Meet Me at the Top of the Standard

On Friday, I went to Le Bain @ The Standard... easily the best rooftop I have been to since being in New York. With a gorgeous view of the Hudson River, this ultra trendy rooftop bar is a favorite among celebrities and an ideal spot to come relax for a few hours during the afternoon. Making our way up what seemed like a service elevator to the penthouse of the hotel, we were greeted by a unique ambiance consisting of AstroTurf lawn and giant pink circular waterbeds. Along with the bar, there was a creperie serving delicious looking french crepes ranging from savory to sweet. The waitresses came around attentively in mesh tennis skirts, serving us the most refreshing grapefruit cocktails, which were especially nice on a hot summer day.With the reputation of being an extremely hard place to get into, walking up around 4 o'clock was fairly easy. This scenic view is definitely not something to be missed. Next time I want to check out the pool and hot tub!

Party @ John Varvatos

{Party Invitation}

Last night, I attended the lively John Varvatos Party on the Bowery. Upon entering this "store turned concert party" that is hosted the 1st Thursday of every month, the first thing I noticed was the plasma screen TV inviting guests to check in on Foursquare to receive gear from Moonshine (the clear corn whiskey that was being promoted at the event). I had never heard of Moonshine before that but right then and there I whipped out my phone and checked into the venue on Foursquare hoping to get some free loot. The first 20 people who checked in received a free T-shirt and I was number 15, yes!

{My free Moonshine T-Shirt!}

{Walls decorated with framed past concert posters}

We then made our way through the store and couldn't help but notice the interesting artwork on the walls. All the images on the walls were a collection of promotional posters for some of the past shows. In the Fall of 2008, John Varvatos started a Thursday Night Live Concert Series where he hosts new or rediscovered artists and bands to perform in his store on 315 Bowery which had previously been the space that hosted the seminal underground music club CBGB. According to their poster CBGB was "originally meant to be a small club to house Country, Bluegrass, and Blues music, CBGB grew into one of the most influential venues in the world, and a sanctuary for rock musicians everywhere. Most notably remembered as the birthplace of Punk Rock. CBGB opened their doors to any band that came through, offering them all they truly wanted, a chance to play. Some of the bands that called CBGB home were the Ramones, The Heartbreakers, Blondie..." After CBGB officially closed in 2006, John Varvatos took the initiative himself to pay homage to the club by hosting a monthly concert that replicated CBGB's true spirit at his own store.

After about half an hour of mingling, Julia Haltigan took center stage. This New York native's amazing voice instantly attract attention as she sang about everything from heartache and lust to motorcycles and tattoos. Her songs have an American pop feel to them which I loved right away. After the concert ended at 10, which they were very prompt at making sure everyone would be out by 10:05, we headed over to Phebes, another fun NYC hotspot where we spend many of our nights.

StyleOwner

Last night, another intern and I went to an event at Saks for StyleOwner. We had no idea what it was when we first got there, but after listening to a presentation and learning more about it I can't wait to sign up! After we entered the raffle and recieved our free ice cream sundae's complimentary of SnAKS, we were greeted by a StyleOwner representative who sat us down at a table and through an interactive presentation on her MacBook Air guided us through this ingenius new website launching in August.The idea behind StyleOwner is that anyone can create their own online boutique feauturing their favorite items from top name retailers. Combining the power of e-commerce and social networking, shoppers are able to open a customized online store, fill it with items, and earn money selling their favorite brands! Once your store is open for business, post it on your facebook, twitter, blog, and spread the word. Your friends can then shop through your hand-selected picks and order whatever they like. The benefit for you: earning 10% of whatever you sell! Also, if you shop at your own store, you automatically recieve 10% off your purchase. What a brilliant idea, counting down the days until I can open my finally open my own store!

Essie Hotspot

Walking into a nail salon always makes me stressed out… I can never, and I mean NEVER chose a nail polish color. After trying on over 15 different colors on every section of all of my nails, my hands finally end up looking like a rainbow. While sitting in the massage chair and receiving what seemed to be a millisecond foot massage I was still staring at 4 different colors I was deciding between. I was being so incredibly indecisive I chose my only last resort, “eeny, meeny, miny, moe” of course. There we go, I had finally landed my color… Essie “Bermuda Shorts”. After she applied it to my toes, it was clearly evident this was not the color that was going to be on my hands as well. This matte neon color looked dry and cheap, not at all what I had expected. Now it was back to the drawing board, time to pick a new color. After another solid 10 minutes of going back and forth between a dark shade and a light shade, I finally chose Essie “hotspot”. At first I wasn’t so thrilled with my choice, but after a few minutes the coral pink color started to grow on me. Fun and summery, this bright color would look great on the beaches in places like Miami or Malibu.

Now that I know what Essie's Hotspot looks like, here is a list of some of my NY hotspots that I am still hoping to get to before my summer ends:

• Beauty & Essex
• Lexicon
• Kiss and Fly
• Tenjune
• Please Don't Tell
• Lavo
• TAO
• Le Bain

Along with many others..... What are you NYC hotspots?

Allure Promo Event!

The Allure Promotional Department and Hanes Bali are teaming up for an event at Macy's this Thursday! Who ever is in New York should definitely make it to Herald Square at 5pm Aug. 4th :)

YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund Panel

On Thursday, I attended the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund Panel at NYU’s Gallatin School. Some of New York's brightest interns came together to listen to a panel discussion featuring Amy Levin (of College Fashionista), Calvin Klein’s Malcolm Carfrae, IMG Models’ Jeni Rose, Annabel Tollman (stylist and journalist) , and Nary Manivong and Ally Hilfiger (the founders of NAHM). From Nary Manivong's brave story about growing up homeless and taking the bold leap of moving out to NY with only $200 in his pocket to Amy Levin's success story about how her own personal blog turned into her now flourishing company, every individual definitely had a unique story to share. Commenting about their interesting experiences in the fashion industry and throughout life in general, I can absolutely say that I left with some helpful advice.

Top things I learned:

• Don't get too caught up in what everyone else is going, focus on your own path
• Everyone's career peeks and different times so don't get frustrated because success is based on hard work and determination
• It's important to stay in contact with those you meet, whether it be by sending them a quick email now and then or a phone call, don't lose touch
• Never underestimate the power of a hand-written letter
•  Always be humble, grateful, prepared and willing to take on any challenge

As the inspirational panel came to a close, I approached College Fashionista's Amy Levin and asked her for advice with my own blog. This young blonde entrepeneur wearing an adorable Chanel bag was more than overjoyed to give me tips and even volunteered to speak with me over the phone! I would also love to be a style guru for her website. Our call is set for today and I can't wait to talk to her! If anyone has questions you want me to ask her, please let me know :)

Party Nails

Since 1981, essie has been America's nail salon expert. With over 300 unique colors, it is quite apparent that there is an abundance of different color options to chose from for every occasion. At an Allure meeting the other day, Spa Chicks, a pop-up marketing mobile spa company, did an excellent job with bringing in top essie colors and giving mini-manicures. At first, the lady kindly suggested that I should pick the metallic gold color but after careful observation of my skin tone, she recommended that I go with the silver "loophole". I'm glad I took her advice because this molten chrome finish really shines and matches with pretty much anything. It clearly makes a statement without being too flashy for work and other proffesional occasions.


Although the silver does look nice on it's own, I have always prefered my nails with some glitter and sparkle. After a recent Sephora trip when they were testing out their new line of nail glitter by OPI, I decided to purchase the gunmetal glitter pot. Therefore, adding this to my plain silver polish on just one nail on each hand I knew would make for some great "party nails".

{Sephora nail by OPI glitter pot; Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat}

{My nails before with the 2 coats of Essie's "loophole"}

{apply top coat over the whole nail}

{turn over your finger dipping your whole nail into the glitter pot}

{apply top coat one more time giving the glitter some extra hold and shine}

{End result}