Right before the snow storm hit, my friend Nay came over to show me her new jewelry line, TEGAA. Named after the collective of artisans who hand makes them in Gambia, there are no two pieces that are exactly the same. For every piece sold a portion of the sale is donated to Power Up Gambia, an American based nonprofit that provides solar powered water and electricity to hospitals and clinics in the Gambia. The collection is so vibrant and beautiful and honors their trade and practices and helps keep the industry alive.
I’m in love with every piece she gave me. These incredible stacking bracelets and wrapped earrings are so unique and the colors brighten the most muted of outfits.
In my 13years in NYC I have never watched the ball drop live from Times Square! This year that all changes.
Cosmopolitan Magazine is partnering with COVERGIRL to co-sponsor the 2015 Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration with special guest Kat Graham. Get ready as they are turn up the volume and paint TimesSquare red HOT! And celebrate the launch of COVERGIRL’s new Colorlicious Lipstick in what’s sure to be the most #colorfulcountdown TimesSquare has ever seen.
The lineup was just announced and musical performances will include Taylor Swift, Idina Menzel, American Authors, O.A.R., Magic! and Florida Georgia Line. See the full line up at timessquarenyc.org and join me live from Times Square with Cosmo and COVERGIRL where I’ll be live tweeting and instagramming from @prettyconnected.
Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift dance on stage to Afterlife
Last night Hard Candy invited me to join them for Ingrid Michaelson’s show in Central Park.. The two hour high energy packed performance included a number of surprise guests starting with Darren Criss from Glee coming on stage to perform, followed by Eric Hutchinson who dueted with Michealson to cover the song “Rude”.
Darren Criss from Glee and Ingrid Michealson at SummerstageIngrid Michealson & Eric Hutchinson perform Rude
From there we had a fan go on stage that wanted Michaelson to autograph her arm so she could get it tattooed. Followed by my biggest highlight, Steve Auguri of Journey came on stage to perform “Don’t Stop Believin'” with Michealson!!!!!!!! And the night concluded with Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss running on stage and dancing their hearts out during the final encore song “Afterlife.” Here’s the video at 1 minute 40 seconds Taylor and Karlie run out!
Thank you Hard Candy for having me! And for any fellow fuschia lipstick queens, their Ombre Lipstick is a must-own. It’s been one of my staples this summer!
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 T-Shirt
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
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/
Jac Vanek & We The Kings "We Love Japan" Bracelet
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
I’m in love with every piece she gave me. These incredible stacking bracelets and wrapped earrings are so unique and the colors brighten the most muted of outfits.
