We heart South Coast Plaza

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 Fashionistas, beauty lovers and the shopping obsessed get ready! We heart this is bringing you an insiders look at the ultimate shoppers paradise – the South Coast Plaza. This internationally known tourist destination offers visitors the very best of the Southern California experience. Located just minutes from the magnificent Orange Country beaches, a journey to SCP, which has been labeled “the most distinguished retail address on the West Coast,” is a dream experience for even the most discerning shopper. Filled with sleek shops and show-stopping window displays, a day spent strolling SCP is an event in itself. Add in the surrounding top notch hotels, a dazzling array of highly rated restaurants, not to mention the world class cultural destinations including the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the South Coast Repertory and you will see why this section of Orange County has become the destination for travelers, shoppers and those in the know from all around the world.

So we were thrilled to get an up close look at some of their latest offerings when we were invited to the first ever blogger event hosted by South Coast Plaza. We spent an afternoon getting the VIP treatment and got the chance to chat with some of Southern California’s most influential bloggers. Our day started when we met up with PR wonder woman, Michelle Dalton Tyree, founder of Blab Communications and her do-it-all associate, Karla Ruiz, as well as the newly crowned editor of fashion’s biggest insider Racked LA, Erin Magner (congratulations girl!) We shared a SCP provided coach to the Plaza and chatted about the latest summer makeup colors and the twitter phenomenon.

Upon arrival, we were treated to some cool refreshments and an artisan cheese sampler at the elegant French bistro Marche Moderne, where we had a chance to mingle with other attendees including Rachel Nguyen of That’s Chic, Max Padilla of the Los Angeles Times, Katy Cook from the San Diego Examiner, Candice Shih of the Orange County Register, (check out her SCP focused blog), Christopher Luu of julieb.com and Jess Mandeville of My Fashion Plate (her newly launched site is a great tool for any clothes hound.) After a quick fueling, we received an adorable, reusable “SCP hearts bloggers” tote (photo thanks to Candice Shih) to carry our purchases as we spent the next two hours exploring as the Plaza.

A few hours is not nearly enough time to adequately shop SCP, but we managed to squeeze in visits to some of our favorites, including Shu Uemura, MAC and Fresh for a look at their summer colors and offerings. Then it was off to Bloomingdales and the Space NK counter for a complimentary “lip-over” featuring products from reigning lip royalty, Lipstick Queen. Believing that there is a correct red shade for everyone, knowledgeable and informative technicians worked with glosses and lipsticks to find the perfect hue for each of us. We received a goody bag filled with samples from some of the esteemed lines carried by Space NK (such as wht favorites Zelens, Jurlique and Frederic Fekkai), and headed off, with new red lips, to our final destination.

It was a beautiful atmosphere, great company and “Bloggertinis” all around (a blood orange martini garnished with mint!) at Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdales. We were treated to a delicious sampling of some truly outstanding small plates, including an amazing Burrata Cheese, Roasted Baby Tomatoes and Arugula Pesto plate and the star attraction, the Kobe Beef Sliders with Truffle Mayonnaise and Housemade Pickles (overheard at least three times during the evening “That’s the best burger I ever had”). In between bites, we had a chance to chat with the delightful OC Weekly food blogger, Lesley McCave as well spend some time getting to know the amazing women behind the SCP blogging event. After a pitch perfect dessert consisting of hot churros with warm, smoked chocolate sauce it was time to say good night and leave this shoppers mecca.

But don’t despair – there’s even more to come! A few weeks prior to the blogger event the we heart this crew also received a two day VIP tour of some of the greatest stores at South Coast Plaza. We’ll have an in depth look at the latest offerings from some of your favorites (like Kiehl’s) and introduce you to some great stores and restaurants that you need to know about (including Napa Style and Molton Brown). We’ll also be offering a few SCP insider tips we’ve gleaned during our visits to this incredible shopping destination. So be sure to check back all week long!