Love Is In The Air At The Peninsula Hong Kong As The Iconic Hotel Brings A Touch Of Romance And Magic To Valentine’s Day

There’s always a sprinkle of magic in the air at The Peninsula Hong Kong, but never more so than on Valentine’s Day, when the legendary hotel plays host to a plethora of romantic rendezvous. As the backdrop to countless first dates, marriage proposals, weddings and anniversary celebrations over the past 87 years, The Peninsula occupies a special place in the heart of the city’s lovers and dreamers, and the hotel is once again showing its romantic side with a range of special programmes for Valentine’s Day.

Artisanal Chocolates Hand-Delivered by Pageboys

The Peninsula’s Maître Chocolatier Marijn Coertjens has once again created a selection of exquisitely wrought confectionaries to light up the most romantic day of the year.

Nothing says romance quite like hand-made chocolates, and The Peninsula offers a variety of opportunities to add a touch of sweetness to Valentine’s Day celebration. Fresh from his third-place finish at the prestigious 2015 World Chocolate Masters competition in Paris, The Peninsula’s Maître Chocolatier Marijn Coertjens has once again created a selection of exquisitely wrought confectionaries to light up the most romantic day of the year.

Hand-crafted in the hotel’s famous Chocolate Room by Coertjens and his team are a collection of “haute couture” artisanal chocolates, each with its own unique look and flavor inspired by a variety of gemstones. Priced at HK$ 1,800 per box, these edible works of art will be hand-delivered to the sender’s beloved by a Peninsula pageboy, only on 13 or 14 February 2016.

The Peninsula’s Maître Chocolatier Marijn Coertjens

Available on a first-come, first-served basis, these limited edition Valentine’s Day Artisanal Chocolates can be ordered by telephone on +852 2696 6694 or by e-mail at diningphk@peninsula.com from 14 January 2016 onwards.

Taking things up a notch is the “Romantic Rendezvous” Experience, which, in addition to the hand-made artisanal chocolates delivered by a Peninsula pageboy, includes a note asking the reader to “Look out for the green Rolls-Royce outside at 7:00 pm”.

A chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce will then whisk the recipient to The Peninsula for an enchanting five-course candlelit dinner at Felix or The Pool. The package, which is priced at HK$ 7,880, also includes a one-of-a-kind menu as a keepsake, which can be personalized in advance with a favourite photograph or romantic message.

For the ultimate in Valentine’s Day indulgence, however, look no further than the “Love Unlimited” package, priced at HK$ 16,880* per couple. In addition to all the elements of the Romantic Rendezvous Experience, Love Unlimited also includes one night’s stay in a Grand Deluxe Harbour View Room, room service breakfast, guaranteed late check-out until 2:00 pm and personalised bathrobes embossed with the guests’ initials.

Both the Romantic Rendezvous and Love Unlimited packages are available on 13 or 14 February 2016 only. To book, please call The Peninsula Global Customer Service Centre on: +852 2926 2888, or e-mail at: reservationphk@peninsula.com.

The ‘Stars’ Align For Michelin-Studded Relais & Chateaux Food & Wine Festival February 25-28, 2016

Chefs David Kinch, Joshua Skenes, Hiroshi Nakamichi and Michel Troisgros Headline Third Annual Relais & Chateaux GourmetFest in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Relais & Chateaux GourmetFest, a four-day foodie extravaganza, returns for its third delicious year February 25-28, 2016 with four Relais & Chateaux three star Michelin chefs in attendance for the kick-off event.

GourmetFest was founded in 2014 by L’Auberge Carmel‘s proprietor David Fink, the original founder of the Masters of Food & Wine in 1987. Now in its third year, the Relais & Chateaux GourmetFest has become a tour de force in the food and wine festival circuit.

Chefs Justin Cogley and Ron Mendoza of Aubergine host this year’s participating Relais & Chateaux chefs: Brian Etheredge (Hotel Wailea, Maui, Hawaii), David Kinch and Stephanie Prida (Manresa), Loic Leperlier (The Point Resort, Saranac Lake, New York), Mark Lundgaard (Kong Hans Kaelder, Copenhagen, Denmark), Hiroshi Nakamichi (Restaurant Moliere), Nathan Rich (Twin Farms, Barnard, Vermont), Olivier and Hugo Roellinger (Les Maison de Bricourt), Hans Sauter (Post Hotel & Spa, Alberta, Canada), Josh Skenes (Saison), Michel and Cesar Troisgros (La Maison Troisgros), and Matt Zubrod (The Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado).

Established in 1954, Relais & Chateaux is an association of more than 540 landmark hotels and restaurants operated by independent innkeepers, chefs, and owners who share a passion for their businesses and a desire for authenticity in their relationships with their clientele. Relais & Chateaux is established around the globe, from the Napa Valley vineyards and French Provence to the beaches of the Indian Ocean.

Relais & Chateaux logo (PRNewsFoto/Relais & Chateaux)

More than 15 Relais & Chateaux chefs will descend on Carmel-by-the-Sea, California for 18 gastronomic events, from a “strolling Route du Bonheur” Taste of the World to cooking demos in the State-of-the-Art Gaggenau Demo Kitchen. A 10-course rarities dinner feast is prepared by three Relais & Chateaux three star Michelin chefs: David Kinch (Manresa, Los Gatos, California), Joshua Skenes (Saison, San Francisco), and Michel Troisgros (La Maison Troisgros, Roanne, France). Hiroshi Nakamichi (Restaurant Molière, Sapporo, Japan) brings his own three star Michelin talents to the rarities lunch.

The 2016 Relais & Chateaux GourmetFest is sponsored by Visa, BMW, Gaggenau, Blancpain, FOUR Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, L’Auberge Carmel, Le Creuset, Nespresso, Taylor Fladgate and Valrhona.

In addition to the four-day event, the festival’s online auction – benefiting the Carmel Chamber of Commerce, CSU Monterey Bay hospitality program and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – features visits to some of Relais & Chateaux‘s most extraordinary properties.

For more information visit: www.relaischateaux.com or Relais & Chateaux GourmetFest,

Lord & Taylor First Charity Day in 2016 To Benefit Look Good Feel Better

Lord & Taylor is proud to announce its first Charity Day of 2016 will take place on Saturday, January 16 to benefit the Look Good Feel Better® charitable program. All 50 Lord & Taylor stores will participate in the “New Year, New You” theme in an effort to raise funds for Look Good Feel Better, which is dedicated to changing the way people with cancer approach their disease; by helping them deal with the appearance side effects of treatment, and reminding them that they are beautiful inside and out.

“Lord & Taylor is proud to kick off 2016 with an initiative that will benefit Look Good Feel Better, an important program that motivates women who are battling cancer,” said Liz Rodbell, President, Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor. “We are honored to be able to support their mission through this Charity Day.”

Founded in 1826, Lord & Taylor is the oldest department store in the United States and one of the country’s premier retailers. It has built its reputation on offering high-quality fashion apparel and accessories, exciting store environments, and seamless service. Lord & Taylor‘s 50 full-line locations are primarily located in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S., and along side www.lordandtaylor.com, is part of the Hudson’s Bay Company brand portfolio.

Charity Day is an all-day shopping event that will include in-store activations aimed at helping customers look and feel their best in the new year—activities may include 30-minute fitness classes, eye brow threading, denim customization, bra fittings and more. Additionally, stores will offer special discounts, local entertainment, and refreshments.

With the purchase of a $5 ticket, customers will receive two 30%-off single-item coupons, as well as one 20%-off storewide savings pass (10% off of cosmetics and fragrances) for use on January 16 only (some exclusions apply). Tickets are available for purchase now at any Lord & Taylor store. All ticket sales proceeds will go directly to the Personal Care Products Council Foundation to benefit Look Good Feel Better. Additionally, 1% of all LordandTaylor.com proceeds received on January 16 will be donated, up to a maximum of $15,000.

The cosmetic industry has always been dedicated to improving quality of life — especially for women. In the late eighties, however, the industry was faced with an opportunity to give back to its consumers and society in a way no other industry could. Ed Kavanaugh, former president of the Personal Care Products Council , was asked by a doctor to provide a makeover for one of his patients. The young woman was undergoing cancer treatment, and because of the physical side effects, had started showing signs of depression. She was very down and even refused to leave her hospital room. Kavanaugh obliged, providing cosmetics and a makeup artist, and the transformation was fantastic. The young woman became very animated, and laughed for the first time since beginning treatment. Follow-up reports from the doctor informed Kavanaugh that the patient continued with her treatment with an entirely new outlook.

This event sparked an idea to create a program to provide women with tools to help them cope with the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment, and to re-build their self-esteem so they can face their treatment with added confidence.

Kavanaugh presented the idea to leaders in the cosmetic industry, who agreed to provide funding and to donate cosmetics for use in the group makeover sessions. The American Cancer Society (ACS) was the second collaborator, providing a vital, national network for cancer patients seeking information and access to the program. Finally, the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) agreed to become the third collaborator, encouraging cosmetologists to volunteer their services to the program. With that, the premise of the program, Look Good Feel Better, became the official name.

In 1989, Look Good Feel Better began in two locations — Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York, and Georgetown University’s Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. Today, Look Good Feel Better is in every state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Programs are also found in Australia, Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. All international programs are operated independently of the U.S. program but share common goals.

Look Good Feel Better for Teens® is a free public service program for adolescents, 13 to 17, that provides information dealing with the appearance and sociological side effects related to cancer and its treatment. Originally launched in 1996, the program is now available at select locations throughout the United States. Materials have been created exclusively for teenagers, and all program leaders receive specialized training to address physical, social and psychological issues relevant to adolescents. A new Web site, www.2bMe.org, was developed in 2001 as an additional resource for teens with cancer. The site addresses appearance-related issues, health matters and concerns about peer relationships.

Look Good Feel Better for Men was developed in 2003 as a “self-help” piece that contains a wealth of information for men who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The brochure contains information on how to deal with the appearance-related side effects of their treatment, as well as other information that will be useful to them during this challenging time. This piece is available through the American Cancer Society, by calling 800-395-LOOK, as well as from select cancer support centers nationwide.

“We are very proud of how the program has grown over the past decade,” says Kavanaugh today. “It is our goal to expand the program so that every person with cancer can benefit from it.”

Since its inception, Look Good Feel Better has served 800,000 women, and the cosmetic industry has donated more than $113 million in product and financial support. The program has become the second most requested program offered by the American Cancer Society. With the implementation of the Spanish-language program, Luzca Bien…Sientase Mejor, and Look Good Feel Better for Teens, the program now serves women in the Hispanic community and teens with cancer.

For more information about the program or to locate a session near you, call 800-395-LOOK, contact the American Cancer Society or visit the Look Good Feel Better Web site, www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org.

Look Good Feel Better is a registered trademark of the Personal Care Products Council Foundation. The Personal Care Products Council Foundation, the American Cancer Society, Inc. and the Professional Beauty Association do not endorse any specific products and/or services.

THIRTEEN’s ‘American Masters’ Presents the World Premiere of the New Documentary ‘Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl’ March 4 on PBS

Bio-Doc Features Never-Before-Seen Performances And New Interviews With Lynn, Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Sissy Spacek and Others

“You either have to be first, best or different.“ – Loretta Lynn

Inducted into more music Halls of Fame than any female recording artist to date, Loretta Lynn (b. April 14, 1932) has earned four Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and sold more than 45 million records worldwide. Still going strong after more than 50 years, “The Queen of Country Music” is now the subject of the new documentary American Masters – Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl, premiering Friday, March 4 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) during Women’s History Month as part of the 30^th anniversary season of THIRTEEN‘s American Masters series. The world premiere broadcast is the same day as the release of Lynn’s first new studio album in over 10 years, Full Circle (Legacy Recordings).

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“You couldn’t make up a better example of the American Dream than Loretta Lynn’s astonishing rags-to-riches story. Her 48-year marriage to Doo and their rare partnership is also one of the great love stories of our times,” said executive producer Elliott Halpern of Yap Films Inc.

With unprecedented access to Lynn, her family and archives, Still a Mountain Girl features never-before-seen home movies, performances and photos, as well as insightful interviews with her friends and fellow musicians, including Jack White (producer of Lynn’s Grammy-winning album Van Lear Rose), Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Bill Anderson. The documentary also features never-before-seen footage of Lynn in the studio with producer John Carter Cash, as she records Full Circle and other new songs at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tenn. Filming with Lynn, her family and business team also took place at her ranch and other locations in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., the community she formed as a re-creation of her Appalachia birthplace, Butcher Hollow, Ky., where she was raised in poverty. Other interviews include Sissy Spacek, who starred as Lynn in the Oscar-winning biographical film of her life, Coal Miner’s Daughter (based on Lynn’s 1976 autobiography), and its director Michael Apted.

Legacy Recordings will release FULL CIRCLE, the first new studio album in over ten years from American music icon Loretta Lynn, on March 4, 2016. (PRNewsFoto/Legacy Recordings)

“She’s written anti-war anthems, songs about birth control, pregnancy and divorce, all with a sincerity and honesty that transcends music genres, politics and gender,” said executive producer Elizabeth Trojian of Yap Films Inc.

American Masters – Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl explores Lynn’s hard-fought road to stardom, her struggles to balance her marriage to Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn and six children with her music career, her friendships and collaborations with Spacek, Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash and music producer Owen Bradley, along with her life on the road, her Nashville and Hurricane Mills communities, her songwriting inspirations and her music’s lasting impact on her peers and fans.

“You don’t have to know country music to love Loretta Lynn,” said Michael Kantor, executive producer of American Masters. “Somehow the Lynn family makes you feel like there is a little country in all of us.“

Whitney Acquires Archibald Motley Masterwork

The Whitney Museum of American Art is pleased to announce the acquisition of Archibald Motley’s Gettin’ Religion (1948), the first work by the great American modernist to enter the Whitney’s collection. On view currently in the exhibition Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist, which will close its highly successful run at the Museum on Sunday, January 17, Gettin’ Religion, one of the artist’s iconic Chicago street scenes, is among the Whitney’s most important acquisitions of recent years. Gettin’ Religion was in the artist’s possession at the time of his death in 1981 and has since remained with his family. The Whitney purchased the work directly from Motley’s heirs.

Archibald J. Motley Jr., Gettin’ Religion, 1948. Oil on canvas, 40 × 48.375 inches (101.6 × 122.9 cm). (Formerly of the) Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne.

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Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891–1981) was a bold and highly original modernist and one of the great visual chroniclers of twentieth-century American life. He was born in New Orleans, but his family moved to Chicago when he was quite young, and he later became one of the first black artists to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His training there was academic, rigorously focused on the human figure, and steeped in European tradition. Motley’s sophisticated understanding of art history is especially apparent in his sympathetic portraits, but it was a history that he challenged and advanced with his raucous depictions of everyday urban life.

Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891-1981)

Motley first came to prominence in the 1920s during the early days of the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural flowering of African American art, music, and literature that extended beyond the New York neighborhood of its name to other cities, notably Chicago, where the artist spent most of his life.

“For the last several years we have been working to bolster our holdings of works by key figures associated with the Harlem Renaissance and at the top of the list was bringing a major Motley painting into the collection,” noted Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director.

Motley had a long career and enjoyed recognition for his work early on—he was included in numerous exhibitions in the United States, including Contemporary Black Artists in America, shown at the Whitney in 1933—yet went through subsequent periods of struggle and obscurity. The current retrospective, Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist, which was organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and curated by noted art historian and Duke professor Richard J. Powell, has sought to reclaim Motley’s rightful place in American art history.

A centerpiece of the critically-acclaimed exhibition at The Whitney, Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist: Archibald J. Motley Jr., Self-Portrait (Myself at Work), 1933. Oil on canvas, 57.125 x 45.25 inches (145.1 x 114.9 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne.

After Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist closes, on January 17, the painting will soon go on view in The Whitney’s Collection on the seventh floor. “The Whitney Museum has long championed artists such as Edward Hopper and Reginald Marsh who captured the everyday life of the city in their works. We are thrilled that we can now hang this crucial acquisition, Gettin’ Religion, alongside such mainstays of the collection,” said Dana Miller, the Whitney’s Richard DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection. “We expect that within a very short period of time it will come to be regarded as one of the icons of the Whitney’s collection.”

The Peninsula Spa New York Introduces The Second Skin Facial By Biologique Recherche

The Peninsula Spa New York has introduced the Second Skin Facial, a new anti-aging alternative to facial fillers developed exclusively by Biologique Recherche, now available. Taking into consideration the special needs of mature skin, the Second Skin Facial utilizes revolutionary electrospinning technology – similar to 3D printing – which uses electric force to create an incredible fiber patch comprising 80% hyaluronic acid. These patches are then strategically applied to targeted areas to address fine lines and wrinkles, resulting in immediate visible results such as plumber and more hydrated skin.

The Second Skin Facial is an intense, regenerating treatment that acts on the extracellular matrix of the skin to accelerate the healing process and achieve fantastic results. The treatment begins with a complete facial cleanse to remove all make-up and build up from the skin along with an application of P50 exfoliating lotion to moisturize the face. Sterile electrospun hyaluronic acid patches are customized to fit the face and applied to the target areas while Serum Seconde Peau (Second Skin Serum) is then massaged into the patches until fully absorbed. This specific application allows for intense regeneration to occur. To finish, an application of Crème Masque Vernix facial moisturizer is applied to the face and massaged in circular motions until the product is completely absorbed.

Biologique Recherche’s extensive range of skincare products are ideally suited for both men and women’s needs, containing high concentrations of active ingredients, free of fragrance and developed in small batches at the Biologique Recherche laboratories in Paris.

The resulting methodology has a reputation for astounding effectiveness based on a clinical approach to beauty and grooming care using intentionally pure, concentrated and raw ingredients, as well as innovative and meticulous protocols and procedures.

The Second Skin Facial is 60 minutes and priced at $310 (Mon-Thurs) and $325 (Fri-Sun). Those who book a Second Skin Facial during the month of January will receive a complimentary Essential Manicure, a $45 value.

Reservations for treatments at The Peninsula Spa can be made directly at (212) 903 3910, or e-mail: spapny@peninsula.com. The Spa is open seven days a week, from 9:00 am until 9:00 pm. For additional information on The Peninsula Spa, please visit www.peninsula.com/newyorkspa.