At 8 am on a Saturday morning in early May, a buzz builds in the beauty basement at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. Voices are at a fever pitch and the excitement is palpable. It’s as if a rock star or an A-list celeb would appear at any moment. Inside Bergdorf’s small cafe 140 people (including me) are waiting in anticipation for the start of something called Sniffapalooza Spring Fling. “It’s the most incredible, intense experience,” says Tamara, who flew in from Arizona. “You’ve gotten on trains, planes and automobiles,” says Karen Dubin, Sniffapalooza’s founder. “This is our 18th event,” she says in regards to this year’s Spring Fling. Twice a year, in the spring and the fall, fragrance fanatics invade the Big Apple, eager to sniff the newest scents from the biggest names in perfumery. Sniffapalooza is a phenomenon, attracting people from far flung locales such as Australia, Paris,…
A Scentsational Weekend with Sniffapalooza
I recently returned from a weekend in New York City with Sniffapalooza. Sniffa what? How do you spell that? Funny name. Indeed, most people I know or meet have never heard of Sniffapalooza. They think it’s a word I made up. No, it’s actually a group of perfume lovers who get together to sniff out the latest and greatest fragrances from around the world. What has this got to do with wine? Read on. More…
SHOP – From Capri, custom-made sandals
I was on an Italian holiday, roaming the streets of Positano, when I happened across a storefront selling custom-made sandals. You could choose the color of the leather straps, the style — such as thongs, or toe rings, and the sole, whether it’s flat, a wedge or a heel. Several hundred feet later, there’s another custom sandal shop, with more brightly colored leather straps, and lots and lots of crystals adorning the sandals. My friend and I were trying on sandals to see what looked best on our feet, and got yelled at by the cobbler – he was impatient and wanted us to make a quick decision. We left in a huff, vowing never to buy from him. We searched Positano and Capri for other sandals, but his were the best. I went back the next day, swallowed my pride, and bought a gorgeous pair of pink sandals, with…