COCOTIQUE + Cocktails & Couture

(L-R) Celebrity Manicurist TracyLee Percival, Claire Sulmers Founder of FashionBombDaily.com, entertainment journalist JasFly, beauty pioneer Jennifer Walsh and Avon/mark Brand Manager Jessica Goon.

Fashion Week may be behind us but the connections made during the seven (plus) days of non-stop event-hopping live on. I had the pleasure of experiencing Lianne Farbes’ must-attend COCKTAILS & COUTURE event again this year and not to sound cliché, but like fine wine, this soiree gets better with time. As a veteran beauty expert and creator of TheMakeUpGirl.net, Lianne Farbes hosted the bi-annual COCKTAILS & COUTURE Beauty & Blogger networking event at the chic 320 Studios in midtown Manhattan. COCKTAILS & COUTURE, the beauty maven’s largest production to date, was co-hosted by celebrity manicurist, TracyLee Percival and beauty pioneer Jennifer Walsh.

C & C prize winner and Lianne Farbes

C & C guests at full attention (including yours truly)

Understanding her reader’s needs, Lianne expanded the C & C experience to include a very engaging panel discussion featuring: Claire Sulmers Founder of FashionBombDaily.com, entertainment journalist JasFly, beauty pioneer Jennifer Walsh, Avon/mark Brand Manager Jessica Goon, celebrity manicurist TracyLee Percival and Special Guest Charlene Dance, Global Marketing Director of Strength of Nature. The lively discussion included topics such as privacy and transparency as a blogger, remaining true to oneself, creating and developing brand identity and more.

Dana Hill

One participating vendor that truly grabbed my attention was COCOTIQUE. Adorable name, right? Founded by Dana Hill, COCOTIQUE is a new lifestyle subscription box that gained tons of visibility through its involvement with the much buzzed about affair:

“COCOTIQUE’s involvement with COCKTAILS & COUTURE gave a huge boost to our brand’s exposure to the public and to the press.  We not only gained new subscribers and brand awareness, but we also made some valuable business connections.  The timing was perfect…C & C was a great tool to supplement our launch strategy.  Lianne and her team did a fabulous job and we were grateful to be a part of it!”

COCOTIQUE + COCKTAILS & COUTURE

I asked  Dana what inspired her to launch the box and what separates COCOTIQUE from the other subscription services on the market. Here’s what she had to say:

“I had originally wanted to start a blog called “Ultimate Beauty Arsenal” that took a peek into real women’s beauty routines.  Whenever I saw someone whose skin, hair, makeup, etc I admired – I was always curious about what beauty products they used and what their beauty routines were.  The blog never got off the ground because blogging didn’t come naturally to me.  In my heart I knew that I would do something beauty related, but I had to wait until what that would be was revealed to me.  I believe in planting a seed in my consciousness and eventually the universe will point me in the right direction and bring the right people and situations into my life to bring it to life.

My interest in beauty started when I was around 12 and I would visit my Mother in Holland.  She never wore  a lot of makeup but I was intrigued by the natural products and potions she used from Indonesia – where she was born.  I remember these amazing hair oils she used for her hair and on mine and various Indonesian herbs she took for her skin and hair.  The only makeup she’d let me wear outside was a clear/pink tinted nail polish…but I could experiment with her other makeup in the house.  I had grown up as such a tomboy and was able to explore my girlie side when I visited my Mother.  Flash forward to adulthood, I had become a full-on beauty product junkie.  At my first job out of college as an assistant fashion editor at Vogue and later at Harper’s Bazaar, I used to love when we had the end of season giveaways from the beauty closet – that was heaven. And working on set and watching these amazing makeup artists and hairstylists transform the models fascinated me.  In fact, I’ve always had my own “beauty closet” at home –with my huge array of products that I would buy and try and didn’t work.

When I heard about Birchbox, I knew that this business model would be great for women of color who are always trying to find products that work for their skin tone and hair textures. With COCOTIQUE,  I wanted to combine all my past experiences in beauty, fashion & entertainment into a lifestyle destination for women of color and diverse ethnicities.  I wanted to not only introduce my subscribers to new beauty products, but also tie in entertainment, fitness, fashion – COCOTIQUE is all about a lifestyle:  We’re all about that woman who loves high-end products but also mixes in more affordable brands, whether that be makeup or fashion.”

Kudos to LuxeLife Media for another awesome production! Interested in attending a future COCKTAILS & COUTURE event? Follow Lianne’s blog, www.themakeupgirl.net as well as the event’s social media channels (@candcparty) and stay in the loop! To learn more about COCOTIQUE or to get your own subscription click here!