Ardent beauty fans

 

At the launch of the Elizabeth Arden AW 2012 collection at Residence were: 1. Michelle Toner and Tara Corristine of Irish Tatler; 2. Karen Doyle; 3. Rececca Taylor. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

Brown's Cafe

First birthday: 1. Claire Moinot, Mona Schinke, Florence Lourme; 2. Deirdre O’Brien, Edel Kinane.

(Pix. Paul Sherwood)

Browns Bar and Café at Brown Thomas Dublin celebrated the café’s 1st birthday and the first successful year with leading luxury resort Carton House at the helm.  Guests enjoyed champagne and canapés taken from the menu of Carton House followed by a beauty master-class from make-up expert Karen Nelson at Laura Mercier.

Deirdre O’Brien Director of Sales and Marketing at Carton House welcomed guests and highlighted how both BT and Browns Bar and Café by Carton House offered the perfect stop-off for overseas visitors with afternoon tea, mouthwatering food and a range of cocktails and champagne available in the café, not to mention personal shopping experiences and make-up masterclasses arranged by Brown Thomas.

On the Fringe

Festive: 1. Kristin Fox and Ewa Senger; 2. Camil Gools and Kam Angulska; 3. Brian Bennett and Nyree Yergainharsion. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

ABSOLUT FRINGE 2012 was launched by award-winning hip-hop comedy duo The Rubberbandits.  Ireland’s largest multi-disciplinary arts festival, runs city-wide throughout Dublin this September 8 – 23, showcasing the newest and best Irish and international arts. Around 150,000 people have at least one Fringe experience during the festival which runs for 16 days transforming Dublin into a ‘dream factory’, an exposé of great creative talent from around the globe.

Up to 500 people including Festival Director Roise Goan, ABSOLUT Vodka Marketing Manager Richard Brickley, board member Jen Coppinger, Literary Director of the Abbey, Aideen Howard and theatre director Tom Creed attended the unveiling of the programme that includes 90 artists presenting 624 events across the 16 day festival.

The festival unlike many others internationally, is a wholly curated festival seeking innovative and daring work that impacts, moves and invigorates its audience. It’s a platform for the best new, emerging Irish arts companies and a showcase for the best contemporary theatre, dance and spectacle shows touring internationally.

ABSOLUT Fringe 2012 ::  Sep 8 – 23, 2012 | www.fringefest.com

Kilbeggan

Good going: 1. Sandra Nestor, Niamh Dowler; 2. Sarah Gene Loughnane; 3. Pippa O’Connor, Roz Purcell. (Pix. Paul Sherwood)

Gorgeous Irish models Pippa O’Connor and Roz Purcell added sparkle and pizazz to the Best Dressed Lady Competition at the Gigginstown Midlands National Day at Kilbeggan Races. Blessed with the weather Roz and Pippa certainly had their work cut out for them trying to pick a standout winner in a crowd of very glamorous midland ladies.  

MC for the evening Des Cahill added a humorous element to the occasion and was on hand to give his valued opinion to the judges!  Dundrum Town Centre and Wineport Lodge in Glasson sponsored the event and took great pleasure in presenting the prizes.

Worthy first time winner Sarah Gene Loughnane won a prize in excess of €2,000, including a €1,000 shopping spree at Dundrum Town Centre, a Woman of Style Weekend at Wineport Lodge.  Sarah Gene was, literally, lost for words when she was presented with her swag.

Seapoint Smile

Smile please: 1. Angie Grant and Edmund O’Flaherty; 2. Nicola Scott and Kelly Cousins; 3. Karla Moloney and Victoria Baird. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

A host of beauty fans were all smiles at Seapoint Clinic to mark the opening of its newly refurbished premises. The state-of-the art clinic is run by some of the country’s top dentists and is a recognised leader in cosmetic dentistry in Ireland.

Seapoint Clinic also launched their brand new product, Teeth in a Day, which allows patients transform their smile in just one day and will revolutionise treatment for denture wearers or those with broken or missing teeth.  Party goers were treated to canapés and bubbly before the ribbon was cut on the stylish new premises on Seapoint Avenue, Blackrock.

Guinness Black is the new Black

The new Black: 1. Ruth Gardner, Sarah Conlon and Mary O'Dea; 2. Brian Bryce and James English. 

(Pix. KH)

Over 200 people celebrated the arrival of Guinness Black Lager, the latest taste sensation from Guinness, at a unique event in the Tivoli Theatre Car-Park on Francis Street, Dublin. This was no down-at-heel outdoor drink fest in a car park, no there were super cool Mongolian yurts set up for the occasion, very festival chic.

It was a very laidback atmosphere for the guests who sampled the lager which is available nationwide through off licences, and enjoyed a specially designed menu from the Sett Food Club and a music set created by David Kitt.

Taste stations included surprising food combinations designed to complement the tasting notes of Guinness Black Lager including goat cheese with toasted oaks, lamb carpaccio, quail eggs with hay and many more.

Guests were welcomed by Fergal Murray, Guinness Master Brewer and Sarah Spain, Senior Brand Manager Guinness, before enjoying the popular Dine in the Dark experience led by Tom Lynn from Sett Food Club.

Developed by the master brewers at Guinness in response to a growing desire from lager drinkers for more taste, Guinness Black Lager is brewed just like a lager with the addition of Guinness signature roasted barley. This gives it a flavour that’s quite unique from that of other lagers.

La vie est Belle

 

Belle Epoque: 1. Darren Kennedy; 2. Astrid Brennan; 3. Aibheann McCaul. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Ireland’s beauty experts gathered excitedly at the very exclusive National Gallery of Ireland’s No 5. South Leinster Street where Lancôme celebrated the launch of La vie est Belle (Life is Wonderful) its newest feminine fragrance.  

Welcomed by L’Oreal Luxe Ireland’s Róisín Tierney-Crowe and hosted by television presenter Darren Kennedy, perfumer Anne Filpo flew into Dublin for the day to explain how La Vie Est Belle was created by her and two other leading French perfumers Olivier Bolge and Dominique Ropion.

Ireland’s leading ladies were out in force including Alison Canavan who chatted to model Sarah Tansey.  PR Norman Pratt and Avril Collins spoke about Avril’s new top job in the UK with fellow publicist Astrid Brennan while singer and actress Maria Tecce, Carmel Breheny and Laura Beatty also enjoyed the party.

A fragrance infused with meaning, with both a conscience and a soul. “La vie est belle” exudes the simplicity of truth and sincerity, just like quintessentially French beauty; that famous, radiant “je ne sais quoi” that goes beyond beauty, all contained within a heart shaped bottle.

The exquisite, chandelier dripping setting of No. 5 South Leinster Street perfectly reflected the TV campaign, which was unveiled to the exclusive Irish audience for the first time. Directed by Tarsem Singh and filmed in Los Angeles in the legendary Universal Studios it depicts a soirée like no other.

Charity Ball

Puttin’ on the Ritz: 1. Rob McNaughton and Glenda Gilson; 2. Steven Gerrard and Keith Duffy.  (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Football star Steven Gerrard hosted a charity gala recently as part of  the ‘Steven Gerrard & Keith Duffy Charity  fundraising Weekend’ in aid of The Steven Gerrard Foundation and Irish Autism Action sponsored by MACE, at The  Ritz Carlton Hotel at Powerscourt. 

The event featured a live performance by Jack L, along with a charity auction which included a corporate box for one of the Liverpool home games for ten people.  Radio presenter Siobhan O Connor was master of ceremonies on the night.

The Liverpool Captain was joined at the event by Coronation Street stars Michael Lavelle and Ryan Thomas as well as actors Danny Miller and Phillip Olivier. 

Her.ie

Fe-mail: 1. Evanne Ní Chuilinn; 2. Nicky Byrne and Geogina Ahern; 3. Katy Barwell and Jerry Flannery. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Her.ie, an exciting new website aimed at Irish women, was launched by an all star cast of Irish talent including former international and Munster rugby star Jerry Flannery; and Today FM and RTE broadcaster Mairead Farrell.  The new website, which is a sister site to the popular men’s website JOE.ie will appeal to all those who love beauty, are fashion conscious, know their celebrity gossip and care deeply about their relationships, family and career.

The launch party took place in The Pink on Dawson Street with a whole host of stars arriving on the night to celebrate the launch of the new website.  Jerry Flannery, Director at Joe.ie and Her.ie arrived with his girlfriend Kate Barwell and was joined by Leinster rugby pals Jamie Hagan and Damian Browne.

Columnists for the site, Mairead Farrell, Evanne Ni Chuilinn and Georgina Ahern partied away while Nicky Byrne accompanied Georgina on their first public outing since Westlife delivered their final concert of their farewell tour at Croke Park.

Her.ie is the first website solely dedicated to the needs, interests and aspirations of modern Irish women. The site is aimed at women aged 18 – 40 with busy lives who enjoy social media, sharing stories and reading articles online.  Her.ie have lined up a selection of high profile Irish women to write weekly columns for the site.  

Featured columnists include broadcaster Mairead Farrell, new mum and RTE sports presenter Evanne Ní Chuilinn, Georgina Ahern and MTV’s Laura Whitmore. These Irish women are admired for their professional achievements, but aren’t afraid to get personal about their lives and their passions as they discuss their daily lives and views on everything from parenting to nights out to thoughts on current affairs.

Horsepower

On show: 1. Dan McGrattan and Ann Doyle; 2.  Aoibheann McCaul and Aoibhin Garrihy. (pix. Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)

Preparations are well underway at the Royal Dublin Society for the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show 2012. 

Usually held in early August, this year this iconic event will run from August 15^th-19^th 2012, allowing for competitors involved in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, time to get to Dublin for one of the most important equestrian & social events of the year

Details of the event were announced at a special reception where guests included Ann Doyle, TV and Radio Presenter Michael Hayes, Fair City's Aoibhin Garrihy and Aoibheann McCaul, actress Nora Sheehan, Louis Copland, Norah Casey, along with a selection of Irish International riders who were warmly welcomed to the RDS by CEO Michael Duffy.

The Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show is the largest summer event in Dublin, attracting tens of thousands of people and 1,500 horses and ponies to the RDS. The 2012 Show runs for five days from Wednesday, 15^th August to Sunday, 19^th August. General admission tickets for one day costs €21. Student/OAP’s/Children under 16 costs €15 per day and a Family day pass (2 Adults, 4 children) costs €54. For more information go to www.dublinhorseshow.com

NUXE looks

 All for Beauty: 1. Alison Canavan; 2. Lisa Byrne; 3. Siobhan O'Connor and Kevin Menton. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

French beauty brand NUXE celebrated the 20^th birthday of its cult Huile Prodigieuse product. The chic Mezz Bar at La Stampa played host to the event where guests were treated to champagne and tasty canapés while Elizabeth Whelan shared the success story of NUXE. Huile Prodigieuse multi purpose dry oil is a product loved by celebrities all over the world and NUXE was one of the first brands to create such an innovative product.

On the Tapas trail

Tap that: 1.Stuart Moffett and Fiona Carroll; 2. Amy Curran and Amy Martin.  (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Tapas fans and wine enthusiasts joined Spanish wine brand Campo Viejo, under the awning of No Name Bar, for the launch of the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. A celebration of Spanish wine and cuisine, participants will have the opportunity to join the trail through Dublin city centre and discover the art and elegance of ‘tapeo’; the art of eating tapas.  

As guests dined alfresco they enjoyed a selection of delicious tapas developed for Campo Viejo by the renowned Martin Berasategui Cookery School in Northern Spain and sampled Campo Viejo Reserva. Attendees on the evening included  host of food and wine enthusiasts. 

Each Wednesday and Sunday from 27th June to the 19th August, the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail will visit four top restaurants around Dublin including Salamanca St Andrews Street, Salamanca Fusion, Parliament Street, Havana Tapas Bar and The Market Bar. 

For further information and to reserve a space on the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail log onto www.facebook.com/campoviejoireland or www.campoviejotapastrail.com