Stores and Shopping - Articles - Zimbio

An American Blogger In Paris: Skalli Jewelry

Mon, 19 Aug 2008 03:37:00 GMT

posted by thenonblonde

Le Marais quarter in Paris is a fun and eclectic place. It has a mix of Judaica, a gay population, two (great) vegetarian restaurants, art galleries, trendy stores and falafel. We were there to meet Denyse of Grain De Musc and explore the Etat Libre d'Orange fragrance line (which will be the subject of another post), but on our way to the store, we stumbled upon an interesting looking jewelry boutique that attracted me with bright colors and clean, geometric lines.

Jean-Marc Skalli launched his line in 1997, first selling through other retailers and department stores before opening the first boutique in 2001. His jewelry is now sold at Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, as well as in five Skalli stores in Paris and one in Lille. The website promises that online shopping is coming soon, but doesn't specify a time frame.

The store also offers watches and (gorgeous) cuff links in addition to the expected earrings, necklaces and other pretties in glass, enamel and silver. I loved the pop-art feel of the designs and the strong colors, but didn't need too much time to zero in on this green necklace. It's different enough to make a statement without being over-the-top.

The address for the Marais store is 9/11 rue des Rosiers. Other locations can be found here.
Images: storefront from Skalli website, necklace photos are mine.Copyright ©2006-2008 The Non-Blonde, under the author's name. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.

Two Little PSAs

Sun, 11 Aug 2008 03:33:00 GMT

posted by thenonblonde

1) In case you missed the news, Donna Karan has relaunched some of the most legendary and discontinued scents, and is making some eBay sellers cry: Chaos, Black Cashmere, Fuel, the Essence series and the original Donna Karan. They've been repackaged in plain bottles, but if the juice is the same, I think we can live with it. The perfumes are exclusive to Bergdorf Goodman (and Harrods, if you're in the UK) and can be ordered by phone: 212-753-7300

2) Colette Paris is collaborating with the Gap flagship store in NYC (5th avenue, near Henri Bendel) and opening a mini-store for one month only, September 6 through October 5, taking the concept of a limited edition to new places. There will be special items made specifically for the occasion and also some famous and highly coveted ones: Le Labo Vanille 44 will be available there.

Photo: Grace Kelly and her mother shopping at Bergdorf. Getty Images.Copyright ©2006-2008 The Non-Blonde, under the author's name. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.

This And That

Tue, 6 Aug 2008 03:10:00 GMT

posted by thenonblonde

Good Reads:

The new face, according to the NY Magazine. I don't know if I should run to find a plastic surgeon or just hide under my bed.

The nose doesn't forget, according to the NY Times. A scientific explanation to why smelling Colours by Benetton still makes me misty eyed.

Fragrance:

I tested the new Estee Lauder Sensuous three times so far. It's not interesting enough to me for an actual review, but I see why it has a mass appeal. It's not a typical Lauder and it's better done than most of the things you'd find in Macy's. I just can't get excited about a sugar-glazed wood. Maybe I'll try again when the parfum version comes out.

Lancome Magnifique- I smelled, I shrugged, I forgot. Anne Hathaway deserves better than this (seems to be the theme of her life lately).

Skin Care:

Speaking of Lancome, they have launched a new serum in the Secret de Vie range. The moisturizer is still my holy grail, so I might have to get it. I tried it at Saks today and it seemed nice. And despite what the SA told me, you can get it directly from Lancome. The Saks exclusivity was her excuse for the lack of samples. I'm getting seriously fed up with department stores and their employees. Thankfully, there's always online shopping.

Makeup:

Among all the new collections for fall, some older and worthy makeup items are going to the great makeup counter in the sky. Alison Raffaele is discontinuing a whole bunch of makeup products and brushes. If, like me, you're a fan of her soft glosses, this is the time to stock up and hoard. Too bad there's no special discount. Besame Cosmetics, on the other hand, offer all their discontinued items (labeled Au Revoir) at amazingly low prices. With the adorable packaging and exceptional quality, this is one good bargain. The website doesn't make it easier to find them, though, so you'll need to search each category.

At the total opposite end of the spectrum you'll find Giorgio Armani's fall makeup collection. The Python Palette is giving me a bad case of coveting. It's gorgeous, but is it $100 gorgeous?

Celebrities:
Katie Holmes is bringing ugly back. Who would have thought we'd ever see the tight rolls making a comeback? And, yes, it does make your butt look bigger.

Images: Go Fug Yourself, stOOpidgErL

An American Blogger In Paris: Father & Sons Menswear

Wed, 7 Aug 2008 03:18:00 GMT

posted by thenonblonde

One of our many discoveries (other than a dangerous devotion to pain au chocolat) in our previous visit to Paris was Father & Sons, a smallish brand (about twenty five stores in France and Belgium) of menswear. We stumbled on their original store right by our hotel on avenue du Général Leclerc (in the 14th e.). The colors made us step inside, where the Blond found several items that he absolutely had to have.

We happily returned there during our recent visit (we stayed at the same hotel) and took advantage of their summer sale. The clothes are fun, especially the Sport collection, which is full of comfy, wearable items in both neutrals and bold stripes. The dress items are also nice (I especially liked the ties), but many of them can be bit too much for the average American workplace.

An added bonus of shopping there: the staff is very much on the eye-candy side.

See here for locations (no e-commerce, sadly).

Top two images: http://www.fatherandsons.fr/
Loot photo: MineCopyright ©2006-2008 The Non-Blonde, under the author's name. Content poaching is both illegal and ugly.

More Price Comparison Toolbar News

Thu, 1 Feb 2008 01:02:21 GMT

posted by w2look

We just wanted to write this quick post to keep all of our users informed about some recent and/or upcoming changes to our price comparison toolbar. Due to the ever changing technology associated with community toolbars and the Internet in general, it is necessary that we often update our price comparison toolbar in order to stay at the forefront of functionality and customer service. When making decisions on changes, our users, and how they will benefit from any changes are always the first things on our minds.

That being said, within the next few days, users of our toolbar should see some changes. While these are not sweeping changes that will drastically change our toolbar’s objectives, they should improve the toolbar’s value to our user. The most noted change will be to our BLOG feed button. We plan to add a notification function to the button that will let our users know when a new post has been made to our blog. The notification function will work much like an e-mail inbox. When a new post is made to our blog, your toolbar will let you know that you have a new “message” waiting with some text beside the BLOG button. Clicking on the BLOG button when you see this message will be just like checking your inbox. Messages/posts from Where2LookOnline will be displayed in sequence from newest to oldest. Once this new function is added, we will send a message/post immediately so our users will know that it’s available. Since we update our blog with posts quite frequently, we believe that this new function will help our users get every message and keep them from missing out on anything.

Another small change will be made to our Travel Deals button. Unfortunately, we will be removing the option to compare prices on travel deals from VacationCompare.com sometime between now and the end of February due to their affiliate program being terminated. As they will no longer be offering their service to affiliates, we will no longer be able to provide it as an option to our users that are looking to find Travel Deals. However, users will still have access to search the Best Travel Deals from all of our other current Travel partners.

The last change at this time, will be the removal of the Gadgets, Games and Tools button from our toolbar. Through testing and user feedback, it has been determined this button was not used enough by our users, nor did it fit well within the theme of our toolbar. As space on our toolbar is very valuable, we will be looking at other options in the future to replace this button.

As we stated earlier, from time to time it is necessary for us to make changes to our price comparison toolbar in order to stay at the forefront of functionality and customer service. We assure you that none of these changes are ever made without serious discussion and they are always made with the benefits to our users in mind. We hope you like them and would love to hear your comments. Please feel free to post them here.

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