The Dish on Bergdorf’s Insider Beauty

I’m still alive, which means I can dish about this Bergdorf’s event I attended. Which gives me another day to enjoy my nightly Nutella-slathered sliced bread, another x amount of days to work up enough bones to pay for a box of Ladurée macarons, the lining of a Gerard Darel bag, and the sole of these Louboutins, thank God (no pun intended).

If you’ve been following my sporadic Tweets within the past week or so, you’ve gotten a glimpse into my not-so glamorous life. (I apologize in advance for boring you with the monotony of it all). But with my new internship (!), I had the pleasure of attending an event at Bergdorf’s on 5th/58th, New York City. Guest list and all, thank you to the ever lovely N.

A Night of Beauty, in the Goodman’s Cafe on the Beauty Level—where I ogled ’til I could ogle no more, featuring delicious cocktails and fancy assortments of hor d’oeuvres brought in platters by servers in white and black suits. A panel of beauty experts appeared to share their top tips and insight into industry trends on beauty tips for summer. For beautiful summer skin, makeup that doesn’t sweat off horrifically so, and shimmying confidently into that itty bitty Victoria’s Secret bikini. I dream of La Perla’s, but VS is luxe enough for me, for now.

Panelists included Dr. Irvin Smigel, founder of SuperSmile and creator of the non-surgical face lift (for which he appears in the Smithsonian for!);  John Kennedy, founder and creator of Tanda LED light therapy; Taylor Chang-Babaian, celebrity makeup artist and author of Style Eyes; James Corbert, master hair colorist, personal stylist, and quite the character rolled in one skinny plaid shirt; Dr. Haideh Hirmand, plastic surgeon, and last but not least, Antonio Valladares, nutrition & lifestyle coach.

The moderator? The Felicia Benson, founder of ThisThatBeauty and Bergdorf Goodman’s newest Social Media Beauty Editor.

And now for the fun stuff.

I was so lucky to have been personally introduced to Felicia. She’s gorgeous, sweet—what you’d typically expect—but so full of personality! Beach-y waves for carefree polish, bright orange lipstick that matched her bold blazer (she said she wore it at her previous big event, she loved it so much!), a drop-waist, dove grey sack dress, and a pair of simple black ankle boots. And if you must know, since I assume everyone is as much of a nail-varnish-phile as me, her nails were manicured with a glittery, rainbow polish. My guess is OPI’s Sparkle–icious. Stunning. Not just the nail varnish (I’m a bit of a magpie, but can’t be bothered with removing glitter polishes), but her entire ensemble. So on trend yet timeless with the bright pop of color, juxtaposed with a softer shade. perfect for her figure, and the colors paired beautifully with her complexion. I don’t rate on stars, but kisses. Bises! I’ve always loved a little blazer, but hers had me lusting for a palette of them. It was kind of Calvin Klein meets Celine: minimalist, clean lines, modern, yet made feminine with the shrug fit a 3/4-length sleeves

And while I planned on snatching her outfit off her back, a lady abides by rules of etiquette, and alas, drop-waists do not flatter the petite. This is my rendition of her look, opting instead for a bandage dress because (1) never fear your curves (2) I only wear Hervé Léger in my dreams:

Sophisticated, on pointe, and fun—perfect for daytime, or work—swap the ankle boots for a pair of black pumps (realistically, I’d wear the heels because as much as I love edgy, I’m afraid I’m not that cool yet).

The plastic surgeon was a Persian beauty. Stunning, striking even. Sleek bobbed hair, smoky eyes and dark brown-nude lips—matte, of course—clad in all sheer Wolford tights and all. Like Victoria Beckham but much, much taller and actually smiles. She was the only other woman in the room who caught my eye, style-wise. I refuse to comment on her age, but she looked good.

Crocheted shrug over a flared, Hervé Léger (?) dress, sheer stockings, and high, high pumps. So simple, so classic, so appropriate for both her age and the event. I love it when a woman knows how to dress herself.

But aside from the mix of well-dressed attendees and expert speakers, the topic seemed kind of cliche and redundant.

That is, until Antonio the lifestyle/nutrition/fitness expert gave a very, uh, graphic demonstration of some type of squat that would help tone and lift the derrière. He was the ladies’ favorite after that, I assure you.

The icing on the cake? I’m pretty sure every woman wanted to marry him when he said (and I diligently quote):

“…eat lots of butter and coconut products, and you’ll live longer and happier…”

Butter! He said eat it! Ya heard it here first.

.   .   .

x

P.S.: I am totally not liable for what happens to you should you choose to take the advice above.