Fashion at the Park: Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show, Fall ’08

Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show tent

Wouldn't you like this to be your makeup kit?

The Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show was the event that first attracted me to NorthPark Center’s Fashion at the Park. The promise of “the season’s newest fashions, makeup, skincare and fragrances” was irresistible to a cosmetics lover such as I. So I bought my ticket (just $15) and was thrilled when it came in the mail with a hand-written note.

Saturday morning began with a free buffet of pastries, bagels, alcoholic drinks (maybe I’m a square, but 9 a.m. is a bit early for cocktails), coffee and water. Attendees also registered for bountiful gift baskets, which were awarded later in the show by handsome male models (?) in OU and UT T-shirts (a reference to the football game later in the day).

The show itself, however, was something of a disappointment. It basically turned out to be sales pitches for products in between short fashion show segments. And the sales pitches were mediocre; it seemed that most of the cosmetics/product reps were speaking extemporaneously, a technique which came off as simply unprepared and uninteresting.

MAC promotes its Gold Fever collection.

The fashion show segments were intended to show the featured makeup looks (winter berries, smoky eyes, metallics) with related garments. The clothing was not couture, but the show’s stylists created looks with a surprising amount of flair and creativity. Prevalent trends were ombre, feathers, hats, patterned hose, mixing textures (such as tweed and leather), plaid and ankle boots.

Smoky eye look by Chanel Beauty

Of all the shows I have attended at Fashion at the Park, I did expect this one—a product-focused event—to offer a goody bag. This could’ve been done easily and, one would think, cheaply with Nordstrom shopping bags and samples from the brands. But instead the organizers chose to offer a cheap-looking pleather tote with a stamped “woven” texture as a giveaway. I didn’t attend the show solely to get something free, but Nordstrom missed an opportunity to put product samples directly in the hands of customers who had already demonstrated an interest in cosmetics by simply being at the trend show; samples would have been tangible reminders of the promoted products and would have likely fostered future sales.

Some free samples were mentioned in product presentations, so I assume that Nordstrom’s intention was to draw attendees to individual counters following the show and offer samples and an additional sales pitch at the counters. While this might have worked if the audience had been 25 people, it didn’t really work with an audience of a few hundred. Nordstrom’s cosmetics area post-show was a crowded din.

The edge of the melee at Nordstrom post-show.

People were claiming their free pleather bags, or getting makeovers at the counters and in the aisle, or just milling around. Remembering which counters were offering free samples or demonstrations was a struggle (it should’ve been printed in the program as a checklist), much less wading through the throng to the counter and then finding an employee to wait on you. I left after a few minutes without claiming my free tote or any free samples.

View some of the fashion looks in the slideshow below.

In summary…

What Nordstrom did well:

• Presented a variety of fashion looks that are on trend for this season.
• Offered free makeovers following the show.
• Offered a $15 coupon on any day-of-show purchases to offset the ticket price.
• Offered generous baskets for a mid-show drawing.

What I think Nordstrom could improve on next season:

• If possible, move to an indoor location again. Attendees would be more comfortable, and projections on the video screens—which are vital to seeing the makeup looks if you’re in the back row—would be visible, unlike this season.
• Presenters should be well-rehearsed.
• A goody bag of samples would reinforce the presentations and convert into sales.
• Any counters offering free samples or services should be clearly noted in the program, possibly in a checklist form, to encourage show attendees to visit the counters.
• Temporarily expand the makeover/cosmetics area even further; the crush of people following the show was offputting to anyone who actually wanted to shop the cosmetics area.

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Sarah Palin Beauty News Roundup

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

America continues to be obsessed with Sarah Palin, including her hair, makeup, clothes and accessories. Why are we so fascinated with Palin’s image? Maybe it’s because, as the L.A. Times says, “…she’s a relative unknown, style is a lot of what we know about Palin right now.” Or, possibly, we’re just excruciatingly shallow.

So here’s a look at the Sarah Palin beauty news you may have missed:

• MAC artists suggested both natural and dramatic beauty looks for Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama and Palin. For Palin’s daytime/natural look, they suggest taupe eyeshadow with chocolate smudged in the corners (perhaps using the Spiced Chocolate shadow palette), lots of mascara, peachy blush and peachy-coral lips (maybe Dare You). For more drama, Palin should go for a glossy wine lip (we’d choose Desire, topped with Jampacked Lipglass) and a smokier eye. (Thanks to Beauty Snob.)
• New York Post reports that Palin has a “secret team” of stylists who selected a $2,500 Valentino jacket for her VP nomination speech. Radar estimates that the styling/hair/makeup team for Palin’s big night cost $7,050 (not including clothes or accessories).
• Escada is reportedly one of the candidate’s favorite labels, according to the Wall Street Journal, though she sometimes buys her designer clothes at a consignment shop called Out of the Closet.
• Palin got her much-remarked-upon hairstyle at the Beehive Beauty Shop in Wasilla, Alaska, according to the New York Times. The shop owner says the stylists are all “really strong Christians” and that Palin gave her a red coffeepot as a wedding present. Palin originally visited the salon as mayor in 2000, when she needed a fix after a bad dye job. A haircut at Beehive costs $30.
• Capitalizing on “lipstick” comments by both sides of the ticket, pitbullmom.com has launched a line of products including two lipstick shades: Pale N’ Pink and Republican Red. Each lipstick sells for $9.99.
• For only $114, you can get a wig that wigsalon.com claims very closely approximates Palin’s hair—you’ll need your own bobby pins and teasing comb, of course. It’s a Raquel Welch shoulder-length shag in Glazed Hazelnut, Hazelnut Shadow or Chocolate Copper.
• Is even Sarah Jessica Parker inspired by Palin’s updo? She showed up the Sex & the City DVD release in a style quite similar (at least from the front) to Palin’s.

See also: Sarah Palin, Lover of Comfy Shoes (Pics!)

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Palin & McCain: Just Another Pretty Face?

I’m not going to say anything about Sarah Palin’s politics. This isn’t really that kind of blog. But I will say something about her makeup. She goes all out. Even in candid shots, such as the one below, taken while she was visiting Dillingham, Alaska, in 2007, she looks so put together.

Sarah Palin in 2007

Y’know? Despite the hooded jacket, her face is bright and flawless. The Tina Fey comparisons abound, but, at her age, she reminds me of Susan Lucci. She looks great. Obviously, some people disagree, rebuking the gov for the amount of makeup she wears. I just think either she or her stylist really knows how to play up her features.

I’ve had male friends who have worn concealer and powder and some of them felt very ashamed. One even confessed it as a “sin.” But why such self-flagellation? The desire to look good, to cover blemishes and enhance your features—is that strictly a female desire? Anyone who has to be in the spotlight knows that the face (and how you choose to conceal or highlight it) is part of the whole image package. And on-camera makeup is acceptable for men, as seen below. But why won’t men accept daily use of cosmetics?

UPDATE: New York Post reports that John McCain spent $5,583.43 to hire makeup artist Tifanie White to prepare him for TV spots.

Everyone benefits from a little mattifying. (Join rightpundits.com's caption contest by clicking on this photo.)

Sarah Palin photo: triciaward’s Flickr. John McCain photo: rightpundits.com.

Related posts:

Sarah Palin, Lover of Comfy Shoes (Pics!)

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Doing Good: L’Occitane en Provence

Love L'Occitane's products and their social conscience.

L’Occitane en Provence always entices me into buying (at least) a bar of soap with their pleasant, “natural” scents such as lavender, almond and verbena, and the quaint-but-stylish jars, tins and bottles. But I have wondered before why most of their packaging incorporates Braille.

The writers over at Sephora’s Beauty and the Blog answer that question in a brief blog series about The L’Occitane Foundation.

Read about the foundation’s threefold mission here:

1) Projects for sense-impaired individuals, in particular the blind and partially sighted

2) Sustainable economic development headed by women in poor countries

3) Preservation of nature’s knowledge

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Sephora Adds Reviews & You Can Win $500!

Next time you surf over to sephora.com, you may notice that something has changed. It may not be instantly apparent, but Sephora has added the capability to review or start a Q&A thread about any product on the site. You will have to submit your e-mail address and create a password to do either, but the review/question forms look quite detailed and include the ability to add photos and video.

It makes sense that Sephora would want to build a “community” around their site and the brands they carry—frankly, I’m surprised that they haven’t had user review capability before!

According to the Sephora blog, every time you review a product, you will be entered to WIN a $500 gift card from Sephora.

How long do you think it would take you to spend $500 on cosmetics and skin care? Myself, probably just a couple of hours, especially if I splurged on any these items:

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My Target Finally Has Jemma Kidd/Pixi/NP Set

Well, after my disappointment on Sunday (target.com said the new Jemma Kidd, etc. lines were available at my local Target and they weren’t), I found a Target in town that has these displays set up.

The Experience

The displays are quite attractive—backlit white translucent panels—and look distinct from the surrounding mass-market beauty lines. My Target had the Jemma Kidd items on the endcap (a good choice, I think), and the Pixi and NP Set items around the corner, in the aisle.

And, as promised, lots of testers. The only items that didn’t have testers available were the palettes in each line. Instead, open palettes were displayed in clear acrylic boxes. So if you were hoping to test any of the palettes, it’s not gonna happen. I think I was probably the first tester on some of the items (I know I broke the seal on the Pixi Eye Color Sealer.) And, boy, did I have fun—the back of my hand is still covered with trails of lipstick and shimmery eyeliner.

The testers really seemed to attract a crowd. At least five other women (and two little girls) stopped to test while I was making my rounds. It’s thoughtful of Target to include an eye-level combo mirror/Kleenex box/trash container with the display, so that one can clean up one’s hands and keep on testing.

What I Thought

Jemma Kidd

The Jemma Kidd eyeshadows were nicely pigmented and felt incredibly creamy for a powder shadow (reminds me of Shu Uemura eyeshadows). I was tempted by the colors Editor and Vintage but passed because I already own similar shades. I only noticed one matte eyeshadow shade; JK is big on shimmers, it seems. If you like Urban Decay’s liquid liner, JK has some great, boldly colored liners to check out. Another interesting product was the Lip ID Color-Adapt Lip Gloss. On the back of my hand, the gloss turned a delicate pink shade: it’s worth another look on my next visit. None of the stain/flush/blush concentrates really suited me, nor did the Sheer Vanity Gloss & Glaze—both seemed too sheer for me.

Pixi

I was more impressed with the Petra Strand’s Pixi line than I thought I would be. Online, the colors and products looked kind of boring, but they were better in person. The Illuminating Tint and Conceal appears to be not a sponge applicator, as I thought before, but a kind of pressed powder in a tube [CORRECTION: Upon a second, closer look, there is a dome of pressed powder on the cap, but when you unscrew the cap, there’s a tinted moisturizer in the tube.] I’m a fan of stains and washes, so I liked the cheek gels (three shades) and water blushes (two shades), and the lip blushes (four shades). Another nice lip choice was the Rose Lip Treat, a cross between a balm and sheer lipstick. Pixi had more palettes than the other lines, mostly of eyeshadows—but don’t overlook the Neutralizing Cover-Up palette (ignore the target.com description; these aren’t just eyeshadows), which is mixed in with the all the shadow sets. At $28, with eight shades of concealer, this seems like a better deal than the NP Set 5-Color Concealer Palette at $25. Unfortunately, I could not try either palette since there are no palette testers. Pixi had several other interesting items (Eye Bright kits, Lid and Line sticks, Brow Lift), and I will definitely be re-visiting this line on my next Target trip.

NP Set

The packaging on Napoleon Perdis’ NP Set line has a sophisticated/clinical look. But nothing in the line really stood out on this initial look-through, other than the dual-ended powder eye shadows. (Even then, I prefer the Jemma Kidd shadows.) The concealer set that originally intrigued me appears to be too red/pink for my complexion, though I was not able to test this palette. I noticed the same phenomenon in the blushes and lip products—they seemed geared toward women with red or pink undertones. But perhaps this was just my perception under the fluorescent lights. I will re-evaluate the NP Set line on my next visit, but my initial impression is indifference. [On a second visit, I determined that the powders and foundations seem appropriate for yellow undertones.]

What I Bought

In an earlier post, I mentioned several items that I thought looked promising, but the only one of those I ended up bringing home today was the Pixi Lip Blush in Purity. Working on a limited budget, I also chose JK Jemma Kid I-Tech Liquid Eyeliner in Abstract. In the discount store environment, surrounded by much cheaper cosmetics, I definitely felt that $18 was a lot to pay for each item. (I believe this was truly a function of the surroundings; I doubt I’d feel as troubled at Sephora.)

JK Liner in Abstract, $18

Pixi Lip Blush in Purity, $18

Look forward to a review of both of these items in the coming week, after I’ve had a chance to give them a good test run.

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Bobbi Brown at the DNC

I had heard that makeup maven Bobbi Brown would be attending the Democratic National Convention; she is actually a delegate from New Jersey. OK, maybe she’s not as much of a celebrity as Anne Hathaway, Sean Penn or Spike Lee (who’ve all been spotted in Denver this week), but among beauty devotees, her name is well-known for quality, no-nonsense products.

And it must be that reputation for sophistication that has now secured Brown herself to do the makeup for Jill Biden (plus her mother and sister) tonight for Joe Biden’s vice-presidential nomination acceptance speech. In a WWD piece, Brown said that Jill Biden seems like “the coolest, hippest modern lady” and called her “a classic Ralph Lauren-Bobbi Brown girl.”

No word on who’s doing Joe Biden’s makeup, but at least Jill will be putting her best face forward.

Thanks to WWD

UPDATE: Style.com offers a short interview with Brown at the DNC and a photo of Biden here.

For more DNC fashion/beauty tidbits, see:

Erickson Beamon: If It’s Good Enough for Michelle Obama…

Barack Obama’s Dapper Duds

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Bare Bum, Please Report to Cosmetics

Women’s Wear Daily reports today that U.K. cosmetics manufacturer Lush is again dropping trou to encourage shoppers to “go naked” when it comes to excessive plastic packaging. Your favorite Lush staffers will be encouraged to come to work in only their apron.

“It’s very funny and irreverent and gets people to laugh,” said Sean Gifford, the brand’s communications manager, who’s already shrugged off his clothes three times for the cause. “Once we get people to laugh they’re more receptive to the message.” The campaign, which kicked off in the U.K. last year and has since rolled out to other European countries and Australia, will hit Lush stores in the U.S. later this month. —WWD.com

We hope that Lush employees take advantage of the products, such as the exfoliating Buffy Body Bar, before baring all.

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MAC for Ungaro? Yawn.

M.A.C. is known for their bold but chic makeup. Their pigments are highly sought-after by makeup fiends to create daring, interesting eyes.

So, M.A.C.’s new collaboration with Estaban Cortazar of Emanuel Ungaro—at least from the initial product photos—leaves us cold. Yes, the colors are pretty…but tame. Might we even say bland? Delicate pinks, lilacs, blushing rose… this would’ve been a great spring line, but seems lackluster for fall.

An article from Women’s Wear Daily quotes designer Cortazar as saying about a M.A.C. store, “I knew this was a cool place because I saw all the amazing, fun colors, glitter and girls with blue hair running around with outrageous makeup on their faces.” OK, so how did you end with with such a bloodless collection?

Furthermore, the packaging—black with “emanuel ungaro” in hot pink—seems a bit punk/teenish and doesn’t really fit with the feeling of the collection. If you must do a spring-palette, ultra-feminine collection, why not at least do ultra-fem, lacy, retro packaging?

Frankly, we’re more interested in what we’ve seen of M.A.C.’s regular fall line: Cult of Cherry, especially the Illegal Purple nail polish.

MAC's Cult of Cherry looks promising.

Thanks to Specktra.net, glossy-kiss.blogspot.com, and Temptalia.

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More Rachel McAdams

You all seemed to love Rachel McAdams when I posted about her the other day, so here are a couple more photos from the T Magazine article, “Crazy Like a Fox.”

Top by Balmain, earrings by VBH.

Dress by Alberta Ferretti. Necklace by Lanvin. Belt by YSL.

To create the makeup look in the second picture, T Magazine recommends:

Shiseido the Makeup eyeliner pencil in black, $16 at sephora.com

Exceptionnel de Chanel Intense Volume and Curl Mascara, $28 at chanel.com

Estee Lauder Tender Blush in Pink Kiss, $25 at esteelauder.com

Chanel Le Crayon Yeux Precision Eye Definer in Noir (as lipliner), $28 at neimanmarcus.com

Make Up For Ever Flash Color in Black 11 (as lipstick), $17 at sephora.com

Rachel McAdams pictures from Just Jared. Full article and additional photos at T Magazine.

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