If this year’s Oscars are like a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, the 2016 Grammys deliver a colourful sundae of flavour and texture. The cherry on top of the weekend was Roger Zamudio’s Red Carpet Events LA Style Lounge at the W Hollywood Hotel. Nominees, publicists, stylists and press were invited to explore several rooms full of new and established luxury products.
This event marked the debut of Lavish Brows, a unique brow-enhancement system that can be done at home or in a salon. ‘Attaching these tiny brow hairs is as easy as putting on lipstick,’ says founder Mary Jane Dana. Lavish Brows is a godsend for women whose eyebrows are naturally sparse, overplucked or in need of a little drama. No more fake-looking, pencilled-in eyebrows that drip off of your forehead on a hot LA afternoon!
City Color Cosmetics, available internationally through Ebay resellers, offered a lightweight, non-irritating make-up setting spray and eye-shadow primer that promises to prevent eye make-up from creasing and turning into facial mud puddles. This season’s eye-shadow colour palettes for daily wear include purple, charcoal and desert-inspired earth tones reminiscent of a southwestern sunset. Representatives of Cure Natural Aqua Gel gently removed dead skin and two-day-old spray tanning from celebrity hands, using a water-based, unscented lotion formulated without abrasive, artificial ingredients. Long-term users have noticed a brighter appearance as their sunspots faded away. Guests also had another choice of exfoliant, courtesy of Fake Bake. Their mobile spray-tanning tent was on hand, enabling Grammy attendees to show off their caramel-hued beauty on the red carpet.
Korean-inspired Tikkun Spa offered guests an opportunity to unwind for a day at their Santa Monica location. What better way to detox after 24 hours of primping, posing and partying, than by lying on slabs of therapeutic Himalayan rock salt? Imagine yourself baking in a clay sauna, steaming your sins away in a eucalyptus haze, and finally plunging into a cold pool of water. Alternatively, a VIP could also choose to escape as far from LA as possible, and sip mojitos at the Shelbourne Wyndham Grand Resort in South Beach, Fla.
Another essential item for the Hollywood insider’s morning-after kit included a healing tea from Nuwati Herbals, described as a ‘natural remedy from the medicine cabinet of Mother Earth’. This minty mélange of green tea, juniper, elderberries, wild cherries and rosehips immediately cleared the nasal passages of several attendees. There’s nothing better than a steaming, hot cup of diversity: it’s a special kind of sweetness, followed by a peppery kick. ‘One whiff from the bottle will scare your allergies or head cold away,’ one attendee commented.
Guests who live in a never-ending party enjoyed Jell-o shots comprised of pineapple juice and gin- or whisky-infused Twisted Cherries. Those craving their minimum daily dose of living probiotics gravitated towards Lifeway Kefir, where they sampled hibiscus-rhubarb pie, a limited–edition flavour packaged in bottles designed by Cynthia Rowley. Clothing designer Tabitha Sellin showed off her new line of edgy suits, dresses, jackets and playful bow ties in a variety of dusky, muted jewel tones. Toronto’s Rok Cork displayed samples of made-to-order leather and cork handbags. Who knew that cork could be so durable and yet as soft as fine leather? Better still, it is completely waterproof!
The last room contained a reminder that the beauty of diversity is not always welcome in many parts of the world. My Sister’s Village, founded by 14 year-old LA resident Naria Slann, provides an American boarding school education for Tanzanian albinos who are persecuted and often murdered by human traffickers. Those who wish to help protect these vulnerable children, or learn more about the difficulties they face, may visit iamf.org or www.gofundme.com/mysistersvillage.—Leyla Messian, LA Correspondent
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