Dress Details: 2013 IAWTV Awards

It's always fun to have an excuse to wear a dress, so last night at the IAWTV Awards at CES in Las Vegas was the perfect excuse.  My co-host, AJ Gibson, and I were nominated for AfterBuzz TV's So You Think You Can Dance in two categories.  It was a thrill to be on a list with incredible talent like Leo Laporte, Beth Hoyt, Shira Lazar, Mark Keizer, and Wade Major.  While we didn't win this year, AJ and I knew our big "win" was the nomination.  It's the little show that could and we were proud to represent the network and our boss, Maria Menounos.

Now, on to the important details on my dress.

                  With fellow host, Misty Kingma, from Clevver Music.

Dress:  Aqua (Yep, worn this brand before and I really like their designs.) $188

Shoes:  Stuart Weitzman, Winter 2007 collection.....these were a great investment. $325 (Worn here)

Necklace:  Shop The Look  (I bought this necklace in 2010.  Finally found a dress to wear it with.) $16

Ring:  Rachel Zoe for QVC (Bought in 2010, this was another great find from a home shopping network.) $35

A HUGE thanks to my Las Vegas hair and makeup team.  They did a great job two years in a row.
Makeup: Aurora Nerone
Hair:  Candace Campbell

What's In My HBO Emmys Gift Bag?

You might have seen some of my photos from Emmys weekend which included an invite to the HBO after party.  I have written about the gifting strategy with celebrities quite a bit. (In fact, here's my recent article about the Presenters Lounge backstage at the Emmys for Starpulse.)  However, I haven't written much about the gift bags celebrities receive on the way out of big events and parties.  So, I thought it might be fun to take a peek at the gift bag I received from HBO.  If I were a guy, I might be disappointed, but for me, it was a happy day when I saw what was inside:

 An HBO cookie prepared by Wolfgang Puck.  I'm Gluten Free, so I didn't take a bite, however, my friend who was the lucky recipient of this cookie said it was "delicious".

A reusable HBO bag, Dry Bar shower cap, a gift certificate for a free scalp massage at Dry Bar, Peter Thomas Roth Instant Firm Eye (temporary eye tightener), Deborah Lippman nail polish in Purple Rain. 

If you live in a city with a Dry Bar, you know this was the greatest gift created by the hair gods.  For $35, you get a wash and blow out that's perfect for events, weddings, or that hot date when you just want your hair to look good.  Copycat blowout bars are popping up everywhere, so look for one in your city.  Trust me, it's so worth it.  (At the HBO party, Dry Bar was offering hair touch ups after a long Emmys night. Awesome!)

This might have been my favorite part of the gift bag, Stila Cosmetics.  Like Dry Bar, they are offering free touch ups at the party, so I was excited to see a few free gifts in my bag:  the Foliage Lip Glaze Trio in Delicate, Loganberry, and Fawn, Forever Your Curl Mascara, and the Smudge Crayon eye shadow and liner in Pink Violet plus a 20% off coupon and a makeup bag.  Score!  

If you haven't tried Stila Cosmetics before, it truly is a great brand with quality pigments and brushes.  It is pricier than a drugstore brand, but it is a good one to use when you are saving up for a splurge.  In fact, I used to represent the brand on QVC.  See my appearance on my host reel at the 2:41 mark.  

What do you think of my beauty haul?  Do you have any favorite products in the lot? Let me know in the comments below.

Dancing with the Stars fans, I will be co-hosting the after show tonight on AfterBuzz TV beginning at 7pm PST/10pm EST.  I hope you watch along with us live as we will have members of the cast each and every week!  It's going to be fun.

Mad Men Delayed

Photo courtesy of AMC.

It's very rare that I love a show to its core:  Sex and the City (SATC), Gilmore Girls (GG), and Mad Men. While I can watch SATC and GG in its entirety in reruns and from my DVD collection, I am left hanging from Season 4's finale with Mad Men. Yesterday, AMC and Matt Weiner announced that I have to wait until 2012. The rumor I heard from an inside source is that March 2012 is the earliest we will see the show.  So, they are telling me it's okay for fans to have to wait 12 months until a new episode is revealed and the answers to my questions are resolved.  Is anyone else worried about Don Draper?  He was in the middle of an alcoholic breakdown!  What about Peggy?  She's so strong, yet so secretly fragile.  And Sally Draper needs some guidance!  Heck, by the time they start filming Mad Men again, Kiernan Shipka (Sally) will have grown six inches. So, in the meantime, I am in mourning.  I guess I will Netflix Seasons 1-4 and milk every episode until Don Draper pours another drink and enters my living room with a swagger.

Here are a few Mad Men posts to tide you over until 2012....yeah, right.
1. Mad Men Withdrawal--you are going to suffering through a lot of this in 2011.

2. Mad Men Monday--some fun places you can find little Mad Men nuggets of information from QVC to my interview with Kiernan Shipka at the Saturn Awards.

3. Emmys, Part 2:  Photos with my favorite gal, Kiernan Shipka, at the Emmys gifting suite.  Maybe I will run into her again during the Kids' Choice Awards gifting suite?  I will keep you posted on any Mad Men sightings.

Now the big question is:  What are you going to do with your Sunday nights this summer/fall?

Mad Men Withdrawal

Is anyone else suffering from this terrible illness?  Mad Men Withdrawal?  I aimlessly channel surf around my 250 stations on my TV on Sunday nights hoping for a glimpse of Don Draper smoking a cigarette or Peggy pursing her lips because she has to fight the boys' club at the office again.  I am not sure I am patient enough to wait until Summer 2011 for a Mad Men return.  The Saturday Night Live episode with Jon Hamm last week did not satiate me at all because, well, SNL kind of sucks these days.

However, there is a little glimmer of hope for me today as The Daily What compiled the Best of Don Draper's favorite word, "What?" No one does it better than the Draper and the clip is pretty brilliant:



This certainly isn't my first obsessive Mad Men post.  Join me as I discuss all things Mad Men here from the Janie Bryant/QVC fashion collection to my love for Sal to my first interview with Kiernan Shipka AKA Sally Draper.  Or head on over to my Emmys week post for my second interview with Kiernan who is perhaps one of the most delightful child actors I have ever interviewed.  Good luck with your withdrawal symptoms.  I hope this gets you through the week until it all begins again.  Sigh.

For the Win: Physician's Endorsed Accessories

It's no secret that I was a network host for ShopNBC and the on-air rep for Stila Cometics on QVC earlier in the decade.  You may think I have put my home shopping days behind me, but I still keep up with all of the news on one of my favorite blogs, Home Shopping Queen.  While perusing the site one day, I happily stumbled upon a Twitter giveaway of Physician's Endorsed accessories. Given that it is summer and I am a befreckled bottle blonde, it is important for me to always cover up in the sun.  Even though I never win these things, I typed my 140 characters on Twitter to enter the contest.  Little did I know, I would be the winning entry!  After communicating with Queen Bea of Home Shopping Queen, I received my new hat and sunglasses in the mail.  Here are the long-awaited photos of my new glam summer look.  Not only are they perfect for my upcoming summer trip, the hat and sunglasses are even better than I ever imagined:  high quality, trendy, and ideal for the fair-haired, fair-skinned ladies of the world.  So, be sure to check out Physician's Endorsed for your summer accessories and stop by and say "hi" to Queen Bea for all the latest in home shopping scoop.   Thanks, QB and Physician's Endorsed!