The Coachella 2016 Party Circuit

Apr 20, 2016

Coachella weekend 1 is always the hot ticket. It’s when all the brands are out and the parties are off the hook. So much in fact that we only made it to the music festival for one day! We were prepared for this going in, so we also picked up weekend 2 passes to Coachella so we could make weekend 1 all about the parties and plan on spending this weekend glued to the music festival. While we didn’t make it everything (we tried! we gave it a pretty solid effort! Here’s the party round up:

NEON CARNIVAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI-9UT4La4s

For the past three years, James and I have loved going to Neon Carnival, the late night ‘it’ party of weekend 1 and famed outdoor dance party created by Brent Bolthouse. Hosted at an airplane hangar, the space is one big dance floor surrounded by amusement park rides, games and more. Drawing guests like Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, Jared Leto, Scott Eastwood, Nina Dobrev, Aaron Paul, Alexander Skarsgard, Joe Jonas and so many more we had a blast! Hosted by The Levi’s® Brand, RE/DONE and Tequila Don Julio we went crazy on the rides, ferris wheel, bumper cars… it was a blast! Quick video above for the ferris wheel experience.

Calvin Klein #MyCalvins Desert Warehouse Party

Also holding down the late night party game was Calvin Klein who threw a legit warehouse rave filled with lights and DJs that knew how to pump the base and get the crowd moving. Outside the venue there was a magic marker wall where guests could fill out “I ______ in #mycalvins”. They were also serving In-N-Out Burger which was pretty genius.

POPSUGAR Sunset Kickoff + SHOPSTYLE CABANA CLUB

hannah-bronfman-popsugar-dj henri-bendel-canvas-bag-popsugar-coachella teva-dsw-popsugar-diy-station-coachella POPSUGAR hosted a sunset kickoff party, hosted by Emily Ratajkowski at the Avalon Hotel. Hannah Bronfman DJ’ed the party and DSW hooked up the shoes! Guests were gifted indigo rd or Teva sandals and hosted a DIY station to personalize the shoes while Henri Bendel provided the cutest gift bags. POPSUGAR + SHOPSTYLE sure know how to make a girl feel chic poolside.

Ben Sherman #RideWithBenSherman London Taxi

For the festival weekend Ben Sherman had a branded London Taxi driving festival goers around. James and I had a blast in the back of the cab, dressing up in our matching Ben Sherman hats and having our own personal dance party!

VESTAL VILLIAGE

Divided in two parts, Vestal Village is one part a glamping station where two of my blogger friends actually camped overlooking a serene lake and the other half is a raging pool party complete with music and venders selling everything from bathing suits to jewelry. The three day festival and camping grounds is a one stop party!

The Music Lounge #WHHSH Party

We had an absolute blast at the The Music Lounge, produced by BMF Media, for the the unveiling of #WHHSH Beer, an exclusive Las Vegas product. Guests enjoyed a highly curated Las Vegas experience coming to life in Palm Springs for one weekend only, featuring performances by G-Eazy and DNCE. Splat offered a hair coloring station — I was all about getting a spruce up and Batiste did a dry shampoo station braid bar. The hot award went to V-Moda for their total bombshell headphones and Related Garments for the cutest socks and undies combos I ever did see.

The dFm House

One party we always look forward to is The dFm house with the ONE Managment BBQ + pool party hosted by chefs Ari Taymor + Chris Kronner of KronnerBurger and The WEDIDIT + Niki Takesh pool party! Shuttled to a private location nestled in the mountains surrounding Palm Springs, we relaxed poolside, eating burgers and exploring the expansive and beautiful grounds.

The Retreat

The Retreat is the most peaceful oasis where everything you could ever wish for comes alive in one location, it’s like rehab for the soul. Homemade ice cream by Salt & Straw, healthy catering and drinks for days (kombucha, Perrier, fresh juices and ones a bit stiffer). Then there’s the pampering which included a barbershop (where they actually offered hair cuts), braid bar by Glamsquad and makeovers by e.l.f. cosmetics. Facials and massages by Caudalie who gave Coachella goers a supercharged boost of hydration with their detoxifying + firming body treatments. I love everything Caudalie but if you haven’t tried their Grape Water and Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet, you’re missing out!

Amazon Style Code Live Soiree

Amazon & Suki Waterhouse hosted the Style Code Live Soiree at the Korakia Pensione. For any of you unaware, Style Code Live is Amazon’s new live stream fashion and beauty show hosted by Lyndsey Rodrigues, Rachel Smith and Frankie Grande. I need no excuse to drink Moet and hang out with the Style Code crew, they are my favorites! We even shot a little style segment for the show while poolside that you’ll hopefully be seeing soon!

The Makeup Show NY Opens Doors May 1st

Apr 19, 2016

The countdown to one of the most anticipated beauty industry events of the year starts now! Back for its 11th year and follow the success of the 10th anniversary in 2015, The Makeup Show event lineup is bigger and better – if that’s even possible! Mark your calendars for April 29 – May 2nd because here’s what we have to look forward to:

The Makeup Show Gala will be held Friday, April 29 from 7-10 pm and will shed light onto the next ten years by looking back into the past. Celebrating David Bowie, this year’s contest and theme will be “Sound and Vision” and guests are encouraged to arrive in either cocktail attire or their “Bowie-best” (lightening bolt makeup encouraged) to enjoy an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dancing and networking.

The Keynote & Business Forum is a staple for The Makeup Show and will highlight a range of topics and themes such as innovation, diversity and signature celebrity style. This year’s keynotes include Scott Barnes, sharing insight on “The Signature Style of a Celebrity Artist”, Nick Lujan and Lori Taylor, Hosted by James Vincent discussing “The Skin That I’m In: Diversity in Artistry and Application” and Gregory Arlt on his career in makeup.

The Career Fair is back Sunday, May 1 from 4:30-6 pm to provide the face-to-face interview and career tips you need to land your dream job.

Finish off the weekend with the Beauty Tour NYC as James Vincent, The Makeup Show’s Director of Artistry and Education takes you through a champs filled ride around the city sightseeing his favorite makeup haunts.

The Makeup Show YC is held on Sunday, May 1st from 9 am – 6 pm and on Monday, May 2nd from 9 am-5 pm at Metropolitan Pavilion. For a complete schedule and ticket information visit themakeupshow.com.

Reach for the Beach with Palm Beach Tan and $150 Nordstrom Giveaway

Apr 15, 2016

This giveaway is now closed

{Outfit details: Perverse Fresh sunglasses, Spiritual Gangster Happy and Free tank, Kate Spade Orchard Street bag, Reef Leather Uptown Sandal, Minkpink denim shorts (similar), jewelry: vintage and Pandora}

Coming from the New York cold to the LA sun, I wanted one thing: a tan (okay, more than one thing), but with my SPF regimen, that’s not happening anytime soon. Truth be told the only way you’ll see this body with color is if it’s a spray tan or body bronzer. With Coachella, pools and the excessive amount of white clothing I brought I don’t have the energy for body bronzer or the patience with it sweating all over my clothes. The easy solution, Palm Beach Tan. They are my jam, and literally have locations everywhere but NYC (they are the largest indoor tanning company nationwide, and my go-to when I’m in LA!)! In literally 2 minutes they can customize my bronze to any level of golden with their state of the art machines and products. I mean how tan am I from these photos I took yesterday?

In celebration of being in reach of the beach, we’re partnering to giveaway tan packages and a $150 Nordstrom gift certificate to help with that summer outfit!

Five winners will be chosen to win a free sunless/sunbed certificate to the the Palm Beach Tan salon of choice and one grand prize winner will win a three-month Diamond Premier membership (sunless and sunbed options available with Diamond level) and a $150 Nordstrom gift certificate!

There are 3 ways to enter (each counts as a separate entry):

Liking @prettyconnected on Instagram and liking and/or commenting under the matching giveaway image (direct link HERE).
Like us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/PrettyConnected and like and/or comment under the post (click HERE form direct link)
Following us on Twitter at @prettyconnected and tweet about the giveaway – don’t forget to tag us! or by tweeting: RT/Follow @prettyconnected for ur chance to win $150 @Nordstrom giftcard + @PalmBeachTan packages: http://bit.ly/1qY54qN

Scroll to the bottom for rules and the golden rules of tanning!

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Alice + Olivia x Neiman Grateful Dead Music Festival Collection

Apr 14, 2016

It was a star studded front row at the alice + olivia x Grateful Dead runway show on Wednesday night. Hosted in partnership with Neiman Marcus, at the Neuehouse Hollywood in LA it was so fun to be out for the event! We have great events in NYC, but LA — or rather Stacy Bendet knows how to throw a party. Her show is always a highlight for me during New York Fashion Week so it was so exciting attend her See-Now Buy-Now Runway show. Stacey Bendet has that rare ability to mix fantasy with fashion, where everything she creates is completely wearable (and drool worthy) and you want to live in the world — or rather scenes she creates.

Front row guests included Emily Ratajkowski, Kourtney Kardashian, Lindsey Vonn, Anna Paquin, Lydia Herst, Moby, Misha Barton and more, with music super duo Mia Moretti and Margot behind the DJ booth providing the music and violin combo as the models strutted down the runway.

Co-styled by Ken Downing, Senior Vice President and Fashion Director of Neiman Marcus, the show was streamed live

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Music Festival Kick Off. Who’s ready for Coachella?

Apr 14, 2016

I’m in a complete music festival state of mind. I’ve been zipping around LA this past week getting ready. and this is the first year that I feel like I’m doing it completely proper! I’ll be in Palm Springs for both weekends to really enjoy all of the fun parties without feeling like I’m missing most of Coachella. And then weekend 2, I’ll be all about the music festival (and in between the two weeks I’ll be touring the Palm Springs area and Joshua Tree. You should follow me all weekend on instagram/snapchat: @prettyconnected and on Saturday I’m so excited to be taking over Bloglovin’ snapchat!

Of all the days I’m most looking forward to Saturday! If any of you will be there (if all goes to plan), here’s what to expect on Bloglovin’ snapchat: I’ll be hitting up Vestal Village in the morning, then heading to the #WHHSH party (where Splat is going to pimp out my hair) before being picked up by the Ben Sherman London cab — sounds amazing right?. After that theirs a a DFM House party and one for Basecamp and then I’m power napping in preparation of the most exciting late night party of Palm Springs, Neon Carnival!

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My Coachella Beauty Checklist on Real Simple!

Apr 13, 2016

As far as I’m concerned, the only person that can pack light and still look beyond on point everyday for Coachella, is Patricia Field. I could definitely take a cue from her organizational skills from our trip together last year. At least I’ve picked up a few tricks of my own when it comes to packing my makeup — I finally found the winning combination between LeSportsac travel pouches and this Caboodle traincase.

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Absolutely Ageless In the Garden of Aveeno

Apr 12, 2016

Before I left for LA, I went to one of the most beautiful events for Aveeno. Hosted at the Lowline Lab in NYC, and walked out of the urban jungle and into the rainforest. The event highlighted three of their face collections, Ultra-Calming, Positively Radiant and their new range, Absolutely Ageless and they planned activities around the active ingredient in each.

For the Positively Radiant collection we made soy candles – since the range harnesses the power for soy to help with dullness and discoloration. This has longtime been my favorite collection from Aveeno since brown spots and uneven texture are my primary skincare concern.

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Roc Multi Corrextion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream

Apr 11, 2016

What do you think? Does my neck look younger? My acupuncturist likes to point out, I have a long neck which incidentally has led James to think that’s my nickname — I’m now reduced to a character from The Land Before Time. While I choose to not be insecure about it, you better believe I’m all about protecting my neck. A long neck I can deal with, a saggy, unkept long neck on the other hand… I think I’ll pass.

Before I talk about RoC’s new Multi Correxion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream with SPF 30 here’s some intel you should all be aware of. For starters UV exposure is the fastest way to age so in addition to SPF on your face, please make sure it’s on your neck, chest, hands and anywhere else that’s exposed to sun. Next, your neck and chest are the most sensitive and susceptible parts of your body because the skin is thinner (more so then your face!). We have less fat underneath those areas so it can show your age faster. Case and point, wear SPF and extend your skincare regimen to your neck and chest. (Or pick a product like this one from RoC that is designed for them and has an SPF 30).

Now I’m ready to talk about RoC’s new Multi Correxion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream with SPF 30 ($27.99) beginning with this lovely necklace I’m wearing designed by Lizzie Fortunato. This long neck deserves something pretty around it — as do all necks! So RoC partnered with Lizzie Fortunato to create a custom LF x RoC Onyx Collar. Gold-plated brass with onyx semi-precious stones it’s available for purchase HERE.

Now, back to the cream, I’m going to confess that I only use it on my neck and check, mainly because I think those parts of our bodies have different needs then our faces. I have a whole face regimen I like to do depending on what my skin needs. I’m more into customizing my face products and layering the different benefits then using an all-in-one. That said, this cream is designed for all three and for all you guys and gals who don’t have patience for more then a few steps, this is a great alternative. Now when it comes to my face and neck I’m good with cleansing and then going straight to a moisturizer (with maybe an added essence or toner step in between).

The RoC’s new Multi Correxion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream with SPF 30 is clinically proven to visibly smooth fine lines on the chest and neck after 4 weeks of use. I’ve been using it for almost a month and love it. It absorbs beautifully and isn’t chalky or have any weird SPF after-effects that some products do. It’s hydrating and I’m so excited that has an SPF 30 in it! It’s formulated with HEXINOL Technology and Vitamin E to help treat the signs of aging in one step as well as restore elasticity and firmness. Your neck and chest are just as prone to changes in pigment, elasticity, wrinkles and texture as your face — maybe even more so — so I hope I’ve inspired you to take better care of it!

Sidebar: I’m in love with my new perforated Keds! I’ve been on a bit of a Keds kick lately (see my post on how you can now customize and monogram them). There’s something about their girl power attitude — they were the first brand to design sneakers for woman!

Outfit Details:

RoC Multi Correxion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream with SPF 30

Lizzie Fortunato LF x RoC Onyx Collar

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in shade Venezia

C&C California Burn Out Muscle Tee (similar)

Under Armour Seamless Sports Bra

American Eagle Zip Up Hoodie (in stores now, couldn’t find it online)

ASOS Ridley High Waist Skinny Jeans

Keds Double Decker Perf

TracFone Empowers Women with Dress for Success

Apr 8, 2016

Thank you TracFone for sponsoring this post and for the difference you’re making.

Last week, I joined two of my favorite mom/lifestyle bloggers Audrey McClelland and Vera Sweeney of Getting Gorgeous for an afternoon of empowerment luncheon. Celebrating the Success is Calling program which was created by TracFone and Dress for Success in 2015, the program is designed to help women with employment and navigate the critical first step – the phone interview.

As one of America’s leading no-contract cellphone service providers, TracFone not only has raised funds for the program, they also provide a major resource: a new smartphone and a year of service to support them as they prepare to enter the workplace.

Now in its second year, the program helps women achieve their personal and professional goals and

gives them resources, a cell phone and service as well as curriculum and guidance. 85% of HR managers and working professionals say that first impressions made via phone interviews follow the applicant through the entire interview process and 82% say that phone skills are key to not only landing a job, but also important in maintaining a sustainable career.*

Audrey-McClelland-Vera-Sweeney,-lara-eurdolian-Getting-Gorgeous- — With our wonderful hosts, Audrey McClelland and Vera Sweeney

During the lunch we heard from several woman in the program share their experience. Not a dry eye in the audience hearing what these women had to overcome, mainly the roadblocks we put up for ourselves and the confidence and tools that this program gave them to be great.

The other thing I took away was that Dress for Success doesn’t just help women get into the workforce, but also women re-enter the workforceIn fact, Dress for Success also helps women with college educations who have had careers but stopped for any number of reasons, raise a family, take care of loved ones or otherwise, and feel their skill set has expired or are having issues finding a job.

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Make Up For Ever Launches Aqua XL Eye Pencil with Charlie XCX

Apr 7, 2016

Welcome the latest bold addition to the Make Up For Ever family… Charlie XCX! Actually it’s their new Aqua XL Eye Pencil which global pop sensation, Charlie XCX is the face of. She needs no introduction right?

Me and Charlie XCX!

I hope you saw my snap chat from the launch party, because it was pretty epic (it’s snapchat: @prettyconnected if you want to follow me for future makeup launches). Charlie XCX performed her hit song, Boom Clap and then was joined on stage by her makeup artist, Colby Smith and Make Up For Ever’s Director of Artistry, Lihja Stewart to give us the 411 on the new Aqua XL Eye Pencils.

Here’s what you need to know: Available in 20 eye popping, highly pigmented shades spanning the gamut of brights, metallics and classics; they go on creamy and smooth and then don’t budget — like feel free to rub your eyes they aren’t moving! They are waterproof, extra long lasting and according to Charlie XCX sweat proof and doesn’t budge when she’s on stage. With Coachella around the corner I may be melting but it’s good to know my eye makeup won’t be.

During the event I chatted with Charlie XCX and asked favorite shade, which just so happens to be the green color of my hair — coincidence? That or we’re soul sisters.

This is the first of an ongoing series of artistic collaborations that highlights stage artists and their makeup artists. I am excited to see who they team up with next!

The range is currently available in Europe and launching in the US at Sephora starting April 26th and all Make Up For Ever Boutiques starting 4/29.

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The Coachella 2016 Party Circuit

NEON CARNIVAL

Calvin Klein #MyCalvins Desert Warehouse Party

POPSUGAR Sunset Kickoff + SHOPSTYLE CABANA CLUB

Ben Sherman #RideWithBenSherman London Taxi

VESTAL VILLIAGE

The Music Lounge #WHHSH Party

The dFm House

The Retreat

Amazon Style Code Live Soiree

The Makeup Show NY Opens Doors May 1st

Reach for the Beach with Palm Beach Tan and $150 Nordstrom Giveaway

Alice + Olivia x Neiman Grateful Dead Music Festival Collection

Music Festival Kick Off. Who’s ready for Coachella?

My Coachella Beauty Checklist on Real Simple!

Absolutely Ageless In the Garden of Aveeno

Roc Multi Corrextion 5 in 1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream

TracFone Empowers Women with Dress for Success

Make Up For Ever Launches Aqua XL Eye Pencil with Charlie XCX