Last Thursday, fellow Beauty Chatters Jacquie, Leeann, and I — along with our PlasticSurgery.com co-worker Stephanie — attended Shecky’s Girls Night Out in Santa Monica. As we embarked on our two hour trip through rush hour traffic and rain, little did we know what they had in store for us at the event.

As we entered the Barker Hangar, turned fashion extravaganza, we were blown away with the number of women shoppers and vendors surrounding us. Filled with fun, drinks, clothes, jewelry, handbags, and the latest trends, Shecky’s was truly a night to remember.

(Jacquie, Sarah, and Leeann)

Our first mission was to pick up our complimentary totes, which were filled with a variety of products for the skin, face, body, and mind. After acquiring our free goodies, we slowly made our way through the crowd of anxious fashion lovers. With items marked down 10 to 75 percent off their original prices, we tried to scout out the deals we found most alluring. More »

Just a quick post to share a little more from the Total Beauty Blog Summit.

(Denice and Leeann enjoying the VIP party)

It was such an honor to be amongst amazing beauty bloggers – Leeann and I met some fabulous ladies, and learned a lot from them. So of course, the most fun was getting to chat with our new blogging friends, such as:

Jennifer from Beauty in Real Life
Delphine from Steeping Beauty
Tia from Shake Your Beauty
Alison from the Advice Sisters
Kia from Yummy 411
Erika from Makeup Bag
Cailin from The Beauty Bunny
(just to name a few!) More »

Over the weekend, Beauty Chatter Denice and I had the pleasure of attending the first annual Total Beauty Blog Summit, and we were ecstatic to learn that Beauty Chat was named the best blog design!

                               (Leeann, Emrah Kovacoglu of Total Beauty, and Denice)

New to the community of 100 or so beauty blogs (thanks to our friend Erika of Total Beauty and Makeup Bag), we were more than thrilled to head down to Manhattan Beach, just outside of Los Angeles, for a few days of mingling, learning, and indulging in the beauty industry.

To kick off the experience, Intelligent Beauty held a very glam reception, complete with beautiful people, great food, an open bar, and even shadowbox dancers. The mood was very LA and everyone in attendance appreciated the company’s exquisiteness and kindness. (There was even a celebrity guest! Dayna Devon of TV’s EXTRA and her plastic surgeon husband, Brent Moelleken, who has appeared on “Extreme Makeover.”)

It was an honor to meet with our other beauty bloggers and put a face to the witty words that we read on a daily basis. Seeing the group as a whole was definitely an inspiration, as well as a testament to the dedication that we all have for our blogging and beauty passion. More »

(Sarah, Elana, Denice and Leeann at the PlasticSurgery.com booth)

Part of my job at PlasticSurgery.com (and Beauty Chat) is to attend two of our largest convention shows each year. I just recently attended the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) in San Diego, California. My duties, while at the show, entail helping out our sales team and aiding in the promotion of our fabulous company. More »

While I browsed through my weekly Avon catalog (yes, I am addicted to catalog shopping), I came across this simple, yet cute, bracelet. As I continued to read about it, I became more interested as to what this little bracelet stood for, Woman’s Empowerment, and helping improve the lives of women across the world.

“As honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, I’m very excited to introduce Avon’s first global charity product designed to save and improve women’s lives worldwide. Purchase the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet for yourself and your friends. It’s a symbol of unity that represents a future without limitations for all women. Show your support; show your solidarity, show off your bracelet.”- Reese Witherspoon: National spokes woman for Avon More »

Welcome! Beauty Chat’s look has received a makeover! Redesigned in a new package, our blog is back in a big way. Beauty Chat originally developed June 1, 2007 with just our technical guru (Randy) and me launching its birth. One of the newest sister sites to PlasticSurgery.com, iEnhance.com, and CosmeticSurgery.com, Beauty Chat’s identity stands unique. While we make it a point to address plastic surgery-related topics as they pertain to your interest, we also make it a point to unite everyone who shares the idea that beauty is a universal concept and means different things to different people.

And now: Beauty Chat is pushing the end of its ninth month, with seven contributors, its own talented designer (Khevna), and a loyal readership reaching international grounds. We are very proud of this moment, as we hope that you find the new navigation pleasant, and the look an appealing stamp of modern beauty.

Therefore, in celebration of our relaunch, we are holding a contest. We would like a reader to rename our “Giveaway” page into something more creative! By entering this contest, you have a chance to win a fabulous package of personal care items, worth over $150. Please e-mail us your idea. We will choose the winner of our contest on April 1^st.

Relaunch Giveaway

More »

Only the end of our 9th month, Beauty Chat is relaunching with a revamped, modern look in the next couple of days. So you may experience some technical problems. We want you to thoroughly enjoy the makeover our PlasticSurgery.com/ Beauty Chat designer, Khevna Naik, has created, so it is our responsibility to let you know!

New features to look forward to include:

- Interactive Giveaway page

- Competitive advertising opportunities

More »

When Beauty Chat recently announced the launch of Elodie Otto’s new bath and body line, Jolie en Rose par Elodie, this yummy collection of shower gels, lotions, and bubble baths was only available online. (Don’t worry, it’s still there!)

Now, we are pleased to announce that you can also purchase all of these delectable “flavors,” ranging from coconut to caramel apple to banana, at Nordstrom at the Grove in Los Angeles. To kick off this exclusive launch (of the Nordstrom venture and the holiday season), this former cast member of MTV’s The Hills made a personal appearance at “Nordi” on December 1st.

Much to my delight, she let me in on some highlights of the event. “There was a huge response!” Elodie says. “I was talking to a lot of people about the product, and was definitely happy to take pictures with the fans.” Since I had to know which of the items is the current favorite, Elodie told me that the Noix de Coco  and Barbe a Papa shower gels were the top sellers of the event. (In fact, they actually sold out!)

Also, she says, “A lot of people are LOVING the banana (Banane Flambee), since no one has ever had anything like it…it’s so sweet and yummy!”

Even celebrities turned out to show their support for Jolie en Rose (here she is pictured with “Transformers” star Megan Fox, who brought along fiancé Brian Austin Green). While the crowds were definitely there to support Elodie’s line, some fans just couldn’t resist asking The Question. “Everyone wants to know if I am going back on the show!” Other than the appearance revealed below (you heard it here first!), her response to them is, “The show is reality, so it goes where it goes…we will just have to wait and see next season!” On behalf of those fans, Elodie, we accept that answer. But, if you come back on The Hills, we open our flavorfully-scented arms! 

If you missed Elodie’s LA Nordstrom appearance, no worries! She is scheduled to return there for a second event on December 15th, from 12 p.m. –  4 p.m. She plans to make samples available that day, for those who wish to try before they buy. Jolie en Rose is also retailed at Urban Angels Boutique in Arizona.

Elodie is scheduled to appear on the LIVE red carpet finale of The Hills on Monday, December 10th! Be sure to watch and check back for my Special Edition re-cap!

~ Brook

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Elodie combined with my Beauty Chat artistic touch!

My self-professed love for H&M has become much stronger after they announced that they are having a friends and family sale, and making it open to the public!

All you have to do is register for a 25% off coupon that you can print out and take in to any of their U.S. stores Friday, December 7 through Sunday, December 9. And that 25% coupon is good for your entire purchase, not just one item!

Don’t forget: the Roberto Cavalli collection is currently available at various locations. Hello?! Reduced savings on already budget-friendly designer clothing? It doesn’t get much better than this!

Please do some shopping for me. Unfortunately (and not so unfortunately), I will be vacationing in Riviera Maya, Mexico and Atlanta, Georgia during the sale. 

I guess sandy beaches and historical monuments are good runners-up to this incredible H&M discount…but only barely!  

~ Leeann                    

Photo Credits: www.myspace.com/hm and www.iberostar.com

Laptops were everywhere at the “BlogWorld & New Media Expo,” and the fingers were doing their magic everywhere you looked. Leeann and I felt like dinosaurs as we were in the minority, actually taking notes by hand. We are both journalism majors from Cal State Fullerton, so I think the reporter vibe set in.

It was an interesting trip, with inspiring courses and keynote speakers, such as the successful WordPress developer Matt Mullenweg and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and Beauty Chat was smack in the center of it all!

We passionately talked up our “looking good and feeling good” philosophy to numerous bloggers, PR reps, and Internet television crews. Ms. TalkingChic here even made it on TV Thursday evening after the 2007 Weblog Awards. (It felt great promoting Beauty Chat and giving a shout out to PlasticSurgery.com, one of our popular parent Web sites.)

The Weblog Awards were held at “The Joint;” a cool nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel. I’m not sure what I enjoyed more at this “opening party” though – the lusciously delicious chocolate fondu fountain or seeing bloggers who are well-deserved of such honors get up to the podium to say their thanks.

Overall, the “BlogWorld & New Media Expo“ was a successful event. The city of bright lights was a enjoyable outing, and probably one of the best places to meet and greet.  (Mellori, Denice, Brook, and Jacquie were with us in spirit!)

The 4-hour drive back home?  Well that’s another story….

Want to know more about our day-to-day activities at the Las Vegas Convention Center? Our humorous time spent in a hotel on the strip? Or, how Leeann came up 100 bucks from the 5 cent “Wheel of Fortune” slot machine (or how I helped her out, yet came home with zilch)?

~ Elana