Over the weekend Audrey McClelland and Vera Sweeney held their second Getting Gorgeous event at The Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City that served as an opportunity for bloggers to enjoy pampering, informative conversations, and wellness tips from brands in attendance.

Degree served as the title sponsor for the event that included 300 bloggers and brands that represented pampering and wellness.  Attendees mingled and sipped mimosas featuring Simply Orange Juice while enjoying makeup tips from professional makeup artists courtesy of Lifetime Moms and hair styling from Hair Room Service by Michael Duenas.  The event allowed bloggers to learn about products and services from Hanes, Tide to Go, Flip Out Sandals, Dream Water, Goody Hair, Miraclebody, BJ’s Wholesale, Amy Tara Koch, Weight Watchers, and Sandals Resorts.  Designer Liz Lange posed for pictures and talked about her Shopafrolic site while Sarah Potempa, hair designer to the stars, shared her new collection of hair styling tools.

Mom Blog Magazine had an opportunity to talk with Audrey (Mom Generations) to learn more about how she and Vera (Lady and the Blog, I’m Not Obsessed) conceived of Getting Gorgeous, goals for the events, and fashion must-haves for blogging moms.

Mom Blog Magazine: I read that you and Vera first met at last year’s Disney Social Media Moms conference.  What made you think you’d work well together on these events?

Audrey McClelland: Yes, we met at the Disney Social Media Moms conference last year and it was business love at first sight!  I’m joking, but in all honesty… you never know who you will work well with.  It’s just like any kind of business, you kind of have to go in with eyes wide open and see how it goes.  Vera and I are so alike in so many ways on the business side of things that it truly was a business marriage made in heaven. We both work around the clock.  We both are committed and passionate.  We both have the same end goal in mind.  We both complement each other beautifully.  And we both respect each other.  We started off as business partners, and over the course of the year… we’ve become best friends.  If I don’t talk to Vera 20 times a day, something’s wrong! :)  And I feel like people see that interaction and connection through our Getting Gorgeous events.

MBM:  What was the most surprising thing about your first Getting Gorgeous event during BlogHer last summer?

McClelland:  The most surprising thing was to see our blogging friends so excited!  We went into these events as bloggers, so we knew the kind of event we would want to go to and participate in. We weren’t sure if our friends would be as excited as we were about it (we were hoping!).  It’s funny because I think what makes these events so much more important for us to do well is that we are bloggers.  This is our community. These are our peers.  These are people we want to do good for because there’s more of a connection there.  To see our friends walking around with smiles and having a good time and saying they had a great day – that was an incredible feeling.  It all came down to making the bloggers enjoy an incredible experience with some of our favorite brands and companies.

MBM:  With 300 bloggers attending and an impressive list of brands in attendance at the second New York City event, what do you want bloggers and brands to take away from their participation in Getting Gorgeous?

McClelland:  There are 2 things we want to happen at our Getting Gorgeous with Degree event:

1. We want the bloggers to have a GREAT time!  We want it to be enjoyable and fun and relaxing and informative.  We’re all looking for content for our blogs, we would love to be able to provide some of that for our fellow bloggers. That’s very important for us – how they’re experience is.  We went a little different this time around, we felt it was important to bring in the “inner” beauty, too.  So we’re beyond excited to have this addition to our event.
2. We want bloggers to have the chance to interact with the brands and the companies coming.  And we want the brands/companies to interact with the bloggers that are coming.  As you know, there are so many events and functions that take place, we just want this to be an additional way where bloggers can come and have that face-to-face interaction.  We want the brands/companies and the bloggers to put faces to each other and to grow their relationships more from our event.

MBM:  What is the most rewarding thing about putting on Getting Gorgeous events?

McClelland:  The most rewarding thing is knowing we’ve put 100% of ourselves into the event and having it go off!  There will always be some glitches along the way, but it’s getting past everything and seeing that the hard work paid off.  We’re so excited to bring these events to bloggers, and it means something to us emotionally – it’s something that we LOVE to do. It’s just rewarding enough seeing our blogging friends happy and enjoying themselves.

McClelland and Sweeney’s hard work resulted in a successful event where attendees broadcast their enjoyment through Twitter using the #GettingGorgeous hashtag.  Bloggers provided real-time feedback about their experiences and interaction with brands while creating buzz for upcoming events throughout the year.

Jodifur wanted to attend due to buzz about the inaugural Getting Gorgeous and admitted, “I heard it was the best event at BlogHer last year and I didn’t get to go.”  As a lover of shoes, makeup, and clothes she “felt that this would be a great way to interact with brands and bloggers interested in the same thing.”  She enjoyed the one on one time with her makeup artist and said, “She and I talked about makeup and what her favorite brands were for different things.  That kind of advice if is priceless.”

The ability to interact with brands was echoed by Jenn Desrochers of Momma D and Da Boyz.  “I really enjoyed how all of the brands were eager to talk with the bloggers.  They were interested in having a conversation and not just talking to me about themselves.”  Desrochers also enjoyed learning about new products she had never seen before and hopes to “continue to build a relationship with those companies and then bring their product to my reader’s attention.  I love having an exciting new find to share that is relevant to my readers!”

Elena Sonnino (C. Mom) traveled from Washington, D.C. to attend because she saw the day as “my treat to myself. The chance to spend the day with bloggers that I love, meet other bloggers and of course, be pampered was something that I could not resist. Makeup, fashion, and mimosas made for the perfect trifecta!”

Those watching the tweetstream from home will be pleased to know that this event begins a series of Getting Gorgeous events that will be held in various locations throughout 2011.

MBM: I heard that there are 4 more Getting Gorgeous events planned this year!  Might there be one in San Diego or around other conferences or will they be stand-alone events?

McClelland:  Yes! We do have some more events planned throughout 2011.  Next up – we will be at the Reviewer’s Retreat on May 16th which we are VERY excited about!!  And we’ll definitely be at SheStreams in NYC on September 23 and 24th!! And some others, too! :)

MBM:  You’re an accomplished blogger and vlogger, the mom of 4 super cute boys, and an author whose Digital Moms Handbook is now available for pre-orders.  Do you have any secrets for balancing work, family, and success?

McClelland:  Oh, mama mia!  Every single day is different.  I used to stress myself out all the time about the balance debate.  I have to be honest, there’s not always a perfect balance.  I’ve been logging in a ton of long hours lately, but I know it’s just the way it is right now.  I love what I do!  My husband was laid-off this past October and we made the decision to have him stay home and help me with Mom Generations and help me with any other projects that I have going on.  He’s also home with me now helping with the 4 boys. One thing I have started doing – closing the computer at 5:30PM and not going back on until the boys are in bed.  If I was working out of the house, that’s exactly what I would be doing… coming home around 5:30PM and it would be all about the boys.  As a digital mom, there’s no “time to go home” mentality, so it’s important to bring it in as best as I can.  My sons are my inspiration and the reason I work so hard.

MBM:  Finally, what fashion advice do you have for blogging moms who spend their days hiding behind a computer screen?

McClelland:  I love this question!! I’ve adapted to a life of no-more-suits very easily! :) Best fashion advice… scarf, henley tee and jeans… you’re comfy and you’re stylin’ with the scarf!

Leticia Barr

Leticia Barr, one of our tech editors, is the founder of Tech Savvy Mama, a site that assists parents in finding the best technology products, websites, and resources for children of all ages. Tech Savvy Mama was started because of Leticia’s personal experience of bringing a computer into her home for their now elementary-aged daughter. Leticia splits her day between serving as a family internet safety and security expert and being a mom and her nights between blogging at her own site, writing for The LeapFrog Community, consulting for educational companies, working behind the scenes on the MyBlogalicious site, and tweeting. Frequently asked how she does it all, she replies that she doesn’t sleep much!

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