Neiman Marcus Project Beauty…Musings on the Event and What I Bought

Above: The contents of my Neiman Marcus Project Beauty haul.
Last Saturday, I attended Neiman Marcus Project Beauty at the Fashion Island, Newport Beach location.  Coinciding with the Beauty Event (previewed HERE…this runs now through 9/21), this was a time of brand spotlights, new product discussions, beauty expert interviews and a spectrum of incredible gifts with purchases!
Kindly scroll on for a peek into the NM Beauty Event bag, details from the day and an overview of what I personally procured…
Above: The chic, neutral hues and roomy interior make this tote one I’ll use all year. 
Above: Samples galore, courtesy of the Neiman Marcus Beauty Event (free with the tote when you spend $125 on beauty or fragrance).
Above: The eager audience, ready for the brand presentations.
Above: First up, SK-II with words regarding Pitera, mask and the free gift with purchase…a darling, travel-size product-filled red tote. 
Above: Next, a Laura Mercier feature, including her luxurious new Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide foundation (swatched and reviewed HERE).
Above: A model demonstrating the instant power of the Chantecaille Gold Energizing Recovery Mask (reviewed HERE).
Above: A Orlane Paris specialist, discussing the many merits of the B21 Extraordinaire Youth Reset Serum (reviewed on Beauty Professor HERE)
Directly following the brand presentations, attendees flooded the beauty floor for demonstrations, makeup application and to take advantage of the host of gifts with purchases available at their favorite beauty and skincare lines. The energy in the air was palpable! 
Above: Throngs of beauty lovers and makeup application at every turn.
Above: With lovely BP Reader Karen Miller…it was her birthday and she chose to spend it immersed in the beauty of Neiman Marcus…brilliant! 
Above: Perhaps the world’s largest bottle of SK-II Facial Treatment Essence.
Above Dear friend and Chantecaille Makeup Artist Greg Velasquez doing what he loves with passion and joy.
Above: Tom Ford Specialist Trang…always a delight!
Above: Watching Chantecaille Makeup Artist Rochelle De Los Santos in action.
Above: With Kevyn Aucoin Makeup Artist Patricia Le…she was extremely knowledgable about the line and helped me with getting what I needed to swatch every shade of the new foundation formula (images soon!).
Above: Kevyn Aucoin foundation + brushes…lovely to behold.
Above: Patricia’s contour game was on.
Above: Kevyn Aucoin The Foundation Brush (pictured here with the iconic Sensual Skin Enhancer…swatched on BP HERE) has magnificently soft, dense bristles to blend foundation like a dream.
Always a treat to meet up with dear friend and master beauty blogger Sabrina of The Beauty Lookbook!
Onto my purchases…
Above: A little bit of this, a little bit of that…
I excercised significant restraint and focused on skincare and a few select beauty items in categories that are always beseeching me to buy (lipstick and foundation, of course!).  
Products include:
  • SK-II Facial Treatment Repair C: It was explained to me that this is a concentrated version of the Facial Treatment Essence (reviewed HERE) and is excellent for use in the daytime hours. 
  • SK-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion: I ran through my trial bottle and needed a larger quantity. The smoothing and refining properties of this wonder liquid truly are unprecedented.
  • SK-II Skin Refining Treatment: I use this by itself at night and in the morning, my skin is quite literally glowing!
  • Kevyn Aucoin The Expert Lip Color in Sireeden: A stunningly flattering pinky nude with marvelous pigmentation and a creamy finish.
  • Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Fluid Foundation in #07: This formula arrived in store the day before and I was thrilled to be able to take it home for trial…I also will be sharing swatches of all the shades in the formula (in various lighting situations) in the very near future.  Quick first impressions…feels like nothing (similar to Armani Fusion Maestro) but can be easily built to medium-full coverage.  Marvelous lasting power and a demi-matte finish.  Simply stunning.
  • Chanel Nail Colour in Atmosphere: Iridescent pink with gold undertones, this jelly-finish pale shade gains full opacity with two coats and is perfect for a low-maintenance gleam.  

Above: A close up of my skincare choices…in-depth reviews soon!
Above: A girl simply cannot go wrong with nail polish, lipstick and foundation.
Above: Shades of pink and nude never get tiresome. 
Above: I couldn’t resist the siren call of Kevyn Aucoin The Expert Lip Color in Sireeden, a soft pink nude with major hydration and pigmentation.
Above: BP at the conclusion of a successful Neiman Marcus Project Beauty day.
–Shop the Post–



Bottom Line: The Neiman Marcus Project Beauty event was a spendid morning, allowing one to steep in beauty and skincare insider knowledge and some of the best shopping on the planet!  I highly suggest taking advantage of the free tote + samples offer as well as the special gifts with purchases specific to each line.  If ever there was a time to indulge, the time is now!  
It is not too late to make a reservation for the Project Beauty event at the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills location…here are the details for those of you in or near LA this weekend.
  • Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills: Saturday 9/20/14 at 11:30 AM…contact Mishel Brown or Scott Reyes (310) 550-5900 Ext. 2087 to make your reservation and, if you think of it, kindly mention Beauty Professor. 
I hope you enjoyed this recapitulation and would love to hear about your experiences and purchases from the Neiman Marcus Beauty Event…do tell! 

xx and much more soon…happy weekend,

–The Beauty Professor
© 2012-14 Beautyprofessor® All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, reprint or republish content and/or photos without author’s written permission.

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Comments (14)

  • Anonymous Reply

    Great selection Rachel,
    I wish I was able to jouin the event. It looks like a lot of fun for us beauty lovers.
    This SKII trial set you mentioned was in my first Sephora delivery to Germany. Love it too!
    Greetings from sunny Germany.
    Susanne

    September 19, 2014 at 1:03 pm
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Thank you, Susanne! The event was so much fun and it would have been lovely if you could have popped over from Germany ; )

      I am really impressed with the SK-II I am working with right now!

      xoxo,

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 20, 2014 at 8:38 pm
  • Miss Renee Reply

    I love your pictures! The event looks so beautiful and fun. Of course, every makeup artist and model here is flawless. 😉

    I'm glad to read such a positive first impression of the new KA foundation; I loved Kevyn and adore the line, so I've been lusting after the foundation since it was announced. Some of the swatches posted on MakeupAlley suggest that 02 will actually be pale and neutral enough for me, so I'm saving up to try it! 🙂

    September 19, 2014 at 2:21 pm
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Many thanks, Miss Renee!! The event was a blast and, yes, I am pleased with the KA foundation so far. Hoping to complete a full review this weekend…the 02 is quite light, which is promising for those with fair skin!

      xoxo,

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 20, 2014 at 8:42 pm
  • Anonymous Reply

    Lately I've had a growing interest to start trying out KA lipsticks. Glad to know that they are well pigmented and hydrating. I'm going to put in an order with Nordstrom. You looked gorgeous at the event by the way.

    September 20, 2014 at 12:38 am
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Yes…the KA lipsticks are wonderful (I have a couple of others as well)…moisturizing, pigmented with a beautiful sheen, the formula is superb!

      Thank you for the sweet compliment!

      xx,

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 20, 2014 at 9:07 pm
  • Karen Reply

    Rachel I was lovely to meet you and your beautiful mom at the NM event. My girls were so pleased to chat with you while I had my make up done by Rebecca at the Kevin Aucoin counter. The girls and I made quite a haul that morning!

    My purchases at KA were the new Sensual Skin Fluid Foundation, foundation brush, lip pencil in Hyacinth and lip gloss in Lilium. I returned the foundation the next day 🙁 The finish was too matte for my mature, dry skin and I think the color a little too rosy on my already rosy complexion. In exchange, I picked up the Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX10. So far the color is a good match but the application may be more work than I want every morning.

    Look forward to your review of the Fluid Foundation and your experience with the finish.

    September 21, 2014 at 6:21 pm
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Hi Karen!

      The feelings are entirely mututal! What a treat to meet you and the girls.

      Thanks for sharing the details of your haul…it sounds like you procured some incredible items. I love the KA Lillium gloss and am glad that you were able to switch out one foundation for another that seems to better suit your needs. I agree, the SX10 is a challenging formula to apply (especially with the need to mix it with a moisturizer etc.) but the results are lovely. Have you tried the new Tom Ford formula yet? It is also a favorite of mine these days ; )

      Fluid Foundation review in the works…hope your week is going well…xoxo and talk soon!

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 24, 2014 at 8:27 pm
  • ame Reply

    Ooooooooooooooooh!!! I cannot WAIT for the Fluid Foundation review!!!!

    September 22, 2014 at 4:30 pm
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Thanks, Ame…it's currently in the works ; )

      xoxo,

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 24, 2014 at 8:30 pm
  • Anonymous Reply

    Amazing haul BP, looks like you guys had a great time! That KA lipstick has me wanting more…I just got Bloodroses and the formula is wonderful, and Sireeden looks soooo lovely and would be perfect for days when I want something that's softer/lighter than Bloodroses :).
    I'm a bit nervous about my KA purchase now though, I ordered my KA Fluid foundation by phone because there are no counters nearby…when I told the SA I wore a 4 in GA Designer shaping cream and Maestro compact, she decided shade 7 would suit me in the KA fluid, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have gone lighter, as I'm only about NC22 and lean more neutral than yellow. She was amazing and sweet though…I'm just overthinking lol! Nevertheless, I'm excited to try it and can't wait for your thoughts…my bottle will be arriving at the end of the week!

    September 23, 2014 at 2:33 am
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Thanks, Anon!

      We did indeed have a wonderful time. The KA lipstick is one that I've been wearing a lot…even today : )

      With regards to your foundation order, I think that you might find #7 to still work–it is a bit light on me and I have to use bronzer to get it closer to my skintone so please let me know what you think!

      xoxo,

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 24, 2014 at 8:35 pm
  • Unknown Reply

    Hi,
    What an amazing event, I wish that sort of thing happened here in Australia.
    Your selection of goodies looks amazing!
    I must ask where are the shorts you are wearing from , I need some for the up coming summer.
    Look forward to your reviews of your purchases.
    I have tried a couple of the sample size bottles of the SKII Treatment essence and couldn't believe how amazing and clear my skin looked, I really have to get myself some more

    Talk soon

    September 23, 2014 at 11:33 am
    • The Beauty Professor Reply

      Hello Julie!

      The event was such a blast…I wish you had that kind of thing in Australia, too ; )

      The shorts I am wearing are from TopShop and I love them…not too long or short and the perfect amount of fade. I am fairly certain I linked to them in my blog…just type TopShop or Rosa in the search bar and it should take you to posts where I've mentioned them.

      Isn't the SK-II Treatment Essence incredible? It's quite an investment but so worth it…at least in my initial experience ; )

      xoxo and talk soon,

      –The Beauty Professor

      September 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

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