25 Secrets Revealed

As some of you may know, I have been hired as the Fragrance Specialist for the newest Victoria's Secret flagship store located on 58th and Lexington Ave. This location is like no other; it is elevated to a new level of opulence with a concierge, personal shoppers, exclusive designer labels, and 25 Secret Notes. And that's where I come in.

Victoria's Secret's Mark Knitowski, VP of Product Innovation, and his team worked with a team at International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., including Clement Gavarry, to hand craft 25 individual notes of the finest ingredients that can be worn alone or layered to evolve into your own personal fragrance. Mark Knitowski has been responsible for building Victoria's Secret's fragrance house into top sellers for over 1o years including, America's #1 fragrance, Dream Angels Heavenly. Along side Mark was the nose of the collection, Clement Gavarry. He has worked with several other perfumers to create such fragrances as the Chole Collection 2005 and Lovely for Sarah Jessica Parker. I have had a chance to meet and experience the fragrances with both of these men, including several other members of IFF and Victoria's Secret, and let me say that they are two of the most amazing people I have ever met. Their passion for fragrance goes beyond anything I have ever been taught and you can sense how much they truly enjoy their careers.

To reveal these 25 notes, I can only describe to you in words a few of the elements. The 25 Secret Notes are divided into 5 categories within 3 layers of notes:
-Top Notes include both Aromatic and Fruity notes like a sparkling Bergamot and a sharp White Pepper
-Middle Notes include Florals like a glamorous Jasmine and petaly Freesia.
-Bottom Notes include both Woody and Warm notes like, my personal favorite, a spicy White Patchouli and a nostalgically light French Heliotrope.

Now if you would like to experience these 25 delicate notes, you will have to visit the Victoria's Secret flagship store on 58th and Lexington in Manhattan because that is the ONLY place they are available. It is exclusive to that location and not even available online. Sorry everyone! BUT I would encourage everyone to find their way into the store and graciously pass across through marble flooring and white leather walls, the 9 ft chandelier that dangles so dramatically down from a, maybe, 30 foot ceiling. Skim your way through the Sexy Little Things lingerie nook and into the 9 karat white gold painted ceiling, mother of pearl wall beauty boutique where the fragrance bar is located. I will be there ready to guide you in creating your own very personal, very unique, and very sensual fragrance. ny

Make Cornbread NOT WAR

A continuous quote found on several pieces of Alabama native William "Billy" Reid's collection. Billy Reid opened a new location in New York this year. His casually tailored yet sophisticated Southern style has stirred up the city since its opening. His pieces are uniquely hand crafted from fine fabrics, including my favorite wax-cotton. The collection includes leather goods, shoes, a strong men's collection and a new, growing women's collection. Some favorites have included the Pappy Van Winkle logo tee, the Wool Jumper for Women (Billy's personal favorite), and the Moleskin Sports Jacket. Such clients have included Reese Witherspoon, Sean Connery, Sean Penn, Matthew McConaughey, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gossip Girl's stylist Eric Daman.

My roommate works at this very up-and-coming boutique located on 54 Bond and Bleeker downtown. I had a chance to take some picture this weekend. The store is unbelievable! Everything is made from reclaimed materials. Apothecary cabinets, vintage chairs, marble tabletops, and chandeliers which create a romantic and luxurious Southern ambiance. And at each register you can snack on a variety of Texas-imported sour-balls!

Other locations include Charlotte, NC at Southpark Mall, Houston, Dallas, Florence, Alabama, and Nashville. Find a location near you and go in, even if you can't break-the-bank during your visit you must at least go to see the visual designs!ny

Tourist Day: The Museum

While my roommate and I both had a day off of work, we decided to play in the city. I should inform you that we have both vowed to be tourists this entire 1st year! There are so many things to do, and probably not enough time, but somehow we are going to do it all!

One of the first things on our checklist (I will share this entire list with you later, it isn't complete though) includes the museums. Since we are so conveniently living on the Upper West Side, and that Central Park is just two blocks east, we decided to start the day with the American Museum of Natural History. You may be familiar with this museum if you have seen Night at the Museum or Nanny Diaries.

We went on a Monday, so the museum wasn't too crowded; mostly school field trips. There was a lot of ground to cover and we didn't make it though all the exhibits, but we had a chance to see the Indians, the forests, the NY environment, Dinosaurs, Gems and Minerals, Human Origins, things in between and of course the gift shops! While we were in the Gems and Minerals exhibit an older gentleman approached us, his name was Robert, and he gave us a personal tour! We could tell everyone around us was jealous! ;) He went into great detail about each mineral and gem; I am fully educated now on several stones including the diamonds, star rubies, and a 596 lb topaz rock! We will be visiting him again soon!

The only thing we couldn't get into was the room with the mammals and the Central Park entry with the large dinosaurs because there was an "elite and exclusive" event happening that evening that they were setting up for. But we will return to see those later... and now I know that I can host my next party in the Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals.. keep an eye out for your invite! ;)ny

Movie Night

This week I went to see my first movie in New York! Those of you who know me well, this has been the longest period of time that I haven't made my way into a movie theater. I was beginning to have withdrawals...

My roommate and I both were wanting to see the new movie starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, Clint Eastwood's Changeling. To find the right first theater to go to in New York, I pulled out my handy-dandy NFT(Not For Tourists) NY book. By the way, this has been one of the best books I have ever bought! Lots of facts on the city, places to go for EVERY location, and a subway/bus map comes with! If you are going to a city you are not familiar with and might be staying a while.. find your city and purchase the little black book! :)

The theater we selected was located near Lincoln Center. We hoped on the 1 train and head downtown. The theater looked small from the outside, but inside it was enormous! Themed theaters, elevators, nothing like Charlotte, NC theaters. We went to the Paradise theater to enjoy our cinematic adventure!

I will say this about the movie, UNBELIEVABLE performances by the entire cast. And you will be completely captivated by the emotionally disturbing plot. I cried so much, but not just because it was sad... it was painful and horrifying. Even if you don't have a child, you can feel the pain and persistence Angelina's character portrays throughout the film. John Malkovich's character adds some sarcastic humor but for the most part the movie is serious and powerful. I highly recommend this movie! A+ all the way!ny

MAMMA MIA! here I go again...

MY MY how can I resist you!?

A few weeks ago my very first visitor came to the big city to stay the weekend with me; my best friend Erika! (I introduced her in an earlier post a few months ago!) We had the best time and had the chance to do a lot of fun things over the Halloween weekend. Some of our activities included a penthouse Halloween party downtown, Central Park and Riverside Park walking, some fun restaurants and local pubs, and of course shopping!

On her last evening in town, we were given the opportunity to go see, my very first Broadway show, MAMMA MIA! After getting all dressed up (I got to wear my NEW Prada's!) we headed downtown to Carmine's for an Italian bite. Which, FYI, the portions are unbelievably ginormous! But yet very tasty. We walked a few blocks down to the Winter Garden Theater and crowds of people were beginning to enter the venue. The inside was beautiful and dramatic with historic seating and romantic fixtures giving the perfect ambiance to my first theatrical adventure! The lights dimmed and the show began...

Sorry no details here! I don't want to ruin the show...

BUT I will say the show was hilarious and energetic. The actors/actresses were amazing and the voices were unbelievable. 2 hours later, I understood exactly why everyone loves Broadway! If you have a chance, this is definitely a must see!! Thanks again Scott and Theresa!! :)ny

New York: Surprises around EVERY corner!

On my first Saturday, October 18th, in New York City. My roommate and I wanted to shop around the city. I really wanted to see the Miu Miu store so we asked the locals where to go and they gave us 2 locations: Prince St. and W. 52nd St. Since we were not familiar with either of them we decided to go with W. 52nd St. (no specific reason). On our way to the store I started to notice that the area was not getting nicer; in fact it was starting to look more and more residential. I was thinking this wasn't the right store, but we continued walking since we figured block to block can look different.

As we were beginning to approach the street, I casually asked a young women if we were heading the correct way. She said that she was heading to the same location-- odd right?? As we approached the unmarked (no sign of Miu Miu) building we noticed a crowed... our lucky stars had us heading straight into the ONCE A YEAR Prada(and Miu Miu) SAMPLE SALE!!

Overwhelmed with joy we made our way into the building and ran to the shoes! After an hour of trying different pieces on, I settled on my very first pair of perfectly crafted satin Prada sandals with a carved pink-rose and green-stem heel!!! I of course got them for 25% of their original cost! They are fabulous! Jealous??? :) ny

Start: New York City <3

I have officially been a resident of New York City for 2 weeks!! Unfortunately I have not had the time to update everyone on my arrival so there is plenty to write about.

Within the first 24 hours of my arrival my roommate and I found the perfect flat in the Upper West Side (just 2 blocks from Central Park!) The area is ideal. There are plenty of shops and restaurants located on Broadway and the Subway station is just around the corner! In the first few days of us getting to know the area Caroline Rhea tripped me on my way out of a local diner! She apologized and I just looked at her and then realized it was her!

Upon moving in we happened to miss the note about calling the electric company; so for the first 48 hours of living in the apartment we had no electricity. This is an experience to remember and now we are fully prepared in case we ever lose power; we now have a variety of candles and several flashlights!

As soon as it was possible, we hopped on the Subway and headed to Brooklyn to visit the Ikea store where we could furnish our new apartment! After this past weekend, we have completely unpacked all of our belongings and are now settling in comfortably into our own apartment. ny