Emmy winning writer for Master of None, Lena Waithe, with Alessandra Carranza of The Honey Hive Soaps at the DPA Pre-Golden Globes Gift Lounge Photo: Cecile Boko
BEVERLY HILLS, (LA Elements) 1-6-2018- .“I am a one woman business and I make all the products in my apartment in Connecticut,” says Alessandra Carranza, owner of The Honey Hive Soaps. “All handmade. All ingredients are 70-90% organic fixed oils. I brought soap today, but I make more than soap. I actually began with lotion and lip balms before I got into soap.”
What was your inspiration for the business?
“When I was 18, I had a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier and be healthier. I was reading ingredients in a store and when I got to the health and beauty products, I realized I had no idea what any of the ingredients were. I took pictures of the ingredients and went home. I did research and found out they are terrible for you and not even supposed to touch your skin. I thought, what do I do? I found out you can make your own natural products using less than ten ingredients that are accessible to you and better for you. It just costs more and takes longer to make. I got into it when I was 18, a few years ago. Now I am here.”
Was there anyone you were excited to meet here?
“Lena Waithe. She was here the first night. She was in such a rush, I was not able to tell her anything about the products, but I got a picture and gave her a bundle. I was so excited.”
Carranza offered a bundle of handmade, cruelty and paraben-free soaps to each guest who visited her display.
Exclusive skincare products, fashion and refreshments were among the many gift sponsors at the DPA 2018 Golden Globes Gift Lounge which was held on January 4th, 5th and 6th at the Luxe Hotel on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The following were among the standouts:
Marsha Vacirca from Madame Adassa Photo: Debbie Sperry
“My line is Madame Adassa,” says fashion designer Marsha Vacirca. “I’m from Jamaica originally. My grandparents were from Europe, so I tried to fuse the cultures in my designs. You see a little bit of old and a little bit of new. Sleeves from the Victorian era with one shoulder, so it is a little bit sexy. I brought my gowns out here for celebrities who are going to the Golden Globes on Sunday. As you can see they are all gone.”
No embarrassing moments with someone else seen in your dress.
“I know, right. The lucky celebrities who got their hands on some will be the only ones.”
Who are some of the celebrities that received your dresses?
“Leslie Zemeckis (spouse of Robert Zemeckis) just picked up one of them. “
Kerstin Florian at DPA Photo: Debbie Sperry
“We are launching today our first beauty collection,” says Morgan Brown, Account Executive for Kerstin Florian. “As you know, Kerstin Florian, is at a lot of resort spas and we are really known for our facial and body treatments. We created this line because after a facial, you want to still put some makeup on your face, but don’t want to put heavy makeup on. So what we did was combine skincare actives with color to create this line. We first created it for the treatment room and moved onto the consumer world. So we have a CC cream, foundation and concealer. Today we are featuring our concealer. What it does is it acts like an eye cream and helps with fine lines, dark circles, puffiness. All it does is add a little bit of color to help you look fresh throughout your day. I am wearing the CC cream now.”
Your skin is glowing.
“It is really nice because it is really light and goes on smooth. It highlights your natural skin. If you want to build it, it is really buildable. If I am going out at night, I might put a little bit more than I would for my everyday life. I wear my concealer lighter and each color adjusts up to three shades. You put it on and it adjusts to what your skin color actually is. I swear by the brand. I’ve been very impressed and my skin looks really healthy.”
Guests to the gifting lounge received the new Kerstin Florian concealer, in a shade perfect for them.
Parker Bates and Mackenzie Hancsicsak from the Golden Globe nominated drama, This Is Us, with the representatives from Appletinis. Photo: Claire Painchaud
“These are Appletinies. Tiny and Tasty from Austria. We live in Austria and make our product there. Dry organic apples covered with organic chocolate in different flavors. Everything is made in Austria because we have a lot of apples,” says Lukas Wilfling and Markus Tritthart, creators of the unique tasty treats. “We brought Appletinies to the US and hope to start business in the US. This is our first time here in the US.” Wilfling and Tritthart made the trip across continents to be here today to share their delicious apple treats.
Where can you buy these?
“We sell in Canada, but would like to sell in the US because organic is a big thing here.”
Guests received a gift bag with a variety of the delightful Appletinies treats from Wilfling and Tritthart, who were dressed in traditional Austrian garb.
Amy DiGregorio with J. Miles Dale, producer of The Shape of Water. Photo: Claire Painchaud
Other outstanding gift sponsors at the DPA Pre-Golden Globes gifting lounge included Gaura Water, created to fight the visible effects of aging, and Amy DiGregorio, designer of leather goods and jewelry. Outstanding refreshment sponsors included Kye’s Montana and Bareburger. Kye’s treated guests to a six vegetable vegan wrap option with nuts and seeds, fresh herbs in a spicy Thai inspired sauce, a wild seared salmon with a wasabi sauce with macro fresh vegetables, a grass fed beef Korean style, a curry chicken or a deli turkey sandwich.
Cover photo of Golden Globe Nominee Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) and representatives from Gaura Water courtesy of Timothy from DPA.
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