celebrations A special section of The Rivertowns Enterprise , February 24, 2012
Picture Perfect Look and feel your best for every photo
By JACKIE LUPO
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hen you look at your wedding photos years from now, will you see a bride with a glowing face, flawless shoulders and perfect hair and makeup? If you’re spending big bucks for a wedding dress and headpiece, it makes sense to also invest in skin, hair and makeup to make sure everything about your look is picture-perfect. Experts at top Westchester salons provided input on the best beauty treatments for anyone preparing for a big event. Experts agree — don’t do anything extreme directly before the wedding. That includes aggressive facial treatments such as dermabrasion or chemical peels. If you’re contemplating any facial service, ask the salon what the “downtime” is after the treatment. That said, spas offer a host of treatments. Some are gentle enough to be done directly before the event, while others should be done well in advance. At Julius Michael Salon in Scarsdale, stylist/colorist Jennifer O’Neill recommends a gentle rejuvenating facial. “It just makes the skin feel fresh and takes away the top layer,” O’Neill said. This type of facial doesn’t involve any pore extractions or peels, so there’s no “downtime” for potential irritation. “It’s moisturizing so makeup sticks nicely,” she said. O’Neill also recommends that brides come in for a hair and makeup trial a few weeks before the wedding. “They should have their headpiece with them,” she advised. “Sometimes, they have something in their head, and realize after we try it that it’s Continued on page 10A
It’s their party: terrific teen events By JACKIE LUPO
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t’s my party!” Parents of bar/bat mitzvah kids and soon-to-be sweet 16s, take note of these three words. If you’re planning a big event and you’re thinking about an elegant dinner where everyone sits on gilded chairs for a three-course meal, start thinking more like a child, and get the child of honor involved from the beginning. It’s a family event, but it’s your child’s party. Personalize it Your child will probably have lots of
ideas for a theme, and big events such as bar/bat mitzvahs and sweet 16s are more exciting when they do have a motif. It can be anything you like, but it should be something the child is interested in. A shy boy who likes to read and to play adventure games on his computer might be horrified at the very idea of a karaoke party. Obviously, any party planning starts with a budget. Once you start to look around at venues and talk to a few party planners, you’ll get an idea of the costs involved. Renting a space because the space itself is spectacular — the Metropolitan Museum, say, or the New York Public Library — is going to cost a bundle, and doesn’t lend it-
self to themes or personalization. But a big, empty loft or airplane hangar can become anything at all in the hands of a skillful event planner, and probably for a lot less money. A sweet 16 girl who was an avid celebrity-watcher had an awards show theme for her party, complete with an actual red carpet outside the venue, a photographer to snap guests as they entered and a Joan Rivers impersonator to interview the “celebrities” on the red carpet. Inside, guests had their pictures taken with “virtual” celebrities, with the kids put into the picture with real movie stars via computer. Room Continued on page 12A
Great gift ideas for every occasion By EVE MARX
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h oh. The invitation has arrived in the mail and while you’re excited, even delighted to have been asked to attend the wedding/anniversary party/bridal shower/graduation/guest of honor/job promotion, you’re already breaking a sweat about what to give. Nailing down that perfect gift (even harder if you don’t know the recipient all that well) can be a problem, unless you’ve got professional hints and tips. Marie Labropoulos, owner of Kalliste Soap Shop in Scarsdale, and purveyor of a unique, artisanally made line of all-natural skincare, said a popular item from her shop is the gift basket, which she will customize. The shop stocks an insanely delicious sound-
ing and smelling collection of handmade all-natural soaps, including coffee, oatmeal vanilla, fennel poppy, lavender, almond and rose. Certainly a great gift for a guy would be the beer soap, accompanied by the Whisky Whiskers shaving kit. The store also makes soaps that look just like cupcakes. Pretty sweet!
“The basket may include the cupcake soap or the cake soap slices,” Labropoulos said. When customers suggest her soaps look and smell good enough to eat, Labropoulos said, “Well, many of the ingredients we use are edible. Many are made with olive oil. We try to keep it as pure and clean as possible, and of course we use no products made from animals.” Labropoulos, who is American, but spent summers making soap with her grandmother in Greece — “I learned at an early age” — said all her soap is made to her specifications right in nearby Hartsdale and sold in shops across the United States. “My grandmother was a soap maker and I learned it all from her,” she said. “I like to call it boot camp when my parents sent me to Greece every summer.” Kalliste Soap Shop also specializes in custom party favors. “Soap can be molded into any shape,” Continued on page 2A