Neiman Marcus Guerlain and Champagne

Last Wednesday, members of the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida attended Guerlain and Champagne, an event hosted by Neiman Marcus of the Orlando Mall at Millenia to showcase the high-end beauty brand Guerlain and the brand new fall collection that is exclusive to launch Neiman Marcus stores first. Mall at Millenia is home to the only Neiman Marcus in Orlando, and if you have been inside, you know how absolutely beautiful the store is. The Orlando location houses my favorite in-store installation ever. So so pretty!

I loved attending the last beauty event at Neiman Marcus, and was excited to be back to learn more!

For Fall 2012, Neiman Marcus will be the premier launch store for the newest fall colors. The store had *just* put out the display that day, and what a beauty it was! There were colors to please the femme d’amour (for the more ethereal softer look) and the femme fatale (for the sultry seductress). To begin, we all took a short quiz to see which one we were- I was 50/50! Yup, knew I had it in me, hehe.

Then came the introduction of the new collection. Look at this display! It contained lipsticks, lip glosses, blushes, and examples of the compacts. Guerlain has a beautiful bullet case for their lip products that was introduced with their Rouge G lipsticks. I must admit, it took a while for me to open it- but that’s why there are instructions on the case itself! It is a convenient way to house an application mirror. I also learned that Guerlain was the first company to mold lipsticks into the iconic sticks they are in today!

I love, love, love color, and I felt the lip colors, called Rouge G L’Extrait, were the star of the show. My favorites were the brights, but some of the other ladies tried some beautiful vampy colors- perfect for autumn. The lip colors are basically gloss lipsticks with a semi-matte finish, meant to be worn all day, yet be easily removable as well. I tested this later when I had dinner. The color was opaque and matte, but I didn’t have to rub it off to have clean lips again.

I had not worn any makeup to the event, but I sure left with some on! A bright lip and some blush was applied by the lovely Guerlain rep. I thanked her a lot- I don’t ever wear blush! I felt pretty snazzy.

Starting August 6 until August 11, Neiman Marcus will be holding a Guerlain exclusive mega event. At your local Neiman Marcus, to celebrate the release of the newest collection, with the purchase of $250, customers will receive a complimentary brush set worth $250. The set comes housed within a velvet brush holder, presented in a luxe pink box. With any purchase, customers will receive a complimentary sample of Guerlain’s classic Shalimar fragrance. I’m an investor in products like lipsticks, and the Fall 2012 Rouge G L’Extrait colors will be available for $48.

Representing the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida were Stephanie, Judi, Safia, Cat, Kimberly, Courtney, and Nidia!

Afterwards, a few of us grabbed some dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. I love pizza, perhaps a bit too much.

It was a very fun event, and thank you so much to Neiman Marcus for inviting us! Please visit your local Neiman Marcus beauty counter to learn more about what’s what for Fall 2012.

OOTD
Forever 21 dress – I must admit, this is the shortest dress I have ever worn outside of my house.
Gap city flats

NOTD
Sally Hansen Kitty Kitty

Outtakes: Duck face edition.
It’s no surprise that I feel better about myself when I don’t look normal. I was able to take some duck face pictures with my friends while we wore our new lip colors. We look good in Guerlain, I tell ya what. Those vampy colors, they look so good on them!!! Need to invest…

Tampa Garnier Greener Tour

On June 30, I met up with some members of the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida to attend the Garnier Greener Tour, making a stop near Tampa in Brandon, Florida hosted by our very own Phyrra!

It was a whole bunch of fun! Not only did I get to see some friends, but I loved learning more about Garnier and their take on being responsible with the environment. What do you think of when you think of Garnier? Hair and green. The color green is synonymous with their brand, and they are making a mobile tour throughout the country to showcase how green Garnier really is, be promoting recycling and the elimination of waste through TerraCycle. I took many pictures. To view the album, just click here. I take way too many photos…

I got my hair styled.

The stylists did a great job with adding volume and awesome braids.

We were next to a Wal-Mart. Of course we had to visit the makeup aisle.

Thanks again to Garnier and Courtney of Phyrra for the amazing experience! Shoutouts to my ladies: Maria of Cult Nails, Kimberly of Libby’s Pink Vanity, Kari of Once Bitten, Judi of Judixo, and Eugenia of Geniabeme!

Happy early birthday to Coco, Maria’s daughter, who attended the event and showcased her favorite lime green nail polish called Deal with It! Perfectly paired with Garnier! To celebrate her 13th birthday on the 11th, Cult Nails is launching a very special collection for her called Coco’s Untamed Collection.

Have a great day, everyone! Beauty lovers: you know we all buy, buy, buy. When you buy, discard smart, recycle!

And before I sign off, a guest jump from Kim!!! LOVE IT.

Reviva Seaweed Soap!

Recently on the FB page for the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers, we all chimed in on how we felt about the Reviva Seaweed Soap. Reviva Labs was a sponsor of the May meetup, and many in our group were surprised at how high quality their products were for a company we had not heard of before. The soap was very interesting to review because we were all split on how we felt about it. Everyone needs to use soap, how did I like it? Read on for my take after a few pictures.

All Natural Seaweed Soap, $4 from Reviva Labs

In its plastic wrap.

The bar. See the all-natural scrubby goodness?

Box info.

This is my usual soap: Dove Unscented. I prefer Dove because I love a bar soap, and the quality has never let me down. My husband does not like fragrance, so we get the unscented.

Dove, and just bar soap in general, is favored by my because it lathers so well and is easy to handle. I tried to be like the cool people and use the shower pouf and shower gel, but it’s just weird. When I ran out of soap one day, I gave this one a try. This soap lasted me almost two weeks. On a whim, I decided that I wouldn’t put on body lotion afterwards. Why? I wanted to see if the soap left a film- I strongly dislike that, ugh.

I used the soap until I had a tiny little nubbin left. My thoughts? I loved the scrubby bits. I would prefer this soap to other exfoliating types that I have tried because it actually felt like it was working. The pieces of seaweed were rough in a good way, and I liked how it felt. I’m sure the tidbit about people in Spain using it for anti-cellulite is something I should do, too. It’s a feel good product in the shower. The soap rinsed off well and did not leave a film. My skin was not dried out, and I wasn’t ashy, which is my biggest skin concern when using bar soaps. My biggest con against the product is the scent. I am a person who loves sweet or fruity. Earthy simply isn’t my thing. BUT, I have heard others in the blogger group loved that scent. I could see this scent being preferred by men as well. I couldn’t get over it. Every time I used this soap, I was like, “Oh, I love you, scrubby soap, but I do not like this smell…”

After the two weeks, I went back to my normal soap, and I missed the scrubby goodness. I’d buy the soap again just for that, and while I was not a fan of the all-natural scent, the feeling that the product is working trumps that for me.

Neiman Marcus Beauty Blogger Event

I am not a high end kind of person. Sure, I buy some pricey things once in a blue moon, but the thrifty part of me usually ends up purchasing more for less money, which means drugstore or clearance. Nothing’s wrong with saving a buck, but sometimes I kind of want to try those pretty little things in the glass cases. I’m into makeup, but shy away from the nice stuff.

I get flustered even walking by department store beauty departments. Random reasons why?

* I do not want anyone to talk to me or sell anything to me.
* I do not believe I deserve to be there.
* It’s all too fancy, I can’t afford that!

Then again, if I complain that something is too expensive, I am the person who started off her nail polish obsession with a $9 bottle. That was beau coup bucks back in 2009!

Thanks to Stephanie at Imperfectly Painted, this all changed last Saturday, when I found suddenly found myself standing in a bright and shiny beauty department. With all of my friends. In Neiman Marcus. Holding an orange juice mimosa. Boom.

Neiman Marcus at Mall of Millenia held a breakfast for the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers to showcase the products available through their counters at NM, including some exclusives to the store as well. Brands ranged from Kiehl’s skincare to Jo Malone fragrance, and well-informed product specialists were on-hand to introduce us to the brands they represent and the products that make the brand top notch. This was the closest I’ve ever been to the makeup department counters. It is as amazing as it looks when you were hurrying by quickly, and most surprising of all: those people at the counter are super. Not only do they handle sales for their brand products, but they really are knowledgeable and helpful. They know their stuff! This is good to know for a girl who loves to ask a lot of questions.

This was a breakfast meetup, so first up: noms. Very delicious. Makes me hungry just looking at it!

We were divided into four groups to rotate through four different stations. Each station was manned by representatives for all the brands you know, and they pinpointed exactly why these brands are loved. My absolute favorites were Tom Ford and Chantecaille – I love learning more about all of the brands and I would actually make an investment purchase on a good perfume or palette.

Tom Ford

Laura Mercier

Chanel

Trish McEvoy

Yves Saint Laurent

Bobbi Brown

Le Metier de Beaute

Kiehl’s

Chantecaille

Estee Lauder

Giorgio Armani

Deborah Lippmann

Fellow Beauty Bloggers

Neiman Marcus Beauty Department

Follow me @nifty_ba on Twitter or as niftyba on Instagram for coverage of all kinds of random, but most likely beauty related events.

From now until June 10, Neiman Marcus is holding a summer special called Camp Gorgeous. With the purchase of $85 or more in the beauty department, you can walk home with a brand new exclusive tote to hold all your goodies, filled with samples from some amazing brands. I saw a small Bobbi Brown palette that is included inside- it would be perfect for on-the-go while on vacation!

Thank you to Neiman Marcus and Stephanie for this amazing experience. The bloggers were also provided with samples and goodies bags and I shall post about those in the near future (going to keep that Chanel paper bag out in my new office to feel fancy!). I feel more comfortable approaching the counter now. Especially for those Tom Ford fragrances…

OOTD
Marshalls striped maxi
WalMart sweater

NOTD
Maybelline Zip Fly under 2 coats OPI I Juggle… Men
Featuring a beautiful polish ring from Cristina at Let Them Have Polish!

Crack: A Habit Forming Hair Fix

This is my hair. Hello, hair!

For the past year, I’ve had short hair. It used to be pretty long. Like, longer than long. But it’s quite nice like this. I would like to think that my hair has been in better health because of the shorter length, but… I dye my hair at home, so it is dried out. And conditioner? Eh, I just spent two weeks not using any, so it felt super meh. I am blessed with thick Asian hair (and seven gray hairs!) that does what I want, but it’s not soft.

BUT I HAVE FELT THE SOFTNESS! And, man, I’m missing out!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I run my hands through my hair underneath the top layer to feel how soft it is. The top of my hair is just always so frizzy and coarse since I don’t take care of it. I tried this new product a few days ago and it made all my hair feel soft. OooOooOooOOOooo.

Meet Crack. Apparently it is “a habit forming hair fix.” The blurb on the back of the tube says “Crack is a leave-in hair cream made with Acai Extract and Silk Protein. This addictive multi-tasker moisturizes from the hair cuticle to the ends of the hair to protect from dryness and chemicals including chlorine.

One is supposed to work a small amount into towel dried hair.

I let my hair air dry. I couldn’t tell the difference after a few hours, so to put the product to the real test, I had my husband run his hands through my hair. Success! He said my hair was really soft!

I had incorrectly applied the product to the top of my hair only, and at least that part was soft. I tried Crack again the next day, wetting my hair and making sure to add product to all areas of my head. Air dried, and then something a little different: I curled my hair.

This is my hair the day I curled it.

And this is the next morning.

Wow, on curled hair… I love it. My hair is usually easy to curl, and I try to make sure I haven’t washed it in a few days to build staying power. The instant after I did my first curl, I could tell a difference- it was so much easier to curl it and oh my goodness, the staying power. I did not add any hairspray and I went to work on a rainy day. I slept on it, and the next morning, it looked near perfect. That’s incredible.

You can purchase Crack from Drugstore.com for under $20. My experience may be completely different from others, but if you have thick crazy coarse hair, I can actually recommend this. This product is more expensive than I’d usually purchase, but a little bit goes a long way. If you use too much, the hair just gets to feel heavier. To learn more about the product, visit Prolocks. Thank you for being a sponsor of the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers, Prolocks!

Products shown were provided for review.

May Meetup of the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers

A week after the last meetup, all the ladies were all excited and gearing up for another one! The next event couldn’t happen sooner! Luckily, we had some events in between, and it has been a great experience getting to know everyone in the group and meeting new people. The Central Florida Beauty Bloggers has grown in leaps and bounds, and the only way is up! How can we measure success so far? An active group on Facebook and Twitter, plans for the future, local and national sponsorship, OUTGROWING EVERY VENUE SPACE. That’s amazing.

This past Saturday, I attended the May meetup for the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers, this time held at Crave at Mall at Millenia. I will be featuring the ladies and sponsors in a separate post coming soon. I think I will also dedicate a blogroll just for all of the Central Florida Beauty Bloggers as well. For now, enjoy some pictures of the day. Look at this lovely group! So many amazing women with such great talent (and smiles). We had a lot of fun! We did have a photographer there, and once those pics come out, I’ll feature those too.