THE SAVVY SHOPPER: Macy’s

Showing posts with label Macy’s. Show all posts

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Pretty LeVian Couture Emeralds

LeVian is a jeweler known for its chocolate diamonds and use of bold, vibrant, slightly-off-the-beaten-path colored gemstones like blueberry sapphires and passion rubies. The family run retailer since the 15th century has also maintained its Persian orgins in some of its designs. Personally, I don’t own any of its commercial-grade jewelry sold at Macy’s, Saks or Belk department stores.

Still 2 pieces from LaVain’s High Jewelry Platinum Collection really caught my eye! I (not my bank account😛) can envision wearing them as they are classic and gorgeous!

The Dora is a pair of earrings featuring 9.22 carats of pear-shaped Costa Smeralda Emeralds™ interlaced with 2.65 carats of marquise, pear, and round Vanilla Diamonds™ crafted in 18k Vanilla Gold™.

The Aelia is a 13.53 carat Costa Smeralda Emerald™ in 18k Vanilla Gold™ framed by .86 carat of Vanilla Diamonds™ in a floral pattern.

You may wonder what exactly are Costa Smeralda Emeralds™, Vanilla Gold™ and Vanilla Diamonds™? I had to look it up:

"Le Vian uses Vanilla Gold to describe its unique 14k or 18k white gold alloy, which is designed to be very white and often eliminates the need for rhodium plating. Vanilla Diamonds are Le Vian's branded, specially selected, high-quality white or near-colorless diamonds chosen to sparkle against their colorful, food-named gold and gemstone collections.”

"Costa Smeralda Emeralds are high-quality, natural, and untreated emeralds ethically sourced from Zambia and Brazil, exclusively marketed by Le Vian.” The hue of the emeralds are a deep forest green.

I think of the terms as more of a marketing tool but once you know their meaning you do understand what you’re getting.

It’s unlikely and impractical for us average wage earners to buy high jewelry, and yet it’s great fun to see! For one, the stones are rare as they are usually big with fewer flaws. Super ogle-worthy!!

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Thanksgiving In Manhattan

All photos except where noted: Dreamtime

I’ve spent all my adult life in Manhattan. My 1st Thanksgivng here I spent with my friend, Chris, a Julliard gratuate from New Orleans and met his lovely Louisiana Mama in his apartment. He lived in Hell’s Kitchen at the time, and after dusk, walked me back to Penn Station for safety. Other mutual friends attended his Thanksgiving dinner too, and we ate scrumptious food and exchanaged many amusing stories at the dinner table.

The next 8 Thanksgivings I walked across Central Park to spend Thanksgiving Day on the Upper West Side with the same friends, Don and LeAnn and their ballet friends. Don and LeAnn were together for 15 years before sadly divorcing.

Then I accepted various Thanksgiving invitations ... 3 times spending it on the Upper East Side, once on the Lower East Side, once going to Princeton N.J. by train, once traveling by train to a N.J. town I no longer remember the name of, and a few times spending Thanksgiving with my friends, Sheila and Ken, who lived in Clifton Park, N.J. Sadly they are both deceased now. Sheila’s death was a shock! I’ve accepted her loss, but still think about it. A couple of years I also hosted Thanksgiving dinners in my apartment with different New York friends who have since moved away to other cities. We had wonderful times with none of us having to worry about long commutes home at night.

Truthfully, life is bittersweet and always influx. It never stands still, not for past, present, or future generations. Change is a certainty.

This year I’m again spending Thanksgiving Day in Manhattan. I’ll be with my senior Mom in my apartment. As a younger adult I always went to see my parents for Christmas, but thought I should establish my own Thanksgiving traditons. The two holidays are so close together also.

But life comes full circle, and now as my senior Mom’s caregiver this will be our 4th Thanksgiving spent together (not counting my childhood). I’m happy she’s healthy enough to walk indoors on a walker and can stay with me in my home. I’m grateful to be able to keep our dwindling family (we miss the ones who have passed) together. I learn new things about old people daily.

When I do have dinner guests to prepare for I enjoy having them over, and yet this year I’m thankful to have a more relaxing Thanksgiving without travel or the cleanup. Four days without any appointments of any kind sounds like bliss to me. We’ll likely order-in our turkey dinner and supplement it with more sides or desserts if we desire anything. We’ll watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on televison (I went to it twice) followed by the National Dog Show. This year, it’s exactly how I long to spend Thanksgiving Day. If we feel like it, we may bake the first batch of our Christmas cookies ... or not! We’ll let our Thanksgiving Day unfold and spend it exactly as we wish, in the moment; well-fed; and perhaps some of it horizontially.😁

Photo: Istock

Our friends and family will visit us one or two at a time from Advent to New Year's, and we’ll love seeing them as we’ll be fully rested. We love❤️ New York City where you’re never bored or truly alone!🗽🏙🎄

🍁Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Monday, October 27, 2025

Macy’s Perfume Samples

Regular readers of THE SAVVY SHOPPER know Macy’s is my favorite New York department store bar none. Once in a while Macy’s loves me back by sending me a small box of free perfume samples. The offer is open to anyone and everyone who sees it on Macy’s website and at times on Facebook. A small box of 6 samples arrived today! Below, I listed those 6 fragrances in the order of my most to least favorite scents:

1) John Varatos XX Elixir - Formulated for men, but both men and women can wear it, as it's not a musk, but just a fresh clean smell of bergamot, red ginger, davana and violet leaf essence mixed with rum, Damascus rose. black iris and geranim. There are notes of tonka bean, cistus labdanum, cedarwood, and latigo leather. It is my absolute favorite scent in the box!

2) Prada Paradidme - Ambery woods entwine with Bourbon, geranium, and Calabrian bergamot. I smell a hint of lemon, yet don’t see it listed as an ingredient. Lovely and clean smelling.

3) Dolce & Gabbana My Devotion - A pear blossom, blackcurrant, peony and vanilla blend.

4) Dolce & Gabbana Dovotion Pour Homme Parfum - A lavender, coffee, and woody-amber blend.

5) Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia - Mandarin with gardenia, hedione, and sandalwood essence.

6) Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Toilette spray - Notes of osmanthus, African orange flower, Bergamot, amber, musk, vanilla and vetiver. There is one note in this scent that I dislike but don’t know which ingredient it is. It reminds me of unpleasent much cheaper drugstore perfumes and it stands out.

My senior mom tested the perfume samples with me. She said she liked them. None of the 6 fragrances overwhelmed us, yet lingered for hours, and except for #6, lean towards clean scents over strong perfumes. #6 has that one unidentified note not to my liking.

Perfumes can smell differently on different people. Before buying a fragrance, spray it on, walk around the store and wait to see how it will interact with your body’s chemistry.

THE SAVVY SHOPPER