A trip to the mall

After a week's worth of Lean Cuisines at my desk, I decided today I need to get out. Somehow I ended up at the mall across from work (surprisingly, that doesn't happen a lot). Walking past Ann Taylor, I noticed they have new bodycare and fragrance lines (just like NY&Co), which happened to disappointed me. The only scent that wasn't Bath & Body Works-worthy was Silver Tea Citrus Flower, and that was only OK. This inspired me, however, and I decided to check out some other stores. Really, for someone who writes about beauty daily, I rarely end up in mall beauty shops. I first entered Douglas because, truthfully, I'd never been inside and the larger-than-life posters of Heidi Klum were enticing. I was completely underwhelmed by the mix of higher-end lines and drugstore finds. The sales help was nonexistent and the makeup stations looked like a hurricane had hit. I am willing to keep in mind that it could just be this particular store, but really the only redeeming factor was that they had several brands I like in one place, and there isn't a Sephora or Ulta within miles. Next was The Body Shop, which I was a regular at in the '90s but hadn't stepped foot inside since (mainly because just walking by the store gives me hives). I took a deep breath, walked in, and was completely underwhelmed. I knew they started carrying makeup a year or so ago, but never checked out the collection because I'd heard it wasn't worth it — true. I did happen to like the makeup brushes, however, which are all natural, unlike many on the market in that price range. The new Japanese Cherry Blossom scent is also nice, and mellower than BBW's cherry blossom scent introduced last spring. But beyond that, it was mainly the same stuff from 10 years ago — including my favorite from years past, Hemp Hand Protector, which still had that same Mother Earth smell. Next door was L'Occitane, which, thankfully, was not too nauseatingly strong-scented. Most of the products bore me, however; I do like most of their Provence-inspired packaging. They do have a new shea butter skincare line that I may try one of these days. The face moisturizer was very light and silky to the touch, and barely had a scent. Last, I hit up Origins before realizing I'd been gone an hour and was beginning to smell like a department store fragrance counter. Origins actually happens to carry some of my favorite products (like this and this and this), so I was happy to end here. Nothing really seemed new, but they are having a sale on some of their best sellers, many in new, limited edition sizes. Well, back to work.