Marie Antoinette's modern-day shopping trip

I'm not sure why the question, "If you could shake hands with anybody - alive or dead, character or actual person - who would it be?" stills makes the rounds in polite company. It's a nice ice breaker, I suppose, that helps to start conversation, but I've always felt that there are so many other questions that could really liven up a crowd and that give an interesting look at different personalities.

Today, after being asked the handshake question and ruminating over how much I dislike it, I decided which question I'd prefer to answer: "If you could choose anyone - alive or dead, character or actual person - to go on a shopping spree with, who would it be and what would they buy?"

C'mon, think of how fun it would be to conjure up the various places that characters like Scarlett O'Hara, Cinderella or Tyler Durden would shop. Or what about real people like Jean Harlow, Babe Ruth or William Shakespeare?

My preferred shopping buddy? Marie Antoinette. I would choose the former French queen due to her legendary preferences for hedonistic excess. If I were just going along for the ride, and there was no cap on the money that could be spent on this shopping excursion, then we would be dipping into couture ateliers and ordering Laduree macarons by the barrelful.

And since we are talking metaphorically, I'll go ahead and stage this shopping trip in New York. Because that's where you go to get the good stuff.
First, Marie (we'd be on a first-name basis if we were shopping buddies) would stop by the parlour for French sweets, Laduree, and pick out dozens of pretty, pastel macarons in the much-championed flavors of fleur d'orange, salted caramel, pistachio, framboise, citron, rose petal and coconut. And we would absolutely cut the ghastly hour-long line that usually forms outside the door of Laduree. Because queens don't wait in line. Then, to wash down those delicieuse macarons, a bottle of Perrier-Jouet champagne (1825, if possible) would suffice.

Then off to the Bergdorf Goodman cosmetic counters where we would pick up a few items from French labels, such as Laura Mercier's Invisible Illuminating Powder in Candlelight, because a requisite part of any queenly presence is a glowing visage. At Yves Saint Laurent, Marie would select the mint green, peony pink and creamsicle orange Manucure Duo Nail Lacquers in No 7 and No 8. Then we'd be off to the La Mer counter, where a pot of the brand's Creme de la Mer would make the shopping list; the full 16.5-ounce, $1,800 version, because true pampering knows no price limit. And since queens need to luxuriate in nature's loveliest scents on the regular so that they don't smell like peasants, Marie will pick up Jo Malone's Red Roses Bath Oil, too.

 After having sated her appetite for gourmet treats and sumptuous toilette products, Marie would head to Neiman Marcus where she would be garbed in the newest offerings from Franco-Spanish designer Monique Lhuiller's  Resort 2013 collection, and would choose the showstopper of a gown that features prints of beautiful flower blossoms and a ruched skirt. To go along with the gown, Barney's would be the next stop, where Christian Louboutin's glittering Fifi Strass Cinderella-esque heels would be the chosen footwear and then to Bergdorf Goodmans to pick up a pair of Judith Ripka's 18-karat gold, diamond-encrusted Gothic Estate earrings , which would provide the perfect complement to the ensemble.

And should Marie want to write letters to all of the new acquaintances and friends she met while on this short trip, what better tools to scribe beautiful calligraphy on and with than Smythson's Cerise Pink Double Border Correspondence Cards paired with the red gold-plated, Mozart-tribute Montblanc fountain pen.

And she'll, of course, require a lovely Hermès Dip Dye scarf with which to wave goodbye to her adoring fans once she calls it a day.


See, wasn't that a fun question? I thought so. So, there will definitely be more of these to come.

Beauty Items - The Birthday Wish List

Well folks, it's my golden birthday. I take that to mean that it's an uber-special birthday (the likes of which stopped at 21 and will reconvene at 30), and as such, I'd like to take a few moments to celebrate accordingly by compiling a birthday list of the beauty products I've been panting over for the past few months. I figure that a birthday Santa is lying in wait somewhere to grant me these lovely gifts; like he knows that I've been a good person all year long and haven't indulged in purchasing any beauty products and as such will grant me a few items on my list.
So, that's the goal for obtaining these awesome goodies.

1. D& G 3 L'Imperatrice Perfume - Created by design duo Domenico Dolce and Stephano Gabbana, this perfume is one of five based on characters in tarot cards, with L'Imperatrice, French for 'The Empress', being one of them. This perfume literally smells like a cool breeze, and not just the smell of fresh air, but it feels like a cool breeze is hitting me when I smell it. Odd description, I know, but you must try it for yourself to see.

2. Oribe 24-Karat Gold Pomade - This hair pomade was created with bits of actual gold so as to add serious luster to strands. So when people say, "Chelsea, your hair is so money," I will say, "Yes. Yes it is." Oh, and I also think it will shimmer prettily when the sun hits my hair.

3. Nars Semi Matte Lipstick in Shiap - I've never met a bright lip color that didn't deter me due to it's flashy presence, but Schiap is different. This almost hot pink lipstick brings out my eyes and has long-lasting wear without bleeding outside of the lipline. Fun fact is that all of the products in the Nars line are named after people, places or things that Francois Nars himself is inspired by. Schiap is named after clothing designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who was recently commemorated at this year's MET Costume Institute Gala along with designer Miuccia Prada. 

4. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Ophelia - Yes, another bright pink lip color. But this one is a lip gloss, albeit the most intensely pigmented lip gloss that I've ever used, but high opacity is this brand's claim to fame. This indie beauty line has blown out of the water the standards of what constitutes acceptable color payoff in cosmetics and does so while keeping its product price points low. I also love that the brand doesn't create shades of lipglosses that lie solely in the red-pink-mauve category. Instead, in the Lip Tar line you'll find emerald green glosses alongside violet, royal blue and yellow.

5. Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in Candy Shop - This polish color is milky pink with flecks of multicolored confetti mixed in. Skeptic that I am, upon first seeing the colors in the polish bottle, I argued that it looked like something a Toddlers and Tiaras contestant would wear. However, after having tested the shade out on one of my nails, I had to eat my words; I now want this polish more than anything. Only a single coat of lacquer is needed for this color to completely cover a nail, which is a godsend when dealing with psycho glitter pieces that usually end up EVERYWHERE BUT ON MY NAIL.

6. Ultraflesh Panthera Jet-Black Mascara - After you read the name of the mascara, you immediately thought of the scene in Anchorman where Paul Rudd says, "Sex Panther. Sixty percent of the time it works every time." Am I right? Well, that's the first though that popped into my head. Seriously, though, this mascara has received rave reviews even though it is only featured on QVC.com. What a conundrum. But I'd still like to give it a go.

7. Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam - Hello, luxury! I was recommended to use this cleanser by a friend, who said that this was the creamiest, softest cleanser that she had ever used, and only a pea-size drop to mix with water was needed per cleaning. I was skeptical at first, because though I am a beauty junkie, I'm no fool. I know that many products that come in fancy packages with a designer name (and price tag) generally work just like every other brand. And what does it even mean to "brighten" the skin? Will I glow? Do I even want to glow? So many times brands claim very interesting things on their packaging while the product leaves much to be desired. This cleanser is different, though -  magical, you could say. It really does brighten the skin, which may make it worth the $35 it will cost you to get it.

8. DuWop Caribbean IcedTeas gloss stick in Passionfruit - This cool little product looks like a lipstick, but glides on like a solid lipgloss, dispensing a product that is neither overly goopy nor ultra pigmented. The Passionfruit shade smells so good that the first time I caught a whiff, I promptly inhaled about half a dozen more times to the point where I probably overstepped some social boundary about excessive cosmetic sniffing, but whatever. If you can resist licking all of the product off of your lips as soon as you apply, you should give this a go.

9. La Mer Moisturizing Cream - It's the cult product that has been mentioned in numerous books, movies and magazines and is touted by one celeb after another whom all claim to use this miracle cream. A friend of mine said that when she borrowed some La Mer cream from her mom, it cleared up her blemishes overnight. An acquaintance of mine also commented on how soft her usually dry skin became after a few nightly applications of this cream. Yes, it's on the expensive side, but with all of these great reviews from users who claim that it's worth every penny, I feel like it'd be worth it. And I've been wanting to try it's magical potion properties for years now. Hear that, birthday Santa?

10. Uptown Soap Co. Black Honey Soap - Because it's made in New York, has a black and white photo of a brownstone on its wrapper and it doesn't contain sulfates. Ultimate trifecta of cool, right there.

11. Make Up For Ever 12 Flash Color Case - Behold the palette of colors that will end all searches for that perfect arsenal of makeup. Packaged inside of a clear, divided case comes 12 cream colors that are so pigmented that less than a pea-size amount of any hue will give you a gratuitous color payoff, which makes each color perfect for blending and layering with all other colors in the set. These creams can be used anywhere on the face, and by simply mixing two or more of the given colors together, you can create a plethora of new colors; this in itself will save you money as you'll no longer have the need to buy individual products henceforth.