For a born-and-raised New Yorker, there may not have been a worse summer to leave town. The city was buzzing after the Knicks’ historic championship win and people from all over the world poured in for the World Cup. But Sydney Utendahl—sister to Top Shelf alum Madison Utendahl—found herself having a Euro summer anyway after joining a friend in Italy. Four days in Florence became nearly three weeks of vintage shopping, pharmacy visits, beach days, and general European meandering. Technically, it was a vacation, but for the product developer—who is in the process of building her own beauty brand—it also became something of a research trip.
Dear ITG,
I wasn’t planning on having a Euro summer, but my friend got an Airbnb in Italy, and I joined her so she wouldn’t be alone. That turned into three days in Florence, four days in Porto in Portugal, six days in Saint-Raphael in the South of France, four days in Paris, and three days in London.
In Florence, we mostly sat outside, drank wine in the pool, and yapped about feelings. It was very Eat, Pray, Love. Even though it was basically 100 degrees, we still managed to walk around and hit up some vintage stores. I’m a big vintage shopper, so those shops are always my first stop when I visit anywhere new. I found some dresses at Celeste Vintage Shop and Recollection by Albrici, and I also loved going to Ballerette, which isn’t vintage but has great shoes.
We also went to Aquaflor, this perfumery that had a whole wall of old packaging, some of it from a hundred years ago. I took so many pictures because everything was so beautiful, and very much the aesthetic and overall inspiration for what my brand is going to be—a heritage, old-school, trusted, apothecary vibe.
In Porto, another friend met us and we did even more walking around—and more vintage shopping. I went to this old-school nightwear shop—basically one old Portuguese woman who sells pajamas and nightgowns. She didn’t speak a word of English and had no idea why we were there. But I like sleeping in spooky clothing—cotton nightgowns down to the floor, so I look like a Victorian ghost haunting the house.
I can find a good piece of clothing or packaging inspo in a dump, and I black out when I get to the vintage shopping. I just think it’s so fun to look at certain things and realize they were the blueprint for a Gimaguas or Paloma Wool piece everyone’s obsessed with now. My friends actually ditched me at some point because they were so tired of it. We walked into a couple stores that reminded me of Buffalo Bill’s basement in Silence of the Lambs. That’s how crazy it was—shit everywhere. But I managed to find a pair of amazing 2008 Marc Jacobs heels at Patch.
I randomly walked into Farmácia Vitália, a pharmacy with an antique pharmacy museum downstairs. That was amazing because I can go on Pinterest all day and look up old ingredients and old packaging, but being physically in front of some of these carefully constructed and meant-to-last old bottles was incredible.
Obviously, I also went to a bunch of pharmacies in general, which was heaven because the FDA here is so behind. They’re so slow to update ingredient lists, so it was really nice to get sunscreens and look at all the different versions of Eucerin and Cerave, plus other products—like roll-on arnica balms—that haven’t come to the States yet. I really stocked up.
I had taken a break from working on my own brand for a month because of some health stuff. But the trip really got me back in the zone to brief labs. I’m excited again. I bought a lot of sunscreens, including some meant for kids. I personally don’t do well with chemical sunscreens—I get bad dermatitis—so I usually wear mineral sunscreens, but it’s hard to find ones that look good with my skin tone because they leave a crazy cast. The chemical sunscreens in Europe don’t have the same active ingredients as the ones here, so I can actually use them without my skin getting irritated. I had a lot of fun finding ones with great textures and viscosity. I got a really great tinted Embryolisse sunscreen that they don’t have here. It’s kind of like a version of those tan drops that all these brands make—like Drunk Elephant’s—but it’s a sunscreen that’s a jelly, pearlescent-brown situation.
In Saint-Raphael, it was all beach time. Every day my friend and I would jump in the ocean slathered in Vacation’s Orange Gelée SPF 30 and fall asleep right after. Heaven. We did go to Nice for a day because they have Marché à la Brocante Saleya—the antiques and flea market on Cours Saleya. I found the most amazing pair of low-rise G-Star capris in a bin for 23 euros. Other must-visits: Caprice Vintage and La Belle Epoque Vintage.
I met my family in Paris—where I of course had to go to Officine Universelle Buly, Repetto, Les Archives Vintage, and Simple Rainbow—and then we met my dad in London because he was there for the month. In London, I mostly rested. I did go shopping, obviously—big department stores like Harvey Nichols. My dad’s place was actually above The Row, so yeah… I went to The Row.
Much love,
Sydney Utendahl
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photos courtesy of Sydney Utendahl