Fashion Fridays: 25 Park Contest

So, the fashionista social shoppers over at Polyvore have done it again. Check out the entry by &&. B R 0 K 3 N [ID = 63288] to a 25 Park contest. This is her virtual walk in closet, and we love that she used our Vanity Girl lighted floor length wardrobe mirror ($599) as a glamorous backgroup to these uber-haute choices. Hello- Marquesa, Yves St. Laurent and Nina Ricci? We love your stylo &&. B R 0 K 3 N [ID = 63288] and we’re swooning over that turquoise Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti number. If we’re not mistaken, there’s a store up the street from us on Melrose ….

25 Park Contest: 25 Park Walk – in closet by &&. B R 0 K 3 N [ID = 63288] featuring Marchesa dresses

Light up your wardrobe!

Here are the deets on the lighted full length Broadway wardrobe mirror:

We took our beautiful basic mirror and added some mega wattage (24 bulbs at 25 watts apiece to be exact). That means 600 watts to light up your life.  At 18″ across and 60″ high, these bulbs illuminate you from head to toe! You immediately look more glamorous when you buy this premium mirror. Of course, the bulbs are functional as well as fabulous because you really get a solid look at that outfit before you walk out the door. Features include: thick optic grade safety-backed mirror and signature metal logo for added stability and protection at tops and bottoms. The lights provide white light, a favorite with make up artists and professional photographers.  Perfect for YOUR personal red carpet moment.

Workout Wednesday: Beginner Ballet

So yes, we like Reality TV. Have we admitted this out loud before? We do, we do. One of our faves is “So You Think You Can Dance.” And if you’ve been watching this season (even my Spin instructor at Crunch was talking about it during class yesterday) – you know that they had their first ballerina on the show this year in Melissa. And she went all the way to #3. With her powerful Pilates legs (she said she’s also an instructor), beautiful lines and light as air grace, it awakened in us a desire to at least try it out. So we found an instructor here in LA, who offers a beginning ballet class. Her philosophy is that most beginning ballet classes really aren’t beginner at all and will intimidate most adult newbies like us. She believes in truly beginning at the beginning. Perfect.

So, one of the most enjoyable things about Fitness ADD, is that you get to buy new gear anytime a new passion strikes you. In order to start the class you need a leotard, tights and ballet flats. It’s actually quite affordable — we spent less than $60 on all the stuff. And if you’ve ever been shopping in a dance store — it’s all pink, poufy tulle and just really girlie. Of course, we bought everything in black but still — having the option of some pink floaty confection was still fun to think about. And on a fashion side note, Bloch tights are too die for. Strong, soft, super black.

I’ve only taken a couple of classes, but hearing the directions in French like plie, releve and a la seconde makes everything sound a little more elegant. And yes, having to think about your arms, hands, toes and posture does make you quite aware of the little things.

Let’s see if it makes us more graceful …

What about you? Have you been inspired to take up a class in samba, jive or lyrical? Share it with us here, we’d love to hear about it!

xoxo – vgh

Another Vanity Room!

This one was posted by chocolategumdrop. She said it made her feel like she’s in a hotel. A rock ‘n’ roll hotel no doubt with the zebra and the boas!

My Dream Room-Hollywood Suite by chocolategumdrop on Polyvore.com

Workout Wednesdays: Reebok meets Cirque du Soleil with Jukari Fit to Fl

So, we’ve been dying to try Jukari ever since we saw Brooke Burke Twitter about it months ago. It was kind of hard to find, even though it made it did make its US debut right here in LA. Since then, one of our favorite Workout Wednesdays guest bloggers Christine Kwok took a leap of faith and tried it out which renewed our interest in this artistic workout. Here’s the scoop from the Healthy Hollywood Blog.

Celebs are raving about Reebok’s new Jukari Fit to Fly workout and (though I’ve never considered myself the acrobatic type) I can’t wait to give it a try! The workout uses a hanging trapeze bar for cardio, strength, balance and core training moves that look incredibly lengthening and toning (especially for arms!). Check out the moves here. Participants say that Jukari is a fun, creative workout that feels a little like flying! No surprise, since the workout was created with help from the Cirque du Soleil.

Here’s the scoop, straight from the source:

Molly Sims says, “[Jukari] gives you a great stretch and elongates your body. I haven’t had that sort of a stretch since I visited my chiropractor.”

“Jukari is such a great overall total body workout. I especially felt it in my butt and upper body. I loved getting air! Jukari really is a thrill!” says Jennie Garth.

Mischa Barton, Holly Madison, Jamie King and Kim Kardashian (who’s set to debut a second workout video) have both been trying- and loving- Jukari Fit to Fly as well. See below for a few more images of these girls doing the Jukari workout!

The class has just launched all over the world (in the US, it’s available in L.A.) and will hopefully be arriving at my gym and your gym soon. Because this one looks too fun to miss!

Fashion Fridays: Vegan Gladiators

We must admit, eco choices don’t exactly drive our daily fashion although we know it’s very PC. (Although we do think that Natalie Portman’s vegan clothing choices are divine). But when we saw this shoe by Brazilian shoe designer Melissa – we thought it would pair beautifully with a simple white sundress. After seeing all the fashion eye candy from PDiddy’s white party we’re a little partial to white and gold right now. You can buy ‘em here.

Design Your Own Vanity Room!

The virtual room above was styled by Posh Bunny on Polyvore.  In fact, Vanity Girls from coast to coast are designing real and virtual rooms with our lighted make up tables and backstage mirrors.  We’d love to see your ideas too!

xoxo – Vanity Girl M

Fashion Fridays: Social Styling on Polyvore

So the other night we Googled ourselves (try it if you’ve never done it — it can be really fun). Anyway, we found out that Fashionistas/style junkies had designed some BEAUTIFUL rooms using the social shopping site Polyvore. It’s so amazing. Basically, you can create online collages, outfits, rooms, design themes, etc. based on your personal style. It’s like, Top Design meets Project Runway (except that you are more of a Stylist than a Designer … ) Anyway, it’s really great. You create a profile, friend people (make sure to friend us VanityGirlHollywood!), can post the outfits, etc., etc. We were inspired by some of the rooms we saw, and we’ll be sharing them here on the blog with you. We also invite you to join the site (especially those of you who have already bought one of our backstage lighted make up mirrors) and show us what you’ve done! Of course, we also love REAL LIFE pictures of the rooms you’ve created with our vanities, and would love share them with others who may be inspired by your creativity.

But we know that not all of you have had to wait for Polyvore to design your real life Vanity Rooms. For instance, we talked to one OC mom who just bought a black vanity for her 15-year old Vanity Girl who is in love with old school glamour. She is designing her black, pink and white room a’la Audrey Hepburn. Interesting, because Posh Bunny from Polyvore also used a photo of Ms. Hepburn as a design element in her room.

Meanwhile, on the other coast, a 70-year old glamour gal (a former Broadway/TV producer residing on the Upper East Side) bought one for a “great” room she is designing with museum quality design elements in a sophisticated palate of blush, dove grey and black. She told me that she had been searching for a mirror like this for 30 YEARS. Wow. It’s a crime for everyday glamour to take that long.

We love these stories for a few reasons:

• Glamour knows NO age. Vanity Girls around the country range in age from 14 to 70.
• What a great way to cross generation lines. My friend and luxury aesthetician Lauren Young London (Twitter @celebritySkinLA) told me she fell in love with glamour sitting at her Grandmother’s vanity.
• Ms. Hepburn continues to be a great inspiration for girly girls from coast-to-coast.
• Girly girls have been waiting for Vanity Girl Hollywood to arrive. Here we are!

xoxo – Vanity Girl M

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Fashion Fridays: The Devil Wears Prada Makeover Moment

The Devil Wears Prada is an oldie but goodie.  Caught it the other night on FX, and what Vanity Girl doesn’t love that movie?  The fashion, Anne Hathaway, Paris and Adrian Grenier  and ohhhh, the makeover scene.   What is it about this quintessential makeover scene that just has us believing in possibility?  From her frumpy, size 6 (yeah, OK, whatevs on that one) scene in her lumpy blue sweater (yes, we know, it’s actually cerulean) — to the Gucci boot unveil with her tres chic bangs.  BTW, did anyone else get a Julia Roberts moment a la Pretty Woman with those boots?  But, Julia was in her hooker moment in the over-the-knee boots whilst Anne was in her fashion plate moment, anyway, I digress.   I remember the first time I caught this movie was at the Arclight on Sunset, and you could hear people audibly clapping during the post makeover scene fashion montage of Ande Sachs fiercely stomping the streets of NYC.   It is Hollywood  after all, so I’m sure there was more than one stylist in that crowd critiquing that scene.

And hello, Paris?  One of my favorite moments in life was when my friend M and his x-BF P took me to Paris for the weekend (we were in London).   P arranged for a dinner across from the Eiffel tower right when it turned dark, and ordered champagne.  Some hate the twinkly lights on the Eiffel tower.  Declasse they say.  I don’t care.  I like shiny objects and champagne I thought it was just divine.  

What about you?  What are your favorite makeover moment movie scenes?  What’s your go-to chick flick when you just want some bubblegum moment to lighten your mood?  And, what do you think of the twinkly Eiffel tower lights?

Makeup Mondays: Marketing for Makeup Artists

It makes sense that a lot of our customers are professional make up artists.   We know that beauty is an area where women will still invest their money.   Who wants to feel broke and less-thank-beautiful?  Talk about insult to injury.   We thought we’d put together a little list of marketing ideas for those talented, independent artists who make us look and feel beautiful.

1.  Define your target market.  Editorial?  Movies? Bridal?  Special Effects?  The more closely you can identify your ideal client — the more effectively you can go after them.  Yes, we know that you can do it all.  But sometimes going after everything and everyone is simply too broad.  And anyway, wouldn’t you rather work with the people you love and in the environment that makes you most creative?

2.  Become a Socialite.  Social media is definitely here to stay.  Twitter, Facebook etc are great places to create your online brand and start spreading the word about who you are and what you do.

3.  Start a blog.  This is a way to share your work, your philosophy and begin a conversation with potential clients.  If you can’t afford a website, it’s also a way to have a web presence and a place to send prospective clients.  The thing about the web is that it can work for you when you are off doing other things — like someone’s make up perhaps?  I personally love WordPress because I think it’s very user-friendly.

4. Start an e-mail marketing campaign.  People need to hear from you on a regular basis so you are top of mind when their big occassion comes up.  Tools like Constant Contact make it pretty easy to begin a campaign immediately.  And BTW, make sure to sign up for our Vanity Girl Newsletter so you can see how the tools works for you. And we giveaway cool stuff sometimes, so you wanna make sure you know about that.

5. Video tutorials.  Have you noticed how many make up tutorials are online?  Why shouldn’t yours be?  Things like the built in camera in an Apple lap top or the new Flip camera make it pretty easy to create an online video.  And thenew iPhone features an easy way to get that video online (I’m soooo excited about that one).  And with so many aspiring filmmakers out there, chances are you can start a great relationship with someone who simply needs more experience and content out there.  (BTW, dontcha think that one of our vanities or lighted make up mirrors in the background would make things look even more glamorous and professional?)

6.  DIY PR (Do It Yourself Public Relations):  Things like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) keep you apprised of reporters who need experts and sources on tons of different stories with upcoming deadlines.  Become a resource.

7.  Sexy Soundbites.  Last but not least, what are YOUR sexy soundbites?  Why would someone choose to work with you?  Do you ramble on and on when someone asks, “What do you do?”  When you tell them what you do, are they excited or glazed over?  Make sure you set yourself apart from your competition … in a really good way.  Do you have at least a short bio put together, maybe some testimonials and photos that show off your work?

We want to hear from you!  How do you land new clients?  Where are you stuck?  If we don’t know it, we’ll try and get an answer for you because we want to make sure that you keep America looking beautiful!   

Make Up Mondays: How to Curl Your Lashes

It’s such a treat to get your make up done. Last time I had the pleasure was by Teri A of P3 Beauty. As she worked her way to my eyes, she handed me an eyelash curler because well mine are … well … pretty stick straight. Here’s the 411 on getting your lashes on their way to fluttery, flirty curliness.

Step 1: Start when your lashes are clean, dry, and mascara-free. I find it best to do it after the rest of my make up has been done (foundation, eyeshadows, etc). Open the eyelash curler and, keeping your eyes open, place your upper lashes between the two sides.
Step 2: Starting at the inner corner of your eye, careful! Don’t pinch your skin. Place the curler as close as possible to your eyelid as possible. When your lashes are between the pads, gently clamp the curler together.
Step 3: Hold for ten seconds, and then move along the lash line, repeating until you have done your whole lash line.
Step 4: Set with mascara. I like MAC and Maybelline. Here’s a great article on great mascara choices.
Step 5: Flirt with your eyes darling, you look beautiful!