Wednesday, May 1, 2013

{Not So} Wordless Wednesday: @GetGorgEvents - Getting Gorgeous 2013 in New York City! #GettingGorgeous



I have been a super busy butterfly so keeping up with my event recaps has been a challenge lately, but I wanted to be sure to share highlights with you on one of my favorite annual events, Getting Gorgeous ( on Twitter) hosted by Audrey McClellan ( on twitterand Vera Sweeney (@VeraSweeney on twitter), the event offers attendees the opportunity to truly interact with a wide variety of brands in a way that is fun, stress free and interactive, because the event is held in sessions, it allows for a much easier flow of traffic than  conferences afford, which makes it easy and pleasant to be able to have an interaction of more than a split second with the brands in attendance.

This year Getting Gorgeous was held in conjunction with CVS Beauty Club ( on Twitter) as the title sponsor and CVS really pulled out all the stops, like a BB and CC Cream skin match station, hair styling, manicures, and a 'spin the wheel' for fun prizes. I won my choice of hair appliance and I selected the infiniti Pro by Conair 1875 Watt Salon Performance AC Motor Styling Tool. Since I Blow Dry my hair pretty much daily, this is definitely going to come in handy.

Olay, CC Cream, Ascending Butterfly, Wilsons Leather
Ascending Butterfly holds up Olay Total Effects 7 in one CC Cream Tone Correcting  with Broad Spectrum SPF 15

I also took a moment to visit the BB/CC Cream Matching station. Unfortunately, the artist wasn't able to find a good match for me with the Garnier BB Cream (actually I am glad that I tried it that way, it would have been a lot more expensive for me try them out for myself and find out that I couldn't find a true shade match), but I did find a Shade Match with the Olay CC Cream. I love the Olay CC Cream but because I have a ton of Acne Scarring, this gives me a light coverage so I still need some kind of concealer. But I did learn that CC Cream focuses a bit more on concealing pigmentation, redness, fine lines and wrinkles and is a bit more nourishing for the skin. I was glad to try the matching station because I wouldn't have thought that the light to medium would have been my shade and it was. (Since I know that may change when I get more sun, I can still use this and then put a touch of bronzing powder over it to match my skin once I get more sun).

I also had the chance to get my hair styled by Tovah Avigail ( on Twitter), she blew out my hair which was great because I didn't have a chance to do it that morning before I left the house to catch my train into the city! Thanks Tovah!

The only thing I skipped from this station was the manicure because my mani from the Agadir International Argan Oil event was still going strong (as is my Henna Tattoo Butterfly from that event!).  I was tempted to wipe mine off and let them give me a darker color, but I didn't.

Bacardi Classic Cocktails Light, BACARDI Light Strawberry Daiquiri, BACARDI Light Mojito, BACARDI Light Pina Colada
Ascending Butterfly enjoying a Light Mojito from the BACARDÍ Classic Cocktails Light collection

BACARDI Classic Cocktails Light, BACARDI Light Strawberry Daiquiri
BACARDI Light Strawberry Daiquiri


After all that primping and pampering it was a good time for a cocktail break, and since Bacardi was the Beverage Sponsor this year, I was pretty excited about saying hello. As a Latina, specifically 'Puertoriqueña', I have had the chance to visit the Bacardi Rum Bottling Plant in Catano Puerto Rico (if you are visiting you MUST take that tour!), and I was surprised to get the opportunity to sample Bacardi Classic Cocktails Light which is part of their new Low Calorie, Ready-to-Serve Line. The new Light Strawberry Daiquiri joins the Light Mojito and Light Piña Colada, at less than 95 calories for a four ounce serving, and as it's ready to serve, you have no prep time, making this perfect for your upcoming summer gatherings! They were all delicious and refreshing!



While I didn't stop to take photos with the cute backsplash (there were a few folks with little ones around this station when I stopped off), I did enjoy learning about Dial Kids New Body + Hair Wash (@Dial on Twitter) and I of course had to grab a rubber ducky while I was there because let's face it, who can resist a Rubber Ducky right? I know my niece is going to nab the 'watery melon' scent but I'm tempted to keep 'Peachy Clean' for myself because it's such a perfect subtle summer scent!



I got a super cute purple scarf from Thyme Maternity, they offer stylish fashions for expecting and new moms! I'm not yet a mom but they have styles that I would rock and I'm not even a mom!

Check out this look:



Super cute right? BTW Butterflies, if you are not already following them on Facebook you may want to go do so now as they are having a Mother's Day Sweepstakes to win 1 of 2 Thyme Maternity Shopping Sprees Worth $500!

After visiting with Thyme I visited the Tide Station where I took a Tide #Selfie picture:

Tide, Downy, TideDownySelfie Photo Station during Getting Gorgeous 2013
My #TideDownySelfie says: 'I Rock My Wardrobe by always having the perfect accessories' I was rocking my Kooba Handbag that day!
There was a Tide Pod sample in our gift bags! As well as Downy Scent Booster and a Downy Infusions Fabric Softener in a scent that I have not yet tried, I will definitely share more about it once I try it out.



General Motors (@GM @DistrictDrive on twitter) was also in attendance and they were hosting a contest to see how fast someone could pack items into a vehicle for a chance to win a loaner car for one week.


New Balance also showed some of their newest styles (sadly none were in the bags!) but they did have a photo backsplash with Heidi Klum for attendees to take pictures. Like the Dial Booth there was a bit of a wait so I opted to keep going so I wouldn't miss anyone!

Then I got the chance to visit one of my favorite stations of the day, Foster Grant and try on Sunglasses! And I found a pair that are making me consider switching back to contacts so I can rock these all summer long:

Foster Grant, Foster Grant 1929, Sunglasses
Ascending Butterfly striking a pose with her Foster Grant Sunglasses!

I call this my 'men in black' photo, think they will add me on as an Agent in the next sequel? (The Black Suit I am wearing is by Igigi and so is the red blouse underneath!)

I think next year the Getting Gorgeous team is going to have to partner with a vacation brand, because this year the sponsor brands were all making us think of summer vacations! 

I got to get sunAWARE with the folks at Coolibar who make clothing and hats that have UVA/UVB Sun Protection built into the fibers of the clothes! I was lucky that there was no one there when I up to them so I was able to ham it up and take some fun photos with Elvis!

Ascending Butterfly sporting a Lei and hamming it up with Elvis at the Coolibar Station at Getting Gorgeous 2013 (see the rep from the GM booth behind me? He was watching me ham it up!)

Here is the long shot:

Ascending Butterfly sporting a Lei and hamming it up with Elvis at the Coolibar Station at Getting Gorgeous 2013 (Black Suit I am wearing and red shirt under it is by IGIGI)

I found some super cute swimsuit cover ups and fun summer fashions at the Coolibar station. Like Coolibar I take sun protection seriously, I lost my Great-Aunt who is also my Godmother to Skin Cancer, so I take Sun Protection very seriously! I love that not only can you protect yourself with sunscreen creams for your skin, you can also wear clothes with the sun protection built in!

Sunglasses and Summer Fashions definitely have awakened in me a deep 'wanderlust' so I'm thinking it's time to take a long weekend and go exploring!



There was also a very unique station called Love Jac Cards, they make photo mounted greeting cards, limited edition handcrafted cards, custom designed occasion cards and even a card of the month club. I'm a huge stationery buff, I always have been, and have had penpals since childhood, so I was super excited to meet Jac Cards and even gave them a suggestion to add some butterfly designs to their line, I'll definitely keep you all posted when that does happen! We got to select our own card and I can tell you it was a difficult choice because I love them all! My penpals have often told me I should design cards, and this brand certainly made me think more about that idea!


There were quite a few amazing Fashion Brands in attendance, all with different and specific niches, and the third Fashion brand I met was Thread & Butter who specialize in Plus Size Fashions! As a curvy girl, even at my absolute ideal weight I have always had curves, which I'm sure my fellow curvies will understand when I say the hardest thing to shop for is jeans and pants when you are curvy, I have a small waist but wider hips and jeans tend to gap at the back because they are too big from the waistband. And I don't know about you, but this curvy girl is sick of florals and un-sexy and un-trendy fashion, Thread & Butter is here to help address just that and I got to check out their trendy plus fashions first hand during Getting Gorgeous, and this is one of the reasons that Getting Gorgeous is a *MUST* attend event for me. I love meeting brands that are entirely new to me, as well as getting time with Brands that are already trusted household names. I invited Thread & Butter to come back and work with us directly so stay tuned, I hope to feature them again here soon!



Another brand that was new to me was Haute Tags, who make Jewelry that was born out of a love for Social Media and the connections made on sites like Twitter, you can have tags made with your twitter handle or a favorite hashtag. I'm thinking @Ascending1 would make a fantastic Haute Tag, don't you? You can have them custom made and they come with or without Swarovski Crystals. As for me, YES Please with Crystals! or Maybe I should have the hashtag '#TwitterPartyDJ' done, hmmm I wonder if you have can have the tag made double-sided? I'm going to have to look into that!




Stokke was at Getting Gorgeous 2013 and they showed their super cute Strollers (I love The Ultimate Connection Stroller) and the ones they brought for display were all in an aweseom stylish Plum color!) and it's so funny that for the past week while attending various events, I've spotted the Stokke Stroller's in the City. I love that since it raises up the child closer to you (and you can adjust the height) you are able to interact with your baby much easier.



And with Allergy Season upon us, I was happy to see Puffs in attendance, in fact my box is already on my night side table!


Bloggers Ascending Butterfly, Enjoying this Life, philZENdia, New York Chica, pose with Bella Andre Gift Bags provided by Harlequin
Left to Right: Tracy of Ascending Butterfly(I'm wearing an animal  print trenchcoat by Wilsons Leather and a black suit by IGIGI), Patty of Enjoying this Life, Diane of philZENdia and Lisa of New York Chica hold up Harlequin Bella Andre Gift Bags

And last but not least to continue along with the 'travel' vibe that was given off by this year's Getting Gorgeous, Harlequin gave us gift bags with their Romance Title: "Bella Andre The Look of Love", myself and some of my favorite fellow New York Bloggers posed for a photo with our gift bags! You can follow the author on Twitter @bellaandre.

As always, Getting Gorgeous delivered and then some, I got to re-connect with Brands I already love, and meet great brands that were new to me, but I'm sure will become new favorites! The only thing they need next year is a vacation company, because after loading up on great fashion gear, getting new sunglasses and great summer beach or poolside reading material (not to mention having a light summer cocktail by BACARDI) all I need now is the beach resort to haul all my new goodies to!

Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterfly! Bloggers post your link as a comment here so we can visit your Wordless Wednesday Posts too!

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FTC Disclosure: Getting Gorgeous is an invite only event, Gift Bags and Samples are provided at the event for editorial consideration, no monetary compensation has been received to share my event recap and all opinions are 100% my own.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for always telling us about all the new and fun poducts that can enhance our daily life and to learn about companies I might not know about. I'm going to check some of these out ,I want to check out thread and butter !

    ReplyDelete