Answering Emails from the Tiffany's Bathroom
and other stories from my NYC trip
Tap the ❤️❤️❤️ if you’re also a fan of The Empress, by Alisa Kennedy Jones. She writes beautifully about the joys and challenges of midlife and reading her Substack feels like a weekly conversation with your smartest, most well-read friend. Alisa was kind enough to include me in two recent ‘stacks. Head here to read her thoughtful Q&A-style profile and here to learn how to strengthen perimenopausal skin.
Changing careers in midlife means getting comfortable with feeling like an outsider. It’s sometimes uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing but nearly always exhilarating in the end when everything clicks. The perfect example was last week’s trip to launch Phosis to beauty editors in New York City.
These women have the enviable job of sorting through thousands of products sent to them each year, so we planned countless meetings & events across the city to ensure that our chat was informative and memorable. This trip was completely unlike my day-to-day, and I certainly didn’t plan it by myself. All credit goes to my lovely publicist, Betsy, who was kind enough to create the itinerary. We held over 15 meetings over four days; here are some of the highlights of the trip:
Blue Box Cafe at Tiffany & Co.
With food by Chef Daniel Boloud, this is just as bucket-list fancy as you’d imagine. The traditional tea was elegant and tasty, but the highlight dear reader? The Tiffany blue bathroom complete with Tiffany blue marble. Unfortunately, I had to spend part of this editor meeting frantically answering emails in said bathroom because Hurricane Milton threatened our shipping and fulfillment. Regardless, a lunch here is one of those worth-it experiences you’ll be talking about forever. There’s a science to getting a reservation on your preferred day: They release reservations every day 30 days out at midnight. Set your alarm for 11:55 PM (that’s EST, we set ours for 10:55 central), hop onto Resy, and click as fast as humanly possible.
Bergdorf Goodman & Cafe Ginori
Ginori, a luxe Italian dinnerware brand, has taken over the cafe on the beauty level of Bergdorf Goodman. I’m not springing for Ginori anytime soon, but looking at all of the glassware and porcelain was super inspiring as hosting season approaches. On the way out, I eyed these ballet flats, but did not have time to try them on. Thoughts?
Rita Wilson at Cafe Carlyle
Rita Wilson’s 5-night residency ended last week, but this experience is worth mentioning for two reasons. 1) Cafe Carlyle is one of those insider-y places real New Yorkers go. The restaurant is a beautiful old hotel on the Upper East Side near The Met and features frequent Cabaret-style performances from interesting musicians. 2) Rita Wilson’s perfect caramel-y butter toffee hair color. We couldn’t stop talking about it or her stellar performance.
Bad Roman + abcV
My two favorite meals from the trip are on opposite ends of the health spectrum. Buzzy and scene-y, Bad Roman is an Italian restaurant in Columbus Circle known for their Caviar Gnocchi and Ravioli Filleto (that’s a Ravioli on TOP of a cut of filet mignon). (I went with the spicy Caesar salad having just finished tea at Tiffany’s.) ABC V is a plant-forward restaurant in Grammercy with a really exciting veggie + salad menu, which is hard to do. The wild blueberry matcha muffin and California dates filled with whipped coconut yogurt were delicious.
The Portrait Bar
Sure, this intimate cocktail bar in the NoMad neighborhood has an impressive cocktail and mocktail menu. And sure, the cozy decor looks like it was plucked out of the library of a Gilded Age mansion. But the best part? The truffle popcorn. I’m currently investigating if they’ll ship a bag to my house and to everyone I know as a Christmas present. I paired it with a White Cosmo, a juicy mocktail.
NYC Beauty & Fashion Heros
There were definitely some not-so-glamorous moments on the trip, too: ducking out of the ballet to handle an urgent website issue, taking calls in cars while heading uptown, and frantically returning emails between meetings. When you’re working that hard, everything you pack has to be a workhorse, too. Here, a few of my favorites:
Polene Cyme Bag (above)
When you’re out and about for a full day in NYC, your purse choice is critical. It must be roomy enough to fit your computer, water bottle, change of shoes, wallet, snacks, makeup bag, hand sanitizer, and whatever essentials you definitely won’t be able to go back to your hotel room and get. This bag fits it all but has a polished shape.
My college-age daughter knows her lip glosses, and suggested I try this one out for the trip. She shared that it’s shiny but not sticky and truly does last much longer than others in the category. I’ve only tried it in Cherry Vanilla, but found that it’s the perfect color on its own or to layer over matte lipstick for a bit of shine. While I was initially put off by the name, I found the gloss did not disappoint.
If you’re a smudger like me, look into tubing mascaras. They surround your lashes with a tube of polymers that slips off at the end of the night with water. This one’s my favorite because I get tons of length and volume, but mostly because it won’t leave me looking like a raccoon at the end of the night! And I don’t fear scrubbing so hard to remove it at the end of the day that I’ll also remove any eyelashes.
Truly the Cadillac of hand sanitizers. We used about a gallon of this spray after getting in and out of so many Ubers. I love the coconut-scented version, it’s subtly beachy without being overpowering and dries really quickly.
Overall, A Whirlwind Week
At each intimate meeting, I recounted my story of struggling with perimenopause which ultimately led to the founding Phosis. The editors, many of them women in their 30s and 40s, listened intently as I listed off my symptoms (dry skin, eczema, insomnia, joint, and muscle pain, brain fog, hair loss, anxiety) and the long process of finally realizing all of my symptoms were connected to perimenopause. I loved watching as editors commenting on the beauty of the packaging and the feel of the products I’ve so carefully created, but maybe even more exciting was seeing the spark that comes with understanding the name for what you’re also experiencing. This is why I do what I do – though the tickets to the ballet were undoubtedly a special treat 😊.
This Week’s Movement Snack
After so much travel, my body needs some TLC. I’ve been loving this three-minute series for opening the chest and hips, strengthening the core, and playing with balance.
Cheers to Looking and Feeling Your Best,
Susan
Susan Campbell
Founder & CEO, Phosis
I loved, loved, LOVED this recap and want to take my girls on all these adventures very soon! What a treat! Thank you for this post! xo