Ahead of the 97th Academy Awards, we decided to keep things low-key and stress-free with pre-event lounges. Among the many events taking place around town, we got some fresh air and our daily dose of nutrition at the Gurus Magazine Pre-Oscars Gifting Retreat on February 28 and March 1 on the top of the Godfrey Hotel, just south of Sunset Boulevard.
Host, lead guru, and publisher Derek Warburton welcomed journalists, influencers, and celebrity guests, including some of his past cover story subjects, to partake in activities that reflected ways well known people could use their platform for a variety of causes. Other guests of note included several heroes from the Los Angeles Fire Department who posed for group photo that would accompany a future Gurus Magazine cover story.
More good vibes came in the form of a booth dedicated to Habitat for Humanity’s horticultural experience; spa services including reiki, massage, facials, and tarot readings; a buffet of organic farmers’ market produce, a Gurus juicing station, Gurus Beauty Bar, fashion, jewellery, live podcasting, cocktails or mocktails, live music, and a Gurus flower shop just in time for spring.
Heather Marianna’s Enchant Luxury Celebrity Gifting Lounge, on February 27, showed that lots of good things could come in a small package at the Beverly Hills Marriott. Event producer and beauty entrepreneur Heather Marianna welcomed celebrities and behind-the-scenes members of the Hollywood community and media for an event that packed in a number of aspiring and published authors (making it feel a little like the Los Angeles Times’ annual Festival of Books) as well as numerous wines, spirits, and zero-proof libations including Diniz Cellars, Dulce Vida tequila, Empress 1908 gin, Sip Awards, Weber Ranch vodka, and Wein Cellars, as well as Bare Essentials and Roots Lyfestyle and Ophora water.
‘The Hollywood community has weathered some very tragic events over the past months,’ Marianna said ahead of the event. ‘We hope to create some positive and uplifting moments with our annual celebration of awards season. We have invited some very special people and will give them a much-needed VIP experience, including a young girl who was bullied at her school.’
The highlight for us was getting fitted for perfectly matched hair extensions from Qcura. The learning curve for using them at home was lightning fast and the team instilled confidence in the new converts above and beyond the ponytails and falls themselves. The med-spa treatments offered by Michel Med Spa were so popular that we were not able to partake—though we hope to work with them in the future.
Among the other vendors, we enjoyed meeting the Australian founders of pretty printed Skanties (a.k.a. the anti-shapewear shapewear); BeezGone Skin Repair, Los Angeles-based Pixi Beauty, Ægis Formulas DabaLash, Australia-based Deborah Drummond (Mission Accepted: 262 Women—Creatives, Ultrapreneurs & Media; the Global Resilience Project), Stefani Seek (Your Love Compass: a Woman’s Unconventional Guide to Dating & Relationships), the owners of Divine Bowls (produced by the creators of the original sound bath bowls back in the 1970s) and Perfect Balance; and 2Inspire Nutrition.
Nevada-based Kiss My Paws Animal Rescue was the event’s official charitable partner once again this year. Celebrities attending included Paul Oakenfold, Gilles Marini, Martin Rodriguez, Johnny Whitworth, Jacqueline Laurita, Maria Conchita Alonso, Anne Ramsay, and Naomi Grossman.
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