The newest member to the Gilt family, Gilt Taste launched today, much to the excitement of foodies across the nation. Gilt Taste offers members the opportunity to purchase the highest quality products along with providing authentic recipes (like spiced Porchini mushroom salt) and videos by chefs, artisans and farmers that will have even the most diehard anti-foodie's mouth watering.
Let's face it - there's nothing more fierce than a bold combo of black and gold to add polish to any outfit,day or night. We're not just talking about our jewelry, however - now you can let your inner five-year-old scream for joy while still sporting an edgy, big-girl manicure by coating black nails with a gold, glitter-y topcoat. Deborah Lippman (as seen above) and Sephora by O.P.I both make pretty sweet gold glitter coats for the digits that'll make your fresh coat of nail paint last for days. The end result is a gold-flecked, pyrite-y finish, and when layered on top of black creates an edgy, yet still wearable, manicure that'll take you from bleak, to chic.
The San Francisco International Film Festival has been hosting swanky, sexy, chic events all week in celebration of the current generation’s version of folklore story telling: cinema. From indie documentary films, to narratives about having a gay father who comes out at age 75, the SF International Film Festival embraces a wide variety of films, actors and actresses alike, and caters to a diverse audience. This year’s opening night was hosted at the Castro Theatre, and featured a screening of the Mike Mill’s film “Beginners” last Thursday. After honoring Zoe Saldana and Clifton Collins Jr. at the Midnight Awards last Saturday, the SF International Film Festival will continue the festivities by honoring Terence Stamp with the Peter J. Owens Award. Having starred in 74 films over his 50 year-long career, Terence Stamp shows a huge range in the characters he is able to portray. Come join in the high-class, ritzy merriment on Friday April 29, at the historic, architecturally-gorgeous Castro Theatre to watch clips from some of Stamp’s most note-worthy performances, and listen to a Q&A session about his extensive acting career. This event will set you back a mere $25, and will give you an opportunity to dress up, and listen to a ground-breaking actor discuss the peaks and lulls of his cinematic career. The SFIFF will continue to host events and screen films until the 5th of May.
For information on An Evening with Terence Stamp click here: fest11.sffs.org/awards/terence_stamp.php
For more information on the SFIFF click here: www.sffs.org/sf-intl-film-festival.aspx
Written by: Megan Youngblood
Potholes, the dreaded archenemy of the well-heeled, are at best a nuisance, and at worst a heel-breaker. Artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera decided these evil-looking imperfections needed some creative attention. Herrera took to the streets of Paris to fill in ankle-spraining potholes with yards of cheerfully colorful braided fabric. San Francisco next please!
Currently Obsessing Over: Armani's Killer Eyeshadows
Use them as a base or on their own, Armani's Eyes To Kill cream-powder hybrid shadows are the perfect blend of color, longevity, and easy application. Each shadow has a base color, paired with a secondary duo-chrome color which brings out the original color. These shadows can be used as all over the lid for a heavy dose of rich, creaseless, fadeless color, or used in milder doses as a liner. Not to mention, they come in an array of soft (or sultry) colors to play with. It's official, we're in love!
Written by: Keira Rowland
With the entire young, hip art scene seeming to be caught in a frenzy of street art and satirical pop-culture references to political figures (namely: Obama), Erin Riley provides a break in the monotony by creating something socially relevant, yet completely unique.
Although drunk and embarrassing Facebook photos are an aspect of modern life that all young people have had to face at one point or another (and most likely detag), Riley takes the photographs everyone hopes will never resurface and turns them into art using a medium that the spray-paint-multi-media-obsessed art scene seems to have ignored entirely: weaving tapestries. Hickies, girl-on-girl make out sessions, kegs, boobs, and bongs all serve as subject matter for Riley’s tapestries, amounting to one of the most distinctive and noteworthy artistic interpretations of mass-media and the repercussions that inter-connectivity combined with too much alcohol can have on the modern youth.
With evident and eclectic influences, ranging from Vice Magazine-style pictures and culture to traditional tapestry-weaving, Riley provides the modern art scene with a breath of fresh air through her creative integration of these two very different sources of inspiration, and serves as a reminder of what can be created with art by taking a traditional and historic medium and using it on a very modern and current subject matter.
Looking to get out of your “Lincoln Park After Dark” chain manicures in time for summer, but the idea of "Tangerine Dream" all over your digits just isn’t calling your name? Try an unsuspectingly chic pop of something edgy, like lilac or cobalt (word on the street is that OPI is coming out with 3 blue shatter nail polishes in turquoise, primary blue, and navy blue - nevertheless, we die). Don’t worry, these are not the blues from the early 80’s coming back to haunt you, nor is it Lady Gaga’s daringly lavender lip combo demanding that you wear it to your next gala function. Sheer lilac on the lips can act like a cooler version of baby pink on bare lips, and if worn on the nails is not only spring-friendly, but also very work-appropriate. Looking to rev up your look for your bi-weekly bar-hopping extravaganzas? Take your daytime look into the night with a swipe of rich blue liquid liner (or pencil for the not-so-liquid-savvy) and a few more coats of your favorite black mascara. Can’t bear the idea of your boss seeing you with Electric Blue finger nails? Try the vibrant hue on your toes first – there’s nothing hotter for summer than a flash of the perfect shade of cerulean barely peaking through the straps of black stilettos.
Written by: Keira Rowland
Reinvigorate your taste buds at the Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation gala on Thursday, April 7th (tomorrow kids). Set against the backdrop of the swanky Bentley Reserve, this event will feature some of the Bay Area’s top dining and cocktail establishments. Over 20 restaurants will serve savory dishes paired with decadent desserts, all of which will be washed down with glasses of top wineries, breweries, and mixologists. For a complete list of restaurants and other culinary goodness click here
In addition to this smorgasbord of deliciousness, every dollar – of ticket sales will go towards Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry local Bay Area efforts.
Looking for a way to brighten up those peepers? Or perhaps you're just a self-proclaimed mascara-fiend in search of the next big thing...either way, you're in luck. Not only were tarantula-esque lashes spotted on the runways for Fall 2011, pops of colored mascara were also seen accenting simple winged liner and bold lips for an unexpectedly modern play on color. When it comes to volume this season, bigger is better - try combing a lash primer through bare lashes before attacking them with your first coat of mascara and you'll immediately see a difference in length and definition. Try building one, two, even three layers to achieve the season's wide-eyed look. Eager to try that blue mascara, but afraid that a 12-year-old's going to raid your makeup bag? Have no fear. There are a wide array of colors to choose from this season to compliment every eye color and taste out there, from screaming electric blues, to deep forest greens, to subdued, sophisticated plums...guaranteed, there's a shade, and thickness, for everyone.
Written by: Keira Rowland
On Friday March 4th, Rayko's 4th Annual Toy Camera Show opened, featuring only images created with plastic cameras, ranging from Holgas to Golden Half Frames (No Photoshop or iPhone app photographers need apply). Located in the heart of the SOMA district, Rayko is a safe haven for all photographers who clench their fists at the phrase just photoshop it. They have a traditional black-and-white darkroom where you can rent lab time (as well as a digital lab, but we'll overlook that for the time being), and even a retro photo booth, where your strip of black and white photographs are actually sent through chemicals before being ejected, not just digitally printed (making it authentically retro). Whether you are a photo-enthusiast or someone looking for some creative inspiration, head over to Rayko to be reminded that great images don't necessarily come from expensive computer programs or iPhones, but can be created with a plastic camera and roll of film. The show will be on display until April 30th, 2011.
Written by: Megan Youngblood
Within the past year, tweezers have been getting a major facelift in the cuteness department. Gone are the days where stainless steel and silver were our only options - now, there's a tweezer design to fit anyone's personality ranging from animal print, floral patterns, polka dots to little pink and black Misfit skulls. With Tweezerman partnering up with labels like Benefit and Betsey Johnson, there's no reason not to consider the art of tweezing a fashionable and enjoyable experience.
You can find these little bad boys online at Sephora.comWritten by: Keira Rowland
If you missed the Desigual launch party, we're sorry. For those of you that attended, you might remember (depending on how many glasses of sangria you had) how awesome it was. Cue the kaleidoscopic color mind-trip and marching band flashbacks. With a tapas spread to sate after-work munchies paired with tasty libations, it was no wonder the colorful crowd was in high spirits.
The Barcelona-based fashion brand teamed up with 944 and Om Records to put together a wild show featuring Chuck Love - a DJ who sings, plays guitar, flute, horn and keyboard. Amazing? Uh, yes!
With the sangria-soaked success of the launch party, Desigual is again planning to party in San Francisco. Join 944 and the Desigual team for the new Friends & Fam party next week on Friday, March 11th. The Spring/Summer collection is in- and as a 944 insider you get a special discount on new items. Not in the shopping mood, that's cool, there will be plenty of cocktails, bites and music to start the weekend off in Desigual style.
For a refresher, check out this video from the launch party.
P.S. As some of you may know, Desigual had an infamous Undie party in NYC last fall, which will be coming to San Francisco this summer. Just a little curious? Check out the video below..
I love sunnies and for those Bay Area residents who share the same passion for shades, Palo Alto's newest hotspot Solstice is a must. Opening today in the Stanford Shopping Center, Solstice is the destination for all the nightcrawlers who need a little more protection than most from sun's evil eye. Specializing in luxury sunglasses, Solstice carries designers such as Alexander McQueen, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. Bring on the sun!
When it comes to makeup application, especially around the mouth and under the eyes, most of us are all after the same thing that instant, crease-free, blurred-to-perfection look. Luckily, the people of Clarins have listened to our cries of frustration and have come out with a new Instant Smooth Perfecting Concentrate. With its user-friendly, wand-like packaging, Clarins Instant Smooth is a high-precision corrector engineered to produce both short and long term results, immediately smoothing away fine lines and wrinkles while giving the skin a heavy dose of line-correcting peptides and Acacia Micro-Pearls to help repair age-related skin damage. Thanks to Clarins, the Fountain of Youth now comes in pen-form. (Available in April in select department stores for $32) Written by: Keira Rowland
It may still be February, but that's no excuse to not get prepped for the upcoming summer weather by sporting a beautiful, just-got-back-from-Cancun bronze glow.The look should be carried out not just on the cheeks and body, but throughout the entire face - rocking a soft, bronze eye and matching lip is an easy, fool-proof way to capture that beach-y, 70's, retro vibe without a whole lot of prep time. Don't forget to highlight legs, arms and dcollet with a "glow-y", not "shimmer-y", highlighting lotion and you, my friend, are ready for the beach, Vegas, or a night on the town. With an array of bronzing products flooding the beauty market, we have hand-picked favorites (and obsessions) to help get you started.
Written by: Keira Rowland
