jessica mcdougall

Congratulations to Kelly Jo - winner of Michael Jackson's This Is It DVD.

I'm excited to watch the Grammy Awards tonight. For the fashion. For the music. And especially for this year's tribute to the late Michael Jackson.

Would you like a chance to witness never before seen rehearsal footage, delight in his brilliance, and admire him for his incredible talent? 

I'm giving away a copy of the brand new THIS IS IT DVD. For your chance to win, leave a comment with your favorite Michael Jackson song and how music inspires you in your life. 

I always love reading the giveaway comments - but especially this one because there are SO MANY inspirational ideas for how to make where you live a special and beautiful place! Random number generator selected 58. Congratulations to Taryn!

The February 2010 House Beautiful is the best home magazine issue I have seen lately. I pulled out about 50% of the pages for inspiration. And then I headed back to the store to get another copy to giveaway on my blog so that you, too, can be inspired.

Would you love to have a big vase full of wildflowers on your desk right now? The winner of this giveaway will receive a copy of the magazine and a bouquet of flowers (your choice of flower) delivered to your home or office. For a chance to win, leave a comment with how you make where you live beautiful. I'll pick a winner on Wednesday.

Congratulations to the randomly chosen winner Czarina!
Thanks to all for entering. There are so many valid examples of reasons to own a FlipVideo in the comments. I hope you'll invest in yourself and your memories and get one!

I have caught so many precious moments of Gabrielle's life using a Flip Video camera. The above clip is definitely my favorite one and I plan to play it on all of her future birthdays!

And now we're also using the Flip to post videos on Jeffrey's Facebook Fan Page. I love that within a one-minute clip he can make a point! (I easily get distracted from video clips that are in excess of a couple minutes.)

Ali gave me the camera for Christmas last year. It sat on my desk for some time before I opened it and really started using it. But now I'm so thankful for it. Besides being sleek and compact, it's incredibly easy to use (including the downloading to computer and uploading online or emailing to others).

This week, I'm giving away one black Flip Ultra Camcorder in hopes that the winner will get as much joy from using it, capturing amazing life moments, and saving them for future generations to enjoy as I am. For your chance to win, leave a comment with a moment you wish you had on video to relive but don't, or something you hope to capture in the future.

I'll pick a winner this Thursday!

It's pretty hard to pick a winner because reading all the comments makes me feel happy and relaxed. It's so nice to know that everyone has something they LOVE to do during the summertime. I used the random number generator to select a winner and here is the lucky one.

Congratulations, Marcie! Please send me an email and we'll make arrangements for your massage.
Happy summer to all!

  
I'm a big believer in the power of massage. For this reason, I'm happy I can use my hands to bring Gabrielle the soothing yet invigorating feeling of a massage. There are two tools I'm delighted to have discovered. The first one is the baby massage book. This is a great spiral bound book with lots of pictures, descriptions, and suggestions for the right technique. The other is the new Cowshed line of baby products, specifically their baby massage oil. (I became a fan of their products after receiving their Lippy Cow Natural Lip Balm on a Virgin Atlantic flight from the U.S. to London. I've been trying to extend the life of the sample since then!)
Now it's your turn for a massage!

If you're the lucky winner chosen, I'll arrange a one-hour massage for you in your city at your favorite spa or hotel of choice. For a chance to win, leave a comment with you favorite thing to do to relax in the summer. I'll pick a winner on Friday evening.

I asked Jeffrey to pick three numbers between one and forty one (the number of comments left for the chance to win an autographed copy of his Little Teal Book of Trust. The numbers he selected are 7, 21, and 34. So here are the winners! (If you're a winner, send me an email with the address of where you want the book sent to and who you want it inscribed to.)

And here are a couple fun teal dresses from Revolve Clothing (where I love that you can search items by color!) in case you're in the mood for it...

Lindsay Lohan is reading Jeffrey's Little Teal Book of Trust!

SOURCE: Read this. And this.

This is super exciting because I'm a celebrity gossip fan and typically stop by People.com to check out the celeb pictures daily! 

 How fun to find that People picked it up too!

And it's on the front page of US Magazine and there are more images on Egotastic!

Want a signed copy? Leave a comment with what trust means to you for a chance to win!

UPDATE: Winners posted here.

Here are the randomly chosen winners of the giveaway:

Audiobook winner

Hardcover book winner

Thank you all for your interest in winning a copy of What Would Google Do? I encourage all of you to purchase a copy for yourself. You will learn and benefit from the new knowledge and the inspiration. Here's a bit of advice for Jeff Jarvis - "Five steps to a Googler you"...

The Googlification of the world affects not only companies, industries, and institutions but individuals. It brings new means and expectations for how we can advance our careers, lifestyles, and agendas. If we want to be Googley and take advantage of these new opportunities, then we need to understand how Google values creation, openness, connections, uniqueness, collaboration, and invention.

Create. The best way to be found via Google is to make something of value and make it public: a blog, a feed of photos or videos, a contribution to a discussion, an opinion, an application, a product, a company.

You may protest that you’re not creative—“I’m no writer,” I hear people say all the time. But you talk, don’t you? Think of the web as a conversation. If you have something of interest and value to say, say it. Others can hear you via links and Google. Your online portfolio becomes your persona, your résumé, and your personal brand: You are what you do, what you show, and what you say. Nothing can stop you.

To get started, go to Google’s Blogger, Wordpress.com, Typepad.com, or MySpace. It will take you—I guarantee—only minutes to publish to the world. Share what you know and what you care about, whether that is your profession, your hobby, your town, your taste in movies, or your pets. Be open and generous. If you are a teacher, talk about life in the classroom and how children learn; parents will read it. If you’re a gardener, share your secrets. If you’re a veteran, share your memories. If you’re a tattoo artist, show us pictures of your oeuvre. If you’re a birdwatcher, give us a Google map with your best spots. Everybody knows something others want to know. Whatever draws you into the conversation will help you understand the internet better. That’s how I did it.

If you want to stand out, specialize—think small. If as you search for sites of interest you find a void, fill it. Maybe you’re a First Amendment expert and you find tons of blogs about it but none about your real specialty, free speech and comics. Grab it.

You can read the entire piece here.

And here's a little Gabrielle update!

The Easter Bunny didn't make it to our house today. With a Jewish household member and one under the age of one, we'll keep our fingers crossed for next year!

But we have a better visitor here today and tomorrow in that of Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do?

A couple months ago, Jeffrey bought his book in an airport store. Jeffrey and I buy lots of books that look inspiring or interesting, but rarely find the time to really sit down and read them or indulge in them.

At the conclusion of every flight Jeffrey is on without me, I always get an immediate "Landed" text message or phone call. On the day he bought and began reading What Would Google Do?, he called me the second his flight landed and expressed his excitement about the AHAs! he was gaining from reading this book. He was jotting notes in the margins and gaining all kinds of insight as to how he could apply the things he was reading to his own business.

The more he read, the more he was inspired. As a result, he contacted the publisher and purchased signed copies for everyone on the staff and a few friends. He asked each of us to read the book and come up with a list of 10 ideas sparked from reading the book that could positively impact our business.

Because I've been a bit tied down lately, I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish this task. I want to be 100% involved in all discussions that have to do with the business. So while I was sitting here breastfeeding last week I thought, "I could be listening to the audiobook!" I ordered it from Amazon, it arrived the next day, and I've been listening every day since. Nine hours of content. Nine hours of brilliance brought to the table by the author Jeff Jarvis. This book is excellent. This book makes me think. And we're so lucky to have him here today to meet with Jeffrey and tomorrow to sit with all the staff and brainstorm for new ideas and what we can do better as a company. It's exciting.

In honor of his visit and my admiration for the book, I'm giving away both an audiobook and a signed copy of the hardcover book. If you have any interest at all in the future, or blogging, or the Internet (which you must if you're reading this blog!) then you will gain insight from this book. If you have interest in business or what you can do to make your business better, you will gain insight from this book.

For your chance to win, leave a comment with the one thing you're doing this year to make yourself or your business better because of the Internet.

I'll pick a winner on Wednesday evening!

Congratulations to Krist! Hope you enjoy the magazines! Please email me your address.

Hope you're all having a great weekend.

I received this question from Tina in Ohio:

Dear Jessica, I would love to know what magazines you subscribe to. Are there some that you love more than others, and which ones do you find to have the best info on makeup and clothing?

Great question Tina! I LOVE magazines. They are full of ideas and inspirations. I don't subscribe to any magazines - mostly because with the heavy travel I was doing, I could typically get them the day they hit newsstands and could never have waited for them to arrive in the mail. I have tons of favorites in each of the categories. You can see some of them here.

Read below for details about today's magazine giveaway!

Lucky is a favorite for fashion inspiration. It always has outfits I would never think of — and the majority of the items shown aren't all ridiculously priced or unattainable. Elle is best for higher end fashion. I pull out images from many of their editorials to keep as ideas for the future. Marie Claire is another favorite. Good international stories in there.

   

People Style Watch is great for learning more about what to and what not to do with current trends. They also have lots of  current makeup and hair ideas. InStyle UK Edition is better than the US version. They share a lot of the same stories and images, but there tends to be more inspirational style in the foreign issues. Tatler is a fun British magazine. I like all the social pictures. They are an excellent way to learn from what others are wearing.

   

For home decorating, Domino is the hands down favorite. I tear a ton of pages out of it each month. (I'm so sad to hear it's closing down.) Second would be the UK's Living Etc, but it's hard to find in the US. Martha Stewart Living is the essence of clean and organized. Something I'm always striving for. And one of my new favorites in the family/parenting category is Cookie. This magazine is cool even if you don't fall into the 'mother' or 'father' category.

For recipes and food, I like Everyday Food and Every Day with Rachael Ray. And last but not least in a category by itself, US Weekly. Gotta read a little mindless gossip every now and then. I don't actually read much of this magazine, but I love to see the pictures of who's wearing what.

There are so many other magazines that I pick up and devour. (I've been buying them at Barnes and Noble lately because of their excellent selection and international offerings.) I believe the key to reading magazines is being inspired and remembering the ideas that you come across for the future. That's why I've got hundreds of pull outs that are neatly organized into plastic top loaders for safe keeping. They're easily accessible (categorized by fashion, makeup, home, food, and kids stuff) just in case I need to recall an idea I saw. I share the magazines with friends once I've pulled out what I wanted to keep and that keeps the piles and piles of magazines that I could easily accumulate nonexistent.

The winner of today's giveaway will receive a brand new copy of all the magazines pictured above! To enter, leave a comment with the name of your favorite magazine and why you love it.

I'll pick a winner on Saturday at 3PM EST. Good luck!

It's so delightful to read about all the special little things you all are doing to make the holidays glamorous. I especially admire those that are incorporating a gift or jewel or trinket from an ancestor into their holiday wardrobe. It's a magical way to continue the legacy of another.

And the winner is...

Because anyone who dreams about Chanel deserves Chanel!

Speaking of fabulous dreams, I had a dream the other night that Michael Phelps told me "I love you." So I'll be standing by if any of you have a connection to introduce me to him!

I've read both online and in the pregnancy books that dreams during pregnancy are often overly vivid and easier to remember than in "normal" dream states.

I thoroughly enjoyed that dream and it was the perfect ending to the innocent little crush I had on him all during the summer Olympics.

Have a great weekend!

And happy dreaming to all of you!

Leave it to Chanel to come out with amazing new nail colors (the Russian Nights collection) just in time for the holidays. The winner of this giveaway will win their choice of the above colors.

To enter, leave a comment with what you're doing this year to make the holidays glamorous.

I'll pick a winner this Friday.

And the randomly chosen winner is...
Congratulations Katrina! Please email me your address.

This giveaway centers around Nina Garcia's new book The One Hundred A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own. It's a great little reference book. And it's illustrated by Ruben Toledo who I have been a longtime fan of.

The winner will receive a copy of the book and (based on piece number 23 shown above) a small Chanel Beaute cosmetics bag filled with sample sizes of Chance Chanel body moisture, Precision Chanel Body Excellence Firming and Refining Serum, and Chanel Glossimer in Sundress.

To enter, leave a comment with the one stylish piece you can't live without.

I'll pick a winner Monday.

I'm a big fan of the yellow (LA SUNRISE) and think it will look great with all the grey and white in my wardrobe. Here are the four winners - one for each color.

Congratulations and please email me your address!

Yay, I've been waiting for these to come out! And they're now available from Chanel.com in limited quantities. I've been a long-time collector of Chanel nail colours, so these will be a great addition to my collection.

Leave a comment below if you'd like a chance to win your choice of color from the above with a note about which color is your favorite and the perfect outfit you envision pairing it with.

I'll pick a winner this Saturday evening.

Here are the results from your votes for the pair of sunglasses for Bunny:

The left pair received 34% of the vote.

The middle pair received 46% of the vote.

The right pair received 20% of the vote.

And the winner of the Simon Doonan book is Lacy. Congratulations!

Your help is needed! Read on...

Pictured on the left is Bunny, the winner of my recent sunglasses giveaway. She and I have been emailing back and forth to determine the best sunglasses for her style and I thought it would be fun to leave the final decision up to my blog readers. Bunny said she's always wanted some aviator-style glasses. And I found this picture of Vanessa Minnillo (in aviators!) who Bunny has a similar look to. I think they're going to look great on Bunny.

Here's where I need your help - leave a comment with which glasses (left, middle, or right) you think will best flatter Bunny and your comment will give you a chance to win a copy of Simon Doonan's new book Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You. Comments for the giveaway can be added until Tuesday at 9PM EST.

Thanks to everyone for entering. It's pretty obvious from the response that Target needs to do a sunglass collaboration with a great brand! Here's the winner for this giveaway...

I love thinking of sunglasses as sunnies!

And for anyone looking for the perfect pair to complement their face shape or style, check out the current issue of InStyle magazine with Cameron Diaz on the cover. There's a great piece on sunglasses inside. And you can also find ideas here or here.

Have a great weekend!

Ahh, sunglasses. The perfect accessory to finish an outfit, cover your tiredness, make any day more glamourous, and protect your eyes from the sun.

Do you have a favorite pair? What is it about them that you love? And what do you look for when buying a new pair?

The winner of this sunglass giveaway will consult with me on what the best pair for their face shape, lifestyle, and personality is and then together we'll select a great designer pair that I will buy and ship to the winner! To enter, leave your comment with your answers to the above questions. I'll pick a winner this Friday, May 30th at 10PM EST.

Thank you to everyone for sharing what they do to make life that much healthier.

The randomly chosen winner is:

Everyone who left a comment is a winner because you all have great ideas and 'secrets' for living a healthy life. So pat yourself on the back, drink more water, listen to more music, open your body and mind to inspiration, and love life.

I came across a brilliant article in UK ELLE about 'Why you're not losing weight.' It gave me many ideas for additional things to do beyond the scope of living healthy to get over the plateau that often occurs when you're trying so hard to lose those last few pounds to reach your goal or ideal weight. If you'd like a PDF copy of the article, send me an email (jessica@gitomer.com) with the words HEALTHY LIVING in the subject line.

Your body and mind deserve to be at their peak. Your daily choices help dictate the way you feel, both mentally and physically. I feel my best and look my best when I know my body and mind are healthy within. There are little things you can do that make a big impact over time.

Here's your chance to win a healthy living reminder gift that includes a great mental health book (Eat Mangoes Naked) by Sark (one of my favorite authors), a $100 iTunes card to make your own great mix to workout and rock out to, and two bottles of antipodes water (still and sparkling) because it's likely you're not drinking enough water each day - drinking water out of a glass bottle makes it extra fancy and delightful!

For a chance to win, leave your name and a comment with your healthy living secret. What's your favorite music to work out to? Do you have a great trick for drinking more water? What do you read to be inspired?

I'll pick a winner Thursday at noon EST. Entires accepted until Thursday morning at 10AM EST.

A fashion and beauty giveaway in honor of tonight's Academy Awards.

This is a bag of swag - the Jessica McDougall version. One lucky winner will win this bag full of several of my favorite must-have beauty items that I've loved for years.

The overnight bag will include Cetaphil (for all skin types), the most trusted face wash I've come across • Q-tips travel packs, for so many purposes • Oil of Olay Daily Facials, a great way to refresh • Origins Spot Remover, my favorite 'blemish buster' • a box of Altoids, everyone needs them in their purse • Aveda's Phomollient, my favorite pre-blowdry hair treatment • Evian mineral water spray, a travel essential • Wet Ones, help keep your hands clean (I like the sensitive skin ones best) • L'Oreal Sublime Bronze, a great way to get an instant tan • Kanebo Sensai Total Lip Treatment, excellent • Gillette Venus Embrace, they come out with a new razor every week! This one is the best • Goody Bobby Pins, the other brands rip my hair • Shu Uemera's Eyelash Curler, hands down the best • Chanel's Black Satin nail polish, this will be a classic forever • Band-Aids, in a delightful Hello Kitty print • and Aveda's Rosemary Mint, my favorite body wash.

To enter, leave a comment with your must-have, can't-live-without beauty product(s).
Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, February 26th at 5PM Eastern Time.

UPDATE: My most favorite part of the Oscars so far was the DVF Amex commercial!

The randomly chosen winner is GINNY - who is short, but has long legs. Congratulations, send me an email, and thank you to everyone for entering.

Have a fashion/style dilemma? Send me an email, I'm happy to help!

Denim. Even the word itself is cool. I've been a designer denim fan for about 10 years. I'm a collector and a connoisseur, always searching for the most flattering pair.

Today's giveaway is for one lucky winner to personally consult with me so that together we can discover which jeans would be perfect and then buy and have them shipped!

To enter, leave your comment with a description of your favorite jeans and why you love them! Men are welcome to enter, too! As you know, even guys can benefit from a great-fitting pair of jeans.

The winner will also receive a bottle of Chanel's brand new BLUE SATIN nail polish to go with their jeans. This is a beautiful new edition of last year's extremely popular black satin.

This month's fashion giveaway (if you remember last month, I told you to MARC this site to check back) is a MARC JACOBS large quilted tote. It's brand new and just for you. It's silver in color with a bit of gold undertone (the picture below is a good representation of the color) and is very large size. Perfect for a shopping tote, baby bag, scrapbook supply carrier, laptop bag... you name it. I bought the same one for me - and one to give away - at the Marc Jacobs boutique in Las Vegas. The bag will also include a copy of Rachel Zoe's new book, an excellent guide to style and a great inspiration to dress up!

To enter the contest, leave a comment with what fashion item is #1 on your wish list. I will pick the winner tomorrow, December 1st, at 5PM. Entries accepted until 4PM EST tomorrow.

Good luck. This is a gem!

My first fashion giveaway! In honor of my favorite designer...

The lucky winner will receive the newest colors in the Chanel Holiday nail color collection - Dazzling and Delice (limited edition). Two brand new bottles. Dazzling is a very pretty matte red color and Delice is a sparkly champagne color. You can see a sample of the colors here.

Enter for yourself, enter for your girlfriend, enter for your mother. Just leave a comment with your name and your favorite fashion designer. Winner will be chosen October 31st at 10PM Eastern Time.

Be sure to bookMARC this page to check back for November’s fashion giveaway!