Dallas Shopping Report

I bought almost nothing today, although I spent most of it wandering around Northeast Mall and the nearby Marshall’s. Mom, however, did lighten her wallet’s load a bit, getting some last-minute gifts at Sephora, Baby Gap (cute!), Marshall’s, and Bath & Body Works.

Today was primarily a reconnaissance mission for me. Shopping in Dallas can be an overwhelming experience — I can see why more people are taking advantage of the services of a personal shopper. When confronted with a hundred or more stores (and that’s just one mall) and the need to put together a decent wardrobe and effective beauty regimen without spending too much time and money, you can go crazy from the effort.

However, I just used today to check out what’s on offer, what’s changed since I last visited some of my favorite shops, what new stuff I can throw my money at. Mom introduced me to Smashbox’s O-Glow, a kind of cheek stain with goji berry that glides on clear but then gives your skin a really flattering blush. She scooped one up on QVC — she’s a QVC fanatic! Seriously, the woman spends at least a couple hundred a month on it, and she did nearly all of her Christmas shopping with them — and had me try it on last night. I was impressed — it suits just about every skin tone, including my hard-to-match Polynesian-olive-toned skin, and is perfect for those who prefer their makeup minimal and natural-looking. Just a tiny amount (I only used a pea-sized dollop) smoothed onto the cheeks does the trick.

Mom picked up Smashbox’s Photofinish primer, a kind of skin prep treatment that you’re supposed to put on over foundation. It’s become a cult-favorite, and having heard so much about it, I’m anxious to get Mom’s opinion on it. The primer acts as a sort of canvas for your foundation and helps even out skin tone and reduce pore appearance. It’s been all over fashion mags, and makeup artists reportedly swear by it.

I also discovered Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel! Okay, confession time: I do not like Chanel No. 5. I know it’s a legend, I know it’s French, I know it’s the world’s bestselling perfume, I know it’s Chanel. But. I. Do. Not. Like. This. Perfume. It’s too powerful and, well, mature. My mom adores it, but I can’t stand it. I’ve heard that it actually becomes a softer, more appealing scent as the day goes on, but I don’t like that it starts out that way. Anyway, I still wanted to try something by Chanel, so I checked out Coco Mademoiselle and immediately fell in love with it. So much fresher and lighter, not at all a TKO like its older sibling. I don’t normally wear perfume, but lately I’ve been reconsidering and have read in a million different places about how Frenchwomen choose a signature scent for themselves, something unique that they love and lifts their spirits whenever they put it on. I rather like the idea of wearing something that “upgrades” my mood and my personal style, especially if it’s something alluring and distinctive. (But not too distinctive!) So far the only perfumes I’ve found that I like are Coco Mademoiselle and J. Lo’s Live (the bottle is exquisite).

We also wandered into Coach this afternoon, but I wasn’t impressed by this year’s collection. The handbags appear to be tired interpretations of traditional Coach classics, and I was even less impressed when I found that just about everything in the store is made in China. Handcrafted or not, I think everyone knows enough about labor and wage practices in China to understand that $350 is way too much money to be paying for a purse that was made there. How dare Coach continue its spiel about how it’s “An American Story,” and yet outsource their entire production to China? Dooney & Bourke — another quintessential American classic — did the same thing, in which I’m also extremely disappointed — but at least some of their higher-end products are still made in the US. It appears that Coach has surrendered pretty much all of their lines to their Chinese partners.

Chinese provenance aside, the collection this year definitely needs some work. I can see that they’re trying to upgrade their image by introducing more varied styles other than the much-copied iconic signature image, but other than a few pieces such as their Carly line and Legacy satchels, everything else was kinda blah, with bland accents and unremarkable designs. I love the bangles and especially their cut-out cuff, though. I’m not much for pieces that scream their brand name, but the cuff is stylized just enough to make it look more like random curves than the Coach monogram.

Has anyone tried Shiseido products? They’re hugely popular in Asia, of course, especially their whitening lines, but they’re so expensive that I haven’t dared to try them. For awhile they were the only skincare and cosmetics line in the US that specifically targeted Asian women, and now that they’ve gone mainstream, their skin brightening products have gotten some pretty good press. When I was in the Philippines a few months ago, I immediately checked out the huge duty-free bazaar just outside of the airport to see whether or not I could get a good deal on the Shiseido White Lucent line, but alas, I think they’re even more expensive over there than they are here.

Another line I’m really interested in is L’Occitane. I love their Immortelle line, especially the Very Precious Cream (although I hate the name); the cobalt-blue glass packaging is irresistible. I was especially pleased to find upon reading the ingredients that it doesn’t contain any parabens, preservatives which are absorbed into the skin and into the gastrointestinal tract and blood. The European Union has not banned parabens, and indeed EU scientists have not discovered any conclusive links between breast cancer and the use of parabens (which are found in nearly every beauty product on the market). According to European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products, most parabens in current products fall well within recommended dosages/concentrations.

Still, it’s my body and health, after all, and while I don’t believe that every chemical ingredient in cosmetic products can kill you, parabens have caused enough concern to justify my skepticism. L’Occitane apparently doesn’t use it on any of their products, for which I’m very pleased. In any case, their Immortelle line has such a luscious scent, and the Very Precious Cream is light enough for my blemish-prone, combination skin. They also just introduced their Very Precious Eye Serum, which glided on super-lightly over my skin when I tried it in the store. (You know you’re reaching A Certain Age when you start perusing the eye cream section of your local beauty aisle.)

What I really like about L’Occitane — aside from their very French origins in Provence — is that they keep their price point at a reasonable enough level so that they’re not out of reach of most mere mortals. They’re not jaw-droppingly ridiculous like La Mer ($400 for an ounce of face cream? Surely you jest). Okay, the Olay Regenerist line is probably equally effective and costs about half the price, but Olay also uses artificial colors (a purple face cream?) and parabens in their product line. And did I mention that L’Occitane is French? ‘Cause that alone is enough to sell me.

Tomorrow, Mom and I check out Clotheshorse Anonymous, in my opinion the best consignment/resale shop west of the Mississippi. It’s been written up in national magazines and has developed a very devoted following among Dallas fashionistas. Women from all over the country literally come to Dallas just to shop at Clotheshorse. I know that every time I come to town, I always try and pay at least one visit. Their prices have escalated dramatically the last ten years — once, in college, I bought a gorgeous Mark Shale wool suit there for $35; the silk lining had huge tears on it, so I took it to the Mark Shale boutique at the Galleria, and they had their in-store tailors fix it for free – but if you have the time and inclination to look carefully, you can still find some decent bargains. If you’re in the market for some vintage Chanel or Givenchy or Dior, this is the place to go.

Anyone interested in the Dallas fashion and beauty scene can check out the following blogs/Web sites:

Pink Memo, Dallas Edition

The Dallas Morning News Shopping Blog

F!D-luxe — The Dallas Morning News’ fashion and beauty magazineP. Available for free at many shops and newsstands in the uptown and downtown areas of the city.

PaperCity Magazine — Way better than F!D-luxe, which it preceded by a good many years before the Dallas Morning News decided it wanted a piece of the action as well. Anyhoo, PaperCity is sort of the social calendar/fashionista journal/gossip rag of Dallas. Full-color and with an ass-kissing socialite “journalist” (that would be you, Brooke Hortenstine) penning their party column (I mean, ya think the gal would be invited to a fraction of these soirees if she didn’t kiss up a few lipo’d derrieres now and then?), it’s a delicious read for when you feel like channeling Plum Sykes or any of her Park Avenue compatriots. It does have the best fashion event calendar in town, as well as all the goods on the newest stores and beauty products to hit the Dallas market. Available free at Clotheshorse and various racks around uptown and downtown.

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