Getting Lucky

Ladies, ladies, ladies - Ms. New Beauty went to Lucky Shops last night and had a BALL!!!!!! The energy, the deals, racing through racks of clothes to find the jewels, the blue martinis, oh what a glorious day. Ms. New Beauty found so many things that she wanted to get, but by the time she added up all those yellow slips and realized the cost of them all, she had to edit the list down to four key pieces. Highlights of the day

1. The woman on the street telling her friend via cell phone about the line wrapped around the building. "I don't know what all these girls are standing out here for, but every one of them has a designer bag. All designer bags."
   
2. Getting the Botkier bag that I've been loving all season. I swooped down to get the last one and after the fact a certain old lady was plotting a way to get it from me. But I certainly showed her.
   
3. And then, getting another Botkier just for good measure. Two bags for less than I would have paid for just one at full price.
   
4. Getting a new wallet, which I desperately needed, and my new wallet is in fact a soft pink leather Marc Jacobs that only cost $25. I only regret not buying more, those suckers would have made great presents. Of course, the box of wallets was cleaned out within 10 minutes.
   
5. Finding an oh-so-cute navy canvas LaROK coat that comes with a tan fur detachable vest. I love, love, love it, but I can't brag too much because my Partner in Crime originally picked it out for herself but they only had my size. Retail price - $378; Ms. New Beauty paid $150.
   
6. Meeting a girl who recognized me from Boston. She drove down just for the sale too. I wish I had chatted her up more and gotten her name, but at the time, I was going after the aforementioned LaROK coat.
   
7. Haagen Daas Cherry Fudge Truffle Ice Cream. I'm not even a chocolate person, but this was really, really good.
   
8. E-Money, my Partner in Crime's big sister, getting a Chloe Paddington bag for a price so ridiculous that I can't even post it publicly on the internet. But trust, this buy has definitely earned this girl a heralded spot in the International Shopping Hall of Fame.

Besides all the deals and the crazy pace, I was really looking forward to the gift bag. Now, as much as I love Lucky magazine and absolutely loved Lucky Shops, but the gift bag was so disappointing. The bag was heavy, because of the current issue of Lucky mag inside it. My thinking is, most of the women here probably already read this magazine and have that issue, so we don't really need another one, but oh well. The really disappointing part of the bag was all the drug store brand product samples in it. I appreciate a good freebie like anyone else, but I definitely expected a little something more than Clearasil samples. I am actually offended at the Wet n' Wild nail polish they included. Do you really need to give away for free something that only costs a dollar?

It wasn't all bad though. I'm definitely going to crack open the teeth whitener sample and the With Love . . . Hilary Duff candle will be getting burned this weekend. And, if I had bad eyesight, I might consider the discount on Lasik surgery, or maybe not. Surgery is the one thing that I think you should pay full price for. I wouldn't let a doctor who had given out coupons anywhere near my eyes, let alone with a laser.

Lucky shops is still going on today, so if you are in New York or can get here within a reasonable time, you can still catch yourself some bargains.

Shop, spend money but save even more, and don't forget Ms. New Beauty told you!