Lemon Drops
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade — chez Anastasia Soare.
Or lemon drops, the drink of choice at Soare's weekend celebration, which featured the proverbial phrase as its theme. The Anastasia Beverly Hills founder opened her home in Beverly Hills to toast women entrepreneurs while sharing words of encouragement.
"We are unstoppable, when us women support each other," she said.
With daughter Claudia, Soare brought out Rhode's Hailey Bieber, with Justin in tow showing support, Toty's Sofia Vergara, The Honest Company's Jessica Alba, Saint Supply's Vicky Vlachonis, Monica Arnaudo ( chief merchandising officer at Ulta Beauty) and makeup artist Sir John.
Soare explained that the idea for the weekend — bringing women together — was sparked from a conversation she had with New York beauty reporters. She had heard them discuss their passions outside of their careers; some were painters, others designers. The gathering in Los Angeles was a chance to open conversation, she said, in support of entrepreneurship.
Other founders were Diana Madison of Diana Madison Beauty, Julissa Bermudez of República skin, Tamanna Roashan, makeup artist and founder of DYF Beauty and Nina Oberfeld, creator of The Foot Cloud.
"We are toasting this beautiful, amazing creature, being who happens to be Anastasia," Sir John said, in an impromptu speech on Saturday. "One thing I've noticed about tonight, that we can all be adjacent in this journey, is there's a collective understanding of community. Not just a beauty community — it's larger than beauty. Beauty is a feeling. It's not about how you look. How do we feel? And you make us feel something."
The following day was a brunch, featuring activations that included a brow bar and wellness sessions. Guests took turns meeting with an astrologer, medium, as well as Jessica Ortner of The Tapping Solution, a practice to release anxiety and improve sleep, and Lissa Hakim of Beauty in Balance, offering healing massages.
Soare also showed support for those who were MIA. She gave a shout-out to Allison Statter and Sherry Jhawar's Nez; Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop collaboration with Dr. Julius Few (who was present);
Paris Hilton Fragrances;
Kim Kardashian's Skkn by Kim, and Cindy Crawford's Meaningful Beauty. Among the bunch were two male-led brands: Peter Dundas' Dundas and Chris Ashenden's Athletic Greens.
Honoring Josie
Josie Natori will be among the honorees at the Asia Society's Game Changer Awards Thursday night in New York.
The arts- minded fashion designer will be celebrated at the 10th annual event with other standouts, including artist Yayoi Kusama, Yahoo's cofounder Jerry Yang and his fellow philanthropist wife Akiko Yamazaki, the School of Leadership Afghanistan's cofounder Shabana Basij- Rasikh, actress and producer Yao Chen, and the Philadelphia Orchestra and OUE Ltd.'s Stephen Riady.
After starting the first and only boarding school for girls in Afghanistan in 2016, Basij- Rasikh led the evacuation of the school community in the summer of 2021 following the Taliban's return to power. She then reestablished the school in Rwanda, where students resumed classes. As the first Chinese celebrity to open an account on Sina Weibo in 2009, Chen used that platform to boost philanthropy among her 80 million followers.
Natori is an accomplished pianist, who has performed at Carnegie Hall. At the age of 9, she performed with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. By 17, she was studying economics in the U. S., and later became Wall Street's first female vice president of corporate finance. Taking a lead from her grandmother, a serial entrepreneur, Natori switched tracks from finance to fashion and launched her signature company Natori. The name was inspired by her husband Ken's surname, which translates in Japanese to “the highest form of art.” An East-West design ethos continues to be an undercurrent in her collections.
Her other pursuits include chairing the Asian Culture Council, and she is a board member of the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation. A devoted Catholic, she also helped plan Pope Francis' four- day trip to Manila. The Asia Society honored her for her ability to merge beauty, art and fashion.
Kusama, a nonagenerian and favorite collaborator of Louis Vuitton, will not be traveling to the U. S. for the gala at Cipriani 25 Broadway. Citi Private Bank executive Ida Liu will emcee the event, for which Citi is a founding partner.