feet with Andrew Geller pumps. Hers were black, mine were brown – and they were gorgeous (back in the late 70s, there was a stand-alone Geller boutique on Mich Ave). Anyway, we were so dumb – we wore those shoes everywhere – and we were fond of walking. I remember getting off the el at Fullerton and, unable to walk more than a block (and taxis were an unheard-of extravagance back then at 21), stopped to rest at my florist! Sat there for nearly an hour, until they were ready to close up shop, at which point they drove me the three blocks home!
She ended up having surgery (which didn’t work) and I am now VERY careful with my po’ old dawgs.
xo >-)
Yeah, I work 3-4″ heels all day, every day, until I was about 35. I walked miles in them, danced in them, ran in them. And then my feet said “enough, fool!” I still wear them occasionally, but 5-10 blocks is the max, no dancing, and definitely no running.
make that “worked”
Wow, I don’t think I can do even 2 blocks now…I am impressed!!
I’ve done ten, but not by choice. Over 3-1/2 inches, two blocks would be my limit, for sure. Above that…TAX-eeee!
My feet just can’t manage at all – mostly old ankle injuries and knee injuries, my legs just don’t have the stability to topple along on heels for too far before something ugly will happen. :)
I’ve been staggering around on a torn left hip for 17 years, so I hear that.
RE : mascara ! Your post is so timely , I cannot wear mascara either but always wanted to . now that I have contact lenses it is even more important to choose the right one . Le Metier is where I shall be when I get to NYC next weekend .
I wonder if they will throw me out of INGLOT if I ask them about tar in the mascara ?
Yeah , lucky Anita with her nose in mr. Malle’s chest….picture it !!
NECK! NECK!
xo >-)
What is INGLOT? I’m really happy with their mascara. The other one that is working for me is the Armani Eyes to Kill – not bothering my eyes at all. I’ve googled this tar thing and can’t find the definitive answer. But I do believe there’s something in some mascaras that is hard on my eyes and just make them distraught. 🙂
Holy crap, Patty (pun more-or-less intended)…the cathedral is on 112th, so my my calculation it’s closer to 60 blocks, but still, that’s quite a stroll!
Walking in NYC is harder on a body because, except for your little hike through the park, it’s all on concrete, and that really does make a huge difference. You know that expression, “pounding the pavement?” I don’t think anyone here walks very far in heels; blocks, yes, but not tens of blocks. You will see women everywhere changing their shoes from heels into flats and back again. Otherwise, it’s taxi time.
It was a seriously long way. We started at Madison and 50th, went up and over through Central Park until about 80th or that. going through Central Park was fine, it was hitting the pavement that starts jarring the hips and the ankles. Bleah. But it was a great walk!!!
Yes, that is a seriously long way! I was calculating from 59th & 5th, so your figuring is pretty close to the mark.