As a veteran of gifting suites, first as a \u201ccelebrity\u201d because of my TV show, and now as a member of the media, I can tell you that this one-day event is one of the best I\u2019ve ever attended! And it\u2019s smartly scheduled as a pre-Valentine\u2019s event, which gives us plenty of time to learn about all the items before the Grammys and<\/em> the Oscars.<\/p>\n Their charity of choice was Love Cures Cancer<\/strong>, which <\/strong>raises funding for cancer research as well as improving the daily experience of the children in treatment at the Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles. They collected toys and stuffed animals from the attendees to deliver to the kids on Valentine\u2019s Day. Yet another nice touch of this suite. www.LoveCuresCancer.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s get to some of the fabulous gifts, each one a highlight.<\/p>\n COLEMAN\/TRAVELERS CHOICE LUGGAGE<\/strong>–we had our choice of so many different kinds of luggage including fashion travel cases, small duffle bags, and lots more. The kind girl manning the booth even stopped me as I was going down the door loaded with shopping bags, (I felt like I was in Gossip Girl<\/em>!,) and put all my goodies in one giant sports bag. What a pleasure that was!\u00a0\u00a0www.travelerschoice.net<\/a><\/p>\n KYMARO\u2019S CARDIWRAP<\/strong>–I\u2019ve run into this health and beauty company before, and love just about everything they have to offer. This time, we received their new Cardi Wraps, which can be worn as a sweater, shawl, or scarf. I can\u2019t wait for it to get cold again so I can experiment with it. www.kymaro.com<\/a><\/p>\n MODEL IN A BOTTLE<\/strong>–this is a brilliant make-up setting spray that works on eyes as well as skin. No more wasting time re-applying from day to night. And the owner\u2019s business card has her listed as \u201cCEM,\u201d which stands for \u201cChief Executive Model.\u201d very clever. www.modelinabottle.com<\/a><\/p>\n GOLD CANYON CANDLES<\/strong>–just as I approached this booth, Mr. X called to tell me he was in a store and couldn\u2019t find a candle I wanted. Voila! Better candles than I could have imagined were right in front of me! Not only are they beautiful and delicious-aroma-ed, but the bubbly designer, Karen (what a great name,) also treated me to specialty tools for the wicks! Who even knew there were such things?! www.goldcanyon.com<\/a><\/p>\n MAXIMIM LASH<\/strong>–I\u2019m always eager to learn of new eyelash growing serums, and this one comes in beautiful purple packaging, so I\u2019ll be happy to have it on my nightstand, at the ready to make me beautiful! Well, at least do that for my lashes. www.maximumlash.com<\/a><\/p>\n KAMA SUTRA<\/strong>–this company that specializes in romantic items, which made them a perfect choice to be in this pre-Valentine\u2019s suite, gave us special lip gloss \u201cwith a warming glow\u201d and kissable body powder. Watch out on Monday night, Mr. X!!!\u00a0www.kamasutra.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n EMILIE SLOAN BAGS<\/strong>–these totes and purses have the look of a very famous pricey designer, but are coated in a muted plastic, so as to resist stains that other porous material bags inevitably get. I was so surprised when I touched them! You could never guess that they\u2019re coated just looking at them. Very clever. And attractive!\u00a0www.emiliesloan.com<\/a><\/p>\n WHIRL-A-STYLE<\/strong>–this is the perfect tool for styling classy, and hip, buns and updos. And the smartest move yet was that they brought their own model to demonstrate on, rather than on us guests, so we could see the technique. www.whirlastyle.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n JURLIQUE SKIN CARE<\/strong>–I\u2019ve long used Jurlique products because of their lovely light fragrance and good Australian ingredients. So, I was happy to receive some new ones, like the Love balm from this primary sponsor of the suite. www.jurlique.com<\/a><\/p>\n STEMULATION FACE CREAMS<\/strong>— this skin care line is based on stem cells, ergo the clever name. They said they\u2019ll send me the cr\u00e8me and if you spy me around town with the skin of an embryo, you\u2019ll know it\u2019s working. www.stemulation.com<\/a><\/p>\n LIZ ALPERT\u2019S HEALING CHARMS FOR ANIMALS<\/strong>–we all know that I wish I had known about these about six and a half months ago! I would have layered them around Clarence\u2019s neck like a rap star! Hey, since Mr. X claims I treat him<\/em> like a dog, maybe I can use it on him! www.lizalpert.com<\/a><\/p>\n ART LEWIN & COMPANY CUSTOM CLOTHIERS<\/strong>–I believe this is a company for men, (or cross-dressing women–you never know!,) but I was happy to receive a pair of classic socks and a good-looking for when Mr. x rocks the suits that he looks so handsome in. www.artlewincompany.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2598.jpg\" "\\"IMG_2598\\"")
<\/a>It was held at the red-interiored Caf\u00e9 La Boheme<\/strong> in West Hollywood, who did the cooking for a lovely buffet lunch on the patio. Honestly, I had never been a fan of this place before, but the food was delicious! And kind-of healthful, too, with faro\/edemame salad as a featured item, along with several other creative salads, salmon, and absolutely delicious filet mignon! Trust me when I tell you how generous this fare was! Most other suites don\u2019t feed us at all, including their many sponsors. But we needed all our strength at this Jurlique-sponsored suite to gather all the goodies. (I later found-out that I had missed the passed appetizers, which included grilled shrimp, and a whole dessert buffet! How miserable am I??? I\u2019ll just have to contain myself till next year\u2019s suite.)<\/p>\n<\/a>The gathering was made infinitely easier by the loveliness of each and every sponsor. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it. They seemed genuinely happy to gift the assemblage and treated media as specially as they treated show business personalities, which is a rarity, in general. Everyone was interacting with each other and there was a happy hubbub throughout the restaurant. It\u2019s a total tribute to the organizers, Doris and Kathy, who set the tone.<\/p>\n<\/a>MENBUR PURSES<\/strong>–the table that drew me in the most, with gorgeous colors, textures, and decorations, was the menbur purse table. I\u2019ve been a fan of theirs for almost a year now, and I would own every single one from the ever-growing collection if I could. It\u2019s just so hard to choose one, so luckily for me, the wonderful rep, Taura King, encouraged me to pick two!!! One\u2019s red and satin, so now Mr. X has to take me someplace fancy for Valentine\u2019s Day!\u00a0www.grupomenbur.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>CHUNG SHI ATHLETIC SHOES<\/strong>–these are fabulous! They\u2019re the newest entry into the \u201cexercising-while-looking-cute\u201d arena, and we had many choices of style and color. Once I tried on the white sneaks with blue trim that I chose, I just couldn\u2019t take them off, even though they didn\u2019t go with my red-accented outfit which I wore to keep with the Valentine\u2019s theme, though no one seemed to get that.) They were so comfortable! They felt almost like slippers. Now I covet them in every color! www.chungshiusa.com\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>NOT JUST ANY OLD DAY KEEPSAKE CHARMS<\/strong>–I can\u2019t tell you how excited I was to see this item! They customize a calendar charm by inserting a colored stone of your choice into the month and date that\u2019s most special to you. I had a small one like this when I was little and I was just mad about it! You can choose any date, so I went back and forth between January 14, which is my birthday (in case you haven\u2019t noticed how very many times I\u2019ve mentioned it before,) and Mr. X and my anniversary on July 7. It seriously was a hard decision, but guess which one I chose? [Answer near the bottom of this column.] P.S. I love the name of this company, too. www.notjustanyoldday.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>RUBINA\u2019S CAKE SHOPPE<\/strong>–this was the prettiest display ever! And her bite-sized truffle cakes, especially the chocolate-hazelnut ones, were out of this world! I\u2019d love to see her on TLC\u2019s cake baking show that I spent Christmas eve in Brooklyn getting hooked on! www.rubinascakeshoppe.com<\/a><\/p>\n