The Wow! Creations Gifting Suite was held once again at what I assume is the organizers’ favorite locale, the lovely Luxe Hotel in Beverly Hills, in the classy Penthouse. I’m glad, because we’re all so comfortable there.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
This event doesn’t mess around–it’s all about gifts<\/em>, (as opposed to eating or beauty services,) and they start the giving as soon as their guests say hello!\u00a0 Mark and Matt, the Harris Twins,<\/strong> begin gathering a giant bag of gifts for you when they spot you approaching the check-in table in the lobby.\u00a0 (Curtis said of the guys, “They’re great!\u00a0 And I like that they don’t dress alike, but are each stylish in his own way.”)<\/p>\n Then the guests are instructed to take the elevator to the Penthouse, (which Curtis and I did with nominee for Scandal<\/em>, Khandi Alexander<\/strong>,) and start gift-gathering right away, the second we step off the lift, into the room! An admiring Curtis said of Khandi, “She’s beautiful!\u00a0 I saw her in the very first<\/em> production of Dreamgirls<\/em> with Jennifer Holliday, and also saw her do Velma in Chicago<\/em>.” She was also very nice, and for the rest of the week, whenever I saw her, we were already New Best Friends!<\/p>\n Okay, so let’s get to the highlights of the gifts already!<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Grace In LA Jeans<\/strong>–The biggest crowd was around this table which was showcasing fashionable jeans in different colors.\u00a0 And luckily for many of the guests, sizes<\/em>, as well!\u00a0 I was happy to chat with the duo of reps, who were among the most pleasant I’ve ever met at a suite!\u00a0 And the jeans were equally attractive.\u00a0 www.graceinla.com<\/a><\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Radar Watches<\/strong>–Curtis was very impressed with “these affordable, stylish, colorful watches” which he said are “like modern Swatches.”\u00a0 He loved the “retro yet updated” look, and mentioned that he didn’t know how anyone decided among the many colors.\u00a0 I<\/em> always love the mix-and-match aspect of the line; you can choose one watchband and a different color face, if you like.\u00a0 And the ones with light-up faces are extra<\/em> fun! \u00a0www.radarwatches.com<\/a><\/p>\n Goodnight Naturals<\/strong>\u2014The couple who own this local organic-bedding store\u00a0had a really fun, interactive corner display going on. They actually brought in a bed to showcase their sheets, and asked the guests to lie on it for a bit. I can’t believe how many peeps did it! And it provided a really different gifting suite experience to everyone. We each went home with one of their Kapok Pillows, which is truly one of the most comfortable I’ve ever tried! And Mr. X and I are pillow freaks, so I know of what I speak. (I’m so obsessed with them that I even had twin<\/em> pillows when I was a teen-ager! But I couldn’t tell the difference between Sid and Lou, so I embroidered their initials into a corner. Wait–maybe this suite should have had a psychiatrist<\/em> booth–for me<\/em>!) www.goodnightnaturals.com<\/a><\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n IndiExhibit<\/strong>\u2014I was so happy to see this wonderful group of artists from around the country here again. And then I was plunged into sadness when they told me it’s most likely their final gifting suite. But they all sell on-line, and are active in other events, so I’m wishing them all the best of luck in the future. I love all their wares, but for my last choices from their roster, I went with two jewelry items, of course! Curtis helped me decide upon a few fabulous, colorful JV Lee Creations bangle bracelets. It was a really hard choice because I truly loved them all! Each one had the same basic bracelet<\/em> band, but the baubles<\/em> on them were all so creative! The lovely reps at the suite, Michelle and Kim, insisted I also leave with a couple of Lil Hiccups Boutique’s sweet and elegant little chiffon flower hair-clips.\u00a0 I saw them on a few other guests, and was thrilled to now own two for myself! \u00a0 www.jvleecreations.com<\/a> www.lilhiccupsboutique.com<\/a>\u00a0 www.theindiexhibit.org<\/a><\/p>\n Jason Emer, MD<\/strong>\u2014I was happy to run into this upbeat Beverly Hills plastic surgeon again. (I had met him earlier this year, elsewhere. He remembered me right away. Or was it my facial imperfections he recognized? He’s too nice to say, I’m sure.) I keep meaning to try-out one of his contouring treatments, (no knife involved,) so if I look better when you see me, you’ll know I finally did! www.jasonemermd.com<\/a><\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n City Color Cosmetics<\/strong>\u2014I don’t think there’s a girl on earth who loves make-up more than I<\/em> do!!! So, when I spied a cosmetics company that was new to me, I ran right over. The rep was a very sweet, happy-to-do-her-job young lady, and we could have talked about contouring all day! They were gifting a set of those now-de-rigueur compacts, along with a trio of powder highlighters.\u00a0 Yay! www.citycolorcosmetics.com<\/a><\/p>\n Brevena<\/strong>–I was really happy to discover this Intensive Foot & Heel Repair cream!\u00a0 I walked barefoot way more than a lot when I was a teen-ager, (don’t ask me why,) and still do, only not outside anymore.\u00a0 So, I can’t wait to try this one my rock hard tootsies.\u00a0 If it works, I’ll like the product<\/em> even more than I did their uber-enthusiastic reps<\/em>!\u00a0 www.brevena.com<\/a><\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Gunnar & Jake’s Gourmet Foods<\/strong>–Even though\u00a0I agree with Curtis’ statement that “the kids from this pickled foods company were cuter and more personable than most current Disney stars, so they should have their own show,” I was equally interested in all their pickled vegetables, which is this company’s specialty.\u00a0 I was happy to discover that they also make pasta sauce, for us non<\/em>-pickle peeps.\u00a0 www.gunnarandjake.com<\/a><\/p>\n Vitasoy<\/strong>–I have several pals who will go nuts over this line of all-vegan foods!\u00a0 They were featuring mayonnaise and tofu bites at the suite, but they also gifted packets of pre-cooked pasta and little gift boxes of bunches of coupons for free items of theirs, which was a cute presentation.\u00a0 \u00a0 www.vitasoy-usa.com<\/a><\/p>\n Can you spot my fabulous pink business card in this pic? Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Tea Scapes<\/strong>\u2014Not only were guests raving that these teas themselves are delicious, (I was way too hot to try them at the suite,) but, as an afternoon tea aficionado, I was thrilled to discover that there was an elegant stainless steel set of a tea infuser and a \u201c1 Cup of Perfect Tea\u201d measuring spoon,\u201d in the mesh gift bag, right alongside the canister of one of their teas! \u00a0 www.teaandtimeforyou.com<\/a><\/p>\n Legacy Entertainment<\/strong>\u2014This product placement company was gifting many different items from many different companies, which made it a lot of fun. It was sort-of like trick-or-treating! There were lots of snacks on one table, and soaps, shampoos, and even shaving creams on another.\u00a0 So, basically, there was something for everyone! www.legacyus.com<\/a><\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Relish This!<\/strong>–Judy, the owner, put a lot of thought into these gifts, which I appreciate. Each package, which was a colorful mesh bag, had three different flavors of her inventive relishes, and there was a card on them that read, \u201cA Gift To Relish.\u201d Very clever! www.sunshinefoodco.com<\/a><\/p>\n B. Foxy Jewelry<\/strong>–I’m always happy to see this costume jewelry purveyor at this suite.\u00a0 They have so many different styles to choose among, but every one of them is fashionable.\u00a0 Curtis couldn’t believe they all come from one company!\u00a0 www.bfoxycom<\/a><\/p>\n Sarah’s Skinny Treats<\/strong>\u2014With more and more people becoming gluten-free these days, and vegan, too, I’m sure Sarah’s cookies are even more popular than when I first met her at this suite a few years ago. And her display this time was her cutest ever!\u00a0 www.glutenfreecookies.com<\/a><\/p>\n Doggie Food Dog Treats<\/strong>\u2014Curtis was happy to see that these\u00a0\u201craw, freeze-dried treats are made in the USA.\u201d I was just happy to see that the company reps<\/em> are made in my adopted hometown of Rhode Island!\u00a0 www.doggiefood.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WOW! CREATIONS LIFESTYLE GIFTING SUITE IN CELEBRATION OF THE 2015 EMMYS [Note: I’m thrilled that my broken ribs healed enough for me to able to make it out to five gifting suites that celebrated this year’s Emmys.\u00a0 Of course, my contributing writers made it possible, by doing all the heavy lifting, for which I really<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>