After months of brainstorming, we were delighted to partner up with Saks & BETTY, and for whatever reason, the timing could not have been better.  2009 has been a rough year so far, and more women than ever are finding themselves unexpectedly back on the job market due to the downturn in our economy.  As such–women are in need of a reinvention and some positivity, and that is just what they got on Thursday evening at Saks!

Guests were greeted with exclusive shopping discounts to the store, passed wine and a spread of hors d’oeuvres, makeovers by Estee Lauder, personal shopping assistance courtesy of Saks, hair consultations courtesy of LeMetric, and raffles by BettyConfidential, including a $2500 Smile Makeover by Celebrity Dentist, Dr. Apa!

The room dazzled with a smorgasbord of motivational women in their own right, including: Tia Walker (Celebrity Lifestyle Blogger, The Quest for “it”), Oriana DiNella (Stylist, Nolcha), Brenda Dargan (In Style), Felicia Sullivan (Writer/Blogger), Nichelle Stephens (Multi-Blogger), Kelly Samardak (MediaPost), Yolanda “Shoshi” Shoshana (Lucious Lifestyle Diva), Aryn Quinn (CEO & President, Beauty Cares), Jennifer Goodkind (A Fashionable Life Radio), Carol Kim (Us Weekly), Michelle Finkelshteyn (BagTrends.com), Andrea Syrtash (Relationship Expert), Jess Hullett (Freelancer for Cosmopolitan), Mosaka Williamson (Socially Superlative), Tiffany Winbush (Women Making Moves), Bob Bland (Brooklyn Royalty), Sabrina Chapman (Scallywag and Vagabond), Ji Cha (Hell’s Kitchen Season 5), and Yuli Ziv (Editor-in-Chief, My “it” Things), just to name a few.

The Reinvention panelists of the evening included, Elline Surianello (my client), Dr. Valerie White (Psychologist, Executive Coach & Author), and Lois Joy Johnson (infamous Style + Beauty Editor of BettyConfidential.com).

Once the panel got started, I realized the discussion was going to be even more emotionally charged than I could have imagined. The event really did cover ‘From Hair to Toe’ and everywhere in between. While much of the conversation was about hair, and a woman’s relationship with her hair, the universal theme was about taking a negative struggle that has a constant presence in your life (such as hair loss, in the case of Elline), and turning it into a positive.  Whether or not your personal reinvention has to do with your hair (or your skin, or your weight, or your confidence), we, as the female race, can all relate.

The most moving part of the evening came at the end of the night, when the courageous Ms. Aryn Quinn (CEO of an amazing organization, Beauty Cares) stood up and thanked Elline for going public with this message.  Aryn enlightened us all, that at her organization (where they help women who are victims of domestic violence to feel beautiful again), many women come in with chunks of hair missing out of their head, and all they want is to feel beautiful again.  Every woman has that right. This prompted Elline to whip off her hair in front of a stunned crowd of 150+, proving that her look, without her hair, is not one that she could walk proudly through Saks 5th Avenue with.  Because THAT is not who she is; she is a strong, sassy, and confident woman–and it’s only fitting that her “look” match her lifestyle.

Luckily, I pulled out my FlipCam just in time and got the above incident on tape:

*Me with a favorite client, mentor and friend, Elline Surianello of LeMetric

*Elline Surianello with a very-stunning-in-yellow, Tia Walker–Celebrity Lifestyle Blogger of The Quest for “it”

*Jess Hullett, Andrea Syrtash, Felicia Sullivan, Brenda Dargan, Yolanda “Shoshi” Shoshana

*Celebrity Chef, Ji Cha, chats up the “Girls in Tech” gals

*April Daniels-Hussar, Executive Editor of BettyConfidential.com and Aryn Quinn of BeautyCares.org

*Three of the incomparable LeMetric stylists: Ana, Loredana, and Cal.

*AMP3 PR family members: JoAna Swan, Kelly Byrnes, Alyson Campbell (me), and Termeh Mazhari

*Elline chats up Carol Kim, Beauty Editor of Us Weekly

*Bob Bland (Founder / Designer) and Jessi Butterfield (Makeup Artist) from Brooklyn Royalty

*Elline talks about her Journey with Hair Loss and how she came out the other side.

*Dr. Valerie White tells us how we can use The Law of Attraction to our advantage

*Lois Joy Johson brings up her best friend and co-author, Celebrity Makeup Artist–Sandy Linter

*The Big Reveal! (See video above for the real action!)

*Aryn Quinn interjects with a moving statement

*Hugging it out, emotions run high…

*Unwinding at the end of the evening with Freelance Writer, Kim Weling, and Elline, as the guests make their way out.

*From hair to toe–this photo sums up how we were left at the end of the evening.

You can see all of the photos here, and all of the video clips from the evening here.

For more reviews of the evening, check out:

-MediaPost
-BettyConfidential.com
-The Quest for “it”
-Guest of A Guest
-New York Buzz
-Whom You Know
-Lucious Diva
-Lela Luxe

For more information on our upcoming workshops at the LeMetric Headquarters, contact us here.

*A very special thank you goes out to Megan @ Saks Fifth Avenue and April @ Betty Confidential for collaborating with me on this event, and for being so wonderfully supportive and amazing to work with! Thanks Ladies, here’s to a job well done!

[All photos courtesy of Belkis Carrasco]
[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

We started out at Chef Ji Cha’s event held at Mercury Bar, complete with drink & food specials (in true chef taste) and multiple big-screens boasting the dramatic season opener.  As a little girl, Ji grew up above her father’s restaurant on 57th Street, so both cooking and Hell’s Kitchen were two things that were never too far out of her reach.

Ji, one of this year’s 16 contestants, schooled all of her colleagues in round one where they were asked to prepare their “signature dish.”  Head Chef, Chef Gordon Ramsay, known for his strict reign in the kitchen, actually went as far as to say that he “loved” Ji’s signature dish (unlike many of the others which he wouldn’t even give the dignity of swallowing!).

*Hell’s Kitchen Contestant, Chef Ji Cha, with AMP3 PR’s Jackie Brook

Next, we headed over to Chef Seth’s screening party just blocks away at Hudson Terrace, where we caught the ending of the episode.  Seth winds up on the losing team of the challenge and is among the 2 nominated for elimination on night one.  At the party, as they were showing this suspenseful moment, Seth stood at stage right in the dark while the dramatic tv music intensified.  Ultimately, Seth’s opponent, Chef Wil got sent home instead, and as this was announced, Seth took the stage with a Rocky-style victory dance to the mass applause of his hometown friends and fans.

*Hell’s Kitchen Contestant, Chef Seth Levine, with AMP3 PR’s Jackie Brook

The prize for this season is a quarter of a million dollars PLUS the position of Head Chef at The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City.   Our money is on Chef Ji!  Tune in Thursday nights at 9PM ET on FOX as the race continues.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]