My LA LA Land Adventure: Recap

I told you that I was heading to sunny Los Angeles for a beauty blogging summit hosted by Total Beauty. Well, if you’ve been dying to know what I was up to I’ll be sharing more details over the next week but here’s a little recap of my 5-day weekend adventure.

Thursday
Land at LAX and get hit in the face with furnace-like heat. Quite a change from the 40 degree gloom I left in the land of Cleves. Grab my rental car and have first experience with LA traffic. Seriously, don’t these people work during the day? Traffic starts at 2pm? WTF people! Thank you Garmin for getting me through it.

The trek to Santa Monica to have lunch with friends takes 45 minutes longer than it should have. Have a lame celeb sighting, Clay “The Gaykin” Aiken, experience Yummy Cupcakes (delish) and browse the 3rd Street Promenade. Check into the gorgeous Ayres hotel and take a a few moments to breathe before the madness begins.

Get an amazing scalp massage (from Nelson Chan himself), conditioning treatment and manicure at the Nelson J Salon in Beverly Hills. Hang out and chat with fellow bloggers and Total Beauty staff while having my hair blown out to perfection. Seriously, getting my nails and hair done at the same time makes me feel like a total diva. I’m so getting a glam squad when I win the lottery.

Grab a late dinner and drinks with BBN founder Elke and bloggers Ellen and Nancy.

Friday
The LA Beauty Tour organized by Total Beauty. Stops include the Kate Somerville Skin Clinic, the L’Oreal Paris Store in the Beverly Center, a visit with eyebrow expert Anastasia and last but not least a tour of the Murad Inclusive Health Center and Medical Spa. Make a pit stop at the Total Beauty offices for lunch, a hair and makeup touch up for our professional head shots and a look at the Total Beauty Beauty Closet.

Recharge and change shoes (heels were a BAD call) before heading to a cocktail party at the Intelligent Beauty offices. First sight – dancers in shadow boxes and a fully stocked bar (in their offices).

Grab dinner in Manhattan Beach with Jamie (my roomie), Jeanne, Lilan and Paul (pictured right with Tammy and Anne). Lilan is sent to snag “the boy” since we’re all so fascinated by the idea of a male beauty blogger. Turns out he’s wizard smart about all the tech stuff yet still has a grasp on the beauty world (sorry girls, he’s got a girlfriend). Head back to the hotel with Jamie and contemplate scaling the pool fence and jumping in fully clothed. Security cameras and good judgement intervene.

Saturday
Total Beauty Summit hosted by Intelligent Beauty. An all day extravaganza including guest speakers from SENSA, RAW Natural Minerals, Kronos Haircare, iQDerma, Redpoint Cosmetics and Lisa Hoffman Skincare. Healthy Child Healthy World makes a special presentation including a donation from Total Beauty. Attend different panels and breakout sessions geared at beauty blogging throughout the day.

Run to In-N-Out burger to see what the fuss is about. My “ketchup n pickle only” burger eating self wasn’t uber-impressed. Sorry I like Wendys, judge me! Head back to the Ayres for a BBN cocktail party on the second floor veranda. Take off with Jamie, Jeanne and Lilan for the Sunset Strip to meet up with Jamie’s high school/college buddies. Drink an El Compadre flaming margarita and scarf down their fabulously spicy salsa.

Sunday
Sleep in (finally!), eat brunch with my fellow bloggers and attend more blogger workshops. Head off to an interview with a celebrity manicurist (coming soon), grab Jamie for some much needed pampering at the Bliss Spa in the W Hotel, meet up with friends for dinner at Houston’s in Santa Monica and walk the pier. Then comes the fun task of trying to figure out how to stuff everything back in my bags. I HATE luggage weight restrictions and paying for extra bags but it’s a necessary evil.

Monday
Drop Jamie at the airport (so sad!) and scoot on over to El Segundo for brunch with the team from China Glaze. Eat yummy apple stuffed pancakes at Marmalade Cafe while chatting about all things polish. Drop my jaw at the most incredible, gorgeous, stunning nail polish I’ve ever seen and clutch on to it for dear life (you’ll see it soon).

Stop at the MAC store and pick up Love Alert Dazzleglass and Lollipop Loving lipstick (can you believe they still had it!!) before returning my rental and flying back home. Luck out with an empty seat next to me and random celeb sighting, Chrissie Hynde. Plant hugs and kisses on The Boyfriend and head home for some much needed rest.

Are you as tired from reading all that as I was after doing it? I swear, it took me a whole week to recover.

images: All Lacquered Up, Total Beauty, Steven Barston