Party like it's 2009! If you're staying home tonight, don't miss this

It's snowing here in NYC and I don't know about you, but between the cold and the crowds, I'm more inclined to stay at home! Here are some fabulous tips I snagged from a party planner to the stars who's worked with everyone from J-Lo to Matthew McConaghay. They'll help make your at-home celebration the most rockin' NYE ever.

Inexpensive At-Home New Year's Eve Party Tips from Celebrity Event Planner, David Tutera

Tip #1 – Create a Sexy Centerpiece

“David’s 'Cocktail' Centerpiece”

Since the 12am toast is the center of the evening, make that the theme of your centerpiece this year by using tableware you already own to decorate! Create a chic and stylish centerpiece for your table by creating a "Drink Glass Runner" placed on a shimmery linen. Use every glass you own - martini glasses, wine glasses and champagne stems - and place them down the center of your table filled with water. Next, add drops of pink food coloring in varying amounts so that there are different shades in each glass. Place a few floating votives in each “drink” to create a sparkling look.

Tip #2 – It’s Not What You Serve, It’s How You Serve It

You don't have to spend a fortune on food for your guests. To make your party festive and impressive, try dressing up the containers you serve it in. For a sophisticated appetizer, serve cold or hot soup in shot glasses. To update the classic salad or side dish, serve it in martini glasses with either shrimp forks or fancy chopsticks.

Tip #3 – Signature Cocktails Make a Party Unique

Save money by offering sexy signature cocktails instead of a full bar. Plus, let your drinks coordinate with the glow of your happy guests by serving delicious recipes including NUVO Sparkling Liqueur. The gorgeous bottle also adds to the decor of your event.

The Midnight Kiss
1 oz. Proseco
3 oz. NUVO Sparkling Liqueur
Add a spoonful of muddled raspberries and blackberries
Serve in a champagne flute

The Ball Drop
3 oz. NUVO Sparkling Liqueur
1 oz. Ciroc
Add a frozen sorbet ball garnish
Served in a martini glass

Tip #4 – Ring in the New Year Right

Don't worry about spending a fortune on expensive noisemakers and party favors. Try making your own traditional New Years confetti! Use scraps of colorful paper from around your home and cut it into small, irregular pieces. Add in inexpensive sequins or even small pieces of coordinating fabric and package them in small bags or cones for guests to throw when the ball drops.

Also, to get your guests ready for the big moment, tie a small bag of hand-made confetti to each champagne glass that you pass out!

Tip #5 – Start the Year By Giving Back

Start the year off right by hosting a BYO-D party. Instead of asking guests to bring their own beverages, instead ask them to Bring Their Own Donation instead. You can choose your own theme and have guests bring anything from old blankets for animal shelters to items for soldiers to money for saving the rainforest.

BONUS TIP: David’s Fun and Inexpensive Party Game Idea

For a low-cost and fun party game that will help your guests mingle, create a Resolution Board and place it near the entrance. This board could be in any form you like, from a framed mirror to a fabric covered piece of foam core. Dangle markers from fancy ribbon and as guests walk in, invite them to share their resolutions!

Bra-rty!

As most of you know (ok probably all of you, since it's about all I talk about these days!) I'm writing a book about bras called THE BRA BOOK which will be released nationwide in bookstores and gift shops in the fall by BenBella books and in lingerie and dept. stores by a wonderful bra company called Fashion Forms.

Through my research, I discovered that bra fittings are in such demand, that people are hosting parties in their homes where you could do just that! Much like Tupperware or Mary Kay, you can also purchase bras at these parties as well - but no pressure to buy. I decided to try this out for myself so I'm hosting one very soon. The company is called The Uplifting Makeover,LLC and they come to your home and privately fit at least 8 of your closest friends and family! Their website is http://www.bramakeover.com/ if you want to check it out for yourself!

Who knows, aferward, you may end up looking like the Victoria Secret model pictured here! :-)

Beauty Advice to live by!

Research shows that beautiful people earn more money, get further ahead in their careers and are generally happier. That's the message of a new book called THE BEAUTY PRESCRIPTION. Beverly Hills dermatologist, Dr. Debra Luftman, and South Beach Psychiatrist, Dr. Eva Ritvo, aka "The Beauty and Brain Doctors," combine their expertise to take a unique look at the beauty of the body and mind to create an inspirational guide to feeling beautiful, inside and out.

They say inner and outer beauty perfectly complement each other in a “beauty-brain loop.”

For some quick and easy fixes – some of which don’t cost a dime - they have the following advice:

1. Give yourself a ‘Faith Lift’ – It means having faith in yourself and your ability to make changes in your life. Believing in yourself and your abilities is always beautiful.

2. Skip the expensive French hand milled soap. In the winter, skin tends to dry out with more expensive perfumed soaps. Stick with an unscented moisturizing supermarket brand like Dove. These soaps are gentle, inexpensive and allow the skin to retain water.

3. Use a Titanium-based sun block and get a ‘Two for One’ beauty product. The sun is still the major culprit in skin damage, and Titanium is a broad spectrum sunscreen but also has been found to help relieve redness in the skin.

4. Take your Omega 3s and 6s daily. This supplement is one way to get beautiful from the inside out. Omega 3s reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, joint pain as well as boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer's disease. Omega-6s support skin health, lower cholesterol and can help the bloating and pain associated with PMS. It also maintains healthy skin, hair and nails and generally helps to bring about hormonal and emotional balance. Omega 3s and 6s are found in avocados, salmon, herring, mackerel, eggs, walnuts, canola oil and soybeans.

5. Lip gloss doesn't need to break the beauty bank. Apply a vitamin enriched healing ointment like ‘Aquaphor’ on top of your regular lipstick. This will give you a glossy shiny look while also giving you an anti-aging lip treatment.

6. Schedule an appointment with yourself! Give yourself a beauty break for 10 minutes once or twice a day to either de-stress or for self-care. The release of "stress hormones" can lead to breakouts and acne, not to mention what stress does to your heart and blood pressure. These few minutes can make a world of difference in how you feel about yourself.

7. LOL- "Laugh out Loud" or "Lots of Love". Studies show that women who laugh or smile a lot are perceived as being more beautiful, the same is true for women in love.

8. Get your beauty sleep. It's not a myth- getting six to eight hours of sleep at night rids the body of lactic acid and recharges the immune system. Certain hormones are also released during sleep. ‘Growth Hormone’ is an example of an anti-aging hormone that is increased during sleep.

9. Eyebrows enhance and frame your eyes. One way to keep them in place is to use a soft toothbrush with a bit of Vaseline and brush through the brows.

10. Give yourself a polish change, instead of going for a full manicure or pedicure. This will save you big bucks and will keep your nails from the potential of a fungal infection or ingrown nail.


The Beauty Prescription can be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles, and Borders or visit www.thebeautyprescription.com.

First Lady Fashion

This seems to be the hot topic that everyone's writing about! WWD, NY Times Style...they are all buzzing about our future first lady's fashion choices. During the campaign, fashion was the hot topic too...for not only Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain but for VP candidate Sarah Palin! Always ahead of the curve :-), I wrote this piece for The Wag back in July. It's in the current December issue of the magazine.

Inaugural Fashion... The presidential election is over but not the buzz over first lady fashion. Throughout the campaign, both Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama made style headlines. Michelle was touted for her down-to-earth wardrobe choices. For an appearance on The View, she wore an outfit purchased from the mall, and for an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, she wore J. Crew. Cindy more typically was attired in covet-worthy couture. Vanity Fair editors estimated her GOP convention outfit totaled more than $300k. (That certainly tops Sarah Palin’s reported $150k campaign wardrobe allowance.) And on the eve of the election, Michelle’s Narciso Rodriguez dress inspired a lively debate among the fashion-obsessed. Was it a bold, iconoclastic choice or an ugly, unflattering mess? Our opinion: We loved the moment, hated the dress.



When President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated in January, all eyes will be on the lady by his side—and what she’s wearing. We consulted some of our area’s top tastemakers to see what Michelle should wear for her grand entrance. In the spirit of “reaching across the aisle,” we asked them to dress Cindy, too. After a grueling campaign, we think both women deserve a little fashion therapy.

Mary Jane Denzer, of Mary Jane Denzer, White Plains: For Michelle: “A first lady’s supreme confidence and elegance on the arm of the new president must be reflected in her attire at the inaugural ball,” says Denzer. Denzer says a “golden gown” would suit his “golden” girl. “Michelle should be in an off-the-shoulder gold lamé gown with a tiny cap sleeve and a waist-hugging, dropped torso, which flares into a long, peplumed skirt that cascades in spiraling motion to the floor. The bodice and hemlines should be trimmed in beading of topaz and tourmaline.”

(Pictured: Michelle Obama gown, sketched by Neil Bieff, exclusively for Mary Jane Denzer.)
(Pictured: Cindy McCain gown, sketched by Neil Bieff, exclusively for Mary Jane Denzer.)

For Cindy: Denzer sees the Republican runner-up in “a pale-green, iridescent, chiffon column gown that is fitted to the waist, narrow over the hips, and floats gracefully to the floor. It will be accented with yellow/green sapphires and with amethyst-accented embroidery trim at the bateau neckline, an inset waist and sleeve, with a delicate rain shower of beads trimming the bodice to hipline of the gown.” (Pictured: Cindy McCain gown, sketched by Neil Bieff, exclusively for Mary Jane Denzer.)

For both ladies, “elbow-length, off-white doeskin gloves will add the ‘first lady’ touch,” Denzer says.

David Presby and Lori Land, On the One, Mt. Kisco: For Michelle: “Despite the fact that red is the traditional Republican color, I would dress Michelle in a beautiful, red, floor-length, off-the-shoulder Oscar de la Renta gown with just a simple diamond pendant down the neckline,” says Land.

For Cindy: “Cindy should also be in a floor-length gown like Michelle, but for her, I would suggest a metallic gold Zac Posen to complement her blonde hair. Not too glitzy—but simply glamorous, conservative, and chic.”

Grace Diodati, Tru Grace, Armonk: For Michelle: Diodati recommends a classic-yet-stylish look: “I’d like to see her in a navy, boat-neck, one-shoulder Halston gown to just below the knee, worn with patent Stuart Weitzman pumps and a simple clutch.”

For Cindy McCain: “Burgundy is very ‘in’ right now, and that color would look amazing on Cindy. She should wear a Carolina Herrera chiffon, v-neck gown, to the floor with a Manolo Blahnik gold pump.” She adds, “I’d love to see her hair down and ‘flowy,’ as opposed to a stiff updo.”

Jene's best in beauty awards!!

Since 2008 is coming to a close, I figured it's a good time to do a round-up of all of my favorite beauty products: some new, some old, but nothing borrowed (germs people!!) and all of them keep me from feeling "blue!" Besides, my "secret-sharing" isn't just because I'm feeling generous. I'm constantly asked "what's the best mascara?" or "what's a good non-sticky lip gloss?" I even get texts from friends at 2 AM with such questions which leads me to believe perhaps I should start charging for such advice :-) So here I sit, contemplating on how fast the year flew, with micro-dermabrasian crystals crunching between my teeth (just had a treatment with Noela at Dr. Kleinman's office - it's fabulous) - ah, the things I do for beauty!





But fortunately, as a beauty editor and writer, I get to try the best of the best that's out there...and report it all back to you. And I'm constantly on the hunt for the "perfect" one - the perfect mascara, the perfect blush. And just because a product's not on this list, doesn't mean I don't like it or you shouldn't use it...these are just my everyday favorites. So enjoy (and chill with the 2 AM beauty emergency texts people, a girl's gotta get her beauty sleep!) :-)



Best Mascara: Believe it or not, Mary Kay! It's AMAZING. I can't explain it, it's just peeper perfection. It's worth dialing that friend who's always hounding you with the catalogues and parties. DIOR Show Mascara is a celeb fave that I found to be a bit clumpy and therefore tough to apply but once it was on properly, it was eye-opening. And if you're on a budget, nearly every makeup artist I've worked with has raved about Maybelline Great Lash (the kind in the pink and green tube).

Best Lipgloss: Believe me, I have tried them all. Especially since I skip the lipstick, gloss is even that more important. Mac Lip Glass is an old fave (and now they make one that plumps too) but I also really like the gloss tubes from Victoria's Secret beauty. They taste like a dream (I like the pudding and angel food cake flavors) and you can get a whole handful of 'em for $20.

Best Cleanser: I love the new foaming one by La Mer. The way it makes my complicated skin look and feel is worth the $70 price tag.

Best Moisturizer: NONE! Most of us don't need 'em. Just something light that has an SPF. Believe it or not, it's the moisturizer that causes clogged pores more than anything. So think before the next time you go to slather it on. Or, opt for a tinted moisturizer in place of your foundation. I like the one that Chanel makes best. It's light and the color is natural. And those creams that say they are better than Botox? They aren't. There's nothing better than the real thing. I'm sure some of my beauty publicist friends will beg to differ on this - if you have a product that can prove me wrong, I'll be happy to give it a go, but I'm not optimistic.

Best Eye Cream: For years, I have been a fan of grape seed based Caudalie eye cream (you can get it at Sephora for around $50). I'm convinced it's the reason why I still get ID'd, at the age of 31 :)

Best Undereye Concealer: Bobbi Brown! It comes in a little pot with some powder to set it too! I haven't been able to find one better. It even works for covering up severe discolorations, like bruises etc. When it comes to concealing, the queen of natural beauty Bobbi Brown is DA BOMB.

Best Powder: You only really need it on the shiny spots, not all over (corpse-chic is soo not in this year). That being said, I really like Jane Iredale's pressed powder. It comes in a cute gold compact and sets makeup in place, plus controls shine too.

Best Blush: I still haven't found this yet! I must admit, I like ALOT of blush....and I like it all over... I swipe it from my cheeks up to my temples and it just brightens my whole face. But I haven't yet found one that lasts the duration. Blush seems to do a disapearring act after a couple of hourse on my somewhat combination but can be very oily skin. I'm still on the hunt for this one and I'll be sure to let you know when I find it.

Best Shadows: MAC...hands down. Have one of their artists at the store pick out your colors and then purchase the little pots (you should have a base color, a highlighter color and then a darker accent color for the crease). They can even show you how to apply it on a little diagram, that you can take home with you and refer to when needed. A friend did this for me so when I have to do my own makeup for TV spots or what have you, I'm doing it up like a pro.

Best Hair Extensions: Yes, it's true, one can't be a "hairmeleon" (translation: hair chameleon) with a bob one day, and luscious long locks the next, without the use of hair extensions. I regularly use EZ Go Hair which is beautiful and natural and perfectly matches my own. At THE SALON and North American Training Institute for EZ Go Hair in Scarsdale, NY (914-472-1800) they safely glue the extensions to your own hair and in 3-4 months when you're ready to shed those locks, they slide right out without breaking any of your own hair through THE SALON'S own special removal process and formula (I can attest it's true since I've now had them 3 times and my hair is healthier than ever!) and if you don't want the permanent thing, they can make you a hairpiece and show you how to put it in and take it out. Isn't it fun being a girl????

Best Budget Brow Grooming Tool: You need those tiny slanted tweezers from tweezerman and some clear mascara - yes mascara - any brand will do but Maybelline is good- to keep those babies in place.

Best Makeup Philosophy: Bobbi Brown. She's all about natural beauty, which isn't that what we're all after anyway? You want makeup to enhance what you have, not cover it up...and you invest in all these skincare potions and lotions because you want them to make your skin better so you can wear less makeup...so her philosophy, really makes sense. And I'm not just saying that because she told me I looked like her spring campaign model :-) I love that a perfect Bobbi Brown face consists of concealer where needed and the eyes are emphasized by liner on the top ONLY, so no raccoons in sight. When it comes to makeup, less really is more...when it's done right.

Best Beauty Advice: It could be when Cindy Crawford told me you have to be happy and fulfilled on the inside, otherwise nothing you do on the outside matters... which is a nice thought...but Paulina Porizkova said it best when she skimps rather than splurges when it comes to the sweets (I guess you can choose to be fat and happy or skinny and happy - LOL)


And if you have anything you think I - JUST - HAVE - TO - TRY, send me an email and I'll get right on it!

xxxo

Kitty Pedicure!

Yes, I write about fashion and beauty. But beauty isn't just for those of us on 2 legs, now is it? :)

Those of you that know me know that my cats are like my kids. Yep, they get treated better than most people do. They have their own stroller for leisurely walks outside and they even go to the groomers (Gizmo gets the lion cut, Troubles just gets a blow-out). So when I heard about the PediPaws, I just had to try it out. Those claws can be pesky - my cats are missing their front ones but they have the back ones which can get long, really fast...and it's hard to keep up in between grooming appointments! So, the PediPaws is the perfect solution. It's also safer and less painful for the kitties (that vein that runs through their nails can easily get clipped when regular clippers are used which is a big ouch for fluffy!) Your pet gets a perfect pedicure in just a couple of minutes! It's under $20 at http://www.pedipaws.com/