A Month of Beautiful Giveaways

JSG isn't the only one who has a theme for the month of August. Over at Beauty of Life, our friend Jamie is featuring a month of gorgeous giveaways! Her prizes include a number of our personal faves, including a collection of Stila products, Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothies and Davines hair products. We love the instant gratification factor, too: Each giveaway lasts for one day -- from midnight to midnight -- with the winner being selected the next day.

Good luck!

Bachelorette Party Ideas: 7. San Francisco-Napa

Today's bachelorette party idea comes to us from Kerri Butler, a wedding planner based in Denver. JSG is not using a wedding planner, but if we were, we for sure would want one who helped out with the bachelorette party, too! Kerri says, "I think most brides hire me because I’m like having a girlfriend of their plan their wedding! In many cases, brides ask me to assist the maid of honor with additional parties – showers, bachelorette parties, etc. to help with theme, invitations, and coordination."

Here's what Kerri says about Brooke Fogg's bachelorette party in San Francisco/Napa this past June.

Who did you go on the bachelorette party with?
18 of the bride’s closest friends. Brooke Fogg is the bride, Katie Cole and Meredith Fogg are the maids of honor. Katie and I planned the trip.

Why did you choose San Fran/Napa for the bachelorette party?
The bride wanted to go to a location that mixed the country and city. We had the best of the nightlife and the wine country – it was perfect!

How did you get there?
We flew in from Denver, and other guests flew in from all over the country, and one of our guests even flew in from Hong Kong!

How did you organize such a large group? What were the biggest challenges?
We sent out “passports” to all for the guests with their photos, luggage tags featuring the bride’s beautiful face, and an itinerary of the weekend. We used email communication to collect menu choices, etc. One of the best tools in organizing 18 ladies on a trip of that size was hiring a limo bus to drive us all weekend. It took us out at night, all through the wine country, and through the city. We had a buddy system and we used it to make sure no one was lost!

What were your expectations before going?
I knew it would be an amazing experience for the bride and her friends, because many of them had never been to San Francisco – it’s such a fun town to be a tourist in, and Napa is such a beautiful place to visit. We went to wine country on a day trip!

What surprised you the most?
How easily we got around town. We didn’t lose a single lady! Clubs and restaurants were very happy to host a group of our size, which we thought would be a challenge. We especially loved 5A5 Steakhouse, where we ate on Friday night.

Where did you stay?
We stayed at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square in San Francisco – they were amazing and accommodated our every wish. Plus, we enjoyed beginning the evening at the Starlight Room (below)at the top of the hotel!


What did you do on your trip?
We enjoyed two lovely dinners out and a lot of dancing in the city. We also took a wine tour of Napa, and visited three vineyards for tasting. On Sunday, we took a walking tour of San Fran – Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard Street, and a bit of shopping!

How was the nightlife? The men?
The nightlife was a blast! We loved to dance and the people in San Francisco know how to have a great time!

Where were most of the people you met from?
Mostly from in town.

Would you recommend it for a bachelorette party/girls' trip?
Of course- it has the best of all worlds – tourist spots, shopping, and wine!

Anything you wish you knew before you went?
We should have organized a flickr account or a photo sharing system so that everyone could upload their pics from the trip to the same location!

Jason Backe, Celebrity Colorist Coming to DC

Oh, DC Ladies, we are lucky to have Jason Backe coming to the new Ted Gibson Salon in Chevy Chase! The sought after celebrity colorist from NY and President of ted gibson beauty has worked with Anne Hathaway and Lake Bell and is now taking appointments nearby. He'll be in town for four days every six weeks to tend to our much neglected color. Trust us when we say you'll love his enthusiasm and positive energy.

If you want to see him yourself, he'll be in town taking appointments for the first time next week, Thursday, August 13th to Saturday, August 15th.

We're excited to offer 25% off your first visit, just mention The Jet Set Girls, when you book your appointment. Call (301) 951-4445.

I'll be there on Friday, hope to see you there! XOXO

Bachelorette Party Ideas: 6. Bachelorette Party Playlist

Single Ladies-Beyoncé: Because, hey, he liked and he did. Shouldn't you get to brag a little?

City of Blinding Lights-U2: It reminds us of one of our fave chick flicks and who is to say Bono wasn't singing about Vegas?

Cherish-Madonna: We abide by the rule that every great playlist requires at least one cheesy 80s song and this one is Madonna at her gooiest, poppiest, pre-Madge best.



Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes: You know all the words and it's a funny reminder to appreciate the one you're with

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien - Edith Piaf: Let's hope the bride feels this way, both at the end of the weekend and about her impending nuptials

Believe - Cher: Dedicate this ultimate dance song to all the boys who done you wrong. They would eat their hearts out if they saw you now!

We Are Family - Sister Sledge: Gather together all your besties and dance like you mean it!

American Boy - Estelle: So what if this song was popular last summer? The hometown boys still deserve a shout out!


That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings: Who says you have to tell the random guy at the bar your real name?

Black Eyed Peas - I've got a feeling: Cause "tonight's gonna be a good night" for sure!

La Vie en Rose - Belinda Carlisle: The best song for living happily ever after

Want more tunes? Check out our Summer '09 Playlist!

Latisse Review

I've tried lash conditioners in the past with modest success. It wasn't until I used Latisse that I saw significant growth in my lashes. It took eight long weeks and a commitment to using the product regularly. Here was my experience:

What Is Latisse?
Latisse is a prescription only lash enhancer. Originally prescribed to glaucoma patients, doctors noticed that users' lashes were so long they sometimes had to trim them. Can you imagine?!

How Does Latisse Work?
Latisse works by extending the growth cycle of your lashes, meaning longer lashes. If you discontinue using it your lashes will go back to their regular length (after the nice long lashes have shed). It is supposed to darken your lashes too.

How Do You Apply Latisse?
Apply Latisse using an applicator to the base of your lashes nightly. Once you've used it for a significant time and have the results you're satisfied with, you can go on maintenance using it only a couple times per week.

What Are the Side-Effects of Latisse?
Most people worry about the eye-color-changing warning. Yes, there is a risk that your eye color will get darker; but from my digging around that's only happened with glaucoma patients who use more of the product directly on their eye. Also, I read carefully and the risk is actually greater for people with brown eyes (I realize this is counter-intuitive), to get darker brown eyes. Light colored eyes are rarely affected. Many women wisely choose not to take this risk, and we don't blame them.
Note: we are not doctors. Discuss this with your physician first and read all of the enclosed materials!

What Were My Results With Latisse?
After 8 weeks, I have noticeably longer lashes. My girlfriend Rebecca noticed, mentioning that I wasn't a "lashy girl" before. The color of my lashes does not seem to be darker; but they do seem thicker.

If you're interested in trying it yourself, you'll need to visit your physician for an Rx. See Latisse.com for additional information and some impressive before and after pictures. Happy lashes!

Snog Balm

As avid smoochers, we wholeheartedly approve of the idea behind Snog Balm from Australia. Not your typical lip moisturizer, Snog Balm says it's formulated to penetrate your lips, not sit on them. As our S.O. calls our current lip balm, "repellent", this is good news to us.

We also love that each package features the story of a killer first kiss on the back. Here's our fave:
"I was taking salsa lessons and every few minutes we had to change dance partners. I was very nervous about my dance steps and wasn't paying much attention that my new partner was the hottest guy in class. When I finally looked up from my feet, he planted a Snog directly on my lips."
Kelly Blane, New York

The only thing we don't like about Snog Balm is how tiny it is. While at first we thought this was a plus--anything mini is usually good in our book--we lost our Snog Balm a bit too easily in our handbag. But maybe your purse is smaller than ours!

Lollapalooza, Peter Yorn and More

We're still coming down from the phenomenal Coldplay performance at the All Points West Festival in New Jersey on Sunday. (That's our S.O.'s own original video. We got pretty close, huh?) Despite all the untimely rain and fields of mud at APW, we're determined to only go to outdoor concerts from here on out. Lucky for us Lollapalooza is in Chicago this weekend. It's headlined by The Killers, Depeche Mode and Kings of Leon and features a number of bands that were also at APW, like Tool, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys and Silverspun Pickups.

Our only word of advice: If it rains, wear your wellies!


If you're headed out to Chicago a day early, be sure to hit the Peter Yorn show at the W Chicago City Center as part of its Worldwide’s Wonderlust Live Music Series on August 6. It is indoors, but we'll make an exception for this ultra-exclusive performance. For more info, check out the W Hotel site.