What Has Romy Raves Been Up To? Trend Scouting, Getting Glam & More

The year is off to a roaring start my beauties! Lots of events, shows, awards season festivities and conferences have been filling up my calendar, so I thought I’d take a moment to catch you up on my latest whereabouts and discoveries. I have lots of fun trends, resources and experiences to share with you, here’s a glimpse of my latest adventures:

Season Premiere of The Talk & Lunch with the Hosts

In the Fall, I was invited to attend the Season Premiere of The Talk with a group of fabulous bloggers and after the show we had a special opportunity to join the hosts for lunch and a candid Q & A. I am delighted to say it was a fantastic experience for three reasons: 1) The Talk is a fun positive show that totally embraces the impact of social media (they use the hashtag #TweetTheTalk during every show to increase engagement) 2) Having lunch with the hosts (Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osborne, Aisha Tyler and Sheryl Underwood) was a real treat! They were fun, real, flawed and very intrigued by what bloggers do, and 3) We got a whole slew of health and wellness SWAG and left the show with a fabulous assortment of goodies, it was totally an Oprah moment!

Hair Colored by Celeb Stylist Sherry Ratay

I hate to brag, but my hair color is looking insanely awesome these days thanks to the brilliant hair coloring talents of Sherry Ratay. Sherry is a bi-coastal celeb stylist who is based in Orlando, and travels to Gavert Atelier in Beverly Hills once a month to service her West Coast clients. Sherry is a gifted colorist who has worked with many of Hollywood’s top celebrities and developed her own coloring approach she calls the “Ratay Way” which is all about taking in all of the person’s qualities and enhancing them with hair color that showcases their personality and features. I arrived in her chair with imbalanced color and hot roots, and I left with gorgeous, warm, rich chocolate redish brown multi-dimensional hair color, the kind I wish I was born with. FABULOUS!

A Pampering Blogger Event at the Peninsula Spa in Beverly Hills

Getting cozy with the FAB Amber of Beauty Junkies Unite

I adore the class and elegance of the The Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel and was delighted to recently be invited to the Peninsula Spa for an intimate blogger event. A handful of beauty bloggers and myself were invited to spend the day at the spa for an intimate retreat to enjoy some healthy and inspired spa cuisine, experience the lovely Spa facilities and treatments, and relax and enjoy the gorgeous setting. During my spa visit, I had the opportunity to sample a Micro-Current Eye Lift (this was my fav because I noticed an instant lift and freshening of my eyes) an LED Light Treatment, a Mini Massage, a Foot Scrub and a Toe Nail Polish Change. The spa facility was intimate, serene and cozy and the services were all top notch and performed by seasoned spa technicians. I can’t wait to go back!

Getting Flawless Botox at SKN Bar with Dr Vicki Rapaport

If you have ever gotten Botox from a skilled professional, you probably know that it can do wonders for your face and take years off your looks without looking fake, frozen or processed. Dr Vicki Rapaport is a fabulous down-to-earth Beverly Hills Derm who has expertly been administering Botox for many years and recently she opened the first ever walk-in Botox bar. SKN BAR offers high quality, professional Botox treatments in an unpretentious environment at an accessible price. Dr Vicki and her team are highly trained to administer the most up-to-date strategic Botox techniques that lead to smooth and natural results. In my opinion, Dr. Vicki’s Botox was hands down the best I’ve ever had! Just the right amount of Botox to give me a bit of smoothness, lift and a tiny eyebrow arch/lift while still looking natural. Her work is FLAWLESS!

Pro Make-Up Lesson at the Beauty Collection

I have been shopping at the Beauty Collection ever since I was a little girl. It was heaven on earth for a burgeoning beauty junkie and I loved going there to discover the latest beauty trends and products. Well, years later it is still THE place to shop for a wide assortment of the latest an greatest on the beauty landscape and now they have multiple locations. I was recently invited in to their Calabasas store for a pro make-up application and lesson. The artist used a variety of fabulous makeup brands to achieve a sultry smokey eye and shared useful tips and tricks along the way. I LOVED my finished look, how about you?

 Robert Mondavi’s A Taste & Toast to the Central Coast Wine Pairing Dinner

You know how much I adore gorgeous food and wine, and it was an absolute treat being invited to Mondavi’s PS Toast to the Central Coast food and wine dinner in the Fall. This spectacular dinner was held at The Tasting Kitchen in Venice, CA. The seven course dinner showcased Mondavi’s Central Coast wines paired with a variety of meat dishes created by lead Chef Casey Lane and curated by the uber hot artisnal LA butchers Lindy & Grundy. My palate was treated to a gorgeous array of meat courses like Beef Carpaccio with Olive Tapenade and Goat Cheese paired with a refreshing Mondavi PS Central Coast 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and a gorgeous succulent Seared Beef Filet paired with more full bodied 2011 Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon = Nirvana!

IMATS to Scout the Latest Make-Up Trends

A couple of weeks ago, a fabulous new Asian inspired beauty brand called O.R.G. Skincare invited me to be their guest at the International Makeup Artist Trade Show for the debut of their new Organic Mineral Face Peel. This inspired new all-natural enzyme exfoliator instantly and effortlessly removes all traces of debris on your face, making it brighter, more youthful and the perfect canvas for a flawless makeup application. I instantly fell in love with this product! While I was at the show, I also scouted makeup trends and noticed a lot of glitter and sparkle, bright highly pigmented colors, highly intricate temporary tattoos and lots of loud fluorescent colored bows as fashion accessories.

Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Spring 2013 Launch

Last week, I was invited to the Spa Montage in Beverly Hills for a preview of Youngblood Cosmetics fabulous Spring 2013 Makeup Collection. We sipped bubbly and ate gourmet morsels while watching Philip Luque, Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics’ Director of Education and Artistry effortlessly apply these gorgeous new products to True Blood Actress Tara Buck. The collection includes: Incredible Wear Gel Liner in Lagoon a rich teal with an iridescent golden sheen; Anti-Shine Mattifier Oil Control Solution which absorbs excess surface oil and can be used as a primer; Minerals in the Mist: Relax a yummy lavender vanilla botanical spray with liquid green clay that helps remove toxins and firm pores and Lipstick in Debalicious a sheer baby doll pink. The Spring Collection will be available March 1st.

Scouting Beauty Trends at ISSE Long Beach

The 2013 International Salon and Spa Expo Long Beach continues to be the West Coast’s largest and most influential total beauty event, covering all things hair, nails, cosmetics, esthetics, wellness, massage and advanced education. Over 400 beauty brands exhibited this year and more than 40,000 beauty professionals from around the world attended the show. Noteworthy trends I observed this year were: hair extensions and nail gels are still going strong; products that focus on hair health were on the rise; and lots of fun colors and enhancements for nails like 3D nail charms, holographic polish and nail polish infused with diamond dust (pictured above.)

Agadir Argan Oil’s Beauty Brunch in Morocco

Earlier this week, I was invited to an intimate brunch hosted by the Bogossian family (a family that has been in the beauty busines for over 50 years) for the official West Coast launch of their Agadir Argan Oil Haircare brand. We were introduced to this impressive haircare line infused with Moroccan Argan Oil and then we had a chance to try the products as well as take them home to play with. We were also treated to yummy Mediterranean eats and henna tattoos. It was a wonderfully immersive thematic event and not only did I feel transported to another place, I was also very impressed with how the products made my hair look and feel without any of the typical greasiness that I find with other oils. I fell in love with the Agadir Argan Oil Spray Treatment!