COCKTAILS & COUTURE: AS SEEN BY A REBEL

Hey Blossoms,

I attended the coveted Cocktails & Couture event, founded and hosted by Lianne Farbes of The Makeup Girl.

Cocktails & Couture is a totally unprecedented event. Kicking off Fashion Week and integrating social medias, online editors, and the beauty & fashion world.

I met many of my long time Twitter friends and many of my favorite bloggers!

I took over 100 photos at the event. I won't include them all here but I have set up a Facebook photo album for your viewing HERE.

So I'm sure you all thought that "rebel" was me. Nope! It's actually my Canon Rebel! I adore this camera. It captured the ambiance of the night perfectly.

I started the night strolling through NYC with my camera in tow! I was super amped and excited and knew the night was just beginning. Of course along the way I stopped for random photos.

I love NYC. People are always rushing to and fro and the scenery is great. I had to stop to grab a photo in front of this restaurant the colors were so bright!

The moment I walked through the door of the event, I was greeted and told to pose for my photo on the red carpet. I happily obliged. The photographer was gorgeous herself and I definitely had to thank her and grab a photo.

Just off to the side was the bar. An open bar with flirty drinks made specially for the event and sponsored by X-rated Fusion,  Ultra-Premium French Vodka that is blended with rich blood oranges, mangoes & passion fruits.

The bartenders were hard at work serving up cute, ice cold cocktails. I tried a sip of Couture Candy. A pretty bubble gum colored drink with a fruit flavor and a kick. Since I barely drink, the kick was too much for me but, I tell you, the bar ran out of liquor by night's end. Their cocktails were a success!

I made my way on down, half walking and half two stepping thanks to the amazing spinning going on by India aka DJ Bella de Jour. Even with all the jamming going on she stopped to pose for a picture. One of the best DJs I've heard. Everyone was up and dancing the entire night.

I did a tour of the awesome venue, Bo Concepts, an amazing urban design furniture store. Each area of the venue had an at home feel with just the right amount of sass, I loved the pieces!


Further down was, INDIQUE, the only African American owned hair company. I met the owner and her team. They showed me hair samples as well as their mink eyelashes. Their makeup team was also giving makeovers. Those ladies are gorgeous.

Another sponser, IMMUNOCOLOGIE, the first ever skin care line formulated to work with your immune system, spoiled their guest by expertly applying their products and explaining it's benefits.

Just around the corner, another sponser, NONTOXIQUE, a holistic skincare line which caters to hands, nails and feet, applied their product to a guest. What's better than great cocktails, awesome music and a hand massage with skincare products that are good for you!

With a waiting list that spanned over an hour, CND Shellac pampered guests who signed up to perfect manicures and some even had their nails shellac'd!

With the festivities in full swing. The air was rich with laughter, dancing and networking. Old friends shared a great time and new connections were made. So many great people under one roof. I wish I could picture them all here but this blog post would NEVER end! Here's a sneak peek though...

Melissa, co-founder of O So Chic Blog & Donna J , Lifestyle Expert

Genevieve A. Santos, founder of The NYC Makeup Artist Meetup Group & I

Lianne Farbes, Founder of The Makeup Girl & host/creator of Cocktails & Couture & I

Celebrity Makeup Artist, Kevin James Bennett & I

Not even the TIP of the iceberg with who attended the event. There were so many more awesome people. Be sure to check out my Facebook photo album. 100 photos of pure gorgeousness! Trust me! View the album HERE!

All that's left to say is: See you in February!

Later Blossoms

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FASHION NIGHT OUT 2011: TOLD IN LAUGHS & PHOTOGRAPHS

Hey Blossoms,

Goodness if only you all could have shared this night. One of the biggest nights in NYC to kick off one of the most anticipated weeks: Fashion Night Out for Mercedez - Benz Fashion Week.

The night started with me meeting up with Khambria, a natural hair vlogger on Youtube.

She is as lovely as she looks. Be sure to check out her channel and subscribe for awesome information for naturalistas!

We met up at Make Up For Ever Studios in NYC. James Vincent, Michael DeVellis and Orlando Santiago hosted a Pro to Pro event.

There, live makeup demonstrations were going on showcasing the use of the new LIMITED EDITION MUFE palettes. Dubbed "The James Palette aka Bad Reputation" and "The Orlando Palette aka Nocturnal Girl".

  "Nocturnal Girl aka Orlando's Palette" (L) and " Bad Reputation aka James's Palette" (R)

MUFE has awesomely pigmented eyeshadows. These limited edition pre-made palettes were flying off the shelves!

James Vincent, the man with the master plan, has this to say about his palette:

.It is every shade you need to shape, contour and create a real Rock N Roll smokey eye for every skin tone. Add in Black Kohl Pencil and Mascara and it is the end. From sensual dramatic smokey to natural washes it is all here in one palette...one put together collection I would use on clients like Joan Jett, Jillian Michaels, Liv Tyler and Fefe Dobson...

The makeup demonstrations were unreal. Those palettes truly give you the shades necessary to do it ALL....check it out for yourself

Orlando Santiago's makeup station looked simple enough but the results were nothing short of amazing. This palette is truly versatile.

The pictures speak more than 1,000 words. 


After watching the live demonstrations and seeing the versatility of the palettes, there was no way I could NOT purchase BOTH. 

 Yes there was no mistake in the total price, a mere $130.65 (tax included) for BOTH palettes. For 1 day only this palette was available to MUFE Backstage Card Holder and TPG Pro members for $60 EACH! Each palette retails for $175.00!!!!! WOW!

So many MUAs were attendance. I had a chance to meet new faces as well as see some old friends.

Fellow MUAs

April Antoinette, MUA & Beauty Blogger

Fellow MUA who definitely has color blocking down to a science!

Michael DeVellis gets an air kiss!

April Antoinette & Bethany Townes

I then headed on over to Diane Von Furstenberg, @DVF on Twitter, the line was insane. Perhaps 200 plus people waiting to get in. I let the security officer at the door know I was there to cover the event and I was let right in! The life of a Blogger. I LOVE IT!


Inside it was a huge VIP party. The event was catered, there was a live DJ spinning awesome tunes, great atmosphere, gorgeous people, amazing clothes and an open bar.

The venue was packed wall to wall. Waiters zoomed by balancing cocktails on trays, people were dancing, laughter filled the air and flashes from cameras were going off like paparazzi was in the building.

 I joined the party. I snapped a few photos, chatted with a few guests and was able to grab a few photos of the woman behind it all: Diane Von Furstenberg

She danced with the guests, took photos with admirers and placed wristbands onto party goers. Definitely a great time. Watching her interact with this young fashion enthusiast definitely was a highlight of my night.  


Check out her awesome line ...

After DVF, and after checking Twitter hashtag #bloggercrawl (real time updates of where fellow bloggers were around the city), I raced on down to Lord & Taylor's where Solange Knowles was spinning the tunes for the event. I didn't make it in time to catch her but I did meet up with some fashion blogging friends.


We decided to have an impromptu photo shoot. That was fun! 

@BlakeVonD on Twitter

@kaileinthecity, @LoveBrownSugar of Uptown Mag, @Ms_Andrews of The Glamazonsblog, Khambria on YT

MY TURN..LOL

After our fun but busy night we all decided we were famished, one of the girls recommended, Blockheads, a mexican cuisine restaurant in midtown, known for their burritos.


The food was awesome. Their vodka pink lemonade was a smash hit, unfortunately they don't serve it virgin. 

So I had 4 glasses of ice cold water instead! I ordered a chicken quesadilla and it was delicious. 

Our table was full of laughter. 

The night ended beautifully.

Cheers to FASHION NIGHT OUT 2011!!!

Even with all the events I attended and all the amazing people I met up with I still missed events and others. All in all it was a memorable night.


Tonight is BLOGGER'S NIGHT OUT! I can't wait! Stay tuned for the re-cap post of that event. 


How did you spend Fashion Night Out???


Until Next Time,


Later Blossoms

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