Gossip Girl: Real NYC Stories Revealed

The Upper East Side is the most prestigious area of New York; located between Central Park and the East River, it is home to world-famous museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim as well as elite schools and luxury boutiques. It is also a pivotal place for four feisty New Yorkers who are dubbed the real Gossip Girls. In celebration of their new go fresh Burst Body Wash, Dove have created a series of micro documentaries that takes us into the lives of four sassy women who are connected to the Upper East Side. Gossip Girl: Real NYC Stories Revealed gives us an insight into the life of a working gal in the Big Apple. The series was aired last month on CWTV during the last four episodes of Gossip Girl and it was introduced by Jessica Szohr who plays Vanessa Abrams.

The four featured ladies are different in many ways. There is IT girl, Dani Stahl, style director of hip magazine NYLON and a jewellery designer who is born and bred on the Upper East Side. Faythallegra Coleman is an indie film maker who was born and raised in Harlem. She schooled at a prestigious school on the Upper East Side but now calls Brooklyn her home. Then there is Lara Meiland Shaw who was born in Denmark but moved to the Upper East Side when she was ten years old. She is a wedding couture designer and co-founder of Lara Helene which is a label that she runs with her sister who is based in London. Like a true socialite, Lara's evenings are full with cocktail parties and fundraisers. Her life is a far cry from Chrissie Miller who was born and raised in the Upper East Side but now calls the Lower East Side her home. She moves in a tight knit circle of musicians, film makers and artists. Chrissie is a fashion designer who runs hip label, Sophomore.

These videos are a lot of fun and gives you a taste into the life of Upper East Siders. All of these ladies are doing great things and making huge strides in their career and any notions of them being little rich girls are quickly dispelled. Dani, Lara, Chrissie and Faythallegra and women who have the guts to go for their passion and are now living their dreams. You ever heard of the phrase lifestyle envy - well I have it. Check out the intro to the show below and tell me what you think.



You can watch Gossip Girl: Real NYC Stories Revealed here.

Pretty: The NYLON Book of Beauty

Too cool for school, NYLON magazine have just recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. So what do they do to mark this feat? Piss off some of their subscribers by informing them that they will now be receiving their beloved magazine in digital format. You can imagine that went down like a ton of bricks and rightfully so. I don't think it would take a genius to work out that if someone is committed enough to sign up for a supply of magazines then they are expecting a hard copy to be delivered through their door. NYLON execs need to get with the programme and fast before they lose all their readers. In terms of the magazine, on a stylish level it looks amazing - the layouts are fresh and so pretty but the editorial sucks. The writing is pretty bad and bland at the best of times and their title as a mag that is edgy and bit off the wall is not justified. I am sorry but I just cannot take a magazine who claims to be different from other glossies yet puts wash out Lindsay Lohan and doolittles, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie on the cover seriously. Right now I would say NYLON is all style with very little substance.

On a much more positive note NYLON do produce some pretty impressive books. Recently the lovely J gifted me a copy of Pretty: The NYLON Book of Beauty. One of the attributes that die hard NYLON fans talk about when raving about the magazine is the unique way that they feature beauty products which goes far beyond applying make up. This book covers core beauty products that every lady will use at sometime in her life - iconic brands such as Maybelline mascara, Shu Uemura eye lash curlers, Revlon lipstick and many many more. As well as some tips on how to use them we are also given a bit of history of these great brands. The next section is all about the icon's whose looks have shaped each decades since the 40s. Greta Garbo, Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Bancroft, Pam Grier, Madonna, Uma Thurman et all are featured with a brief bio of their lives as well as the 'moment' that they shaped history. For Anne Bancroft it is her pressance in The Graduate and Uma Thurman her look in Pulp Fiction while women like Greta Garbo and Josephine Baker had an aesthetic influence that ran though out their career. The final section is a culmination of the basics from part one and the inspiration from part two and this is where you put your face on and do your hair. This section has samples of different make up looks and hairstyles. Pretty The NYLON Book of Beauty lives up to its billing and is as gorgeous on the inside as it is on the outside.

The book is written by NYLON beauty director, Fiorella Valdesolo, check out an interview with her here.

Pictures taken from the NYLON website.

Cover Girl

Nabbing a super hot, A list star for your cover is no longer a big deal for glossy magazines. Check out the women's magazine rack and you will see famous personalities like Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera and Rhianna peering out at you. Publishers are now pushing the boat out and going that one step further. To go with that lavish cover shoot is the cover shoot video where behind the scenes footage of the star is screened. This is viral marketing at its best as this video is plugged in the Editor's letter and posted on the magazine's website as well as YouTube. Practically every magazine worth it's salt has followed suit such as NYLON, Marie Claire, Elle and InStyle. Check out the shoot with Queen of cool, Gwen Stefani during her cover shoot for the November issue of InStyle.