Romy Raves

New Year’s Greetings My Beauties! I have been MIA on my blog for the last couple of weeks because I took a much needed vacation with the fam, hit Palm Springs, San Fran, ate deelish food, drank gorgeous wine and just relaxed. It was very nice, but now I am back and have lots of fabulous products, events, services and treatments to share with you! First up, is this fabulous new spray-on foundation from Classified Cosmetics called Aero Minerale. It is launching at Ulta stores nationwide this week.

What do I love about this product? It is awesome, easy to use and it gives you that flawless airbrushed look without having to carry around a heavy machine or needing a professional technique to apply it. The best part? It’s affordable at under $15 bucks! Most products of this caliber cost way more! Not only does it give your skin a beautiful even finish and offer lightweight buildable coverage (it makes your skin look like it was in the hands of a pro), but it also contains your daily dose of vitamins and botanicals too.

And here’s further proof of just how fab this product is: The lead makeup artist from Twilight Breaking Dawn ordered 1,000 cans of Aero Minerale to use on the entire cast of the movie. A thousand cans people! That’s a a lot of product! So this stuff really works!

So what are you waiting for? Head to your local Ulta and pick up a bottle or two for yourself, your face will love it and so will you!

I LOVE being a lifestyle and beauty blogger (as you can tell). It gives me both insider access and the opportunity to discover unique products, services and trends so that I can share them with my readers. Honestly, sharing tips, resources, products, places and services delights me to no end So every now and again, I like to share with you what I am up to (inquiring minds want to know, right?) and how I go about finding the things I share with you on this blog. So here’s a peak at some recent and upcoming events that I am thrilled to attend all in hopes of sharing information that can impact your life in a positive way. Enjoy!

Vital Juice Pop-Up Wellness Retreat  In early April, I was invited to this fabulous healthy lifestyle event hosted by Vital Juice (VJ is a free daily e-mail newsletter and website that brings you the latest trends in fitness, nutrition, beauty and wellness—I LOVE my daily VJ fix ). This Pop-Up event was dedicated to trend influencers in order to showcase some of the latest trends and discoveries in health and wellness. They offered a day of fitness classes, product demonstrations, beauty treatments and healthy eats. Some of my favorite discoveries of the day included trying on Reebok’s new EasyTone fitness shoe, tasting the surprisingly yummy, healthy food from The Fresh Diet, learning about the fabulous attractive shapewear from Yummie Tummie and checking out Ginger and Liz’s hip and eco friendly nail polishes. 

Sassy City Chicks Los Angeles Fashion Bash Last night, I attending this super fun lifestyle shopping event at the Petersen Automotive Museum. It’s a really cool venue and it was such fun to hang out with my gal pal Tif and shop among the cool cars and exhibits. There was music pumping, signature cocktails by PAMA Liqueur cocktails (I had the yummy Fashionista), chair massages, a Ride & Drive opportunity hosted by Chevy, and shopping galore (at bargain prices!). I love my Bling Bling Belt and my collection of statement making cocktail rings (who could resist picking out vintage style rings in a classic Corvette!)

Unique LA – April 24 & 25, 2010  This is the largest independent design show in the country because it gives attendees the rare chance to meet and shop directly from over 300 hand-selected designers and artists. This is a great opportunity to buy local (95% of the products showcased are made in the USA), support LA’s economy, discover new companies and artisanal products, participate in hands on workshops and eat yummy inspired food from some of LA’s hottest new food trucks. I’ll be there this weekend scouting trends and looking for new undiscovered products and companies, can’t wait!

The Luxe Life Pink Carpet Event - April 25, 2010  This fabulous lifestyle, beauty and shopping event donates a portion of the proceeds to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Charity, so you can enjoy yourself while also feeling like you are making a difference. This fun event will have a hand selected assortment of amazing vendors, discounted designer shopping, beauty treatments, consultations with celebrity stylists, make-up artists, cocktails and decadent treats, and a gift bag with a VIP ticket. 

Shecky’s Girls Night Out: Los Angeles – May 19 & 20, 2010  I LOVE Shecky’s GNO!! Twice a year I look forward to this super fun, lively, girls night out, where I hang with my besties, explore lifestyle trends and find the greatest and most unique stuff.  This is a fabulous shopping event for what’s cool and undiscovered in fashion and beauty, and Shecky’s showcases emerging designers, great beauty discoveries, delicious hosted cocktails, and free giveaways. And make sure not to miss the overstuffed goodie bag too! Use promo code STAR30 for 30% of Goodie Bag Memberships (admission) now through April 30th.

The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show LA aka IMATS - June 26 & 27, 2010  This is one of the make-up industry’s biggest showcase events, where thousands of make-up artists, vendors and enthusiasts converge to discuss, display and collect the best that the make-up industry has to offer. This year they will be hosting a highly-anticipated panel of make-up artists from the Tim Burton film, Alice in Wonderland. I love attending this lively show to discover the newest trends in make-up and stare at amazement at the insanely creative make-up artistry from some of today’s most exciting talent–It has a ton of amazing eye candy!

In honor of this much dreaded day, I thought I would change things up a bit and share a list of offers, discounts and freebies that might make this day a little less painful and put a smile on your face, Enjoy

Free Coffee @ Starbucks – April 15th 2010 

2 Free Cupcake Bites @ Cinnabon 6-8pm – April 15th, 2010

15% Off All Food Purchases @ P.F. Changs – April 15, 2010

25% Off All Full-Priced Items @ Banana Republic – April 15 -18, 2010

Buy One Meal, Get One Free @ Boston Market – April 15-18, 2010

One Free Meal Per Child with Each Adult Meal Purchased @ IHOP from 4-10PM through April 2010

Buy One Drink, Get One Free @ Jamba Juice – April 12-25, 2010

15% Off All Purchases @ Sephora for Beauty Insiders – April 12-19, 2010

Being an oenophile and a recessionista, I am always on the hunt for a rockin’ bottle of wine that is budget friendly and delicious all at the same time, and honestly these two qualities are usually mutually exclusive, until now.

Let me introduce you to Chariot Gypsy 2008, a delicious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel and Sangiovese from great vineyards in the Napa Valley, Sonoma, San Joachin, and Monterey counties. Now I know what you must be thinking, a red wine blend from Napa is going to be spendy, right? WRONG!

This is a Trader Joe’s bargain peeps (only FIVE BUCKS!!) and I just discovered it this past weekend while shopping for yummy eatz for the President’s Day Weekend.  All of the employees were raving about this delicious bottle of wine that just arrived (exclusive to TJ’s FYI), is a cult fav among oenophiles, and blows out of TJ’s in the blink of an eye. And after reading the tasting notes, hearing all of the in store hoopla, along with the ridiculously cheap price, I bought myself a case without even tasting it!

 Just listen to these yummy tasting notes from the winemaker:  “The 2008 ‘Gypsy’ displays a dark garnet color with a clear violet edge. It shows mixed fresh berry aromas — raspberry and strawberry, with hints of white pepper and pastry. Very clean and lively with juicy berry fruit, firm acidity and a touch of smooth tannin. Excellent and versatile food wine particularly well suited for pork chops and poultry. We think it is the perfect everyday red wine!”

So what do you think? For this price, can it really be that good? Online wine bloggers and insiders are already saying it is pleasant, has some depth,would benefit from some more age in the bottle and is perfect for everyday drinking. You be the judge, and so will I. In fact, I am planning on cracking open a bottle this weekend and then we can compare tasting notes. But for $5 a bottle, what have you got to lose? Let’s get a lively discussion going by posting your comments here.

FYI–I had a chance to try the Gypsy last night and it was surprisingly yummy! Very berry, a little creamy and a little spicy, but really delicious and much more impressive given the $5 price point. I REALLY like it and think I am headed to TJ’s soon to buy another case

You can find Chariot Gypsy 2008 at your local Trader Joe’s (in states where they are allowed to sell alcohol in markets, of course).

This savvy beauty maven is always on the hunt for the best beauty treatments and services around, and I recently had a delightful facial with Gayle Miller at Guy Matthew Salon and Day Spa in Agoura Hills, California.

 What made this facial so special you ask?  I would be delighted to tell you. First of all, Gayle is a gifted pro and knows her way around skin care products. She uses one of my all time favorite skin care lines called Epicuren. This is an active and effective line of products and I am always impressed with the results it delivers.

Second, Gayle has a very gentle yet thorough technique that really gets your skin clean and glowing. She gives your skin a thoughtful analysis and designs the facial to meet your needs. She decided that this beauty blogger needed the works, so in addition to cleansing, a relaxing massage and extractions, I tried two of her different exfoliation services and finished it off with an oxygen treatment. And let me tell you, my skin looked and felt divine after this triple whammy!

Let me tell you a little more about each of these wonderful services. First, I had Diamondtome Microdermabrasion, a gentle yet effective microderm treatment. This got rid of my surface flakes and unevenness.  Next, was my personal favorite part of this facial, the Hot Enzyme Three Layer Peel (sounds scarier than it is, I promise.) This consists of three different Epicuren products that are layered on the skin to pack a powerful punch. I liked the spicy zingy first step and how smooth and supple my skin felt after all three steps–this was a pretty unique feeling treatment to this savvy beauty junkie. And the last step and icing on the cake was the Echo2 Plus Oxygen Treatment, which gently sprays vitamins, minerals and oxygen right into the skin and gave my skin a fantastic and youthful glow, a perfect special occasion treatment.

Gayle has a delightful demeanor and I would highly rec giving her facial a try, especially if you like a more gentle and renewing facial with beautiful skin results.  And here’s the BEST part: Right now she is offering Romy Raves readers a special introductory price of $65 which includes a classic facial with all the trimmings PLUS ANY 2 of the special treatments I have reviewed above. That means you can get a facial with microderm and/or a three layer hot enzyme peel and/or an awesome oxygen treatment all for for a steal. These treatments typically cost about $100 each or $20 to add on to a regular facial which is regularly $85, SO needless to say this is a fabulous bargain not to be missed!

Guy Matthew Salon and Day Spa is located at 30115 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills, California. To book a facial with Gayle call (818) 889-0212. And remember to tell her Romy Raves sent you!