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Notes on Demi - beauty trend or Pop Fiction?

When I saw these photos of Demi Moore at the premiere of Flawless the other night I was amazed.

She turns 46 this year and  really looks fabulous-with her shiny long hair set against a gorgeous fringed tweed and lambskin Chanel coat.  And even better, she seems really happy.  I think that Ashton is on to something here!

I thought maybe Demi was working a little Bo, a good amount of exercise and yoga, and had some great face care products on her shelf (she is the face of Helena Rubinstein after all).  And maybe she even does a juice fast here and there! 

Then I saw the David Letterman interview. 

Wow, I've been following beauty trends with a keen interest for (err...a really long time now) and even I was startled by Demi's leech story.

Not only did Demi say that she lay on a bed in "someone's house" in Austria and let someone put a leech into her belly button, and body areas further south, but she took a turpentine bath first!  And wants to go back for more!

Now whether Demi's just pulling our leg here is anyone's guess - she's certainly gotten great press coverage with this little story - watch for yourself below and decide.  Something about the way she tells it makes me wonder if this one wasn't conjured up with a little help from Ashton...perhaps as a segment for Kutcher's new show Pop Fiction?   (as was Avril Lavigne's diaper bag buying spree a few weeks back)   

Hire a publicist - yes! Hire your own paparazzi? Hummm...

Ever look at those paparazzi shots of Britney and Paris and say "hey I'd love it if someone was following me around documenting my every move!"?

Well as the Today Show reports, now you can!  And to be perfectly honest, most of us know that while many of those "surprise" paparazzi shots we see in the magazines may look candid, many are very much staged. 

Orbit Baby and Petunia Pickle Bottom on Access Hollywood

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry are probably the most beautiful parents in the world - and little Nahla Ariela Aubry is certain to be a knockout too. 

Access Hollywood did a cute piece on the couple's baby nursery and other gear last night.  Interviewing Pia Lindstrom from LA baby boutique Nomi, the story detailed the cribs and dressers the couple picked out for their homes. 

When it came to tooling little Nahla around, Pia showed the Men's Scout Bag from our client Petunia's fantastic collection for men that Gabriel Aubry picked out.  The bag has all the things that parents need to take babies out, as well as convenient pockets and niches for laptop, cell phone, iPod and all the other goodies and gadgets guys like.

And for a stroller and car seat, our client Orbit Baby was front and center.  Halle mentioned she wanted one a few months back at a press conference with the New York Daily News, and of course we made sure she had one.

The Orbit System is a great pick for the couple since it was designed specifically to be comfortable for both men and women.  The telescoping handles adjust for taller people, and the design was chosen specifically to look great in today's automobiles.  The round SmartHub the system is based on makes it easy to safely place the baby in the car (carrier and all) from any angle, then when Halle and Aubrey have arrived at their destination, they can quickly and easily set the stroller base up and place the baby carrier on the stroller's SmartHub base when they're ready to go for a stroll. 

Much has been made of the clever built in Paparazzi Shield that comes with the Orbit Infant System, but celebs tell us that equally important to them is the way the system swivels so easily when needed.  So when Halle and Aubrey go to a restaurant with Nahla, they can very simply turn the carrier away from windows (and cameras) when they need to.

To watch the video, visit the Access Hollywood site by clicking here.

Entertainment Tonight features Orbit Baby, Petunia Pickle Bottom, and Sakura Bloom!

In a really fabulous package that aired Saturday March 8, 2008 - Entertainment Tonight's Thea Andrews profiled some of the hottest celeb parent gear in Hollywood.

Included in the piece: 

Our client, Orbit Baby's Infant System - Thea described the celebrities who use the system and Pia Lindstrom from Nomi demonstrated the system's many attributes.

Our client, Petunia Pickle Bottom's fabulous Scout Bag - a sturdy and stunning men's diaper bag that many celeb parents are carrying.  Also Petunia's Cake Cameo Clutch was shown, with it's very cool diaper changing station, wipey case, and storage, all in a compact, 4 1b clutch. 

The piece also showed our client Sakura Bloom's gorgeous silk baby sling, which Pia from Nomi modeled (with a little bear in tow where the baby would be).

We're getting a clip, so check back soon to see the whole exciting package!!   

Orbit Baby on The Today Show

Our client Orbit Baby's OIS (Orbit Infant System) was included in a segment this morning about best baby gear.  Today Show correspondent, and high tech mom, Cat Schwartz profiled a number of products, the OIS among them.  Each product was picked for the segment because they help parents take care of their babies in new and interesting ways.  Giada De Laurentiis, who has an Orbit ready to go when she has her little bundle in a few weeks, interviewed Cat. 

Petunia's "Juno Bag" featured in Chicago Tribune

Perhaps you saw our nifty post a few weeks back about our client Petunia Pickle Bottom's Tutu Roll bag playing supporting diaper bag in the film Juno. 

Over the weekend the Chicago Tribune picked up the story and ran it in their Sunday "Q" lifestyle section over the weekend. 

Writer Kelly Haramis describes the Tutu Roll's performance as such:

"Petunia Pickle Bottom's Tutu Roll Boxy Backpack diaper bag made a cameo appearance in "Juno." Although it only stayed on-screen for a moment, Q thinks it will have star, er, staying power at playdates and Mommy & Me classes."

We think Petunia's Tutu Roll may be remembered a bit more fondly than Ellen Page's Red Carpet dress.

mid-life chocohologie

I've been musing over this NYT's Modern Love essay for the past couple days.

The article, entitled "A Valley of Misery between peaks of Joy" discusses the happiness arc of people around the world.

To paraphrase the article:

"...researchers had compiled data on two million people from around the world and determined that the average earthling’s happiness chart was in the shape of a U, with the trough representing the decades-long downer of middle age and the narrow tips being twin emotional highs of youth and old age.......when it comes to tales from my fellow mid-lifers, I most often find myself reading about regret and claustrophobia, fantasies surreptitiously indulged, old flames cyberstalked...."

Come on now, really?  My Mother always told me that life begins at 40, but I believe it doesn't get going these days till 50.  Personally, my 20's were a continuous scramble to come up with rent money while trying to get through college, internships, and an insatiable appetite for going to clubs.  (My excuse is the scientific fact that human brains aren't fully developed until late 20's). That was no happiness peak for me...

So who are these miserable mid-lifers?  Oh, naturally, the ones trapped in bad, or at least boring, marriages the article goes on.  Which leads me to a point I'd like to make, tomorrow being Valentine's Day and all.   When the temptation to stay in a bad relationship gnaws at you, with the rationale that being alone on Valentine's Day is somehow worse than being with someone that's really not right for you, shake yourself out of it.  Think of the day as a celebration of avoiding regret and claustrophobia....

A lovely box of chocolates from the world famous Knipschildt Chocolatier and a copy of the visually indulgent Marie Antoinette is a great way to enjoy V-day, with or without a significant other. 

BTW, this Fritz Knipschildt Chocolatier fellow makes his chocolates much as they do in the film Chocolat, (another great V-day film) with spices, ginger, chile peppers, and if you want to spend the big bucks, real truffles (those are a $250 a bite treat that topped Forbes most expensive chocolate list recently).

His little works of art can be found at Dean & Deluca, Whole Foods, Balducci's and online.

Knipschildt also operates Chocopologie, a chocolate cafe (!!!!) and retail store in Norwalk, Connecticut.  Are you serious???  Sounds like my new second home and a place that will be very busy tomorrow.

BTW - the New York Times Modern Love is hosting a college essay contest that looks exciting.  All you 20 something kids working your way through your first happiness peak should get your 2000 words in before your decades long mid-life crisis sets in. 

Rachael Ray checks out Cake from Petunia Pickle Bottom

It's detailed and gorgeous - just the thing that a well known chef would love.  And of course she did. 

The Cake Society Satchel in Midnight Blackberry was a big hit when it appeared on the Rachael Ray Show last week.  Our client Petunia Pickle Bottom's founder DeNai Jones worked long and hard to create a collection that would be an exquisite accent for moms.

The Cake bag was part of a segment about getting ready for baby featuring Los Angeles' own Baby Planners Ellie Miller and Melissa Gould.

Both Rachael and the audience loved the bag for it's rich brocade fabric, intricate detail, and fantastic ability to morph from hobo to handbag to backpack.  The great built in changing station and wipie case was a big hit too. 

Watch a clip of the show