Nick Verreos: One of the Glam Squad "Threesome" in Kate Somerville "Complexion Perfection!" Book!!

Kate's "Glam" Angels...Three Musketeers: Make Up Artist Spencer Barnes, Designer Nick Verreos, Hair Stylist Darrel Redleaf

Last year, I was asked to be one of the "Make-Over" Glam Squad for this FABULOUS book from one of the TOP BEAUTY DIVAS from LA: Kate Somerville. No, I wasn't a subject but I got to glam three beautiful women up with my style expertise. Originally, I met Kate at an Awards Gifting Suite a couple of years back and ever since, I have been ADDICTED to her! Well, to be more specific, I SWEAR by her ExfoliKate and her Quench Hydrating Serum (and darlings, she's not paying me to say that!!). That reminds me, I need to order some more for my July Lecture Trip to Europe!!

Now, I wasn't alone in the Kate Somerville Glam Squad Threesome: The ladies also got the Make-Up expertise from sexy Spencer Barnes and the the "Hair GAWD", Darrel
Redleaf to help bring these three DIVAS into fruition. In March, the book Complexion Perfection! was finally published (love the exclamation mark!!) and I finally got to see the fantastic photos (by the incredible Jim Jordan) inside and the "Fashion Reveals" of the ladies I styled after they received the Complexion Magic Wand from Kate Somervile and her AMAZING products.

Here's a Taste of My Fashionista Gals, Shayne, Lori and Fay:
Studio 54 2010: Shayne, in Dian Von Furstenberg printed jersey dress, strappy gold heels and Jessica Elliot jewelry
Street Chic: Lori, wearing Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket and denim vest, Marc Jacobs Collection Pin necklace, Diane Von Furstenberg peep-toe pumps and H&M tank
Elegance Classique: Fay, in Diane Von Furstenberg mustard shirt dress, Badgley Mishka heels and H&M bracelets

I think the ladies look AMAZING! (if I don't say so myself, especially since I styled them!!) Now, if you want to see the "befores", you will just have to buy the book kiddies! The book is chalk-full of great tips, and "life-changing" skin regimens, and all the ingredients to make you the BEST from inside and out!

Nick Verreos does Emmys SWAG well !!!!

Nick Verreos Emmys Gifting Suite Recap: In Search of a Shirt and Tie....
Ready For Some Gifting: Nick Verreos prepares to get "ExfoliKated", at Kate Somerville's White Room" Emmys Gifting Suite
Nick's Emmys Gifting Suites Recap:

This year, I was covering the Emmy"s for SOAPnet as well as doing post Emmys Red Carpet Wrap Up for TV Guide Channel, and I got invited to several of these suites.
It's a world not so many people get to partake--and frankly before Project Runway, I had no idea of what these "suites" were all about--Celebrities (the term is used very loosely in my case) get invitations--either on their own or through their publicists/managers--attend, take a photo with product, and if they are lucky, get something in return. It's a way for these companies to get publicity and build up their "PR book"--or have these celebs wear or use their products and be seen with them---like in UsWeekly, InTouch, or People. Here is my recap of my Emmys Gifting Suite experience...
Nick Verreos and Kate Somerville at her epomynous LUXURIOUS Spa on Melrose Place
Kate Somerville:
Because of my crazy schedule--and the fact that I am smack dab in the middle of making a collection--I singled out the Friday before the Emmys as the day I could visit the Gifting Suites. I was invited to Kate Somerville's Spa on Melrose Place, near the Marc Jacobs Collection Stores, as well as Diane Von Furstenberg and Oscar de la Renta. Here's the deal, last year, at this same event, I received a product called Kate In A Jar (now re-named ExfoliKate)and after bringing it home, used it, and instantly DRANK the Kate Somervillle "Kool Aid". It was AMAZING!!!My partner David and I were fighting for it! We even bought some more online!!! My reason for returning to Kate Somerville was to tell them how that one product really changed my skincare life!!! ( I am sounding like a darn infomercial!!!) and of course, to see if I could get some more!!
Inspecting the Seams: Nick Verreos samples a silk chiffon leopard-print gown from La Perla by Alessandro Dell'Aqua's

The Kate Somerville "White Room" , as it was called this year, was visited by actors Kerry Washington, Felicity Huffman, Will McCormack, Debra Messing, and my secret crush, from Pushing Daisies, actor Lee Pace. When I was there I recognized actress Perrey Reeves, who plays "Mrs. Ari Gold" on HBO's Entourage. Once at the Spa, I sampled a brand new skin care brush called Clarisonic, developed by the same person who created Sonicare toothbrushes and visited the La Perla room which had gorgeous to-die-for Alessandro Dell'Aqua designed leopard print silk chiffon red carpet gowns and silk cocktail dresses (see above).
I filmed some footage for the Spa, spoke to the skin care DIVA herself--and received some more of my favorite Kate Somerville products. One of these days, I promised them, I will come in to get the full-on Kate Somerville Spa treatment. For now, I will have to just fight David for her products!Oprah and the Gays: Oprah greets my friend, Ross Matthews, the fabulous "Tonight Show Intern" at Emmys Gifting Suite---yes, even Oprah Does Giftin'!!!

Platinum Publicity Melanie Segal's Emmy Gifting Suite
My next stop was Platinum Publicity's Emmys 2008 Gifting Suite on Queen's Road, near Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. My goal now was to see if I could find a dress shirt or tie I could wear for my Emmys Red Carpet moment with SOAPnet. And if I found one and wore it, I would give them a "plug". Once there, I saw the Perry Ellis room and ran like a little girl at the Barbie section at Toys 'R Us! Unfortunately, no ties or shirts, but they gave me a fabulous apple green "Man Bag" that I LOVED!!!! Realizing that there were no hopes of finding a tuxedo shirt-and-tie here, I then walked right to Make Up by Mandy, for some eyebrow fixin' and waxing (at least my eyebrows would look good on camera!). Lord knows my half Greek eyebrows needed it!!! I also picked up some beautiful towels from Distant Imported Home Decor. They are in Los Feliz/Silverlake and are owned by a half Colombian/half Turkish couple (sounds like Mom and Dad!!!) so you know I was all about their products. They said that they were towels, HOWEVER, they were so gorgeous, I am going to use them as scarves!!!! Nice Fit: Proportion Of Blu Slim Boot Cut jean for women

Being that we are in LA, the land of denim and t-shirts, there were several "booths" showing new brands of both. There were some great jeans from a brand called Proportion of Blu. The lovely pr girls noticed I liked my denim on the darker and skinnier side, and they were kind enough to give me two styles: The "Skinny" and "Slim Boot", both in a Japanese Denim dark wash. Bootilicious: Back pocket design of Proportion of Blu, men's jean

You know I will be wearing these to my events---along with my dress shirt and tie "Nick Look". Dussault Custom Ink Apparel had very Ed Hardy-esque hoodies, with tattoo-like graphic art, as well as leather accessories. Since I already "rocked" that Ed Hardy look YEARS ago (yes, even I went through the Trucker Hat phase!), I picked a beautiful leather wallet and belt with a not-so-obvious skull-and-crossbones. Here, I ran into choreographer Chris Judd.

GBK Mondrian Gifting Suite:
My final pit stop was the GBK Gifting Suite. Since I was already near Sunset, I made my way to the Mondrian to see if there, I could find my "Emmys shirt and tie". I didn't. However, there was better! As I was led through all the various suites by my trusty (and sexy) handler, before I realized it, I had a Keurig Coffee Maker (I know!!!) somehow stuffed in my own huge "Gifting bag". I also got some delicious cookies and cupcakes from a Pastry Company called Henrietta Poodlestones (isn't that THE MOST FABULOUS NAME??!!).
At another room, there were all these fabulous dolls from JAKKS Pacific. They are called JUKU COUTURE dolls and all I could think of was my niece, Casia and how much she would LOVE them (I privately wanted them for myself too!) The dolls are very high fashion--almost "collectible" looking---like John Galliano for Dior mini doll models! I must have stayed there for an hour with Michael and Anne-Marie of JAKKS Pacific, playing with the dolls, posing for photos and just being silly! Finally, there was a suite in the Mondrian, devoted solely to dogs and "Doggie Couture", from clothing, chokers, to bags and anything in between! All I could think of was my puppy Benny! I could just see him smiling and his tail wagging if "Daddy Nick" brought home a little couture for him. Alas, it was not to be. I guess I was too "D-List" to get any doggie gifts (now I know how Kathy Griffin feels!).At the last minute though, one of the doggie suites, House Of Dog, did take down all my information and promised to have a "Benny Goodie Bag" to be delivered. Benny and I can't wait!!!!

Highlights and Observations: Emmy's Party Weekend

My highlights of the entire Emmy's Weekend were:
--Attending the Kate Somerville Spa and Gifting Suite, where I surveyed the PaigePremium Brand jeans all the stars are wearing (they make your butt look amazing!), Ajne Parfumerie and Apothecary, a company that creates custom perfumes out of the most precious ingredients for actresses like Reese Witherspoon and Hilary Swank (their bottles look they were found in the elegant bathroom of a Romanian castle!), and Frette sheets, maker of the most sumptuous bedding in the world. Last but not least, here I got a chance to meet Kate Somerville and speak to her about her famous products, especially the Quench Hydrating Serum, which actress Catherine Bell of "Army Wives" confided in me, was like a "skin miracle".

--I also attended Kari Feinstein's Emmy Style Lounge, where we had to drive to the highest hills of Hollywood and then be shuttled to a "secret location" where the suites were located in a private mansion. Now, this was the flossiest-flossiest lounge I had ever been to. There was a Reebok room where they had some of the coolest looking sneakers I had ever seen (the Voltron line is super-colorful and my favorite). Laura and I even filmed a PSA for Rockand Republic's "Rock The Cure" campaign while actors Seth Green and Andy Milonakis looked on. Laura kept saying how her kids would be SO jealous if they knew she was there with them! I saw so many stars file out of there with so many bags of stuff, my jaw just remained at dropped position the whole day! My half-full bag looked like a bad poor stepchild compared to theirs.

--At the Platinum Suite in the Luxe BeverlyHills Hotel , we were escorted to the Penthouse Suite and I got to stand near(but not too close to), $40 million worth of diamonds and platinum designed by various jewelry houses. It's just incredible that they are lent out to stars. I guess somehow actors wearing them and mentioning their name makes some (very rich) folk run out and feel like want to buy a $50,000 necklace. There has to be a reason, right? I just wore my $100 Nixon steel-plated watch--which I bought myself! Here, there was a La Prairie counter, offering a "taste" of why their skin caviar is the best skin cream in the world. The jar that was hidden in my "goodie bag" was larger than a jar of Jiffy Peanut Butter! Trust me, I ain't complainin'.

--I was invited to attend the Gersh Agency Dinner and Party for its Emmy nominees, given by Frederic Fekkai, to celebrate the opening of his eponymous salon on the exclusive Melrose Place street. There, I gossiped about fashion with Lilah Schechner, West Coast Editor of Elle Magazine. Leave it to the two fashion "queens" to hone in on each other and hang out for two hours and discuss fashion--at a very "A-list Hollywood Industry" non-fashion party!

--David and I attended the Entertainment Weekly Party and saw such A-listers as Vanessa Williams, most of her costars from "Ugly Betty", "Entourage's" Jeremy Piven, my friend and his on-screen assistant, Rex Lee, and Heidi and Seal. I had a lot of fun, sampling the hors d'oeuvres and drinking the yummy Margaritas. A notable absence was Tim Gunn, who was supposed to have shown up, but due to the fact that his car pick up NEVER arrived, he opted to just remain in his hotel and rest up for the big event. I missed him because we would have had "private time" to dish before the Emmy Awards the next day.

--Emmy Awards:
My favorite moments were meeting the GORGEOUS Padma Lakshmi, hostess and judge of Top Chef--looking divine in a white stretch silk Dolce and Gabbana siren gown, Tom Colicchio, also of Top Chef, "Ugly Betty" actor Christopher Gorham, who's a big fan of Project Runway. My best moment was meeting actress Patricia Heaton. I delicately pulled her to come to be interviewed for my MSN piece and once she recognized who I was, she literally began jumping up and down screaming. She was like "Oh my God, Oh My God, you're Nick from Project Runway!!!!" I returned the favor by also screaming "Oh my God, you're Patricia Heaton..and I am a big fan! And can I design a Gown for you next time???" Check out the MSN Emmy video to see what she had in her purse. It's the best! Click HERE to watch the video of Laura and I going through the Stars purses!

--I attended two Emmy's after parties: One for DIVA, Diverse and Inclusive Visionary Artists/Hector Monserratte at East West Lounge where I ran into Survivor star and Janice Dickinson model, JP Calderon. The 2nd party was for Magical Elves, the producers of Bravo's Top Chef and Project Runway, among others. There, I had a great time chatting with Bravo's Andy Cohen and seeing my old friends at Elves, especially the sexy Michael Rucker, looking like a British aristocrat with his tuxedo tails, skinny pants and flower pin. Here, I also ran into model Amanda Fields and several of the chefs from Top Chef well as the over-the-top Bobby Trendy(go figure!). They were still viewing the awards show that I had just ended up attending. Unfortunately, I arrived right as they were announcing Amazing Race as the winner of Reality Competition Program. There were lots of booos in the party.

-- Two Interesting Observations regarding the Emmy Awards:
I always somehow thought that the WHOLE theater/auditorium was always FILLED with stars--all of its 6,000 seats were somehow occupied by "famous people". When, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Maybe 5-10 % of the seats are filled with famous people while the majority of the seats are "other" industry folk--producers, writers, costumers, grips, agents, managers--not so famous.
The other observation was more of a fashion one. A lot of the women attending looked like they were going to the Miss Tennessee Pageant Finals, instead of the Emmy's. Beaded polyester satin Leg-o-Mutton sleeved gowns with front thigh-high slits would not have been my choice of a gown to wear to the Emmy's. And I saw SEVERAL! Ah well, all I can do is continue to offer advice and encourage women to "DRESS LIKE YOU MEAN"! Click HERE to watch video of Laura and I giving advice on dressing for your body type.