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Sarah Jessica Parker looks “Lovely” in the suburbs
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Photos: Dino-Ray Ramos
Sarah Jessica Parker may be known for her cosmopolitan style while traipsing through Manhattan as Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City,” but that doesn’t mean SJP doesn’t give love to the suburbs.
Last week, Parker paid a visit to Macy’s in Stoneridge Mall at Pleasanton (yes, Pleasanton) in the East Bay to promote her fragrances, Lovely, Covet and Covet Pure Bloom.
Now I know what you’re thinking: what the hell is such a big star doing in the suburbs? Believe me, it’s not that far fetched.
About two years ago, she paid a visit to San Francisco to promote her fragrances, so it’s only fair that she hits all parts of the Bay Area. Isn’t that nice of her?
Before she faced the screaming fans crowding the modest fragrance section of the suburban mall; I had the chance to sit down and chat with the superstar in a quaint little (and I stress little) room.
As I sat down with her face-to-face, she is the spitting image, albeit more realistic, of what you see on the small or big screen: petite, sweet face, comforting smile and, of course, unbelievably stylish in high-end clothes that have the ability to make women drool with sartorial envy.
Wearing a beautiful floral Peter Soronen dress (the perfect “ballerina” silhouette on her), a pair of sequin encrusted Miu Miu heels (she actually took them off to make sure they were Miu Miu) and a necklace from her buddies at Fred Leighton (I wish I had friends who made expensive jewelry), she put me at ease in what could’ve been a surreal moment for a fan like me trying to remain professional.
I managed to stay professional, but I was a bit distracted by the scent of Lovely encapsulating the entire room. But I managed to stay focused while she told me about her trio of fragrances.
“They have three different stories that are particular to each fragrance,” says Parker. “(With) Lovely I had very specific idea in my mind based on this 20 year “vulgar” version of a chemist that I was. When I finally found Catherine and Coty, it was a matter of interpreting what I wanted, having real professionals and perfumers come into the conversation to teach me about the fragrance business.”
I admit, while I she was talking, I was just staring at her. Sure, I was paying attention to her words, but 45 percent of me wanted to blurt out, “I LOVED YOU IN ‘GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN’!” But that wouldn’t be professional now, would it?
The urge to say something totally idiotic and to compromise my professionalism died down as she continued to talk about her Covet collection of fragrances.
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“With Covet, it was a very different animal because there was nothing specific I was thinking except that I wanted to have some connective tissue to Lovely,” continued Parker. “I wanted to create a fragrance that had drama and had more subversive qualities. With Pure Bloom, it had specificity from a flower – which was unusual for me. It was about capturing the idea of pikake and the experience I had with the flower when I was in Hawaii and when I was a young girl. They’ve all been different. As a result, I’ve learned so much about fragrance and getting to the final destination.”
Parker went on to say that people have relationships with fragrance and that some people use it for perfunctory purposes, while others use it as an escape.
As for me, I use a fragrance so that I smell nice. In a way, it is an escape – an escape from foul odor.
Her fragrances are fabulous, but her role as Miss Bradshaw (and perhaps her role on “Square Pegs”) is what made her and Manolo Blahnik a household name.
That said, her life “Sex and the City: The Movie” has been a bit more restful.
“I am really relieved that it received that enthusiasm,” gleams Parker. “I am thrilled that it has had success. Mostly I am very proud of the movie we got to make. It’s been really lovely to hear people’s experiences seeing the movie. That was always the important part of the process to us; how the audience reacted. We were very cognizant of that. It was only with their commitment to the show that we were having this opportunity. Our fervent hope and wish was that the audience would respond.”
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Still, I couldn’t help but think of why she made a visit to the quaint suburban oasis of Pleasanton. She said it was very “rural” and “beautiful.” When I told her that I lived down the street, she said I was “lucky.”
I didn’t expect that. I have been yearning to move to San Francisco so that I can save money on daily BART trips and live like metropolitan young professional, living fabulously and complaining how expensive my rent is.
Other than that, she had nothing but nice words to say about San Francisco. When she first arrived in the city she, of all things, was struck by the lights that many of us take for granted each day.
“It’s really unique and very arresting. It’s stunning,” says Parker with wide-eyed charm. “The food, the culture, the people and the sophistication of the people and their curiosity – it’s just a very unusual part of the country. It’s just very different from New York and Los Angeles. It’s really its own little world.”
After my time was up, we departed to the screaming mob of Parker-philes downstairs. I was stuck in a press pit (doesn’t that sound fabulous?) and I looked on while a select group of people had the opportunity to meet SJP and get bottles of Lovely and Covet signed by her.
From the “pit,” I couldn’t help but notice how genuine and personable she was with every person (even a lady who brought her pet bird) that came to the table.
After being hounded by onlookers behind the press pit to take pictures for them with their malfunctioning digital cameras and being deafened by the screams of the crowd, I left the event smelling Lovely – no really, I smelled like the perfume because it seemed like the whole store was blessed with a mist of the fragrance.
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