Moods of Norway celebrate 2 year store anniversary

Novoa Salon and BE Beverly Hills Anniversary celebration

On May 15, 2011, the rosé hit the ice, as a crowd of sleek, chic and perfectly coiffured guests filed into the Novoa Salon in Los Angeles for a private gathering in celebration of BE Beverly Hills’ first year and Novoa Salon’s tenth year anniversary; an exclusive event that raised as astounding $2,000 for the Japanese Relief Fund.

Located right in the heart of Los Angeles, Novoa Salon with its exotic Zen like décor is a L’Oreal Professionel salon that has gained significant notoriety for it's superior and unique service, delivered at the very hands from it's elite team of professionals. The owner of the salon, Carlo Novoa, who was in attendance that afternoon looking very Italian Vogue in a crisp, ivory suit, has travelled the globe and boasts loyal clientele of fifteen years and running.

Last year, Novoa connected with Michele Owen, co-founder of BE Beverly Hills Eco-friendly Haircare line, making Novoa salon the first salon in Los Angeles to carry BE Beverly Hills products. BE Beverly Hills prides itself on the guiding principle as to "develop products that are eco-friendly, cruelty-free to animals, and containing natural ingredients that always perform". The line which has already received phenomenal reviews, and has sent celebrity stylists to the stars tongue's wagging, had reached a stagering 125,000 fans in just their first year on Facebook. I had a quick chat with the gorgeous Michelle, who was also in attendance that evening in a green apple cocktail dress who informed me that BE's inspiration was to create a line that empowers women, with the idea that "a woman is most confident when she is radiant and beautiful." 

Throughout the afternoon, guests were treated to the BE Beverly Hills Inspired Daily Shine & Repair Serum with Argan Oil, a light-weight, paraben-free product, perfect for all hair types and with all natural rejuvenating ingredients to renew, rehydrate, and protect the hair; as well as personalized red velvet cupcakes and catering by Electric Karma.

For more information on Novoa Salon, head on over to :

http://www.novoasalon.com/


For more information and product details, as well as Facebook on BE Beverly Hills, head on over to:

http://www.bebeverlyhills.com/

http://www.facebook.com/bebeverlyhills


By Melanie Rudkiewicz ©

MELROSE HEIGHTS TV

Fusing together the very best in Fashion, Culture, Art, and Fine living, Melrose Heights TV will take you to those destinations you have only dreamed of. From the panoramic gardens of Louis Gossett Junior’s Malibu estate, to the very office of Neurosurgeon Dr. Keith L. Black at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. We'll take you behind the scenes in our compelling and in depth interviews with the likes of Grammy Award winning artists such as Quincy Jones, Explorer Dr. Allen S. Counter and the wildly talented Blair Underwood. Our passion to take our viewers from all over the globe, behind the red curtain, and share our infinite and exquisite journey in putting each issue together is what drove Curtis Williams, Publisher of Melrose Heights to release this highly anticipated channel.    

Our commitment to bringing you a higher standard of living and viewing is all at the click of your fingertips. With each episode will run for approximately thirty minutes long with announcements from our sponsors, Melrose Heights TV will entice you, tantalize you, and most of all, bring you into our world.

CURTIS WILLIAMS

Self portrait by Curtis Williams.

Few people can say they have lived and worked in seven different countries, and perhaps even fewer can cite the likes of international Vogue, Marie Claire, VIVA and Menswear as being accolades to their name. In fact, Curtis Williams, can say exactly just that. The international photographer who has lived and worked in Sweden, Germany, Italy, England, France and Spain, and to whom now resides back in his quaint, little apartment in West Hollywood, right in the heart of Los Angeles, a mere few streets away from the iconic Melrose Place (the very street to which this three year old publication derives its name from); has undoubtedly lived a life most could only spend their nine-to-five day jobs dreaming about.


Born one of nine children, and the son of an African American US Army Master Sargeant, Williams spent the earlier of his life in Europe. At seventeen, Williams’ landed an apprenticeship at a top production house, Peterson Productions, right in the heart of Hollywood, California. It was here, surrounded and inspired by likes of top Directors, Advertising Executives and Directors of Photography shooting some of the nation’s most headlining commercials that William’s thrived in this artistic environment. With the assistance of Richard Rucker, an employer of Peterson Productions, Williams’ went on to obtain a scholarship at the very prestigious Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, to which he graduated with honors, before going on to win a Junior Academy Award for his first short film, at just twenty-two years of age.

In March 1976 VIVA Magazine quoted, “Twenty-seven year old Curtis Williams is very much an artist of our time: his camera is the latest in photographic technology and his subjects are modern, liberated women. Yet, the special effects Williams perfected after over a year of experimentation with film and darkroom techniques invite comparison with the oil paintings of the very greatest seventeeth-century masters”.

If his over-flowing list of achievements hasn’t already left you salivating, Curtis is also an experienced Advertising Photographer, Film Producer and Director. However, Williams admits, his true passions lie in design and photography, the latter being a field to which he has very modestly accumulated more than twenty-five years of experience.

As a professional, Williams’ was one of the most sought after and head-lining Photographers between  New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, listing advertising agencies such as Young and Rublicam, Grey, Foote, Cone & Belding to his name. He spent in excess of twenty years in Europe, working in Sweden, Germany, Italy, England, France and Spain, and after a multitude of exhibits around the world and working for a plethora of prestigious clients including Wilhelmina Cooper, founder of the very prestigious Wilhemina Modeling agency; Mr. Williams decided to combine sales, marketing and creativity into the one house.   

Today, the self-confessed Lakers enthusiast who can often be seen dining at The Little Next Door on Third Street- a French restaurant Williams tells me is most reminiscent of it's Parisian-residing counterparts, which, is also, coincidentally, the very same place to where I first shared the delight of meeting Mr Williams (over baguettes to be precise). This modest, exceptionally kind and rather unassuming man currently stands as Publisher, Executive Editor, Art Director and Photography of the exciting and culturally diverse, bi-monthly publication that is Melrose Heights. Curtis’ commitment to bringing depth, passion and inspirational individuals to its pages, renders this two-dimensional publication up to a three-dimensional level. Stocked at the Los Angeles International Airport, and news-stands around Los Angeles, Melrose Heights Magazine is currently in transit, in preparation to be launched internationally within the next year. With the Melrose Heights TV Channel up and running, and with a rapidly growing number of high-profiled celebrities flocking to become part of the magazine, Melrose Heights Magazine is fast becoming one of the most influential, and talked about publications in this city.  

MELROSE HEIGHTS MAGAZINE

 Melrose Heights Magazine is a high-gloss, high end, contemporary publication in both aesthetics and appeal. The one hundred and twenty-eight page magazine, published bi-monthly by internationally renowned photographer Curtis Williams, includes timely content highlighting everything from our neighborhood’s cultural and artistic events, whilst delivering only but the crème de la crème this beautiful city has to offer. Melrose Heights appeals to anybody with an appetite for uplifting, culturally-based material, particularly material that deals with the positive aspects of local business and important individuals.

Unlike any other publication to date, Williams' passion for people inspired him to create a magazine articulated heavily by humanitarism. In doing just that, Williams' ensures that each issue incorporates inspirational individuals helping others and making a difference in this world. Melrose Heights, dedicated to reporting back on the culture of Los Angeles, also strives to not only keep locals up to date; but to inform audiences around the world who plan to travel to this iconic city, or to whom simply want to know what Los Angelenos are up to. By providing quality, timely content on fashion, art, culture, music, literature, and a number of other topics- the language is universal. Readers of Melrose Heights are connected, informed, educated and entertained, and are able to best taste and experience what drives millions of people, each and every year, to this culturally-diverse and intricately beautiful city.