Makeup and Ladurée- NYC trip part 3

This is turning into a very long and epic tale, even though I was only gone for a weekend! Forgive the slow post speed, school is now out for the summer so I'm adjusting to a new schedule with less free time!

~Sunday Morning: Playing with Makeup and Brunch at Ladurée~

Waking up on Sunday was glorious, as I got to sleep in until 7:45! Usually my son gets me up between 6:15 and 6:30, so sleeping until nearly 8 and waking up in a slow gradual way was an absolute luxury. For Sunday Y and I had no concrete plans other than to absolutely enjoy our day, so we took our time in the morning to relax and get ready without rushing. Lo and behold the weather forecast had been correct after all and it was actually quite chilly. It was also drizzling steadily all day- good think I packed an umbrella and my favorite cream pullover!

After musing for a bit and settling into the day with a cup of tea (me) and coffee (Y), we decided to start out by having brunch at Ladurée. After that, we would see where the day took us. I love doing Y’s makeup whenever I visit, so after getting my own face done I did a little makeup tutorial for Y, explaining each step as I went along. I used my Too Faced Natural Eyes palette on her, and the Too Faced White Peach on myself. We probably spent a good two hours get ready but it was so much fun! I’m only sorry that I hadn’t thought to do her makeup on Saturday as well, what a missed opportunity! Due to the rainy and humid weather, we decided hair pulled back was the way to go today, so we both did our hair in the double coil bun I wrote about in this post. 

At around 11:00 we made our way over to the Ladurée on Madison Ave., where we were able to get a table right away. Y suggested we go earlier rather than later in order to beat the lunchtime rush and she was very much correct- when we showed up there were already people seated but one table was open and available for us so we were immediately seated. About 15 minutes after we arrived it got busier, and many more people started showing up only to be told there would be a wait if they wanted to sit. (FYI, the Ladurée on Broadway Ave. takes reservations in advance, so if you're the punctual type that might be a better idea!)

The seating area is fairly small (only 4 petite tables!) but the little dine-in nook was very charmingly appointed. A velvet banquette, a large mirror on the wall, and pretty art on the walls as well as other ornaments really set the mood for a lovely brunch.

We perused the menu for a bit and ordered the Le Petit Déjeuner Ladurée to split between us, as well as two finger sandwiches and an extra coffee for Y. Le Petite Déjeuner Ladurée has some options to choose from and we plumped for the hot chocolate and the grapefruit juice. In retrospect, the grapefruit juice was an excellent idea because it really helped cut the sugar, but the hot chocolate was a mistake. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious! But so rich and decadent it was almost a full meal all by itself! We did wonder what the “selection of mini viennoiseries” would turn out to be (I Sherlocked a guess that it would involve croissants) and it did indeed turn out to be 4 mini Ladurée croissants. The four we were served were a Rose Croissant, a Traditinal Walnut Croissant, a plain Croissant, and a Pain sure Chocolate (which is a chocolate filled croissant). Alas, the rose croissant was devoured before either of use remembered to take a picture... that should tell you how good it was! I could write pages and pages waxing lyrical about how amazing these croissants were. Suffice to say that their perfection was absolute. I don’t usually enjoy croissants because I dislike pastries where you can taste the butter; however these croissants were nothing like that. Their flavor was so subtly delicious that even the plain croissant stood out. My favorite was the rose one, but they were all absolutely scrumptious. So much so that I am determined that all future visits to NYC must include a visit to Ladurée for a croissant; they are without a doubt divine and not to be missed!

Once our sugar-bomb repast was consumed (really, that hot chocolate almost killed us, and we split it! I can’t imagine finishing one by myself...) we paid our bill and wandered over to the cake, pastry, and macaron display to choose our goodies. Y was far too full of sugar to consider purchasing any more sweets, but I wanted to bring some macarons home as a little surprise treat for my dear husband (I figured the beautiful little cakes and pastries could not have survived the trip home). The macaron flavors available all looked amazing, but as I could only choose 6 I ended up going for Petale de Rose, Pistache, Fleur d'Oranger, Cassis Violette, Lavande, and Caramel a la Fleur de Sal- rose, pistachio, orange blossom, blackcurrant violet, lavender, and caramel with salted butter respectively. A flower theme for sure, but I'm happy to report they were all very very tasty. My favorite flavor was.... all of them. Truly, I couldn't pick just one, they were all amazing. The texture was perfection as well, slightly chewy and not dry or crumbly. Yummy!

At the cash register, a trio of stacked cute little boxes in pink, cream, and green caught my eye. They contained sugared almonds (a popular wedding favor!) in the color that matched each box. Now I've never been much impressed by the sugared almonds I've tasted in the past, but after my experience with the croissants I thought to give the Ladurée version a try. Besides, I liked the box! I am so so glad I did, because they turned out to be heavenly- a beautiful delicate flavor, not too powerful or sickly sweet but incredibly pleasant and aromatic. The almond inside the sugar coating was also quite nice- not stale or bitter at all, but rather very fresh and a very good flavor. Like the croissants, I cannot overstate how delicious they were, and sugared almonds will definitely be something I go to purchase every time I go to NYC from now on. Best of all, unlike the macarons, croissants, or other pastries, sugared almonds have a long shelf life, which means I don't have to eat them all at once and instead I can savor the flavor (and the memories it brings) until my next visit.

Tummies full, we went outside to sit under the awning and marshal our sugared-out brains into forming a plan for what to do next. Of course we had to take a couple quick snaps in front of the pretty storefront too!

In the end, we decided to go to Sephora to have a browse among the perfumes and lipsticks. Tune into my next post to read all the dramatic happenings that awaited us there! ;)

***This post is not sponsored in any way.***