On Tuesday, August 7th, Lady Mendls Tea Salon (56 Irving Place,, NYC) was the perfect setting for the “Mad Hatters Tea Party” celebrating the debut of the Gianna Rose Atelier Walt Disney collection, and the Fall, Winter and Holiday 2007 Collections. This tea palace is part of the luxurious Inn at Irving Place, and it’s a must-go-to-at-least-once with your BFF, Victorian-style tea parlor that makes you feel like you are really in another era.
In this era, my entrance was hot and sweaty. It was searingly hot outside, and I’d just come from the Javits Center (where I was covering FAME, Moda Manhattan, and Accessories, the Show). I revived, when I finally got to meet some of the great women I’ve been working with on Gianna Rose Atelier. *For past Advice Sisters reviews of Gianna Rose Atelier, check our What Works Archives at: http://www.advicesisters.net/WWarchives/wwarcindex.html or try our SEARCH Box options on the Current What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion Review Column: http://www.advicesisters.net/WWarchives/wwarcindex.html
Gianna Rose Atelier is a line of products that is one of my personal favorites, not just because of th
e high quality, reasonably priced products in imaginative shapes, but also because the packaging is so beautiful, it’s like getting more than one item to enjoy. For example, the Holiday Collection (see photo to the left) features Substantial, cardboard gift boxes covered with silver metallic paper overlayed with a “Victorian-style” matte gold paisley design, wrapped with a silvery satin ribbon and a gift card. I can definitely see re-using the box to store special objects from handkerchiefs to hairpins. The holiday collection “Holiday Tower” (*will be $79.50) features three boxes of beautifully embossed soaps, scented with various winter scents such as vanilla, sandalwood, pine, bergamot, Jasmine and Lavender. They are beautifully shaped as holiday ornaments, ripe pears, and flat squares with embossed with snowflakes. The Holiday Tower is also tied with a glittery, snowflake ornament. You can just about see the glittery ornament hanging from the pewter vase. You can also get these products separately, and we will be reviewing them in an upcoming What Works column, so definitely watch for them. Who needs wrapping paper, and why waste the time???
The BIG news for Gianna Rose Atelier is that the company is collaborating with beloved Walt Disney to create a new collection: Gianna Rose for Walt Disney. As the Disney brand is a delight for people of all ages, so too will be this new, Gianna Rose collection. I was delighted to meet Blair Buckley, Vice President of Product Development for Gianna Rose Atelier, in person. Everyone (including the Advice Sisters) loves this new collection, which is debuting at the International Gift Fair next week. My favorite in this collection (and I don’t want to give ALL away before we get a chance to review it for you) is the Alice’s English Garden, that captures delicate soap “petals” in light rose and white, in a clear,glass, apothecary jar. The paisley box (wrapped with a silky ribbon and gift tag) brings the theme home, with Alice’s journey through the garden, and “secret” images of Alice, the white rabbit, the Cheshire cat, and the caterpillar. The other items in the collection feature beautifully scented soaps in “Alice in Wonderland” shapes, all in richly colored “Alice-themed” gift boxes. All the items in the collection will sell for $37.50.
For Fall, Gianna Rose Atelier fans will be delighted to learn about the Fall/Winter Collection. Frogs are considered lucky in a lot of cultures, and I am predicting that everyone will want to have the new, Magic Frog Candle $25.00–a large, green, life-like frog scented with light “water Lilly” that is nestled on his own, white, porcelain “Lilly pad.” He is so adorable, you might not want to light the wick, but your Magic Frog will burn in the middle, so he’ll be all yours (without the head falling off or burning into the candle) until the candle’s end. There is also a lovely, linen-scented, ivory-colored hen candle. For Fall/Winter two news soaps feature La Chouette, A white, lychee-scented owl (really cute–what a nice gift for a favorite teacher or any wise person) and Le Cocker Spaniel $21.00, a black-colored, green tea and bergamot scented doggie.
If you’re hosting a Thanksgiving dinner this year at your house, or want to bring something special for your host/hostess, the Collection De Nature are beautifully-packaged, molded soaps with amazing, holiday-scents that come either in lovely, re-usable, cardboard slider boxes $24.00/4 with Victorian designs in harvest colors, or with decorative, pottery bowls $29.50/4. I particularly liked the Pinecone & Acorn-shaped Soaps with their savory, spicy blend of sandalwood, pine and night blooming jasmine. There is also a pumpkin and squash collection featuring sweet brown sugar, pumpkin and fig. Here is my photo of the “Thanksgiving” display at the launch, and a closeup of some of the soaps:
With the holidays coming, you’re going to want to check out all the gorgeous Gianna Rose Atelier products available for sale. Visit http://www.giannarose.com or check out The Advice Sisters What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion review columns!