Perfume and Lipstick- NYC Trip part 4

My last post ended with myself and Y getting our sugar-stuffed selves out of Laduree and deciding to go to Sephora. This may be somewhat surprising- why visit a city like NYC and then go to a national chain store like Sephora? Two words: Jo Malone.

Jo Malone is a British perfume brand that I wasn't really aware of until sometime last year. Then I got a couple perfume samples in various beauty orders and I was instantly hooked. Their scents are quite unique; there are many perfumes I like but I have to confess they do all rather smell alike after a while. Nothing wrong with that, after all there are only so many notes out there and it makes sense that popular combination are, well, popular! Jo Malone's perfumes on the other hand are kind of like nothing I've ever smelled before. My first Jo Malone was a Peony & Blush Suede deluxe size sample from Sephora. Oh my goodness that a great one to start with because it smells so gorgeous. Floral, a little powdery, not too sweet and somehow instead of smelling like an old lady it just smells incredibly romantic. (Not that there's anything wrong with smelling like an old lady, I actually rather like old-fashioned floral perfumes but I know they're not "in" right now.) My second Jo Malone was another deluxe sample, but this time it was the more fresh, spicy, almost masculine but not exactly Basil & Neroli. Again, an incredibly unique fragrance that quickly became a favorite.

The exposure to these two wonderful Jo Malone perfumes made me really curious about what their other scents smell like. However, while both Sephora and Nordstrom stock the Jo Malone brand online, neither of my local stores had any of the perfumes physically in their store so that I could smell them! Which brings me, literally and figuratively, to New York. I figured if there was any place that would definitely have Jo Malone perfumes in hand, it would be a Sephora in Manhattan. We quickly found a nearby Sephora and my hunch proved correct- there was so many to smell! Jo Malonie is very prolific so there were at least 20 or so perfumes to discover, each one just as unique and surprising as the next. After spending a good 20 minutes or so spritzing and sniffing, I settled on three that I like (not including the already familiar to me Peony & Blush Suede and Basil & Neroli): Mimosa & Cardamom, Wild Bluebell, and Oud & Bergamot. I went to go find a sales associate to request samples from, because I always like to wear a fragrance for a few days and see how it wears on me before making any final decisions. Imagine my surprise when I was informed that Jo Malone doesn't permit their fragrances to be sampled! I didn't even know that brands could do that, since getting a sample before buying is kind of what makes Sephora such a cool place to shop. A little bit of a bummer, but at least now I know which Jo Malone perfumes I like and which I detest (literally each fragrance I tried I had an immediate love it or hate it type of reaction.)

With that done, we wandered over to browse makeup for a bit. In particular, I wanted to visit the Guerlain section to see the newly relaunched Rouge G lipsticks. Several years ago they all came with lovely heavy silver cases with a mirror, but they were rather pricey (around the $60 mark if I remember correctly) and I never bought one. Recently, Guerlain relaunched the Rouge G's with 15 new cases to choose from as well as new shades. And most importantly, the cases were sold separately from the lipsticks, meaning that once you finish a tube you don't have to toss the entire thing; instead you can simply purchase a new tube and slide it into your case! At $17.50 per case and $32.50 per lipstick, the relaunched lipsticks are also cheaper overall than the first generation. Ever since I saw photos of the cases online, I knew that the pearly baby pink K-Doll case had to be mine. It didn't even matter what particular lipstick shade I would get, I just *neeeeeeeded* that case with a passion. We were approached by the lovely and very helpful Abby, who guided us through the lipstick color choosing process. I already knew which case I wanted of course, but I had no idea which lipstick color. Abby recommended #520, which is a sheer glossy Ph-adapting pink color that I ended up liking quite a bit. Y got one as well, choosing the white marble case and a hot pink shade (#888 I believe?) for her lipstick.

Now here's where the drama set it! During our time in the perfume section, I had noticed an engraving machine (that location offers complimentary engraving on any bottle of perfume you buy). During the Rouge G relaunch, I had seen photos/video of people getting their lipstick cases engraved with their name. Admittedly, this was people who lived in London, not the US, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if they could engrave my name onto my case. The wonderful gentleman who attempted it really went above and beyond; he spent a good thirty minutes trying to calibrate the machine and doing test runs on a sacrificial case before admitting defeat. It was so dramatic watching him work, and I really appreciated all his effort! Even though I didn't end up with a personalized case, I was really impressed by their customer service and how genuinely interested in helping me all the employees were. Well done Sephora!

We made a quick stop at Nordstrom Rack as well where I bought a couple essentials: a Mario Badescu facial mist and a pack of false eyelashes- obviously items one cannot do without. The face mist I ended up really liking! It's very refreshing, I like the smell, and it adds hydration to your face without disturbing your makeup. The falsies were a little less successful of a purchase, as I found them too dramatic for my preference. However, the eyelash glue is handy and I do appreciate the little tweezer tool, so they weren't a complete waste and who knows, I might try my hand at trimming them to see if I can improve their functionality! At this point we were good and tired after having been out and about for 5 hours or so, and it was getting to be late afternoon anyway so we decided to head home for dinner. Our evening was spent cooking and relaxing, as well as mentally preparing for our separation in the morning....

Part 5 will definitely be the last, promise!

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