Beauty Deals and Exclusives at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale: Dior

Considering that we're just emerging from a hellacious heat wave, it feels ridiculously early to be talking about fall shopping. But that's the beauty of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale; it forces chronically unorganized types like me to plan ahead.

About Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale

Now, when most people think about this sale, they focus on new fall clothes, and rightly so. The anniversary sale is unique because Nordstrom discounts brand-new, just-coming-into-season merchandise long before people like me have started to think about fall clothes. Prices are slashed 30 percent--but then they go back up. So you see, one must think clearly and weigh one's option. Constant vigilance! Or one will end up paying retail.

Of course, for me, the real focus is in the cosmetics department. Products that ordinarily don't see the light of day in the U.S. get brought in. Special collections are put together. Exclusives are made available. Stuff goes on sale. It's a beauty junky's waking dream.

And for once, I'm not focusing only on the offerings at the Chanel counter.

Dior's A Purple Revolution Anniversary Collection 

When it comes to Dior, I'm a newbie. I only have a few Dior products, and the line still confuses me. I mean, what's with this whole Dior Addict name? I don't get it.

But one look at this nail polish collection and I fell like a ton of bricks.  Say hello to Shadow, Poison, and Orchid.

Les Violets Hypnotizes Vernis ($23.00 each)

And here, in a slightly less arty photograph:

Aren't they gorgeous?

I took one look at the photographs and fell in love. Purple is my favorite nail polish color. If there was anything that would make me want to rush through summer, it would be the opportunity to try out some gorgeous new purples on my nails.

Rumors of this collections release started circulating months ago, and I put up with the usual emotional roller coaster ride associated with any kind of crazy infatuation. I suffered through the highs and lows of a lovesick teenager. You know what I'm talking about: they were coming to the States! No they weren't! Dior loves me! Dior loves me not!

But now they'll be coming to Nordstrom. I can practically relax.

The collection also features a purple smoky eyes palette, which I'm not going to talk about because you and I should not be wearing purple, sparkly eye shadow. But the collection also includes two things that might look lovely on us: the Diorshow Extase Mascara in Plum ($28.50), 

and a Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss in Draped Lilac ($28.00)

The mascara and gloss look gorgeous, and I hope, are soft, wearable shades that will be flattering to my fair skin and hazel eyes.

For the record, Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss is my absolute favorite wand gloss, and that's saying a lot. I've bought more than my fair share of ridiculously expensive department store glosses, and Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss leaves Chanel's Glossimers and Guerlain's KissKiss glosses sitting in the road. Does that make me a Dior Addict? Maybe so.

For more pictures and swatches, even of that eye shadow trio that I don't recommend, check out this post in My Beauty Black Book. And join me in counting down to the sale.

Nordstrom's annual Anniversary Sale runs from July 20 to August 6th, 2012. Nordstrom card holders have the option of becoming members of Fashion Rewards and getting first crack at the sale. If I were you, I'd look into it, because sometimes the anniversary goodies blow out of the store. To apply, call 1-800-967-4918.

Red, White, and Blue

I hope you all had a wonderful fourth. We did--Mr. Buxom was in San Diego earlier this week, but made it home today to drive up to Jen Lancaster's for a fourth of July pool party. Jen's decorations, food, and friends were all wonderful, Fletch did yeoman's work with the grill--and oh, that pool ... I'll tell you something ... we're all a little self-conscious when it comes to prancing around in our swimsuits, but when it's over 100 degrees, you can get all four Buxoms to put on their bathing suits and jump into the pool.

My wardrobe and accessories were deeply patriotic, and would be if I lived in the UK, France, or Australia. In fact, it was difficult to tell whether I was celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Bastille Day, or Independence Day.

I wore a navy blue polo shirt, white jeans, red poppy sandals, a red white and blue Hermes bangle, and patriotic nail polish.

After too short a time at Jen's, we headed back home for a picnic with friends before our town's fireworks display. Amazing fireworks, synchronized to "76 Trombones" and "Anchors Away" and the 1812 Overture--and people actually sang the national anthem.

Again, great food, great people, festive atmosphere, and patriotic nail polish worn by yours truly.

Tomorrow the holiday feeling will end for us all. Mr. Buxom will go back to work. I'll head back to the gym. And Young Master Buxom will start summer school, where he'll be taking Consumer Education. How much do you bet that in the first week, they'll teach the students not to spend all their money on nail polish?

I hope your Fourth was glorious!

Findation, the on-line way to match a foundation shade

Now that I've been back from visiting the teenagers at summer camp, I've come to reluctant conclusion that teenagers are just like pre-schoolers, i.e., walking Petri dishes, except louder and more hormonal. Because I have the most god-awful cold, and it's keeping me, if not absolutely bedridden, at least indoors, and glued to the internet. Which is how I found findation.

Findation is an on-line database of foundation colors. You enter the shades of two foundations that are a good color match for your complexion, and it gives you a suggestions of other ones to try. Here's a screen shot so you can see how it works:

It works really well, as long as you don't give it Boots No. 7 Triple Protection Tinted Moisturizer in Fair (which I bought in England) and Natio Pure Mineral Foundation in Light, (which I bought in Australia). Supplied with those two shades, findation decided I was a big show-off who was just trying to prove how well-traveled she is, and only spat out two suggestions.

However, when I fed it Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in shade number 2, and Clé de Peau Silky Cream Foundation in B20, it produced the following matches, weighted, apparently, by accuracy:

• Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation in 20 watts
• Prescriptives Flawless Skin Total Protection Makeup SPF 15 in Cream 02
• Chanel Vitalumière in 10 Limpide
• Revlon Colourstay Foundation in Buff
• Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX5
• Estee Lauder Fresh Air Makeup Base in linen beige
• Dr. Hauschka Translucent Makeup 00 Porcelaine
• Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick Alabaster 00
• Revlon Photoready Makeup in Vanilla
• Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick in Porcelain oo
• Giorgio Armani Face Fabric Second Skin Nude Makeup SPF 12 1-Pale
• Lancome Teint Miracle 01 Beige Albatre
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC15
• Chantecaille Future Skin Porcelain
• Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation 15 Opal
• Chanel Vitalumière Aqua SPF15 Fluid Foundation BR10 Beige Rose Pastel
• Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Mount Blanc
• Chanel Vitalumière Aqua SPF15 Fluid Foundation BR10 Beige Rose Pastel

Here's what is awesome about this: the shades might turn out to be absolutely perfect matches, but they give you a place to start. I don't know about you, but I like to walk up to a makeup counter with an idea of what I want to buy. Maybe even a list. Otherwise, the lolcat part of my brain takes over and I get all I CAN HAS COLORZ?

Also, there are all kinds of companies in their database, so whether you buy your foundation at the drugstore, the department store, or Whole Foods, you can find something to try.

My summer vacation, Part One

My summer vacation started with a bang. The teenagers had a half-day of school so they could pick up their grades (and get a few more signatures in their yearbooks) and then we stuffed them and their suitcases into the van and drove them to the airport, where they flew to New York so they could attend Session One of the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts.

Adventures in Parenting 

Session One ended with two days of performances, so after a glamorous evening at a white tie event here in Chicago, Mr. Buxom and I climbed back into the minivan and drove out to Hancock, New York, a/k/a the Land that Time Forgot, where we stayed in a Bates Motel wannabe so we could see our kids play cellos and guitars and pianos and perform in a production of Aida.

About Aida: the Broadway Musical, Not the Opera

They tell you, when you're about to have a baby, that parenting involves sacrifice. But nobody said anything about Elton John musicals.

And call me a snob, but that's three words that should never appear in a row.

The best thing about it was the chorus girls. Especially the cute one (red dress, brown braids, center stage.)

OK, quick change of subject so as not to offend Elton's fan base. What did I do with myself during those golden child-free days?

Shopping

I actually didn't do that much shopping, mostly because the last-minute scurrying around to get all the camp supplies kind of wore me out. However, I accumulated purchased a scary amount variety of nail polishes. Side note: do you ever read nail polish blogs? Did you have any idea how many there are out there? In my estimation, for every mommy blogger out there, there are 10 nail bloggers. Maybe twenty.

Anyway, I've gone a little crazy buying nail polish. Because I had an epiphany!

My nail polish epiphany

It's a truism that nothing gives away a woman's age faster than her hands. The skin thins, the knuckles and veins are more prominent, and you might even have age spots. On top of that, our nails grow more slowly, and the lack of estrogen makes them more brittle. And wait, there's more--our circulation isn't as good as it used to be, so our nails are paler. And ridges are more apparent.

With all that to deal with, you might think it's safer to not polish your nails, because you don't want to call attention to them. But have you noticed that every chain drugstore is bursting at the seams with nail polish? That girls as young as six or seven are getting pedicures?

In an era that is nail polish-crazed, with nail salons on every block, neglected nails look frumpy.

I'll admit that my evidence is anecdotal, but bear with me. Here's what I've noticed: my mother doesn't wear nail polish. My older sisters don't wear nail polish. The younger women I know do.

You might think that at our age,  duo-chrome purple nail polish with string glitter and hologram flakies would look inappropriate--and you might be right. (Please note my liberal use of nail polish blog lingo. I don't know what it means, either.)

But if you're not polishing your nails at all, what's stopping you? It's not like I'm asking you to dye your hair purple or get snake bite piercings.

You don't have to wear the craziest, most outré shades. You don't have to wear black nail polish with two shades of glitter topcoat. Or Chanel's Vertigo--charcoal gray with red micro-shimmer.

Chanel Vertigo, Frenzy, and Suspicion from the Fall 2012 collection

But new collections are being introduced all the time, and I'll bet you could push the envelope a little. For example, I just got very brave and tried a few shades of coral.

So. Nail polish is a relatively inexpensive, risk-free way of showing that you're still in the game. 

Also, it's fun to gloat over the colors. And create Pinterest boards.

Which explains the 50 bottles I have amassed since I last posted.

There is no joy in Buxomville--

--Betsey Johnson has gone out of business.

OK, maybe not the line, but the stores are all closing. Everything's on sale, which would ordinarily be wonderful, but damn it, I'm going to miss those stores.

I've loved Betsey Johnson since the mid-1970s when she was designing for Alley Cat. Seventeen magazine ran these great little black and white ads that Betsey drew, and I loved them so much I carefully cut them out of the magazine and saved them.

Apparently, I'm not the only person who did that. (Courtesy of The Paper Collector)

Cutting out the ads was the closest I was ever going to get to owning anything by Betsey Johnson. My mother was a New England tightwad whos was completely uninterested in fashion. She would never have spent that kind of money on me. I was her third daughter, and she's ruthlessly practical. Given the circumstances, frankly, I'm surprised my middle name isn't Hand Me Down.

(I'm sure this is why I rebelled and became the frivolous creature you know today.)

Call me an over-compensating Baby Boomer. Say it's the female equivalent of a red Ferrari convertible. But I've had such fun taking my daughter shopping in Betsey Johnson stores.

She's interested in Japanese street fashion and Vocaloid music, and I'm obsessed with Chanel and Hermes. But we found middle ground in Betsey Johnson's designs. To be in a hot pink Betsey Johnson store packed to the rafters with short, pink tulle skirts, leopard print, and rhinestone-studded skulls was for us, very heaven. We would ooh and ah over the girly, punky craziness of it all. 

This is true even though there is nothing like a Betsy Johnson store to make me conscious of the passage of time. The vintage-inspired dresses are exactly the sort of thing I would have loved to have worn at one time ... but now, they would just make me look ... vintage. I am womanly, and they are girly, which means they are officially Too Young For Me.

Luckily, they are perfect for my daughter. And I suppose that's part of the pleasure of buying them for her. Even as I try to find more ways to flatter my aging body, I rejoice in her ability to look fabulous in everything she tries on. Here she is, head to toe Betsy, for a dance she went to last February.

Betsey Johnson dress, shoes, cape, and bracelet.

(Just so you know, the tragic look wasn't unhappiness; she was disguising her braces.)

And yes, Betsey's prices are insane, particularly when you're young enough to still grow out of your clothes. But for fresh designs with a vintage point of view, amazing attention to detail, and tiny dressmaker details, there is nothing marketed to young women that can touch Betsey Johnson.

So the following came home with Miss Buxom and me:

For those times when you really need to get down to the Petite Trianon and milk the cows.

When it's time for Rosie the Riveter to go out dancing.

To audition for the role of Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street

We also brought home some jewelry. A set of stacking rings:

 

A two-finger ring:

 A nautical statement necklace:

Which would be perfect with this very Katy Perry bathing suit.

Betty Grable?

... eat your heart out.

After six months, an update

What have I been up to, you wonder. I mean, Blogger has a brand new (to me) interface--surely something has changed chez Buxom.

Well, not to sound like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof ("I have FIVE DAUGHTERS!") but we have two teenagers--so mostly I've been hunkered down in our foxhole, waiting for properly uniformed officials to sound the All Clear.

While there, I noticed that I had gotten kind of fat. While I wasn't paying attention, my weight had crept up to 192 pounds of pure buxom--again. I'm sure you'll agree that once you've come--at 5'6" and change--to within striking distance of the big 2-0-0, it's time to do something. So I'm back on Weight Watchers. And I noticed that while sitting on my sofa streaming episodes of The Biggest Loser is inspiring, it doesn't burn many calories. So I've started going to the gym. Also? What I'm eating is so unbelievably healthy, it would bring a tear to the eye of the editor of Prevention magazine. It's salmon and whole grains and protein smoothies and hardly a refined carbohydrate around here.

I'm down 11 pounds.

I haven't been buying a lot of clothes, but I did pop for a new evening gown.

Tadashi Shoji cap-sleeve twisted gown

Nylon/Spandex 

Neiman Marcus, on sale for $235

And I've gone a little crazy for Chanel cosmetics, particularly nailpolishes. Here I am modelling Quartz

which looks a lot better when Temptalia is photographing/wearing it.

All I know is that it will look AWESOME with my new flap, a Mother's Day present from Mr. Buxom.

Hope springs eternal, or, on-line shopping

Oof, I just went to the post office with a huge box of stuff to send back ... the long black dress that everyone admired as well as a couple of other lovely things. Everything was wonderful, but nothing fit.

There's only one word that comes to mind if you shop on line and when it comes time to try them on, only Eileen Fisher's clothes (famously easy and body-skimming) actually fit.

That word is diet.

So I swore off on-line shopping. But then I followed a link in a blog and discovered these boots

Apepazzo Strasburgo booties in black from Goldyn

which were on sale. And when I went to order, I discover a coupon code for an additional 30 percent off.

So $189 boots for $92.61, free shipping and no tax? Sold!

I just hope my feet haven't gained weight.