Love Life Makeovers with Gina Hendrix

Are you interested in hearing more about Cyber Dating?  Listen to Cyber-Dating Expert, Julie Spira, who was a recent guest on Gina Hendrix’s fun and flirty radio show, Love Life Makeovers.  Gina, a professional matchmaker and owner of Selective and Single asked Julie some very personal questions about her love life, her viewpoint on Internet dating, and her personal rules of netiquette from her upcoming book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating:Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online.   Listen to the podcast now and hear some online dating tips from an expert.

Don’t forget to sign up for your free newsletter and free copy of the Top Ten Rules of Netqiuette at cyberdatingexpert.com.

From Burlesque to Couture: The Ultimate Show and Tell

It was a fun night at LACMA recently when the Costume Council hosted the elegant Liz Goldwyn, author of Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens.  A documentary film of the same name appeared on HBO in 2005.  Liz has been collecting burlesque costumes from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and some pieces from her beautiful collection were on display for us to see.  

We were enriched by her in depth presentation on the costumes of the Burlesque Queens, followed by a discussion with Dita von Teese, best known for her strip tease perfomances in a martini glass.

The grand finale was the introduction of “Ava Garter” who captured the crowd with her performance. The evening ended with a cocktail party and book signing of both Goldwyn’s Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens and Von Teese’s book Burlesque and the Art of the Tease.

The Queen of Soul

I write about love, romance and relationships in a web 2.0 world.  I also write about women empowering women, whether at an event such as The Women’s Conference in Long Beach, a weekend retreat on relationships, cyber love stories of those who met online, and especially when I hear an incredible woman singing inspiring songs.

Saturday night was one of those inspirational musical moments, where I had the opportunity to see Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, perform at The House of Blues on Sunset Strip in the heart of West Hollywood.  The last time I had seen Aretha perform live was in 1982 at the World Music Festival in Jamaica. Over 25 years later, I anxiously awaited for the night to arrive.

As I walked down the staircase from the Foundation Room to the main concert hall, Dan Akroyd passed by me with a smile and a wink.  He knew it would be a night to remember.

Aretha was dressed in a peach full length prom dress complete with a train and a white lace overlay. She opened with Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher  to a sold out crowd. As she sang the words to R-E-S-P-E-C-T, there wasn’t a woman in the crowd that wasn’t singing along with the Queen of Soul while feeling her inspiration.  

The Queen continued with gospel and soul medleys and a few songs from her new holiday album entitled, This Christmas Aretha scheduled to be released on December 9th, but you can order it now if the spirit moves you. As I left the legendary House of Blues, it made me realize the holiday season has arrived.

Aretha will be a presenter at the American Music Awards on Sunday, November 23, 2008.  I look forward to adding her newest album to my collection for the holidays.

Look Over Your Shoulder

Let’s face it. Showing a bare shoulder is a sexy look.

Have you ever thought of wearing a beautiful strapless or off the shoulder dress or sweater on one of your Internet dates, only to find yourself frustrated with the very obvious bra strap ruining your perfect look? 

First impressions do matter and I recently found a fashionable solution and ordered a Black & Diamond jeweled bra strap designed by Alison Mercer, of Strappys.

Heads were turning by both men and women asking me where I had found these beautifully designed elegant straps.  I turned a so-so look into a very classy and sophisticated look by hooking a pair of Strappy’s to my strapless bra. With over 40 selections to choose from, Strappy’s can make a wonderful addition to your wardrobe or a fun stocking stuffer.

Your next Cyber-Date will be impressed with your sense of style.

It’s All About the Nails

I spent the morning at the OPI Headquarters in North Hollywood where I was privileged to meet Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, the Executive VP and Artistic Director at OPI Products, the giant makers of nail polish.

Suzi, better known as the First Lady of Nails, is the creative genious that came up with every signature color as well as the fun and flirty names for OPI shades.

With fun colors such as such as OPI Lincoln Park After Dark and several from the OPI Nail Polish India Collection – I’m india Mood for Love, a group of women were personally treated in hearing Suzi’s stories including her world wide travels in search of new names for the fashionable shades of color for each season.

Each woman went home with a  with a copy of the hardcover book called, I’M NOT REALLY A WAITRESS,  which highlights OPI’s 25 years in the beauty industry, as well as a goody bag filled with treats and the lastest colors of the season in the OPI Nail Lacquer – Louvre Me Louvre Not – France Collection.  Along with a tube of O.P.I. Avoplex Cuticle Oil to Go, and a base coast and top coat we were well prepared to make sure our nails would shine for the next online date we might have on the calendar.

Peril of the Week – Off to Internet Heaven

As one who promotes online dating, every once in a while I experience a date that I send to Internet Heaven with a one way ticket.  It started when my date parked his car three blocks away in order to avoid paying for valet parking on a day where the smoke from the Los Angeles fires permeated the air and it was difficult to breathe. My date announced to me over lunch that he wasn’t really interested in dating at this point in his life, and that in his younger days he had dated a different woman every day of the week. While he was proud of his statistics, I wondered why I was there at all. He added that he never had a date that lasted more than a month.  Off to Internet Heaven he went. Afterall, I’m just a relationship kind of a gal.

For consideration for The Peril of the Week, please send your submissions to info@CyberDatingExpert.com.

Cyber Love Story of the Week – Betty & Bob Getting Married at 70

Our Cyber Love Story of the week confirms you can meet “The One” at any age in the cyber dating world. This week we feature Betty and Bob who are getting married at the age of 70.

Betty signed up for eharmony.com at 69 years old in search of love. Although there were many disappointing dates, she received three marriage proposals in one year.  Betty retired her online dating profile on Valentines Day, 2008. The very next day, she met Bob, a man her same age.

The couple got engaged four months later in June, 2008. They share a love of riding Harley Davidsons and will be riding off into the sunset together in 2009.

If you have a love story to share and have met someone special on an Internet dating site, please send your story to love@cyberdatingexpert.com

Read More Cyber Love Stories

OPENING NIGHT: GLAMOUR GIRLS with Celebrity Photographer Patrick McMullan

Recently I attended the opening night event for the Costume Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA, which featured celebrity photographer, Patrick McMullan who was signing his beautiful book, Glamour Girls.

The book has over 1000 photos of classic beauties such as Kim Basinger, Raquel Welch, and Gwen Stefani, all photographed by McMcullan.  Filled personal with quotes from the women he photgraphed on what is a true Glamour Girl, with an introduction from Amy Fine Collins – who lists the top ten ways to know if you are a Glamour Girl, many of us took the test that night.

Dressed in a Nicole Miller cocktail dress, the cameras shot away as I enjoyed the festivities. It appears many of us passed the test and can now add “Glamour Girl” to our credits.  The book is now a favorite on my coffee table and would make a perfect hostess or holiday gift.  And just how to Patrick McMullan autograph my book?  ”To Julie – A Very Glam Gal!”

Photo Credit: Patrick McMullan

A Kiss and a Rose

Nothing warms the heart of a woman as when a man brings her flowers on a date, for no reason at all. Showing up for a Cyber-Date with one single long stem rose has the same impact as arriving with a dozen or two, so why not make a tradition of bringing your date a rose? If your sweetheart is away on a trip or you have a long distance relationship, Send Roses Today!

Cyber Wedding Album – Emily and Scot

Emily and Scot - San Antonio, TX

Met in February, 2006

Engaged in September, 2006

Married in December, 2006

Met on Match.com® Official Site

Emily was determined to meet “The One” in 30 days or less. As a single mom, she found the man of her dreams with Scot in only 22 days after going online.  Both Emily and Scot are successful dating coaches with Emily’s Click With Him program and Scot’s Deserve What You Want Program.  Scot actually gave me a tip to use in my next Cyber-Dating profile. We welcome the happy couple to the Cyber Wedding Album at cyberdatingexpert.com.

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