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Health & Fitness

Not Your Average Pajama Party/Oscar Style 2014, Part 1

By selecting the Taglyan Complex, just across the street from The Motion Picture Academy Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, planner and fellow journalist Kathy Duliakas assured her pre-Oscar gathering would be a hot ticket for celebrities and journalists. 

However, with a mix of intrepid entrepreneurs, a civilized lunch, a relaxed atmosphere and a significant charity’s new initiative (1 Million Good Nights, www.pajamaprogram.org ) benefitting thousands of disadvantaged American children, she created a daytime “pajama party” that was both thoughtful and memorable. Refreshments were provided by


Invited celebrities, entertainment professionals and press were strongly advised to donate to the Pajama Program, overseen by founder Genevieve Piturro and L.A. Chapter President Lindsay Smith, to jump start the new "1 Million Good Nights" campaign, to attain a million sets of new pajamas and books by Dec. 31, 2015. To further accelerate the campaign, Carter's (www.carters.com), America's leading brand of young children’s clothing agreed to donate a brand new pair of pajamas to Pajama Program, for every celebrity who attended the event and another 1,000 pajamas for each and every social media post about the event. (Naturally, we were on board with our tweets in force).
 

Attendees heard the call and responded, as the one-day event generated nearly 550 tweets and garnered over 5,100,000 timeline deliveries, which will result in some very deserving children given a brand new pair of pajamas.

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Duliakas responded in kind, noting that in the heat of “Awards Season,” “We all get caught up in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but it's very important we remember there are those in need. It's heartwarming to see the overwhelming support that I've received from the celebrities who attended my event.”

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The various new and returning vendors were also caught up in the spirit of generosity that far transcends products and services.  One of the more inventive sponsoring products, Circuelle™, a luxury lotion that transforms the practice of breast self exams into a more pleasant experience, was so inspired by Carter's pledge that they wanted to donate one mammogram to an underprivileged woman for each celebrity who stopped at their table. As a result, Circuelle™ (circuelle.com) donated 50 mammograms to the Conejo Free Clinic in Thousand Oaks, California.

Two of our favorite stalwart lines helping out several suites this season were back: Twisted Silver®,, with more of its new natural stone pieces and modern cameo necklaces and sleek cocktail attire from Single by Galina Sobolev (www.singledress.com), and Maleku Jewelry (www.malekujewelry.com) was back with extraordinary rough precious stone statement jewelry that would have you rethinking diamonds as your best friend. Other casual clothing lines that focused on comfort include New Orleans-based Pret-a-Porter Designs (www.pretaporterdesigns.com), Wear Luck yoga wear from Dallas, TX (http://wearluck.com/) and BAM Bags (http://www.bambags.com), which seemed to have the audience seeking non-leather handbags zipped up. There were also some extremely cool military coverups from I. CTZN (www.ictzn.com) that provide a cool and more tailored alternative to the usual yoga togs.

New and compelling indulgences for the body included skincare from event co-sponsor ZENSATION (www.zensationbeaute.com), state of the art light thearapy from Dream Spa (http://lighthealthresearch.com/, now available in Studio City, CA), sensual new couples delights from Kama Sutra (Kama Sutra  www.kamasutra.com), organic body care from Herban (http://www2.herban.net/, including the coveted Sugar Mud facial scrub) and Yuki Sharoni’s haircare (one of the pioneering salons bringing Asian hair straightening to Hollywood, www.yukisharoni.com) and San Fernando Valley-based ISO Beauty’s hair tools

Besides the sumptuous Mediterranean fare from Taglyan’s Divine Food & Catering  (www.divinefc.com), other refreshments included KAH Tequila (www.kahtequila.com), Zing Vodka, (www.ZingVodka.com), non-alcoholic Skinnygirl Sparklers (http://drinkarizona.com/index_national.html#carousel_skinnygirl_sparklers) and insanely delicious handcrafted chocolate from Ze Chocolate Lady (www.zechocolatelady.wordpress.com) that brought some of the biggest trends in gourmet chocolate from Europe to Southern California, but in her own all-American way.

Celebrities having a good day, and helping children attain better nights in the future included Kelsey Scott and Ashley Dyke (Oscar-Nominated 12 Years a Slave), Emily Bergl (Oscar-Nominated Blue Jasmine), Dustin Kerns (Oscar-Nominated The Wolf of Wall Street), Craig Borten (writer, Oscar-Nominated Dallas Buyers Club), Crispin Struthers (Oscar Nominee, Best Editing, American Hustle), Helen Hong (Oscar-Nominated Inside Llewyn Davis), Cas Anvar (Diana, Oscar-Winning Argo), Brighton Sharbino (True Detective, The Walking Dead), Marilu Henner, Gia Mantegna (Empire State, The Prince) and Lyndon Smith (Parenthood).

 



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