This is a really fun one! I always love being in on a great concept from the beginning, and this is that. I have a feeling that many others will start copying Madison & Mulholland’s CEO Jane Ubell-Meyer’s new swag bag plan.

Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the big one at the top of the page.

All the gifts that her celebrities received this Oscars season are now available to the public! You heard that right; people usually just read about the gifts that celebs receive during awards season, but now you can not only view them all up-close and personal, but you can purchase them for yourself! (For a limited time only, so hurry—you won’t want to miss-out!)

This is how it works: Madison & Mulholland, in partnership with JBC & Associates, curated gorgeous goodie bags, and delivered them to several of the top-tiered stars before the Oscars. And now, all those gifts are being featured (and sold) at the Red Carpet Gifts Pop-Up kiosk in the famous Hollywood & Highland shopping center in Los Angeles. (That’s also where the Oscars themselves were held—at the adjacent Dolby Theatre.) This is the first ever celebrity gift bag pop-up kiosk! How exciting!

Some of the higlights of the goodie bag, and kiosk. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Jane Ubell-Meyer says of the products, “Most of these companies are owned by women; they are inventors, designers, and true entrepreneurs. And I love the fact that most of these products are made in the USA!” Sounds good to me, too.

I can’t tell you about every single item in the bags, so, if you’re in or near Los Angeles, you’re just going to have to stop by the kiosk at Hollywood and Highland, right in front of Sephora, and discover what’s there. You’ll have such fun doing it—you’ll feel like a celebrity yourself! I know I did when I stopped by to get in on the action.

So here are just some of the highlights of what I found at the Red Carpet Gifts Pop-Up:

Photo by Alice Farinas.

Levears Earring Lifts—This one is brilliant! I’ve really never seen anything like it. Do you ever notice people’s earrings that are about to fall off, and want to tell them? Now it will never happen to you because you’ll own the secret weapon. You just replace your existing earring backs with Levears which keep earrings standing at attention safely and comfortably. What a relief, eh?

Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil—Ever since I re-vamped my diet last year, olive oil has been a staple of it. So when I noticed these classy-looking bottles of the important substance at the kiosk, my eye was more drawn to them than to even the jewelry! And I love that they’re packaged in white, to protect the oil from sunlight. That’s an extra little perk!

Di Valdi Eyewear—OMG! I really did feel like the MajorCelebrity my Twitter handle proclaims me to be when I tried on a pair of these Italian-designed polarized Limited Edition sunglasses! And the best part for me is that they are prescription-adaptable so I’ll be able to see as great as I’ll be looking!

Photo courtesy of Jane Ubell-Meyer.

Isabella Hearst New York—This front of this wallet states something I’m sure many celebs think on a daily basis: “No Paparazzi!” No fooling, I found myself hiding from the paparazzi even when I was young, skinny, and hot, and doing my TV show. Mr. X always asked me why I was ducking the cameras. I can’t really explain it myself, but I just have something against people having pictures of me that I haven’t approved. Maybe it goes back to when I was little, and thought my father was a bad photographer because I was fat in all the pictures he snapped. I didn’t realize until much later that I was actually fat—not his fault at all. The conundrum about this beautiful black wallet is that it’s so good-looking that it will attract people. And not just the photogs, but everyone who lays eyes on it!

Madison & Mulholland Readers—These really sharp-looking reading glasses are made in Switzerland, so, of course they’re really cool. They’re also lightweight, have a classy matte finish, and are optical-quality. What fun to find really hip reading glasses without a prescription!

Tinsley Radix Sequined Tank Top—This is the perfect garment for all Hollywood events! The silhouette is casual, but the sequins dress it up, so it goes just as well with jeans as it does with evening pants. I’d love one in every color!

Photo courtesy of Jane Ubell-Meyer.

Julia Knight Collection—I went nuts over this trio of classy little bowls! You can purchase them individually or in a set; they’re beautiful either way. They come in muted colors, like Surf, which is my favorite dusty green shade. I think they’re meant for snacks, but I would just leave them out empty, so people can see the little metallic sheen they feature.

Caterina Jewelry–The Kiss Kiss Collection is made-up of sweet little bracelets, each with a classy charm, and all in wonderful colors. To me, they are seriously the perfect jewelry gift. The same company also invented the Charm Opener, which makes it a breeze to unclasp jewelry…by yourself!!! Now it won’t matter if I have a fight with Mr. X on an important night out because I won’t need his ever-present help with my bracelets anymore! So, I think that he’ll be even more of a fan of this handy-dandy little gadget than I am!

Brushopolis Hairbrushes—Now I finally know why celebs can have such good-looking tresses. They use these upscale brushes that are made for every hair situation. The Monroe Glamour Hourglass one styles and finishes, without the damaging heat of a flatiron, and The Teasedale is engineered to create maximum volume with minimum breakage.

Photo by Karen Salkin.

Mayron’s Goods—Where else but here would you learn that the actress who plays Jane’s college advisor on Jane The Virgin has a line of natural skin care products?! Melanie Mayron’s little box of Lip Stuff looks like a kindergarten crayon box, so, of course, I love it! What adorable gifts these make, for any occasion!

And these are not even half of the hand-curated items you can find at the Red Carpet Gifts Pop-Up kiosk in Hollywood & Highland; there are all kinds of classy jewelry, lots of skin care that Hollywood types actually do use, headphones, candles, and even the unbelievably affordable Charlie Curl, a simple device that I’ve been using to curl my hair for about a year now!

You will definitely find something special at the pop-up, both for someone to whom you want to be kind, and for yourself as well. There’s truly something for everyone at this one convenient kiosk! (And when you accept the compliments on your new gift to yourself, you can even allow people to think that you received it as part of the Oscar goodie bag! I’ll never tell.)

But you’ve got to hurry—it will be there until March 14 only!

One of these years, I’m going to finally make it to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Up until now, something has always gotten in the way—my January 14th birthday, the attendant soiree, a health issue, or a trip to New York instead.

Photo by Karen Salkin.

But until I do get to visit there in person, I’m just grateful to always receive a gift bag from Debbie Durkin’s Sundance Ecoluxe Lounge, chock full of wonderful gifts that I always hear about from others. Now I can be one of those knowledgable peeps telling you about the contents!

So, here goes, with the highlights of what I saw in there:

Shriners Hospital For Children—This group, who has successfully partnered with Debbie on a few of her other recent events, did it again at Sundance. They were on hand to give the guests the low-down on all their charitable work, (most notably donating free health services for children in need.) To remind the peeps of them, they gifted luxurious throw blankets in their signature tan hue.

Photo by Lauren Bennett.

Burnetie Sneakers—I’ve seen the colorful sneakers at a couple of Debbie’s other events, and my eye is always drawn right over to them! I have no idea how the guests choose just one pari, because this is one brand whose wares I admire all of!

La Miel Vegan Purse—Boy, do I know ladies who will appreciate this brand! I don’t know what material the all-vegan purses are made from, but they look as attractive as leather, and come in many different styles.

Photo by Lauren Bennett.

Bula Headgear—This is the cutest, warmest hat ever! And I’m so glad that it ‘s red, white, and blue, and says “USA” because, even though it’s the summer Olympics that are coming up in a few months, I keep my house freezing in the summer. So I can still sit here with my patriotic hat on!

Bulletproof Coffee—I don’t drink coffee, so I’m not the expert on this one, but it comes in a kit with some special energy-boosting liquid that you add to it. I wish it would work on oh so many coffee drinkers I know!

Barefoot Athletic Company Gear—This company gifted a trio of items. There was a tee, a very attractive ski cap (which I’m sure came in handy on those Utah slopes!,) and a recycled-glass-beads bracelet with a sports charm on it.

Montage Spa Amenities—I understand that this spa provided the pampering services for the guests at the lounge. So, I was happy to get a sneak peek at their signature product line that they used.

Hopefully, next year, I’ll finally make it to that film festival myself. I look forward to having all that fun! And I’ll sure have the gear to fit right in!

What do Angelina Jolie, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lawrence, Saoirse Ronan, Scarlett Johansson, and I have in common? (Besides our obvious show business success, of course! Them with all their Oscars and great roles, and me in one of my typical co-starring comedy roles in the blockbuster western movie, Brothers In Arms! Haven’t heard of it? No worries—neither has anyone else.)

This is the recent fun situation that we ladies do share: we were a few of the very fortunate show business females to receive the fabulous Madison & Mulholland swag bag in honor of the Oscars! (They got it because they’re—well–them! And I did because–who knows?)

Some of the goodies hidden in the inside pockets of the suitcase. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I met this company back in the day, when I attended some of their fabulous gifting suites that they used to throw, and I always looked forward to them. But, after taking a several-year hiatus from this type of event, (because she just didn’t want to do suites anymore,) Madison & Mulholland head honcho Jane Ubell-Meyer realized that she still wanted to celebrate the celebs who used to flock to hers. So, she returned to the genre, big-time, with a wonderful concept this awards season.

She had hefty bags of upscale goodies hand-delivered to A-list talent during Oscars week! I love it! (And I’m sure so did they.)

Jane curated the gifts herself, making sure to include a variety of products, with eveything from fun to useful to luxurious items. I was thrilled to get a small gander at some of the contents. Maybe it will inspire me to resurrect my acting career that I’ve neglected for the past few years to instead devote my time to this little baby that you’re reading right now! The gifts can be the carrot that lead me back into the acting fray, by giving me a hint of what movie stars can receive if they get famous enough!

The contents were so cool that I decided to share a peek inside at a sampling of the goodies with you. Here goes:

Travelon Luggage–It all came in their eighteen-inch wheeled under-seat carry‐on, (how many hyphens was that?!,) which is so lightweight that even wimpy I was able to lift it on my own, even filled to the brim with gifts! It has special bags inside to make packing easy, which is a pleasure for messy peeps like me.

Yarn Pop—A whole knitting kit, with several brands of yarn, came in this uber-colorful tote bag. Sadly, (or perhaps happily…for the people I would have crocheted stuff for!,) my creating-in-any-way-other-than-with-words days are behind me. But this mouth-watering bag itself was my favorite gift! It reminded me of my circus days, which is always fun.

Little Black Box by J Grace Co.—How can anyone not love sparkly-yet-elegant earrings? The ones in the bag are six-carat tear-drop-shaped arrow-cut simulated diamonds on sterling silver posts. And they were presented in an elegant little black box, so the excitement began before we even opened them.

Designer Noodle—I’m really excited about these uber-colorful pool “noodles!” They have matching rafts, which is where I’ll most likely wind-up in the pool, even though I should be exercising with the noodles. The items come in all different fun designs, in categories like “Candy” and “Beach.” And this is a lovely company who actually honors gift certificates, with no fuss whatsoever! That is almost unheard of before, in my experience.

Mirai Clinical Bodycare—This gift was wrapped beautifully, and reminded me of the prettiest Christmas present! I even had to rip the paper off, like an excited kid. Inside was a collection of body care products from Japan, where everyone looks good. But these go even one step further—they offer all-day deodorant protection, to go along with your newly-smooth skin.

Gigs Headphones—These powerful bluetooth headphones are “all about that bass.” Really. They’re designed to play-up that feature, which I’m sure the krump-dancing Mr. X and his fleet-footed buddies will appreciate. They fold easily, and are very attractive, to boot. (The headphones, not the krumpers, though I just realized that the same can actually be said of many of them!)

Charlie Curls—This is actually the item I’m most interested in!  I have make-up and nail talent, but none whatsoever in the hair department. So, I can’t wait to use this one-move easy-to-use hair roller, which is supposed to make you wind-up with a head full of curls in just three hours! (Its tag-line is “Fabulous curls with just thirty seconds of effort.” And that’s about all I ever have!) If it works, this usually straight-haired gal will be so happy!

Avion Tequila paired with Powell & Mahoney Margarita Mix—I’ll be saving this dream duo for Cinco de Mayo, which will be here before we know it! Even though I don’t drink myself, I love being prepared for all holiday festivities!

Luxchilas—It’s always fun to discover different kinds of jewelry, and this company’s little woven bracelet, adorned with sparkles, fills that bill. I bet it will look fabu in the summer on the beach.

The stars got even more items than these in their goodie bags, but these are my highlights. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that Madison & Mulholland will do one for the Emmys next! And that I’ll get a TV gig before then, so I can merit the gifts!