Bergdorf Goodman

Makeup:
Le Metier de Beaute's growing success has earned the brand an upgrade. The Bergdorf Goodman counter is relocating to a much more central space on the beauty level. There are some beautiful new summer products coming out, a skin care miracle and a lot more to talk about. Stay tuned.

Perfume:
The fragrance department at Henri Bendel is slowly but surely reclaiming its rightful place in the city's shopping scene, thanks to Giuseppe, its new(ish) manager. There are plans to move and change the current floor plan and allocate more (premium) space to perfume. New brands have been added and there are some exciting surprises in the works, including lines that have never been seen in NYC before. I'll report the details as soon as the launch dates are set.

In the meantime, there are a couple of interesting events scheduled at Bendel for the next few weeks that should interest many of us-
6/12 A personal appearance of Robin Coe Hutshing of Memoire Liquide
6/15 (5:30PM) OsMoz Workshop (see bellow)
6/17 (5pm-7pm) Tilda Swinton will sign bottles of Like This, her perfume collaboration with Etat Libre d'Orange.

As for the perfume workshop:
Perfumer Sabine de Tscharner of Firmenich will conduct a fragrance workshop where attendees will learn about notes and accords in perfumery. The  $100 fee includes an OsMoz kit of 12 accord bottles. Naturally, space is limited. To reserve a spot call 212-904-7990.

Today was all about good news. If you remember the stunning Roopal Patel Collection (a Bergdorf Goodman exclusive)  from Le Metier de Beaute (the woman not only has the best job in the universe, she also got a palette named after her), the most coveted part of it was Magic, a cream glaze that transforms any color, including powder shadows, into sheer stains and glosses for the cheeks, lips or eyes. Apparently, I wasn't the only Magic-obsessed soul, so the company is about to release it as a stand-alone product. I'll take a pint or two, thank you very much.

My second surprise of the morning came from Henri Bendel. No, they have not invested in a fabulous e-commerce system (they are on Twitter and Facebook, though, so at least they acknowledge that new Internet thing), but there is something new in the striped halls. Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics isn't a really new line- it was actually launched in 1996. But this is a first time they venture out of spas and clinics and into a department store setting. Youngblood is going to be Bendel's only mineral makeup line, and that's a very wise decision for a store that clearly doesn't want to compete with Macy's.

I was never a fan of mineral makeup, mostly because of the weird finish most products took on my face, but Youngblood products seem to be free of any shine and shimmer where you don't want it and there's a wide range of colors and textures, including a liquid foundation and pressed version of all the powder-based products (try applying a loose powder-anything when a cat or two are rubbing against you. Fun times). The Bendel launch was two weeks ago, an event that brought Philip Luque, Senior Educator and Makeup Artist to NYC. Today, just before he left back to Los Angeles, Philip did my makeup and showed me a couple of things outside of my normal comfort zone (details soon). It was a wonderful, relaxing experience and I loved the final results.

So there you have it- a fabulous beauty day. And I was floating on a cloud of vintage Mitsouko which definitely added to the fun.

Photo of the Youngblood Mineral Mineral Cosmetics counter at Henri Bendel from the company's Facebook page.