Awards season is an exciting time for celebrities. In addition to the actual ceremonies, they attend numerous parties and gifting suites. Gifting suites are virtual pop-up stores where celebrities are able to choose from complimentary products and services. Most of the products and services are new and have barely hit stores yet. Many companies are hoping celebrities will like their brand enough to help promote it through wearing and/or endorsing the products and services.
Runway Magazine got an inside look at some of Hollywood’s hottest gifting lounges in honor of the MTV Movie Awards and we chose to highlight our favorite trends for you:
First we visited The GBK Gift Lounge. This was a wonderful event complete with a live band, a DJ, and a variety of food and beverages. One beverage that stood out for us was Hawaii Waialua Soda Works: http://www.waialuasodaworks.com/. The tasty gourmet soda comes in flavors such as: passion fruit, pineapple, and vanilla cream. The soda can be purchased online or at Whole Foods Markets and Cost Plus World Market.
As we moved through the gifting lounge, we spotted Nano Dots http://www.thenanodots.com/welcome : a product that is sure to satisfy both geeks and fashionistas. As the scientists at Nano Magnetics say “Nano dots are kick-ass, take-no-prisoners, juiced-up super magnets.” The magnets can be shaped and formed any way your imagination will allow. They also function as jewelry, and are coated in 20kt gold. Our Director of Public Relations cannot put this product down.
We were excited to learn that Hard Candy Cosmetics: http://www.hardcandy.com/ is now exclusively available at Wal-Mart where their affordable, high-quality products are all priced under $10.00. Some of the products include: Glossaholic—a lip gloss lover’s dream with large application brushes, sequins and lovely scents; Lash Ink—a 4 day lash stain, and Matte Top Coat—which gives any nail polish a matte finish.
Other highlights of the GBK Gift Lounge were: Pin-Up Girl fashions: www.pinupgirlclothing.com featuring wonderful vintage dresses, shoes and jewelry for women. A popular giveaway item for the company was their “Bitches Get Stitches” necklace. Another notable brand at the lounge was: Admit To Bitter: www.admittobitter.com.–featuring one-of-a-kind fashion, jewelry, accessories and music all created by New York-area artists. Last but not least, move over cupcakes, the newest trend in sweet treats is cake pops. We spotted Dotpops Bakery Cake Pops: www.eatdotpops.com. With a variety of custom flavors made to order, cake pops are just as good as cupcakes and easier to eat.
After eating our weight in food, we moved on to the The Secret Room Gifting Lounge. Another great event packed with celebrities. We spotted interesting and very unique products at this lounge. The flip flop spa: http://www.flipflopspa.com/ caught our attention immediately. Basically the stylish flip flops exfoliate your feet while you’re walking. Complete with interchangeable pads, foot spray, and essential oil, you’ll have brand new, refreshed feet after a couple of wears of the sandals.
In keeping with the cake pop trend, we spotted Veronica’s Treats: www.veronicastreats.com –whose custom cake pops were shaped like MTV Movie Awards trophies in honor of the occasion. Not short on beauty products, hair accessories, make-up and more, other notable products at The Secret Room Lounge included: One-A-Day Vitamins featuring FloraGlo Lutein: www.healthyhead2toe.com—a brand new product for women including FloraGlo Lutein—which promotes healthy vision and skin support.
Also featured at the lounge were: Seychelles Shoes: www.seychellesfootwear.com –which showcased wonderful designs for summer and Rev 7 www.rev7gum.com–the world’s first biodegradable, eco-friendly gum.
We ended the day exhausted, yet excited to have seen a preview of some of the latest trends in products to hit the market.