EMA Awards in LA

I have been in Los Angeles for various press, customer and celebrity events happening here. The main event has been the Environmental Media Association awards, of which we are co-sponsors and the first British brand to be supporters of this prestigious Hollywood event. To help promote it, we held a beauty breakfast for the top ‘blogging’ beauty websites (a hugely growing part of the media in the States – and the UK too). We took over a stunning breakfast room right on the beach at Santa Monica, where I was able to tell the assembled writers a little more about us and also let them know about the EMA awards. Visit www.ema-online.org to find out more. Several of the beauty bloggers had already heard of us – one was a devotee of Cleanse & Polish already, so the word is certainly spreading Stateside. You can now read what one of the ‘bloggers’ had to say as a follow-up to our breakfast together – see www.beautyjunkiesunite.com

Getting ready for the celebrity-studded awards’ ceremony, I chose a British fashion designer, Temperley, and a really lovely green-gold evening gown, teamed with a gold vintage cardigan (very eco) and a metallic evening bag made entirely from recycled tin can ring-pulls and cotton crochet thread. These fabulous bags are made by a co-operative of women in Brazil and they really are amazing – lovely designs, practical and stylish too, yet very eco-friendly,  (and the money the women make goes back into their community projects too). Take a look at the website: www.bottletop.org

Walking down the ‘green carpet’ was slightly daunting as it was packed with TV stars, such as Nicole Richie and Ed Norton, news crews and paparazzi all jostling and hustling for the best shot or exclusive sound-bite. One of the reporters I spoke to, from CBS news, knew exactly who I was (unlike most of the others!) as both she and her sister are big fans of…Cleanse & Polish! So at least I didn’t have to explain to her what we do or how to use a muslin cloth. TV stars didn’t just walk the carpet though – some were driven down in Toyota’s hybrid Prius (very popular with the seen-to-be-greenies in Hollywood) while others made their point by riding a bicycle down the length of the carpet.

The EMA awards are held primarily to harness the power of the celebrity and the media to promote a more sustainable way of life – by giving out positive messages in films and TV shows – and are a valuable link between the entertainment industry and the eco-community. Nominated shows included Into the Wild (the new movie directed by Sean Penn), Boston Legal’s ‘Green Christmas’ episode and TV comedy 30 Rock’s ‘Greenzo’ episode. This last one was the show I voted for on the panel – and it won – so I felt lightly brushed with a little stardust magic.

After the awards, we all went into a beautifully  lit courtyard where many of the other sponsors, such as organic farms and restaurants, were offering canapés and delicious cocktails (antioxidant-enriched pomegranate mojitos were the drink of choice for many). Our own stand was next to Tiffany the jeweller, who were there promoting their ‘clean’ gold (mined with greater social responsibility) and , their ban on red coral and Burmese gemstones (more details on their website). As soon as the doors opened we were mobbed – with guests swarming 8-deep to our stand to receive a complimentary Cleanse & Polish kit, Superskin Moisturiser and Superskin Concentrate. The actress Wendie Malick stopped by with some of her girlfriends to rave about Cleanse & Polish – which she swears by every day - and special-achievement winner, actress Rosario Dawson spent quite a long time chatting with our team and was very interested in trying the range. 

We finally managed to slip away just after 11pm – a very late night by LA standards, where it is perfectly normal to be up and in the gym by 5am. Needless to say, we all had a little bit of a lie-in the following morning and woke-up to see images of the event being flashed around the world on the news-wire – some of which we can share with you here. Enjoy!

High-point: Meeting up with actress Wendie Malick on the ‘green carpet ’ and hearing her say “I’m just loving your Cleanse  & Polish – I use it every single day!” and then having her bring all her Hollywood chums to our stand at the EMA Awards.

Funny-point: Looking for a taxi and asking the driver if he was free? “No Ma-am,” he replied, “you have to pay.”

Info-point: Learning a new expression – “I need a 411 on that” - as in, dialling 411 for information.