A few times a year I am fortunate enough to be invited to the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge. A style mecca filled to the brim of wonderful goodies to be gifted to celebrities, and, well, me, in celebration of whatever award season it is this month. This is an event I never, ever, miss. I mean who would?

Well. This girl. This girl was thousands and thousands of miles away. So, in lieu of myself, I sent Dedicated regulars, Audrey Wu and Gina Blancarte to see what's up and have some fun on my behalf!

Kelsi xx

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Whoever said it was better to give than to receive may have been lying…just a little. In the case of Kari Feinstein’s Oscar Style Lounge – a gifting suite, we were happy to be on the receiving end of some great new items and also to gain the knowledge of a few, new brands. We are going to highlight a few of our favorites.

Jewelry is at the top of any woman’s list and that day was no exception! Our first stop was at Silpada, a company started by two mothers who needed a little more spending money. So, they got together and hired artisans to create beautiful sterling silver pieces of art to wear. And, did I mention they are really affordable?  Once again, Michaela from Silpada was very hospitable and we both walked away with stunning earrings.  Check out their 2012 collection here.

Our next stop was at Devora Libon Jewels, which happens to be a personal favorite of Kelsi’s. We were given specific instructions to not leave their table without something pretty for Kelsi…done! (Ed Note: And I love it -well done girls! Kx) To sum up Devora’s jewelry would be; petite and beautiful! There’s even a men’s collection which was one of our favorites.  Audrey already has an unhealthy obsession with these bracelets and planning her next purchases in order to get the “bracelet party” look. 

Last but not least, our mission to find cool jewelry brands stopped at Glitterrings specializing in “faux real fashion.” Talk about cool and affordable! Check out this lovely sparkler.

Looks pricey but isn’t costly. Glitterrings retail between $28 – $225.

That’s my kind of style! And, in the Glitterrings family is an emerging brand by one of the Real Housewives of New York City, Jill Zarin. “Oh yes she did!” She created her own line of affordable luxury pieces that you would swear looked like any one of the expensive baubles she wore on the show.

You can’t have all of these fabulous jewelry pieces without a dress, right? Introducing Lending Luxury which could give Rent The Runway a bit of competition. Lending Luxury is a Florida based company which allows you to rent couture dresses for 5 days starting from the day you receive it. Benefits of this brand include shipping and dry cleaning for free, extend your rental for 5 more days for $25, 50% off your 2nd rental and you can buy the dresses too for a discounted price. Sounds great to us.

Another celeb. favorite line at the suite was Contraband, a trendy hat company – having everything from beanies to fedoras.

Now that we’ve had our healthy dose of jewelry and clothing, how about a healthy snack?  We were delighted to come across a tasty and forgiving to your waist band company called Popcorn Indiana. These popcorn treats are “healthier, whole grain snacking” which actual popcorn chefs are hired to create each flavor. Our personal favorite is the wasabi flavored popcorn…yummy!
Anyone ready to travel to New York or Turks & Caicos? If so, then you may want to check out The Ganseevort Hotel. They were at the gifting suite ready to show off the both locations. We’d love to visit the Turks & Caicos location!

Audrey is super excited to check out the NY Ganseevort Hotel and happy for the gift certificate she received.  Looks like we’ll be staying at the Gansevoort next time we’re in NYC.

That’s it for now from us. Special thanks to Kelsi for placing us on this fun assignment.  As you can tell, we didn’t mind much. ;)

Cheers!

Gina Blancarte-Millard and Audrey Wu

To hear more from the Renegat Girls and their adventures in marketing, you can find them on their own blog and on twitter!