Over the weekend, Creeds Collective, an influencer community centered around ethical, eco-friendly and charitable fashion and beauty brands invited me to their Summer of Creeds event on Long Island. It was great to get out of the city and spend a day at a fabulous Long Beach beach house connecting with fellow bloggers and experiencing the amazing things sustainable brands are doing. Together we’re making the fashion and beauty industries even more beautiful for the next generation. Here’s what went down!
Sitting poolside in a beautiful pink dress by NYC Designer T.Tandon
Organic summer cocktails
Digging the ocean view in T.Tandon by Tina Tandon
Obsessed with this summer manicure by PH7 Nail Couture, a sustainable salon in Brooklyn that uses only natural polishes. The violet color is by RGB Cosmetics and the sparkles are Deborah Lippmann.
I fell in love with these custom soy candles by Get Wickd. I need one now! You can send them your own bottles to make into candles and they also recycle bottles from restaurants and turn them into beautiful candles.
If you have a special bottle you drank out of at your wedding, birthday or other celebration Get Wickd can turn it into an amazing candle for your home. This is also a great way to surprise a friend after partying with them. Can you see why I’m obsessed?
I dream of leading a relaxed tropical life filled with sand, sun and beachside bliss. Everyday would be a vacation day and a colorful beach cabana would be my permanent address. If an everlasting island retreat is also a dream of yours, Palm Breeze sparkling alcohol spritz is the perfect beverage for you and your entourage of friends. It’s light and sweet taste combined with the perfect amount of fizz makes it ideal for a summer get together, beach party, pool party, girls’ night or tropical themed cocktail party.
With the help of Palm Breeze, I turned my friend’s patio and later my NYC roof deck into my very own tropical destinations. Even without palm trees, clear water and white sand, the fun, refreshing sparkle of Palm Breeze made a simple Saturday feel like an afternoon in paradise.
Palm Breeze‘s delicious flavors, Ruby Red Citrus and Pineapple Mandarin Orange, can be served in the can, on ice, in a decorative glass or mixed with vodka. You could even serve it in a coconut if you want to be extra tropical. After all, nothing makes you feel more like you’re at a resort than drinking from a coconut. As for food, I love pairing Palm Breeze with Mexican favorites such as chips and guacamole, tacos and quesadillas. Not only do they go well with the tropical elements of the beverage, they are also party classics your guests will love. So why not soak up the sun this summer with a cool glass of Palm Breeze?
This summer Palm Breeze and Blo Blow Dry Bar are hosting fun girls’ nights across the country featuring tropical beach blowouts, tasty hors d’oeuvres and Palm Breeze drinks. Gather your girlfriends and RSVP here to their events in San Diego, DC, Austin and Dallas. Cheers!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Last night I said goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015 in Times Square with my boyfriend and his family. Though watching the ball drop at home is always exciting, there’s nothing like seeing the New Year’s Eve countdown in person and feeling the confetti fall all around you at midnight. Everyone should do it at least once.
As I relax at home on New Year’s Day, I can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store. I hope it brings with it my first 5K run, a trip to the west coast with my boyfriend and many other happy surprises. Happy New Year Socialites!
For many of us, the holidays mean a month filled with parties. Much of these festivities include office parties. While they many seem high pressure, holiday office parties are the perfect opportunity to treat yourself to something new and show your co-workers just how stylish you are. Here’s how to look polished and professional with a holiday spin.
1. Look the part with bold holiday colors
When putting together your perfect party outfit, think ruby reds and emerald greens. If you don’t want to be too seasonal, classic black is always a winning color. Plus it’s slimming and elegant. Men can pair black dress pants with a red shirt and black tie. Ladies can wear a red blouse with a black skirt or go for a little black dress complemented by ruby red accessories, such as a red clutch purse or red shoes. Don’t be afraid to go for other shades as well. Jewel toned shades such as deep purples and blues also look beautiful during the winter months.
2. When in doubt, dress to impress
If you’re not sure you should dress up or down for your holiday party, it’s better to dress up than to dress down. Chances are you’d rather show up dressed more formally than to show up in jeans when others are in dresses and suits. If you’d like to dress business casual, step it up a notch with accessories or a pair of heels.
3. Keep warm
You may be tempted to dress in that snazzy little dress with bare shoulders, but you could end up regretting it if the weather doesn’t permit it. Though you may want to push the envelope a bit, comfort still needs to be kept in mind. You should also avoid wearing uncomfortable shoes, since office Christmas parties may involve standing and mingling with others for hours.
4. Leave large handbags at home
While you may bring a large handbag to work every day, you won’t want to lug it around at your office Christmas party. Instead, carry your belongings in a small baguette handbag or a clutch. Money, lipstick, keys and your cell phone should be all you need.
5. Accessorize your ensemble
Spice up your little black dress with a bold statement necklace. Or you can complement your outfit with a silk tie in holiday colors. If you wear glasses, choose a beautiful frame. Online glasses offers an array of sophisticated and stylish options.
I love a good cocktail just as much as any blue blooded New Yorker. In the city that never sleeps and never drives, we take the after work cocktail to another level making Manhattan just as much a drink as it is an island. At the age of 26, I’m slowly becoming a more sophisticated drinker which is why I recommend reading The Socialite’s Guide To: Choosing The Right Cocktail by Cristal Carrington, Cocktail Columnist for Examiner.com and Washington D.C. Socialite.
The book serves as a guide to personal branding that profiles the 5 different types of female drinkers (The Party Animal, The Conservative, The Maverick, The Light-Weight, and The Connoisseur) explaining the messages they are unconsciously sending when socializing at bars, restaurants, and parties based on their drink choices while a tequila drinker can be seen as a party girl, a champagne drinker such as myself can be viewed as an elitist. For the young and ambitious professional looking to make a positive impression at upcoming holiday parties, The Socialite’s Guide To: Choosing The Right Cocktail is a must-read. Aside from great advice on personal branding and finding your signature drink, Carrington also provides excellent drink recipes that I can’t wait to try.
Keep reading for my exclusive cocktail Q&A with Cristal Carrington:
What should you drink when you have top shelf taste on a waist-high budget?
My best advice for ladies or gents on a budget when at the bar is:
Step #1: Order a shot of chilled vodka or gin (order the drink in a snifter, so you can still look classy, however, don’t throw it back, savor it).
Step #2: Follow up with a glass of Pinot Grigio or Riesling with a splash of Chambord. The trick is to look great while drinking, not necessarily to get drunk in public.
Belvedere or Grey Goose?
Definitely Grey Goose, but I also recommend the always delicious and timeless brand Stolichnaya.
You certainly seem to have a dream job as the Cocktail Columnist for Examiner.com. How did you land such a great gig?
In graduate school at Georgetown, I came up on an opening for writers with Examiner. I originally wanted to be a food writer, but the position was already filled. I had to think about what I liked as much as food and the answer was cocktails, so I applied with a lengthy article application and landed the gig. I thought, now I have a license to drink all the best cocktail creations and couldn’t be happier with the choice.
Since I prefer the finer things in life, my go-to drink is champagne. But, if you were to make an Aspiring Socialite cocktail, what would be the recipe?
A great Aspiring Socialite cocktail would have to be a creation that a bartender made for me on a whim called The Thing: (feel free to call it A Socialite Thing or Glamorous Thing or whatever)…but it contains:
Cherry Vodka, Cranberry Juice, and Ginger Ale
I like it because it was easy to make, tastes great, is unisex, and certainly not hard on the Aspiring Socialite’s pockets.
To make the perfect cocktail, what is the ideal amount of times liquor should be distilled?
I like any liquor distilled over 3 times and if we are speaking of aged liquors anything over 10 years is acceptable. I think at that point the liquor can be consumed neat or mixed. Also, don’t be afraid to ask what the rail liquor is at the bar. Often times, it is a quality brand; it’s just not Ciroc or Patron. Last note on this is to remember that the higher quality the brand, the less likely you are going to want to dilute it with additives such as juices and liqueurs. This rule includes Champagne.
Can people fall into more than one drinking category?
Absolutely! I personally fall into the Maverick/Connoisseur category. However, I tend to lean more to the side of the Maverick. The categories listed in The Socialite’s Guide To: Choosing The Right Cocktail were simply ways to identify stronger drinking habits/patterns. There is nothing wrong with any of them as I do offer ways for all the personality types to strengthen and refine their behaviors, even the Connoisseur who seems to do no wrong in their own eyes
