For this week's newsletter, I thought it would be fun to share my experiences from my recent trip to New York City. Although I went mainly to attend a beauty online conference, my time was MUCH better spent just tooling around the city by myself and taking in all the fantastic cosmetic stores and boutiques. Since I don't get to the city as often as I would like, I tried to do as much as possible every day and see all the things we aren't lucky enough to have here in Oregon :) Most of these brands are also available online. Enjoy!

Day One
When I planned this trip, I knew I wanted to get a manicure and pedicure at some cool spa, so I scheduled it for my first full day in the city. A friend of a friend knows Ji Baek, owner of Rescue Beauty Lounge at 8 Centre Market Place in Soho, so I decided to book an appointment there. What an amazing experience! My manicure and pedicure at Rescue put every one I've ever gotten at a salon here in Portland to shame! The nail goddesses who did my services were experts with files, creams and scrubs - so incredible that I barely recognized my own feet! I chose a Creative Nail Designs polish for my toes and a Shu Uemura polish for my fingers - both incarnations of a pale shimmery pink. During my stay in New York, my nails held up beautifully; it wasn't until I returned home to the reality of doing dishes and taking care of an almost 2 year old that I got a few chips in my manicure. My pedicure still looks great, though, even after almost 3 weeks. If you are in New York, I strongly recommend a visit to Rescue Beauty Lounge.

After Rescue and then lunch, I hit a few boutiques in Soho, like Fresh (57 Spring Street), SCO customized skin care (230 Mulberry Street), Sephora (555 Broadway), and MAC (113 Spring Street). Let me just interject that at none of these places did I "reveal" who I am and what I do, just as I never do at home. I'm just a regular person trying on colors and spritzing perfume, which is just what I did at Fresh. The store has an intoxicating aroma from all the soaps and lotions melding together, and the sales staff was helpful without being pushy. I bought a Chanterelle powder eyeshadow ($20) to go with an Amman Black Tea Eye Shine I already have, plus a bottle of Waterlily Eau de Toilette ($24). Online, you can find Fresh at fresh.com.

After Fresh, I wandered down Spring Street to MAC and quickly breezed in and out. The store was very crowded, all the makeup artists were busy, and they still didn't have the new revamped MAC skin care - the very reason I went in - so I left. FYI: the MAC website is finally up and taking orders! Visit maccosmetics.com to see the finished site.

I continued wandering in and out of various stores - 5S, Shu Uemura, agnes b., and so on, not really finding anything that caught my eye. I headed for Mulberry Street to check out SCO (Skin Care Options) customized skin care (online at scocare.com). The front part of the store is small, with a few stools and a bar that you can sit at to work on your creations. SCO starts with base formulas for cleansers, toners, and a variety of creams, to which you can add infusions of extracts like juniper berry, aloe, or almond. You can choose up to three infusions for your products based on what benefits your skin needs, like extra moisturizing or clarifying, and you can alter those infusions as your skin's needs change (like for different seasons or climates).

I met Theresa Ma, the creator of the line, and she was kind enough to tell me about all the products and the SCO philosophy, as well as talking to me about my skin. She even made up a few samples for me to try at my hotel. Considering that her cleansers are $59 a bottle and her antioxidant treatment is $150, it makes sense to try some samples before spending that kind of money. According to Theresa, all of her products, with the exception of the sunblock, contain an ingredient called "flower acid" which is derived from the hibiscus flower. It's a next generation AHA but with no stinging or redness. Since I only tried samples, I can't say how effective this flower acid is over the long term, but for the few times I used it I experienced no problems.

Of the samples she gave me (Purifying Cleanser II, Facial Tonic I, Conditioning Face Lotion Oil Free, and Clarifying Complex, which were all base formulas with no infusions added), I liked the Clarifying Complex the best. It's liquid like a toner but is designed to minimize scars and discolorations. Theresa instructed me to dab it on my acne scars and red areas, and I have to admit after just 4 days of using the Complex, the areas looked better, less inflamed, with the damaged red skin getting exfoliated away more quickly than with most AHAs or BHAs I've used. I'm not eager to pay $85 for one ounce of it, but if it really works (I still have some of my sample left), I might consider it. I also really liked the Refining Face Scrub ($80 for 3 ounces). It has two sizes of spherical jojoba wax beads in a lightly foaming base. The beads dissolve as you work it around your skin, so it doesn't overscrub and cause irritation. The spherical beads (not just from SCO but from any brand that has them) are also better for your skin than ground apricot seeds or crushed walnut shells because the shells and seeds, even in small sizes, have irregular surfaces that can make microscopic tears in your skin that are breeding grounds for bacteria and inflammation. No thank you! But, again, I really hesitate to spend $80 for a face scrub when something like Kiss My Face Organic Jojoba and Mint Facial Scrub ($10 for 2 ounces), Beauty Without Cruelty Extra Gentle Facial Smoother ($7.95 for 4 ounces), or Aubrey Organics Jojoba Meal and Oatmeal Facial Scrub and Mask ($7.75 for 4 ounces) would do just as nice a job for a lot less money.

The funny thing about SCO was my experience after visiting the store. I emailed Theresa with some questions, and within my email was my signature with contact information for Cosmetic Connection. When Theresa responded, she said, "Are you the woman I spoke to from Oregon? FYI, I am a long time subscriber to your newsletter!" :)

Day Two
Henri Bendel - For a relaxed shopping experience with plenty of brands to choose from, Bendel's for me was great fun. The cosmetics floor is light and bright and you can easily browse the different counters without someone pestering you. Although I only picked up a few things (Bloom Lipbalm Stick in Lime, Lippmann Collection nail polish in Girl Talk), I loved browsing through all their goodies.

Bergdorf Goodman - This is where I dropped $135 plus tax on a 1.7 ounce bottle of La Mer Moisturizing Lotion. Am I insane?? So many of you have been asking me for months, even years, about the La Mer line, especially the well-known Creme de La Mer moisturizing cream, that I just had to find out about it for myself. I thought the cream would be too heavy for me, so I bought the moisturizing lotion and have actually been really pleased with it. I've been using it day and night for almost 3 weeks and I already notice my skin has a more even tone, and most importantly to me, it seems to be more resilient and less sensitive. Typically if I have an area on my face that is red and inflamed, like a blemish or a freshly tweezed brow area, the skin stays red and irritated for hours, sometimes even overnight and I wake up to blotches. Lately, since using La Mer, my skin seems to "snap back" more quickly than before, with redness disappearing within minutes rather than hours. The blemishes I've had since I started using the La Mer lotion have healed faster than usual, even using the same blemish treatments I usually use. I think I have discovered what all the fuss was about!

As a "thank you" for my purchase, the La Mer manager at Bergdorf's sent me a note and some samples of the original cream, the eye balm, the cleansing lotion, and the body lotion. The cream is nice for drier areas of my face, but I did get a few superficial whiteheads on the areas where I must have applied too much. I think the cream is better for dabbing on spots that need more help rather than all over the face. The eye balm is nice but not remarkable enough to spend almost $100 for a tiny jar. I wasn't thrilled with the cleansing lotion or body lotion, either. Neither were anything special and definitely not worth the money.

The most fun I had at Bergdorf's was at the Ramy Beauty Therapy counter. Our Panelist Judith has reviewed the line and highly recommended that I try to meet Ramy while in the city. I got in touch with him and he invited me down to his counter at Bergdorf's to see the line and have my makeup done, so of course I agreed! It was such a pleasure meeting Ramy and hearing his story about quitting law school to go to Australia to become a makeup artist (!), working for Bobbi Brown Essentials and Brad Johns Salon, overcoming a serious illness, and finally creating his own makeup line, Ramy Beauty Therapy. All the colors have fun or inspirational names like Chutzpah!, Alive!, and Celebrate!, and Ramy's philosophy works for everyone: Minimal makeup, Maximum impact. He specifically created his colors to be easy to use and complementary on any skin tone, so you can't make a mistake. Visit ramybeautytherapy.com to learn more.

Ramy used the following products on me:

• Elixir Skin Conditioning Primer: a pre-makeup base, can be used instead of moisturizer
• Elixir Liqui-Powder Foundation in Diva Creme Fresh! - very similar in look and feel to Profaces foundation, this liquid changes to a powdery finish with medium to full coverage
• Studio Sticks (concealer) in Porcelain Doll
• Pressed Powder in Pure Radiance! (he has one translucent color for all skintones)
• Alive! Blush (a blend of pink, gold and brown)
• Face Gloss in Face Candy!: creamy color for cheeks, eyes and lips (I like it on cheeks the best)
• Eye Shadow in Golden Glow! and Neutral Impact!
• Perfect! Cake Liner (neutral mahogany)
• Adversity! Mascara
• Miracle Brow! (gel-cream brow makeup that sets to a powder, compact has two neutral shades)
• Celebrate! Lipstick
• Sandstone! Lipliner