Romy Raves

This Giveaway is now CLOSED~Congratulations to the winners: Parmeeta and Cindy A.!

OK seriously, aren’t pouty lips totally sexy and kissable? I’m not talking overly injected fish lips, but rather nicely plump, full, lush lips with a hint of neutral gloss just like the picture to the left. Nice, huh? I think so, that is why I jumped at the chance to test out the new Fabulips Treatment at the equally fab Bliss Spa Hollywood at the W Hotel. They kindly invited me to this gorgeous modern spa (right around my bday, nice present!) to enjoy a Fabulous Facial and to be one of the first to experience a Fabulips service with my facial. I was more than happy to oblige

I arrived at the swanky W Hollywood Hotel and was whisked away to the spa where they welcomed me with open arms. I was there in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, so the spa was nice and quiet, just the way I like it. My Bliss experience began with a lovely glass of bubbly (ahhhh my kind place!) and nibbles of the most delectable gourmet house made brownies, yum! After I was relaxed and settled in, my esthetician Tricia came to get me for my hour plus of Bliss. My facial was lovely and filled with all the features you want: cleansing, exfoliation and extractions and as a bonus I even got a blast oxygen to finish it all off. My skin was clean, supple and glowing.

However, it was the unique and inspired Fabulips Treatment that really ‘WOW’d’ me because I have never experienced anything like it before. I would describe this treatment as a facial for your lips and it all began with a refreshing foaming lip cleanser made of a unique bubbly formula that foams up, tingles and gets rid of surface impurities-I loved this step! Then my lips were exfoliated with a sweet vanilla orange sugar lip scrub to gently remove dead skin. Then my upper lip was treated to a lip wax for the ultimate smoothness (a first for me, if you can believe that!) In the final two steps of my treatment, my lips were coated with a peptide packed instant lip plumper and then sealed with the Fabulips softening lip balm. My lips felt lush, moist and smooth and I really enjoyed having this special attention lavished on my pout.

Wanna know the best part? The Bliss Fabulips Treatment is available in a delightful at home kit (which I was gifted with on my way out) so that you can pamper and plump your pout whenever you wish. I just love products that allow you to bring spa treatments home and they are much better for your budget too. I think you will really love this unique and refreshing lip treatment.

And because I love you all so much and want you to have beauty full lips too, I am giving away TWO Fabulips Treatment Kits to two lucky readers! This kit is designed to recreate Bliss Spa’s popular and unique Fabulips Treatment which cleans, exfoliates, plumps, and softens your lips. This set contains one of each of the following products: Fabulips Foaming Lip Cleanser, Fabulips Softening Lip Balm, Fabulips Sugar Lip Scrub and Fabulips Instant Lip Plumper valued at $74.

1. Become an email subscriber of Romy Raves
2. ‘Like’ me on my Facebook Fan page
3. And post a comment on this blog post telling me about your current favorite lip product and why you love it!

This contest will end at midnight PST on Monday, October 24th, 2011. Two lucky winners will be chosen using Random.org. You must have a U.S. shipping address in order to enter and win. Good Luck!

Greetings My Beauties! I have been a very busy girl this summer with several domestic trips and a slew of lifestyle, foodie and beauty events, my head is spinning and it has been hard to keep up with my posts! But I LOVE and treasure every minute of it and it is my pleasure to share my adventures with you. So here’s a glimpse of what my dance card has looked like these last few of months, enjoy!

DNA EGF Renewal Spa Launch at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village

Nobody loves a fabulous swanky summer party more than I do, and I was delighted to attend an evening under the stars for the launch of the DNA EGF Renewal Skincare Line at The Spa in Westlake, CA. This was a classy top notch party filled with pampering (got a FAB blowout at the Yamaguchi Salon), bubbly, tasty morsels, a gorgeous setting and most importantly the opportunity to meet brilliant and DTE Dr. Ronald L Moy (he is the current President of the American Academy of Dermatology BTW). Dr. Moy is also the creator of the DNA EFG Renewal skincare line which repairs photo damaged aging skin, targets the visible signs of aging, diminishes wrinkles, evens skin tone and improves texture. This product line dramatically makes your skin healthier, firmer, and more radiant—and I should know because I have been using the line’s Growth Factor Serum since late July, and am quite impressed with the results. My skin has never felt better!

Sheer Cover Breakfast with Leeza Gibbons

I had the absolute pleasure of being invited by Guthy-Renker to an intimate breakfast at Chateau Marmont with Sheer Cover spokeswoman Leeza Gibbons. A small group of bloggers were invited to meet Leeza and learn about the Sheer Cover Mineral Make-Up line. Leeza is an absolutely authentic, beautiful, passionate woman and it was truly delightful to get to know her better. Aside from telling us about her love for this make-up, we chatted a bit about her experience on Dancing With The Stars and how difficult and transformative it was. I also enjoyed learning about the Sheer Cover mineral makeup line which is 100% natural, infused with skin soothing botanicals, sun protection, and anti-oxidant green tea. I have been trying out these minerals all summer and am impressed by how natural it looks, yet how well it conceals flaws.

LA Film Festival with Dove Nourishing Oil Care

Dove Hair Care invited my hubby and I to attend the Los Angeles Film Festival for an insider’s screening of the poignant film Terri starring John C. Reilly. Dove Hair Care was a premiere sponsor of the festival and was celebrating the launch of their new Nourishing Oil Care Collection, which dramatically smoothes hair frizz. I was sent the collection of these new products to get red carpet ready and was very impressed with how smooth and shiny these products made my hair. In addition to the pre-event goodies, car service was also provided and we had exclusive access to the Jameson Filmmaker Lounge as well. It was a fun night and I was delighted to share the evening with two of my favorite bloggers, Amber of Beauty Junkies Unite and Andrea of Savvy Sassy Moms.

COVERGIRL Queen Collection BET Awards Beauty Lounge

Earlier this summer, my favorite budget friendly make-up brand COVERGIRL, invited me to an intimate  interactive beauty session, hosted by the very talented celebrity makeup artist, Ashunta Sheriff, and up-and-coming It girl, Tika Sumpter  (from Gossip Girl). I was privileged to get an up close and personal behind-the-scenes look at Ashunta giving Tika a full glam COVERGIRL make-over before walking the red carpet at the BET Awards.  It was amazing to watch this artiste at work and we learned some great make-up tricks along the way. After Tika was glam and gorg, the bloggers were invited to get glam ourselves with custom hair services and COVERGIRL inspired makeovers. I loved channeling my inner diva J We were given an assortment of CG products to take home and I am personally LOVING the Queen Lipstick Collection, the nude colors are totally up my alley!

California Strawberry Commission Paint Los Angeles Red Event

Sugar Jones, bloggess of Sugar in the Raw, recently invited me to this strawberry inspired event to learn all about bringing the gorgeous vibrant California strawberries from farm to table. We nibbled on variety of strawberry-inspired appetizers like a fresh Strawberry Gazpacho and Strawberry Caprese Salad (yum!) and sipped a refreshing Strawberry Basil Balsamic Mojito. While our senses were amused by all things strawberry, we learned about the nutritional benefits of this red super fruit and also about the heart that goes into growing CA strawberries. It’s was a ’berry’ good time!

Angeleno Magazine Poolside Beauty

Angeleno magazine recently invited influencers to the uber chic L’Ermitage pool in Beverly Hills for a summer Poolside Beauty Event in order to experience an assortment of summer beauty must-haves-Totally up my alley! We sipped refreshing cocktails and connected with coveted brands like LaRocca Skincare, Ipanema Flip Flops, Joico, and Votre Vu to name a few. We sampled their latest product offerings and took home a bag of impressive SWAG to keep pampering ourselves at home. Super Fun!

Yoplait Light Summer Swap Event

Last week, I was invited to the swanky SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills to attend this fun Summer Swap event with the adorable and accessible Alison Sweeney, host of The Biggest Loser. Alison has teamed up with Yoplait Light to show women that small changes can make a big difference when watching your weight and she’s encouraging people to swap one thing a day for a Yoplait yogurt. A handful of bloggers enjoyed an intimate roundtable lunch with Alison and swapped creative healthy food tips with her, and then Ali demonstrated an easy Red Velvet Parfait using Yoplait Light, berry jam and a sprinkle of crushed chocolate cookies, tasty! We also met the vivacious Jeannie Mai celebrity fashion expert, who shared her easy fashion swaps with us and even gave us some fun shoe bling.

Well, you might have noticed that lately I have not been posting as regularly, but it is for a good reason: I am very busy with events, conferences, and trend scouting. Here’s a glimpse of what I have been up to:

Face 2 Face LA Sponsored by Therapon This past weekend I hosted my first grand scale social media influencer event and it was a HUGE success!! About 40 top SoCal bloggers spent the day with me at a swanky LA spa getting pampered with mini facials using the fantastic Therapon Skin Renewal System and mini OPI mani’s. We ate amazing gourmet food from Heirloom LA, we had yummy cocktails thanks to O.N.E Natural Experience, and finished it off with divine cupcakes and banana pudding courtesy of Magnolia Bakery. Oh yeah and we got major swag from many fabulous sponsors! Here is a SNEAK PEAK of the amazing pictures of the event taken by the very talented Jennifer Kelley Lublin. Stay tuned for a full and detailed post about the event coming soon.

LTD Expo 2011 This was a fun and motivating local conference (Pasadena) to inspire women entrepuers to go for it. It was created by Nada Jones and featured fabulous speakers like Ali Brown The Millionaire Entrepreneur Coach and Jen Boulden the founder of Ideal Bite. Great energy, inspiring connections and motivating overall.

Blissdom 2011 Tomorrow I am heading to Nashville to the Opryland hotel for this esteemed blogging conference. I have heard amazing things about Blissdom as far as connections and meaningful learning. I am excited to fill my mind with great ideas to help take my blog to the next level. Stay tuned for my recap of my first experience at Blissdom. And I would like to extend a special thank you to Therapon Skin Health for sponsoring me at this conference

ISSE Long Beach The International Salon and Spa Expo held in Long Beach California is the largest cash-and-carry professional beauty event on the West Coast and over 40,000 beauty professionals from around the world are expected to attend. Beauty professionals come to this conference to see the newest and most innovative products in the industry and to buy items at a significant discount. I am planning to go and discover new brands, scout trends, and observe the most innovative new beauty treatments.

So as you can see I have been pretty busy, but loving every minute of it. Come back soon to hear about my latest adventures and discoveries!

Well I have a confession to make, even though I consider myself an obsessed beauty maven who is immersed in the latest and greatest in beauty, I have never been to Medi Spa–I know, I know travesty! Well, that all changed about two months ago when I was invited to Blue Medi Spa’s Blue Carpet Event and I have been hooked ever since! This fabulous event was designed to introduce media and LA insiders to all the fabulous services this spa has to offer by providing top notch treatments, glamming, shopping and libations. And imagine my delight, when I realized that this spa was in my own backyard and I could walk to it.

Blue Medi Spa is a chic fresh modern spa concept that combines the latest innovation in medical beauty with the luxury of a spa. Blue Spa has been open for over ten years, has garnered numerous accolades and provides a fabulous array of cutting edge beauty treatments seven days a week. The services they offer include: Botox, Dermal Fillers: Restylane, Juvederm and Perlane, Titan Face + Body Lift, Laser Hair Removal, IPL FotoFacial, Laser Genesis, Laser Vein Removal, Laser Tattoo Removal, Endermologie Cellulite Reduction, Microdermabrasion, Facials, Peels and Oxygen therapy.

So let me tell you about my experience here and why I fell in love with it. First of all, this is not your average spa, it has a very futuristic, modern, geometric, and of course ‘blue’ aesthetic that immediately screams state-of-the-art/professional/we-know-what-we-are-doing-here kind of a place. Of course I did my research to make sure Blue Spa was up to snuff, but when I walked in and saw the decor and professional set-up, I instantly felt at ease.

Then I met Ronda, the warm and savvy business woman who owns the spa (of course I noticed how fresh, natural and beautiful she looked) and she personally showed me around the spa and introduced me the spa’s medical director, Dr. Daniel Yamini (Doctor 90210 BTW) who supervises all of Blue’s medical procedures. All of Blue Spa’s medi beauty treatments are administered by certified medical professionals, who are highly trained and knowledgeable about the results and administration techniques for these beauty treatments. Now I was relaxed and I knew I was good hands.

On this virginal med spa visit, I decided to go for it (and Blue Spa generously offered to oblige) and get both an IPL FotoFacial and Restylane under my eyes. The dark circles and bags under my eyes are the bane of my existence and after much debate and consults, I decided that Restylane would be the least invasive solution to my problem. Restylane is a gel made out of hyaluronic acid (a natural substance already present in your body) that is injected into the skin in order to add volume and fill-in and lift up wrinkles. Second to my eye bags, is the annoying pigmentation and brown spots on my face from many years of naive sun worshipping as a younger girl, so I was excited to see what an IPL FotoFacial could do for my skin. IPL is a non-invasive method of photo-rejuvenation treatment that removes age spots/freckles, benign brown pigments, and redness caused by broken capillaries and it helps to restore a more youthful appearance, leaving skin clearer and healthy looking without any downtime.

First, my skin was given a topical numbing cream to sooth the discomfort of both IPL and Restylane and then we started with IPL. IPL is a non-laser medical device that delivers a series of gentle pulses of visible light onto the surface of your skin to address pigmentation. The treatment consists of a startling flash of light that targets the pigment around your skin and I have to be honest, the light is bright and it stings and snaps your skin a bit, but it is not that bad and doesn’t take that long. Your skin is slightly red after treatment and you might have increased brown spots at first, but you will notice significant improvement within two to three weeks after your treatment.  And I have! My pigmentation is less, my skin is more even toned, fresher and noticeably brighter-LOVE it!( FYI 4-6 treatments are recommended for the best results.)

Next, I went for my first ever filler (I still marvel that it has taken me this long to try it) and with the numbing and ice in between injections it barely hurt. And OMG the instant difference was amazing, it truly lessened those pesky bags. Basically, the PA did a series of Restylane injections just below the bags on my eyes to plump and fill it in, and while there was a tiny bit of bruising and swelling for a couple of days, my bags are much less. Ronda actually recommended possibly coming back for a touch up after I saw how it settled in (which I did), and after my second visit I saw even more of a difference. No the bags aren’t gone, but dramatically reduced = less tired and old looking! FYI I did take before and after pics, but being an amateur photographer with a mediocre camera, I don’t feel the pictures accurately captured the real life results well enough so I opted not to include pics–but I am working on it for future posts!

As for practitioners, on my first visit I had a PA named Michelle do my treatments and on my follow-up visit I had Dolly, an RN perform my treatments and both were very skilled, knowledgeable, professional, conservative and did exceptional work. However, I personally adored Dolly’s skill, finese and candid approach. So needless to say, I am loving the transformative (but natural looking) results that I got from Blue Spa and they are now one of my go-to places for innovative beauty treatments. If you live in LA, I highly rec checking them out, they are top notch!

Blue Medi Spa  14622 Ventura Boulevard  •  Sherman Oaks CA 91403  •  818.783.3600

I am a girl who lives for pampering, and having my digits and tootsies perfectly manicured is high on my list. Well, I must confess that this beauty maven has been so busy, that she has been severely neglecting her regular mani’s and pedi’s, and my nails are atrocious! As my Bubbie would say,”It’s a shanda!” Well you can imagine my delight when I was invited to check out an undiscovered nail salon in my own backyard, and little did I know that bliss and nirvana lurked there.

Let me introduce you to the Nail Garden, an upscale nail salon in the San Fernando Valley (with locations in Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Burbank, CA), dedicated to fabulously indulgent nail care, a very relaxing environment and the highest level of cleanliness. It is a beautiful salon with state of the art pedicure chairs, upscale decor, and tranquil running waters. They offer a multitude of nail care and waxing services at competitive prices and I was invited to checkout the Indulgent Bliss Spa Combo–the ultimate offering in hand and foot care.

From the moment I walked through the door, the salon was relaxing, peaceful and professional and after checking in I was immediately whisked into one of their luxurious pedicure chairs. This was one of the best pedicure chairs I have been in because it had heat, vibration and those strong massage rollers that I love (and the chair actually worked too!) Once I settled in, two expert nail technicians worked their magic. This was one seriously pampering combo and it was the perfect remedy to my lax nail grooming maintenance of late.

So what is the Indulgent Bliss Combo you ask? It is a dee-lux mani-pedi with all the fixins’ and then some. Beyond the usual trimming, filing and polishing, this dynamic duo also includes an exfoliating sea salt scrub, a therapeutic massage with a yummy smelling antioxidant lotion, a rejuvenating mint cooling masque wrapped in warm towels, callus removal, and a hot paraffin wax treatment. Now imagine if you will, two skilled technicians scrubbing, rubbing and pampering your arms, hands, legs and feet all at the same time. . . . ahhhhh absolute nirvana! This treatment felt so relaxing, indulgent and luxurious and I devoured every moment of it. I’ve had tons of mani/pedi combos in the past, but something about this combo felt uber luxurious and indulgent.  Maybe it was the very skilled technicians, maybe it was the great massage and high quality products used, maybe it was the warm lotion and paraffin; whatever it was, IMO this was one of the best mani/pedi combos I have had in a long time, and certainly one of the most memorable.

I highly rec checking out the Nail Garden for yourself and here are a couple of added incentives to check it out now: First of all, they currently have Happy Hour Monday-Wednesday from 5-8pm and they give you a glass of wine with your mani/pedi combo, nice perk. Second, in honor of my beloved Spa Week, Nail Garden has decided to extend their $50 treatments for another week thru Sunday, September 26th, so you can get the fabulous Indulgent Bliss Combo for a sweet deal $50 (regularly $69). Girl what are you waiting for? Give them a call now to take advantage of this extended offer and enjoy every indulgent moment of it!

Nail Garden 14006 Riverside Drive Suite 118, Sherman Oaks,CA (818) 783-2745