Celebrity Swag Gift Basket Inventory: Teen Choice Awards 2012

   

By Vicki Arkoff

Let the teen celebrity swag gifting downpour begin! The Teen Choice Awards takes place on July 22, 2012, airing on Fox 8 – 10 pm ET live, so Hollywood’s army of designers, jewelers and beauty mavens are furiously gathering their wares to coif the naturally-young and beautiful. For free.

One of the gift organizers is Hollywood Baskets, a local year-round gifting service, which has  thoughtfully edited Teen Choice Awards gift baskets for the show presenters and nominees – including Miley Cyrus, Zooey Deschanel, Zac Efron, Justin Beiber and girlfriend Selena Gomez, Jordin Sparks, Miranda Cosgrove, Victoria Justice, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, “Twilight” couple Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, and show co-hosts Demi Lovado and “Glee”‘s  Kevin McHale.  

Each gift bag put together for the celebrities is special, suggests Lisa Gal, founder of Hollywood Baskets. "We like to send new, cutting edge products to the celebrities, but at the same time we want to spread the word about people who selflessly make a difference in the lives of others.”

This year the Hollywood Basket gift spotlights "Polished Girlz," a grass-roots charity founded two years ago by 12-year-old  Alanna J. Walls, a pre-teen with a big heart. Her team of volunteers travels to hospitals to brighten up little patients' days by cheerfully polishing their nails.

Oddly, there are no nail polishes in the celebrity gift bag. The hair and beauty items do, however, include:

·       Nuvosa Skincare, FiaFini Skincare, and Neydharting Moor Skincare to ensure celebrity skin is youthful and glowing.

·       Bliss healing body balm to soothe dry summer skin.

·       Tone Fruit Peel Body Wash to exfoliate the skin.

·       Moodylicious Children's Spa lip glosses in bubblegum and pina colada.

·       Makeup For Ever lipstick colors in a variety of shades.

·       Heaven's Makeup Bar gift certificates for services at their new Burbank salon (for nominees only).

·       Herban Essentials are giving celebrities scented towelettes.

·       BikiniBands will keep the celebs safe from accidental bikini faux pas.

·       John Masters Organics added their honey and hibiscus hair reconstructor for luscious locks.

·       Kam N Co designed their gorgeous hair ties in a variety of colors.

Fashion accessories include:

·       Post Cereal brand Sugar Bear t-shirts.

·       Happy Socks will keep feet fashionable.

·       Table-It gives a new spin on the traditional purse hanger, keeping handbags safe and clean, and functioning as a handbag adornment.

·       Spirit Hoods is giving cool faux fur headpieces to nominees and their children.

·       WOW Hangers, a jewelry organizing system.

·       BottleHood jewelry made from recycled spirit bottles.

·       Shirts from Varsity.

And to entertain the ears, eyes and taste buds:

·       CDs of new Capitol Records artists Tristan Prettyman and Graffiti6.

·       Carla Masterson-signed copies of her book "What's on the Other Side of the Rainbow."

·       American Cheerleader magazine.

·       Sweet Revolution Caramels for a treat without corn syrup or cane sugar.

·       Justin's, Larabar, and Late July Organics energy snacks.

And when all that runs out or runs its course, it won’t be long until Hollywood Baskets does it all over again, gifting celebrities backstage at upcoming events for MY FM BIG Night Out with Kelly Clarkson, and for Fortune Magazine's top 40 under 40.

* * *

NEXT WEEK:  Inside a Teen Choice Awards gifting suite at the SLS Hotel with “The George Lopez Show” actress Masiela Lusha.   

BottleHood’s “Jack & Coke” recycled glass lariat

John Masters Organics Hair Reconstructor

Graffiti 6 singer Jamie Scott (Capitol Records)

Spirit Hood’s fun faux fur

A Visit to Chicago

A recent visit to Chicago coincided with a visit by the Conan show for a week of taping at the Chicago Theater.

The river.

Old and new.

Chicago street style.

More Chicago street style.

Millenium Park.

The Bean.

The Conan bobblehead outside the Art Institute (temporarily).

Protesting outside the Four Seasons.

A Conan t-shirt booth.

C-O-C-O !

The Fashionista's Guide to Casts

I recently had the misfortune of breaking a bone and now have a cast on my arm.  I researched extensively what to do about the cast, and really couldn't find one site that answered all my questions, so I thought I would compile what I've learned into one handy blog post.

1.  Short sleeves and sleeveless tops are your new best friend.

I learned that my long-sleeved shirts and jackets wouldn't fit over the cast.  Some sweaters would, but I hate to stretch them permanently in order to wear them for a short period of time.  Solution:  go sleeveless and cover up with oversized shawls, cute ponchos and sweaters like the J. Crew Jackie 3/4 sleeve cardigan.  Make sure the clothes are uncomplicated -- buttons, back zippers and snaps can be tricky.

J. Crew Jackie Cardigan

2.  The fiberglass that the cast is made of will catch on and snag your fine knits.

3.  Casts come in lots of colors these days.

If you break your arm in the springtime, go for the neon pink or lavender cast.  In the winter, you can opt for a cheery red or green cast.

4.  Carry a Sharpie everywhere you go.

Seeing an adult in a cast will bring back memories and you should expect that friends and family will want to sign your cast.

5.  Be prepared to get asked lots of questions.

Everywhere I go, people ask me what happened.  And more often than not, they can't wait to tell me about their (or their friend or relative's) experience with breaking a bone and being in a cast.  In great detail.  Especially the itchy part.

6.  Be stoic.

No one wants to hear whining.  Everyone knows you are miserable in your cast, but honestly, they don't want to hear about it, so keep it to yourself and let it out just every once in a while.

7.  Take your rings off.

If you break your arm or wrist, immediately remove your rings.  The last thing you need is to have to have your rings cut off due to swelling.

8.  Invest in a good cross-body bag that's easy to open and close.


The Proenza Schouler pouch bag is perfect.

Available at Bergdorfs

9.  Sick of looking at your cast?  Cover it up.

Several enterprising companies are selling cloth cast covers in fun patterns, as well as cast "tattoos" that are affixed with a friend and a blow-dryer.  I personally am waiting for Missoni, DVF and Chanel to come out with their own versions.