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Lucire: Living
the scene


Burnished gold

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Rico Rodriguez


Julie Bowen


Alex Beh and Jennifer Love Hewitt


Adrien Brody


Bill and Giuliana Rancic

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While the planners of the GBK 2011 Golden Globes’ Gifting Lounge made a fresh choice with the London Hotel for the shindig, the format was classic GBK—a Neiman–Marcus department store catalogue coming to life. It was big, sprawling, and slightly over the top in many places. In other words, the fantasy shopping spree with charitable beneficiaries (St Bernard Project, the Lopez Foundation) set-up that drew the A-list likes of movie music great Diane Warren, Katey Sagal, George Lopez, veteran comedian and gifting suite newbie Martin Short, Bill and Giuliana Rancic, 2010 Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, Oscar winner Adrien Brody, Lorraine Bracco, Kimberley Elise, Ariel Winter, Rico Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, Joe Mantegna, Catherine O’Hara, Melissa Joan Heart, Jesse McCartney, Eric Stonestreet, Carrie Preston, Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Rucco, Kimberley Locke, Greg Itzin and Alan Thicke.

Canadian style and lifestyle was also well represented at this suite, with featured products ranging from Toronto-based Ron White’s foot-friendly couture designs for men and women and Diane Lai’s botanical skincare to Essence Bracelets from Calgary, which we were told were designed with “healing” combinations of semi-precious stones and silver. (Healing or not, we simply thought the bracelets were very attractive).

The celebrities were lavished with such enviable booty as a seven-night stay at Africa’s Zamani Retreat Kempinski, a seven-night all inclusive Health Package in Africa’s Prime Holistic Health Retreat and Miracle Details’ only-in-LA VIP “miracle touch auto detailing”, featuring eco-friendly cleaning systems and on-site car detailing in one’s own driveway. The selection of beauty and health aides was also above average: 3Lab’s technologically advanced skin care; celebrity-favourite RevitaLash; goodies from the Jessica Nail Clinic, Jane Cosmetics’ improved line of affordable make-up and (back by popular demand) luxurious, Asian-inspired hair, skin and body-care from Peter Lamas.

While Élysée Scientific Cosmetics is a relative newcomer to celebrity award season product placement, it is a literal veteran beauty company. Élysée has been providing high-quality special treatment products for over 80 years. Founded by Dr Elizabeth Blumenthal in 1923, her skin care technology was so revolutionary that the US Government commissioned her to assist medical doctors in the Pacific to treat soldiers’ skin problems in World War II. Royal jelly, grape seed, wine extract, AHAs, olive oil, botanicals, and vitamins A, D and E-staples in contemporary beauty lines, were essential ingredients of Élysée’s products as early as 1940.

In typical GBK style, the covetable mingled with the practical. High-tech and gadget highlights included Looxcie (an easy-to-use wearable camcorder which enables continuous hands-free recording that can be clipped, saved, viewed, and instantly shared), Isotoner’s new SmarTouch gloves for smart phone users and social network addicts, Psyclops iPhone covers, high-end fashion watches from Eleven Eleven, moderately priced, beach-friendly watches by Rumba Time, and futuristic Circolo coffee machines from Nescafé Dolce Gusto. One of our favourite forms of modern technology, in the form of body shapers, were once again offered by TC Fine Intimates. Thankfully, there was also a touch of old school glamour, through Menbur’s evening clutches.

GBK’s event, like Nathalie’s, still managed to find our hearts by way of our stomachs. We were particularly impressed with ChocAlive! Truffles, made from raw, organic and vegan but as decadently rich as diet busting morsels from a fine chocolatier. Nulo, meanwhile, sent us home with health food for our cats. That said, we stumbled onto other ways to indulge: Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co., WineChateau.com, Marquez de Valencia’s limited production tequila, alcohol-infused Cream by Kingfish Spirits and Svedka vodka.

Unless you were a celebrity (and some big names took advantage of their status, but with dignity, including Jane Lynch, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Julie Bowen, Sean Astin and Neil Patrick Harris), Access Hollywood’s Stuff You Must suite at the Sofitel was for the reporters more like a trade show, with interesting demos and inspired lifestyle products. We admired Vintage Revolution (the newest designer jean line on the block), coveted Pretty Ballerina flats, sampled calorie conscious treats from SlimFast, fawned over the Fancy Feast Cat while learning about the Barnes & Noble NOOKcolor, and checked out the latest collections from Marchon Eyewear and Jorg Gray watches.

The literal heart and soul of the suite was US Pharmacy CVS’s Beauty Club lounge-within-a-lounge. Even with the suite’s familiar ultra-exclusive vibe, this friendly island of pampering drove home a reassuring reality that anybody can look and feel red carpet ready on any budget, with choice products from Maybelline New York, Nexxus Salon Care, essie nail products and more. We got a whiff of the Stuff You Must VIP treatment when we were offered the opportunity to have a fragrance custom-made for us. The demo reminded us a lot of mixology, but with the final cocktail served up in an atomizer bottle instead of a martini glass.

While Anne Hathaway and James Franco serving as this year’s Oscar co-hosts ensures the award season’s grand finalé will be a little more (dare we say it) civilized and a tad less irreverent, though still going against the current of tradition, it will be interesting to see how and if the theme of reality-based products continues through the Grammys and pre-Oscar events. •

 

While the planners of the GBK 2011 Golden Globes’ Gifting Lounge made a fresh choice with the London Hotel for the shindig, the format was classic GBK—a Neiman–Marcus department store catalogue coming to life

 

 

 


Taylor Armstrong


Gilles Marini


Lisa Vanderpump and Taylor Armstrong


Nexxus Salon Care


TC Fine Intimates at GBK

 

 


Elyse Glickman is US west coast editor of Lucire. Leyla Messian is a senior writer for Lucire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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