Social networking on the red carpet

Hollywood royalty geared up for their Oscar speeches and red carpet strolls via events that offered them tools to help them look their best, reports Leyla Messian
PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARELL AUGUSTUS

THE 2011 EDITION of the Academy Awards telecast may not go down as the Oscar show for the ages, as the big gold guy looks best in a classic tuxedo (think 1950s Bob Hope) than it does in a trendy ensemble that may be better suited for the MTV movie awards. Anne Hathaway, however, looked stunning in her tuxedo and added a touch of old school glamour.

That said, several pre-Oscar events benefited from updates of the traditional gifting suite format. There were familiar expos of elegance, such as GBK’s always awaited feast of fashion, beauty and luxury travel. Others were quite refreshing in the way they focused on sending people home with better grooming habits rather than batches of seasonal bling.

One such case was ‘Where Brawn Meets Beauty’, a men’s grooming extravaganza hosted by Evolutionman, MakeUp Mandy and O-Three Media. Between delicious Brokers Gin cocktails and fine Al Capone-branded cigars, gentlemen and their dates were treated to such services as mini-facials, organic spray tanning and eyebrow grooming as well as quick lessons on how to use the Evolutionman line in their own home.

Across town, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel’s annual Spa spotlight, well-established 24-hour party people including the ubiquitous Kardashian sisters (Kim, Kourtney and Khloe), Gossip Girl’s Kelly Rutherford, Camila Alves, Marc Bouwer, Dennis Basso, Bradley Bayou and Lori Goldstein sipped Möet & Chandon and Domaine de Canton while sampling new offerings poolside from Kate Somerville, Natura Bissé and others. A clear winner was Lea Journo’s salon-to-go product line, packaged in ingenious, eco-friendly, low-carbon-footprint containers that make everyday hair both red-carpet-ready and guilt-free. Rather than synthetic ingredients, her products contain French plum oil, which conditions and de-frizzes without weighing hair down.

Even with chilly late winter weather, QVC brought a little sunshine to the pre-Oscar party scene with a tented courtyard celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel. As their stilettos sunk into muddy Astroturf, fashionistas sipped, noshed and exchanged thoughts on some of the network’s hottest selling goodies. Though featured vendors were a mixed bag—much like this year’s Best Picture nominees—the evening’s winner was make-up queen Laura Geller, whose warmth and personality underscore the effectiveness and accessibility of her color cosmetics and foundations. Too bad we couldn’t use her fantastic Spackle foundation primer or Chaz Dean’s equally amazing WEN hair care products to shield our hair and skin from rain leaking through the tent.

True to form, GBK attracted many impressive A-listers to its gathering: 2008 Oscar winner Adrien Brody, Michael Vartan, 1971 Oscar winner Cloris Leachman, Kathryn Joosten, Channing Tatum, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Regina King, Tony Shalhoub, Josh Tim Daly, Robert Moore, Jared Harris (Mad Men), William Shatner, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin and Malin Akerman. Like every red carpet event of notoriety, however, some stars stand out more than others.

Tears of Bleu’s jeans were a hit thanks to the tailoring, with great haberdashery details that mirror fine suiting. There were also lots of great items tailor-made for home entertaining, such as home-made apple pies from Baker Street Bakery, Bota Box’s eco-friendly wine, and Cocopotamus Chocolate dark chocolate truffles with rosewater, green tea and raspberry fillings. Munch these truffles while listening to your favorite music with Ematic’s wooden veneer headphones, and you’ve got a case of pure sensory bliss.

Speaking of treats, I look forward to trying Decléor Paris’ new peel-off mask, Revita-Lash’s excellent products, and Sensa’s weight-loss system (which includes a great lo-cal energy beverage that mixes wonderfully with vodka). I was also impressed with the Point, TEI Spa’s futuristic at-home skin tightening tool (as under-eye bags are not status bags anybody wants!). Angus Mitchell’s salon staff was quite gracious as well, as their attentiveness proves to be enough to bring me into their salon above and beyond any gift certificate.

After a long day of sampling the newest luxury goods, I swigged a shot of Yakult pro-biotic beverage, and went home to lay my head on my new Comforpedic Free Spirit pillow (wish I could have fallen asleep on the full-sized Mystic mattress the Simmons folks had on display).

So what’s next, post-Oscar? Celebs in need of post-party tune-ups can rummage through their GBK gift bags and locate their gift certificate from Beverly Hills’ Lasky Clinic. As for me, I will get a formaldehyde-free BHB Brazilian hair treatment from the Stephanie B. Salon in Beverly Hills, and series of laser-facial rejuvenation treatments from plastic surgeon-to-the-stars (and worn-out journos) Caledonia X. Yue. •

Jaime Pressly


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