Getting Glam for The Grammy Awards
This year, I was invited to a FABULOUS Grammy Glam Party and Pre-Party Primping event thanks to Gillette Venus, COVERGIRL and Olay. And let me tell you, these brands know how to throw an event with class, style and grace – a girl could get spoiled with all VIP style pampering I received around music’s biggest awards show.
The week leading up to this much anticipated event, I was sent this amazing box of beauty goodies from these amazing brands that were all official sponsors of the 54th Grammy Awards
They sent me this box of beauty treats to experiment and play with the newest products from these brands and to get me red carpet ready for the Glam Party. I absolutely fell in love with the genius new Gillette Venus & Olay Razor (available March 2012)
This inspired new razor combines all of the feminine leg and curve lovin’ Venus blade technology with the addition of the emollient and no-shaving-cream-necessary Olay Moisture Bars, which release skin conditioners and lock in moisture. I love that this is an all in one product, it glided effortlessly on my legs and gave me a super close smooth shave, and I felt like I was pampering my legs with a lovely moisturizer at the same time. You will love this razor, it is a MUST try product!
To get my skin Red carpet ready, my delightful box of primping goodies also included Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging Wrinkle Revolution Complex
This new Olay product combines moisture with advanced micro-fillers that smooth skin’s surface and instantly relax the appearance of wrinkles. It also contains biopeptide + B3 complex which hydrates your skin and reduces the appearance of deep eye lines in 14 days. I really like the cashmere soft formula which instantly gave my skin a smooth satin finish and because it improves your skin’s texture so quickly, it works fabulously as a primer too. Very impressive!
CoverGirl BlastFlipstick Lipstick
CG has done it again with BlastFlipstick, which is destined to be another cult favorite product! This is a brilliantly designed blendable and affordable lip duo that comes in 13 customizable shades with creamy color on one side and a complimentary shimmery color on the flip side. These great color combinations allow you to blend and customize your look and also gives multiple looks from just one product. I am totally enjoying the taupe and sand colors in Snap and love the lightweight moisturizing texture. The other day a pro makeup artist admired what I was wearing on my lips (which she was surprised to learn was CG BlastFlipstick) because she loved the color and texture of product.
So after I had several days of playing with these fun new products, the official Grammy Glam night finally arrived! I was treated to a totally indulgent VIP evening, which began with car service (such a treat to not have to deal with LA traffic!) to the Grammy Glam Primping Pre-Party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. We were invited up to the Penthouse Suite for a few hours of sipping bubbly, enjoying gourmet eats (LOVED the truffle mac n’ cheese), massages, mani’s, skin freshening with Olay products, a complete COVERGIRL professional makeup application and professional hair styling. What a treat! I just adore being pampered, don’t you?
Chillaxin’ in the suite with Jamie & Amber
As an added bonus, I had the pleasure of meeting celebrity makeup artist Bruce Grayson (totally DTE & a sweetheart) who is also an Olay Brand Ambassador. He gave me an Olay skincare consult, recommended some products for my skin, and because we hit it off so well, he decided to give me a FAB Red Carpet makeup application. He’s all about not overdoing it with products and makeup and letting natural beauty shine through. I felt so gorgeous and glamorous after Bruce worked his magic on me. I loved his work and it photographed beautifully, which is a sign of talented artist BTW, what do you think?
After all the relaxing and primping, we headed around the corner to the official Grammy Glam Party at MyHouse Nightclub, where I was treated like a VIP, got to walk the Red Carpet and engage in on camera interview just like a real celeb, so fun! Here I am looking Red Carpet Gorgeous & Glam thanks to fab my makeup by Bruce Grayson and my amazing new hair color thanks to Marco Pelusi and my Steamy Porcini Aloxxi Hair Color
Getting all kissy face on the Step & Repeat with the FAB Stacy Cox
And after all the lavish primping I had, I was certainly ready for my magazine cover shoot, don’t ya think?
Thank you Gillette Venus, Olay and COVERGIRL for inviting me to such a fun and fabulous night to remember!
What Has Romy Raves Been Up To?
Wonderfully Busy, Busy, Busy! The year is off to a wonderfully fun and frenzied start for me and I have been invited to some fabulous events and outings that have been keeping this girl-about-town amused 
So, I wanted to fill you in on my latest and greatest whereabouts and perhaps give you some inspired ideas for things to checkout in the LA area. Enjoy!
Louder Than Words Event & My Interview with Ashley Greene
Last week, I attended the “Louder Than Words” emerging talent showcase event at the Avalon Hollywood, CA and I had the pleasure of being invited to interview the gorgeous Ashley Greene, mark Brand Ambassador and spokesperson for mark’s m.powerment campaign. This philanthropic initiative is operated by the Avon Foundation and is dedicated to breaking the cycle of dating abuse and partner violence against young women. m.powerment participated in this loveisrespect.org event as the founding sponsor of the organization’s Youth Advisory Board and I had VIP access to it all. The talent (including Broadway & You Tube stars) was amazing, but the highlight for me was havng a few moments of up close and personal time with the lovely and genuine Ashley Greene.
During my interview with her, I learned that Ashley is passionate about being a positive role model for her generation and this is one of the main reasons she decided with work with Avon. I marveled at her gorgeous skin to which she attributed to both her fabulous makeup artist Mai Quynh as well as her diligent use of mark’s moisturizing and SPF products. I was surprised to learn that Ashley was pretty much a tomboy growing up, and was very different than the glam goddess that sat before me. She was absolutely delightful and a treat to interview!
Cirque Du Soliel OVO at the Santa Monica Pier
Cirque recently returned to the Santa Monica Pier for a limited engagement of OVO, the critically-acclaimed and family-friendly show about an egg and a colorful immersion into the day in the life of an insect. I took my 8 year old son to this fun-loving Cirque and he enjoyed every moment. It had all the fabulous acts you love from Cirque like trapeze, contortionists, and clowns, but this creative performance used the world and perspective of insects to tell this playful romantic story. The bug mannerisms and nuances were mesmerizing and I thought the acting and storytelling from the ladybug and the quirky foreigner bug were among the best I have seen at a Cirque show. Our favorite act was the acrobatic jumping trampoline act that closed the show-the skill, pace and visual spectacle still make me smile. Take your kids before it closes on March 18, 2012. Buy tickets HERE.
Center Theater Group’s Tweet Seats Event for Clybourne Park at the Mark Taper Forum
The Center Theater Group recently invited me as one of a select group of theater lovers and social media enthusiasts to Tweet Seats at Clybourne Park. This was a groundbreaking opportunity to explore new ways for patrons to experience live theater and the goal of this night was to simultaneously bring together two audiences (one at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and the other at Mark Taper Forum) for a real-time discussion, via Twitter, about A Raisin in the Sun and Clybourne Park. These two related productions explore two different generations of characters tip-toeing around the delicate dance of social politics 50 years apart in the same Chicago neighborhood. I found it intriguing to be able (and condoned) to live tweet during a play, it added a fun new layer to the show. I loved hearing other audience members perspectives about the plot as well as behind the scenes tidbits. It slightly distracted my viewing but enriched my overall experience. Clybourne Park is a fabulous Pulitzer prize winning story that is engaging, thought provoking and unnerving-I really enjoyed it!
Over the holiday season, Universal Studios was kind enough to host my son and a couple of his friends for his 8th Birthday and generously gave us the stellar Front of Line Passes which totally MADE our day pleasant and a bit indulgent. Front of the Line Passes provide you with 1-day admission, plus priority access to all rides and attractions, reserved seating at all shows, and behind-the-Scenes access to three of the live shows and let me tell you it is totally worth it! No waiting (or whining so you get to do everything you want to do, without any hassles and can easily go back for more.
Our group of boys had a stellar day, they felt special cutting the lines and they really enjoyed the behind the scenes access to WaterWorld where they learned all about how they do the cool stunts (the plane on fire ROCKED!). I haven’t been to Universal in years and absolutely loved how modern it is, especially the virtual rides like The Simpsons which was a hit with our boys, and the new Studio Tour with King Kong 360 3D was out of this world and knocked my socks off! If you haven’t been in a while, it’s def time to check it out again especially with this great special Buy a Day, Get 2012 Free!
International Salon & Spa Expo Long Beach 2012
ISSE is one of the West Coast’s biggest and best total beauty events and I love it! Over 40,000 beauty professionals from around the world attended this show to experience the latest and greatest in hair, nails, cosmetics, esthetics, wellness, massage, and advanced education. Some trends that I uncovered this year included: An emergence of products that cut hair drying time, quicker and more temporary versions of hair extensions, lots of products that emphasize hair health and adding volume, lots of competition in the gel/long wearing nail polish category and a significant presence of semi-permanent, long wearing makeup.
Golden Globes THE Hospitality Suite
I was delighted to be invited to THE Hospitality Suite in Beverly Hills in celebration of the Golden Globes awards this year. I brought along Andrea of Savvy Sassy Moms and we had a fun girls day out sipping cocktails by Ciroc, perusing Alberto Parada’s Sustainable Fine Jewelry, checking out the latest products from Joico and getting fashion advice from the fab celeb stylist Lindsay Albanese, who picked out a hot Seduce Dress for me to take home.
LA’s top Beauty and Fashion bloggers were invited to this Sweet Soirée for networking, pampering, and sugaring demos from the Sugaring Ladies (if you have never tried sugaring I highly rec this kinder gentler method of hair removal). I had fun mingling, sampling treatments and meeting the original Sugar Queen Lina Kennedy. I can’t wait to go back and get my whole body sugared with the generous gift card they sent us home with, sweet huh?!. And if you decide to visit the Brentwood studio to experience sugaring for yourself, mention Romy Raves for 50% off your first visit.
BetterYou Launch Beauty & Fitness Event
Last Saturday, I was invited to the Better You Launch event at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica (what a great spot and a gorgeous day!) for beauty treatments, fitness classes and connecting with some great health and wellness brands. Better You is an inspired new site that features thousands of independent providers and group fitness classes in the Los Angeles area where consumers can browse and select top professionals in massage, personal training, nutrition, skin care, yoga, and more-all in one spot. At this event, I enjoyed having my makeup done by Blushington in the VIP Suite and also getting the FAB braid (pictured above) from the braid bar girls from Nine Zero One Salon.
LA Blogger Meetup at Blushington Makeup & Beauty Lounge
Andrea of Savvy Sassy Moms, Hollywood Housewife, Me & YvonneinLA
This past Monday evening the adorable Laura Tremaine (don’t ya just love her pink tipped hair?!) aka Hollywood Housewife, hosted a fun blogger gathering at my new favorite beauty hangout Blushington Makeup & Beauty Lounge. We gathered for schmoozing, sipping bubbly, and testing out the fab services at Blushington, which is a brilliant new beauty spot in West Hollywood that offers a full professional makeup application for $35! Totally affordable, no pressure to buy anything and uber talented makeup artists (I’ve been a couple times and have been happy with my look each time.) And it just so happens to be next to the Dry Bar, so for well under $100 with tip, you get a fab professional look for the night. And the icing on the cake was taking home a FAB goodie bags filled with a fun pair of shoes from Sanuk and a chic watch from La Mer Collections. Thanks Laura for making it NOT another Manic Monday
Inside Scoop: Naya Rivera Announced As Proactiv’s Newest Celebrity Ambassador
On Tuesday, I was invited to a top secret location as one of a small group of hand picked bloggers to be among the first to learn the identity of the newest Proactiv Spokesmodel. All that I was told was that I would be “Glee-ful” about the choice and that I would have some up close and personal time with this celebrity. Well as you know, I am a huge fan of Glee, so I jumped at the chance to be part of this fun opportunity.
After arriving at the top secret shoot in West LA and signing the necessary NDA’s, we were escorted to a small stuido set-up and awaited the announcement. I was thrilled to learn that Naya Rivera aka Santana on Glee, was chosen as the newest celebrity spokeswoman for the Proactiv Acne Skincare line, and that she would be joining the star-studded lineup of current Proactiv celebrity customers-turned-spokespeople, including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne and Julianne Hough. Naya will appear in several new Proactiv television spots, debuting in spring 2012.
It was such a treat to being one of six bloggers who were granted up close and personal access to Naya and that we could ask pretty much anything we wanted!
First of all, IRL Naya is svelte, gorgeous, sexy and has really beautiful luminous skin. We quickly learned that she has struggled with acne on and off throughout her life, and that being on set and wearing a lot of makeup has caused her to suffer from adult acne. She sought out Proactiv to help her skin and was more than pleased with the results. While she really likes all of the products, her current fav (and a fav on the Glee set) is the Proactiv Makeup Remover Cloths because they quickly and easily remove makeup and refresh the skin.
Naya shared her feelings about becoming the newest Brand Ambassador, “I am excited to be a part of a show that encourages teens and young adults to embrace their differences and be proud of who they are as an individual, which is exactly why I am honored to represent Proactiv. Working with Proactiv will allow me to take that self confidence message a step further by helping individuals tackle their acne and literally put their best face forward.”
I found Naya lovely, genuine, honest and down to earth. Some other fun facts that I learned about Naya, and contrary to popular belief, were that she is a low maintenance girl and prefers staying in, ordering gourmet takeout, and wearing comfy sweats over being out on the town. Of course, I wanted to know her favorite beauty products/what’s in her bag and she is surprisingly simple and said she doesn’t have much in her bag and prefers chapstick over lipstick.
Being a Gleek, of course I also got some inside scoop about the Glee cast and set happenings: Lea Michelle is a product junkie and is always turning Naya on to great hair treatments; Amber Riley is the Santa Claus of the bunch, she brought a big bag of gifts to pass out to the cast and crew this season; she thinks the newest Glee cast member, Damian McGinty is a total cutie; she would pick Kevin McHale as the cast member she would choose to kiss on NYE at midnight; Gloria Estefan will be playing her mother on the show and she is excited to work with her; and out of all the musical numbers throughout Glee’s tenure, the one’s that she is most proud of are the Adele mash-ups.
