Presidents Day Weekend went a little too quickly, didn’t it? I stayed local to work with my private clients and also test drove the Acura ILX Hybrid for four days which was a lot of fun! After working on many BeautySmith clients… it was nice to wrap things up with a visit to my personal massage therapist, Katrin Sofie Berg. Many people ask who I recommend and trust for massage and Katrin is the first person that comes to mind.

Katrin specializes in Neuromuscular and Sports therapy in addition to offering other modalities. Exceeding the California license requirements, Katrin has well over a 1,000 hours of schooling and thousands of hours of hands-on experience. Early in her career she worked at the Montage Laguna Beach and is often flown to destinations to work on high profile clientele. Katrin offers mobile services and also runs her business, The Art of Massage Laguna Beach, in south Laguna Beach. The appointment only office is extremely clean and professional… just the way I like it. Be sure to mention this post when booking your appointment, a wonderful discount awaits you.  Enjoy!

Yes, my hair is fine and blonde. Thanks Moroccanoil for making this light version for people like me. This residue-free oil is light but mighty…adding strength, shine and protection. How? This treatment is full of proteins, vitamins, omega-3 oils, and antioxidants which are all awesome for hair. Best of all it’s absorbed quickly into the hair and helps fill in hair gaps that can be caused by heat, styling and and environment.

Apply to clean, towel dried hair from mid-hair to ends

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Los Angeles offers a glamourous urban oasis. This luxurious full-service spa and hair salon is located in the heart of downtown. With 8,000-square-foot and 9 treatment rooms, the spa occupies most of the 2nd floor of one of the tallest hotels in LA. After a signature champagne welcome you will be whisked away and shown the facility. Be sure to allow time to enjoy the eucalyptus steam room and cold plundge shower before or after your service. There is a co-ed lounge in addition to private men’s and women’s relaxation areas.

Champagne & Shimmer Body Treatment, Ageless Beauty Facial and Signature Manicure & Pedicure, along with full hair and make-up services, ensure guests are radiant and feeling red-carpet ready.

Hopefully someday I will have the opportunity to experience a treatment at this property. I stopped by and had a private tour of the spa before enjoying a delicious dinner at celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant WP24.

It’s simple, really… no cuts, no color, just blowouts. Whether you’re having a birthday party, bridal shower, girl’s night out or need some solo time – Drybar is a memorable place to go. The decor is amazing, the stylist are talented and they offer you a glass of bubbly when you walk through the door. This affordable luxury will only set you back $35 (at most locations)… so what are you waiting for? Not only will you look better, you will feel better. Promise.

I had an Uptini ($75) and my friends Jayna and Kimi stopped by to say hi

pure blu at the Newport Beach Marriott is a full-service spa. The Eucalyptus steam room was wonderful… the perfect amount of eucalyptus to wake up the senses.  Dry sauna, saltwater whirlpool and refreshing cold foot plunge are also available. If it wasn’t cold outside, I would have taken a swim in the private spa lap pool and made good use of a cabana -next time! My Swedish massage was nice…the use of warm compresses and lavender essential oil was heavenly.

xo, Shannon

The same day I received the shoes, Sir Richard Branson sent out a tweet stating that I must wear his shoes for a whole day or return them… so I wore them on Christmas Eve. I was busy beautifying BeautySmith clients that morning. Yes, while wearing the shoes (haha). My last client, Emily Crume, was kind enough to stick around and be my facial model during my NBC interview. Thanks again, Emily… you did a marvelous job!

After a quick lunch in Laguna Beach, I headed to the Glendale Winter Shelter to work with Mark Horvath of Invisible People. We served 80 homeless people food and gift bags. This was made possible by countless of wonderful people coming together to donate their time, money, and gift items to Invisible People. At the shelter, we served a catered meal by Mimi’s Cafe (YUM!) and Hanes donated boxes of socks which were included in the gift bags. Also, SMCLA donated all the proceeds from their holiday party to help make this night happen. It was a heartwarming event and I personally will do more with Mark and his organization for years to come.

To learn more about Invisible People or to make a donation, please visit: InvisiblePeople.tv  For respect of the homeless, pictures of them are not shown here.

Passing out gift bags with Marsha Collier and Lori Moreno

With Mark Horvath of Invisible People and volunteers: Calvin Lee, Hoda Diba, Marsha Collier, Lori Moreno, Curt Buthman, and Bryan Moore.

Photo Credit: OC Register

By now you probably know the story about Sir Richard Branson sending his shoes… all because of a simple tweet I sent. The shoes made the journey on Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America before they were personally delivered by his team driving a red car… of course. The shoes were delivered on Wednesday, Dec, 19th and that afternoon a local paper, OC Register, had caught wind of the story.

Soon after, NBC Los Angeles interviewed me about the shoes…

Sir Richard said the shoes are mine to keep as long as I promise to wear them for a day. I’m excited to announce that I will be “Walking it Forward” on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles with Invisible People. My boyfriend, Hoda Diba, introduced me to Mark Horvath, with Invisible People, a few years back at a social media event. Based in Los Angeles, Mark has done amazing work with homeless people all over the US and in London. Richard Branson’s company, Virgin mobile, often donates mobile phones to Invisible People. I look forward to the Christmas Eve events and spending time and serving at the National Guard Armory in Glendale, CA.

Catching up with Mark Horvath at the SMCLA Holiday Party 12/18/12. Photo Credit: Calvin Lee

Over the years we have watched Sir Richard Branson succeed in business and take epic adventures that most people only dream about. But I mostly admire this globe trotting multi-billionaire for accomplishing so much and still being an all around good guy! His 2.7 million engaged twitter followers live vicariously through him and for good reason… he’s the type of person that we aspire to be. The face of the Virgin Group, with over 400 companies, Richard is also very focused on philanthropic efforts, including Virgin Unite.

In late October I tweeted “For just one day, I would love to be in Richard Branson’s shoes” because if I could really be anyone for just one day… he’s my pick. To my surprise he actually responded “Sending Shoes!!” Soon after, I received a DM on twitter requesting my address. You can imagine my excitement and I remember thinking… he’s a funny guy, hm, this is interesting. I actually didn’t know what to make of it. Would he really send something?

Well, yes he did… Dr Yes is known for putting a personal touch on everything he’s involved with and that was relevant even with the shoes that were sent. He selected a pair of Adidas Y3 sneakers from his private island home (Necker) and sent them to London where they were put on Virgin Atlantic and they traveled to New York.  From New York they were put on Virgin America and arrived in San Francisco last week. On December 19th, his team flew into LAX from SFO, rented a red car (of course) and drove about an hour to personally deliver them to my home. Wow! As promised to Richard, I will wear them for an entire day.

BeautySmith will be taking some big steps in 2013 and these shoes serve as a good omen.  I love making my clients look good and feel better. Thank you, Richard…you give me and many others inspiration and hope. Cheers to the new year!

P.S. Richard is invited to experience a facial treatment by me, anytime.

Personal video message from Richard (below this video is my response video).