A Virgin's Guide

Fall Into Fitness Event

2007-11-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Virgins joined A-list personal trainer and outdoor fitness expert, Aimee Carpenter, for an exclusive fitness and beauty event at the L'Oreal Paris store at the Beverly Center. Guests enjoyed complimentary makeovers from the always amazing L'Oreal artists, drinks, and healthy fare.

A few lucky ladies won outdoor workout sessions with Aimee, fashionable fitness gear from Lulu Lemon, and everyone walked away with a fabulous gift bag. For more photos from the event, check out the Virgin's Guide website gallery.

Fall Into Fitness

2007-10-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Calling all Los Angeles Virgins!

Come out and join us next Monday, October 29th from 7-9 for our Virgin's Guide Fall Into Fitness event at the L'Oreal Paris store in Beverly Center. Our special guest is celeb personal trainer and outdoor workout guru, Aimee Carpenter, who trains the likes of America Ferrara, Amanda Bynes, and Maria Bello, and has been featured in Marie Claire, and Self magazine.

Enter to win outdoor workout sessions with Aimee, as well as a grab bag of gifts from our promo partner, Lulu Lemon. Goodie bags, more fitness giveaways, free makeup, workout friendly makeovers, drinks, snacks, and more!

Vacation: All I Ever Wanted

2007-07-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Still wondering what to do on your summer vacation? We have it on good authority that the summer of 2007 is the season to unleash your inner girl.

According to our Great Outdoors Go-To Girl Bev Sanders, “every woman has an inner-girl” who’s itching to break free of our complicated, deadline-driven, CrackBerry lives and relive the time when a perfect day consisted of nothing more than going outside to play.

And Bev outta know a thing or two about play. Co-founder and co-owner of Avalanche Snowboards, Bev was an early boarding pioneer making it her mission to bring more women into the male-dominated sport. After leaving the boarding biz, Bev went on an all-girl surfing trip. Taking on the physical challenge while hangin’ with a group of gals in a relaxing and non-competitive environment, she was again inspired to do her part to get more women up off their beach towels and onto surfboards.

In 1997 Bev founded Las Olas “surf safaris” for women. With two locations South of the Border – Las Olas in Central Mexico, and Las Olas Baja on the Baja California Peninsula, Bev calls Las Olas a “reverse finishing school” where she and her team strive to “make girls out of women.”

For more ‘Surf Tips for Virgins’ check out the Great Outdoors Chapter of A Virgin’s Guide to Everything!

Virgins Get Smart About Art

2007-06-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

Venice, Schmenice! The "Smart Art Virgins" of Los Angeles were out in full force at the Beverly Center last Wednesday, June 13th for our L'Oreal Get Smart About Art party. Thanks to our friends at L'Oreal Paris, who gave us free reign to turn their beauty emporium into an art gallery for a two-hour fete featuring works by British pop artist, Mandy Smart.

Local Go-To Girl, Laura Satterfield, co-owner of South La Brea gallery, is the "broad" who advises philanthropist Eli Broad on how to manage his art collection. She tipped off a crowd of 80 art lovers on how to take the plunge into the world of collecting -- even without a billionaire's bank balance!

Mandy's fashion-inspired canvasses were displayed around the store throughout the evening. You can check them out at MandySmart.com. If you see something that inspires, drop her a line, and tell her Virgin's Guide sent you!

Thanks to event sponsors, LACMA and MOCA/The MOCA Contemporaries, and congratulations to our raffle winners, who took home various Virgin's Guide prize packs featuring LACMA tickets and a membership to MOCA Contemporaries.

Virgins on Tour Take 2: Wine & Chocolate in Chicago

2007-06-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

Here’s a special shout-out to our Spirits & Sustenance Go-To Girl, Linsey Herman, hostess with the most-est of our Chicago wine & chocolate party at the Conrad Hotel.

What a packed house! Folks from Chicago Yelp showed up, Orbitz sent three of their finest and a few women even caught a train from Kalamazoo, MI just to attend!

A former Four Seasons Pastry Chef, and a buyer for Whole Foods, we always check in with Linsey at her Cake and Commerce blog for her latest musings on cooking, food trends, roommates, family, and every once and a while an amuse bouche on Linsey’s la vie d’amour.

Bookmark it for our Chi-town Go-To Girl’s always fresh perspective on the edible world.

Have a Very Cherry Summer

2007-05-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day has come and gone, and summer is officially here.

As always, we’re scouting out our seasonal cherry picks, and here are a couple of must-haves:
Danica’s cherry print make-up case is actually roomy enough to stash all of our potions and lotions with space to spare.

We picked ours at one of our favorite LA boutiques – Pickett Fences on Larchmont.

At Urban Outfitters we spied this retro one-piece. You’ll be channeling 50’s glam by the pool or at the shore in this cute suit with square neckline and boy short bottoms.

Also available at Now Designs. Call 1.866.253.9001 for stores

Virgins on Tour: Wine & Chocolate in San Fran and Atlanta

2007-05-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Demi-secs, and zinfandels, and muscats, oh my!

We’re two-thirds of the way through our nationwide wine and chocolate tasting tour (hiccup!), and feeling none the worse for wear.

Dove Chocolate so graciously afforded us the privilege of meeting up with fellow Virgins in the oh-so-swank Spanish Suite of San Francisco’s Clift Hotel, where we munched on smoked salmon canapés, swilled Toad Hollow wines, and enjoyed the view from the terrace on an atypically balmy evening.

Local Go-To Girl Tiffany Bass Bukow (aka Ms. Money) was our special guest, and sommelier Julee Resendez wow-ed the crowd with her explanation of how to pair bubblies, reds, and cocktails with dark chocolate.

In Atlanta, on the roof terrace at the Glenn Hotel, we donned sunglasses and SPF 20 to meet and greet alongside local Go-To Girl, Sandra Brown.

Guests who joined us to enjoy the skyline view included the Atlanta Business Journal’s Rina Cook, Atlanta Journal & Constitution’s Michelle Miller, and Turner Broadcasting’s Lea Ann Leming.

Sources say that the Pear vodka cocktail was the top tipple of the evening for our ladies in the ATL.

Virgin’s Guide Wine & Chocolate Tasting Takeaway: Don’t chew the chocolate! Let it dissolve in your mouth and commingle with the flavor of your chosen libation.

Top Wine & Chocolate Tips from the Spirits & Sustenance Chapter of A Virgin’s Guide to Everything:

2007-05-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Wine-Tasting Moves

The swirl. With the glass on the table, grasp the stem as if it were a pencil. Move the glass as if you were writing.

The sniff. Bring the glass to your face. Stick your nose in the glass. Sniff hard, with your mouth closed, like you’re vacuuming money through your nose.

The sip & swish. Follow the sniff with a big gulp, enough to fill your mouth. Swish it around as if it were mouthwash.

The lines. Useful phrases for when you’re stumped. “What a lovely finish.” (Translation: nice aftertaste.) “Beautifully balanced.” (Translation: you like it.) Yum (In a pinch, works very well.)

Storing and Serving Chocolate

Keep it in its box. Cover the box in plastic wrap, or put it in a plastic bag.

Store it in the warmest section of your refrigerator, or in a cool place.

Serve it at below room temperature, at 62° to 65° degrees F.

Most chocolates keep for two to three weeks. Those filled with liqueur can last up to six months.

Want more? Click here to buy the book.

Spring Break Beauty Party

2007-05-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tricia Nelson, our LA-based Travel Go-To Girl, for hosting our Spring Break Beauty Party at the Beverly Hills L’Oreal Paris store.

Guest make-up artist Gail Scher joined us for an evening of drinks, hors d’oeuvres, travel beauty tips and makeovers as well as giveaways and goodies from Jana Feifer’s Love Luggage Joint, Flight 001, and Hello Kitty.

And thanks to our pals at Orbitz, DrPhil.com web-mistress Gabrielle Pascoe won a round-trip ticket to a destination of her choice.

Here are a couple of photos from the event. For more, visit our photo gallery.

Virgin's Guide Travel Go-To Girl Tricia Nelson & Shelley Slack

April Kobayashi checks out her new look

Celebrity makeup artist Gail Scher advises an event guest