Greetings from Acapulco, Mexico and happy Cinco de Mayo!
I’m so excited, my first Cinco de Mayo from Mexico. And what happens? An earthquake! And I slept through it. Go figure. Now where’s my margarita?
Lara Eurdolian, Pretty Connected Beauty Blog
Happy Cinco de Mayo
Last Minute Mother’s Day Guide
1. Garden Art & Lanterns on ahalife.com – $50
Designed by Allsop Home & Garden, and hand made by artisan glassblowers, these beautiful, rechargeable, solar-powered garden lanterns are sure to brighten any garden.
2. Jo Malone Sakura Cherry Blossom – $55
Jo Malone recently launched this new limited edition fragrance, Sakura Cherry Blossom and it is divine! This delicate fragrance mixes the subtlety of cherry blossom with layers of rose, bergamot and mandarin. Both light and feminine, this scent is a great celebration of spring. I’m a big fan of their simplistic but oh-so-elegant packaging and the way they gift-wrap is their off-white/black box is perfection.
3. Baroness Monica Von Neumann Savon Candle – $38.50
I’m new to Baroness’ line of quality candles, but I can already say I’m hooked! They burn for 70+ hours (which is exceptional for a candle that size) and the scent is so full and sophisticated with notes of Jasmine, Rose and red amber. It’s a very regal scent and the woodsy hint really makes it rich.
4. Crabtree & Evelyn Lily of the Valley Duo Shower Gel and Body Lotion Set $34 ($44 value)
Lily of the Valley reminds me of my childhood. This scent is so beautifully captured and divine for spring. While the Duo Set makes a great gift, if you’re looking for something extra, add the Lily of the Valley Body Cream ($33). It’s my favorite product from the collection. It’s so hydrating and soothing
All Aboard the AVEENO Truck
AVEENO is teaming up with the Skin Cancer Foundation for the annual “Road to Healthy Skin Tour”. This month they will be cruising through New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan in a 38-foot customized RV, offering FREE skin cancer screenings and the latest skin cancer information to the public. AVEENO® sunscreen samples, coupons and complimentary copies of Fitness magazine will also be distributed.
For more information, schedule and times please visit www.SkinCancer.org/Tour.
White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner
In the words of Seth Meyer’s (mere hours before the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner host would deliver these words in his speech), “its so amazing to be in DC, in all of this history, all these amazing buildings and yet here we are at the Hilton. The red carpet outside was amazing! ‘Who are you wearing’, ‘what does it matter, I’m going into a Hilton'”.
My sentiments almost exactly as I started getting ready for the WHCD pre-dinner reception. As I strapped on my long, black, Nicole Miller gown I needed about ten rounds of confirmation that I wasn’t overdressed. Both the dinner and all of the official pre-receptions were hosted at the Washington Hilton–I missed that on the invite. As you entered the hotel, the entry way is overhauled by photographers and press as you walk through the red carpet. Once you’ve passed the lobby, there are two floors of pre-dinner receptions hosted by various publications.
Amy and I headed to the 2nd floor for the CBS News/The Atlantic/NationalJournal pre-dinner reception. It was hosted in a tent on the terrace and it kind of felt like a wedding reception, except for the part where there are random celebrities walking around. That, and I’m not used to wearing a dress that falls below my knees.
My highlights included meeting Chelsea Handler who is hilarious, and getting silly with Vampire Diaries actors Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev who we’re so fun and seemed to be enjoying the photo-booth feature. And yes, they are very attractive.
After the receptions, guests lucky enough to be invited to the official dinner filed downstairs while the rest of us watched from the lounge. It’s kind of amazing listening to Seth Meyers and Obama’s speeches knowing they are only mere floors below. Strangely enough several celebrities kept leaving the dinner to hit up the Bloomberg party –or some party that went through the lounge. The buzz of course being Sean Penn and Scarlett Johansson who power walked by twice, the first time holding hands, and the second with their arms around each other. I’ll it admit I was a little surprised to see the duo, but more so the amount of chatter in the room over it.
After the dinner, the lobby filled up with guests mingling and getting ready for the after parties. I took the opportunity to change and do a little mingling of my own…
Outfit change, then on to the Washington Life after-party. I mean seriously… this face has after-party written all over it (I lasted less than an hour).
For more pictures from the event, visit the Pretty Connected Facebook page HERE.
The First Amendment Party
Kicking off my weekend in DC, Amy and I hit “The First Amendment” party with one goal of Amy finally exercising her freedom of speech on Bradley Cooper.
Hosted by The Atlantic and NationalJournal, the event, which included a live performance by Chris Rob was held at the Long View Gallery. Google had a lounge in the back of gallery which was where all the celebrity guests tented out.
Of all the crazy things that could have happened, some man crept behind the plants in the lounge and lunged at Sean Penn. Fortunately he was caught or more so grabbed mid-air by an incredibly large bouncer. I happened to be walking by right at that moment and literally had to duck out of this mans way. It was insane!
We found Bradley Cooper!
Guests included Jon Hamm, Bradley Cooper, Chace Crawford, Maria Bello, Mira Sorvino Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Zach Galifianakis. For more pictures from the event, visit the Pretty Connected Facebook page HERE
White House Correspondents’ Association Weekend
While the world’s been obsessing over Kate’s dress, I’ve been doing a bit of that myself over what to wear to the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) parties. That’s right, I’ll be live from DC! I’ve been in LA all week and I’m flying direct to DC today, so I had some advance planning to do when leaving NY.
I think the winning dress is this lovely Nicole Miller number…
The invitation…
Jo Malone Celebrates The Royal Wedding
Who’s got Royal Fever? Just about everyone! My inbox has been flooded with press releases all about Kate –her hats, what dress she should wear, what her hairstyle should be… everything down to if I want do a giveaway on the reproduction of her see-through dress she wore that now available for sale (I dunno, do I?).
My favorite email though came from Jo Malone, who is celebrating the royal union with a specially designed window in their London store on Sloane St. I like that it honors both Kate and Will.
Don’t forget you can live stream the wedding at http://www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel
Brands Doing Some Good
I cover a lot of charities on this site since giving back is important to me and I’m constantly amazed by the amount of press releases I receive with brands showing their support by donating to various causes. So to show my support, I thought I would do a sum up of the recent ones I’ve received.
NYU Annual Premiere Benefit Fashion Show EXPO 2011 – Friday April 29th, 3PM (day show), 7:30PM (evening show). All of the proceeds from the show will benefit Hamilton-Madison House, a nonprofit community center that caters to low-income households in NYC.
If you can’t make the show, you can still get involved. EXPO 2011 has partnered with GoodSearch. Anyone online can download the GoodSearch toolbar, specify “New York University – NYU EXPO – Hamilton Madison House” as the chosen charity, and each time that they use the toolbar to search the internet, Hamilton-Madison House benefits. For more information visit http://www.exponyu.com/
UNICEF Tap Project – Celebrities, including Selena Gomez, Adrian Grenier, Dwight Howard, Rihanna, Robin Williams and Taylor Swift have joined forces with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to engage consumers in a conversation about the lack of access to safe, clean water for nearly 900 million children and adults across the globe. The UNICEF Tap Project is a public service campaign that aims to draw attention to this serious issue and encourage the public to take action to reduce the numbers of children dying daily from waterborne illnesses, the second-highest cause of preventable childhood deaths in the world. Considering $1 provides clean water for a child for 40 days –imagine the difference you can make! Get involved at http://tapproject.org/
Solid Ground Initiative – Design Lab NYC, the boutique philanthropic design agency, has partnered with 12 influential Japanese artists located in Japan and NY to create a t-shirt design collection that tells the human side of the recent disaster. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts will go to relief organizations working in Japan. Shirts are available in both childrens and unisex adult sizes. For more information visit http://www.solidgroundinitiative.com/
TEMPTU, the worldwide leader in airbrush makeup, announced earlier this month that they will donate $100 from every online sale of their AIRbrush Makeup System and TEMPTU PRO Compressors and Kits through March 31, 2011 to the American Red Cross for Japan relief efforts.
Civic Duty Shoes– I recently discovered this awesome new sneaker line that donates 100% of the profits to a social cause benefiting those in the US. They’re made out of Tyvek, which is that same material used for FedEx envelopes, so awesome! Learn more at http://www.civicdutyshoes.com/
Cutting edge clothing and accessories designer, Jac Vanek has teamed up with the band, We The Kings to create a “We Love Japan” bracelet ($10). 100% of all proceeds go towards relief efforts in Japan, Learn more HERE
Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry will auction off a collection of personalized items including items from her latest fragrance campaign, Reveal by Halle Berry in
Sleep No More
A few weeks ago while I was at Katie Holmes’ John Frieda event, I ran into a group of friends I hadn’t seen in a while. Amidst our departure one of them mumbled something about how we should go to this play, Sleep No More, where you wear a mask and it’s totally ‘Eye’s Wide Shut’ like. I didn’t really know what that meant at the time –was I going to watch a play and be seduced while wearing a mask? Especially since it was at a hotel I had never heard of –the McKittrick. I was intrigued.
The emails circulated, tickets we’re bought and next thing I know I’m entering a set of large unmarked black doors and being asked to check everything. When in Rome… I gave them my purse, coat, cell phone –it felt kind of liberating. I then walked to the 2nd floor bar and joined my friends. And that’s where the journey began. You walk through this maze of darkness feeling your way through and come out in something set out of the 1940s. Live entertainment with tables and a bar. The hosts all dress to a tee as if we’re all at a masquerade ball –only at this point we weren’t required to wear masks. The ticket alone was worth hanging out at the bar all night.
You’re given a card as your ticket (I had a jack), which designates your group. And call different cards up to enter the hotel. Once yours is called you follow the seductress into a small room where
Guess Opens Flagship in NYC
Jessie J. (you know her, she sings that “it’s not about the money, money, money” song) rocked the house of Guess on Thursday night. In an event hosted by Vanity Fair, Guess celebrated the launch of the store’s new 5th Avenue Flagship store in NYC.
It’s an amazing space, spanning