This past Saturday, Jill Zarin’s Luxury Luncheon, produced by Ticket2Events, hit Southampton. The event honors Jill’s late husband, Bobby Zarin, and his long-standing battle with thyroid cancer (a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bobby Zarin Memorial Trust c/o New York Community Trust) and, while tickets can be hard to come by, reality stars–including Real Housewives Cynthia Bailey, Luann de Lesseps and Margaret Josephs—shared the very beauty-focused day via social media. We recently caught up with Zarin, who gave us a very detailed look at her prep steps, as well as an inside look at what was inside that coveted gift bag.
Why is this luncheon so important to you?
Tradition. I come from a very close family and tradition has always been what keeps the family together. Allyson and I—as well as the hundreds of friends and family who continue to show up and support this event year after year—loved Bobby very much. It’s also been an opportunity to promote our brands, Jill Zarin Rugs, furniture, tabletop and accessories, as well as JIll & Ally, which I co-founded with my daughter in 2020 and is proudly sold in more than 4,000 stores across the country. I also now have my new skin-care line, Jill Zarin Beauty.
But most importantly, is the donation to MSK that we are able to make with the support of the hundred of people who attend this annual extravaganza—we will give away well-over 1 million dollars in free products to more than 300 VIP guests. We also have such an amazing Beauty Bar that my celebrity event planners and partner, Sean Koski & Brian Kelly of Ticket2Events, curate. The find the best of the best every year, and we have some really amazing brands that they have brought in. We love to treat guests to a day of glamor as they partake in complimentary on-site activations performed by top-tier brands. The gifting suite, dubbed the “beauty bar,” will include giveaways from brands such as RéVive, Advocare, FabFitFun, Makeup Eraser, Coola, SolaWave, New Chapter, and Qunol Gummies. The Beauty Bar will also feature on-demand wellness services from Beachwaver, and my newly launched skin-care line.
How do you decide which brands to feature in the bag or, likewise, any beauty favorites you personally use that are in the bag?
First and foremost, we love to give away products that no one can get! We have had so many “firsts,” it’s hard to remember them all, but I can name a few: The Aura Ring , Mophie chargers and even Poopouri! To be honest and fair, the brands that pay the most get the most attention. At the end of the day, the goal of the event is to raise as much money as possible. Brands, especially beauty bars, actually start contacting us almost immediately after this event to keep the momentum going. We are looking to move this event south in 2024, which will open the doors for new brands and sponsors in a new area of the country for us.
This year, we have some great beauty brands in the gift bag made by Quilted Koala—it is now valued up to $5,000. It will include all of summer’s “must-haves,” with some amazing brands in the beauty category—Banilo Co, Xo8 Skincare, Athena Club, SkinMedica, Mario Badescu, Coola, Grande Lash, Nutrafol, Beachwaver, Hello Jupiter, NewBeauty TestTubes, and so much more!
How do you prep, beauty-wise, before a big event like this—especially when it’s hot out?
Have you ever heard the of the expression “It takes a village?” Well in our case, it takes a city! I’m kidding…sort of.
I do the monthly maintenance of hair cut-and-color at least two weeks before and get that out of the way. Nails are a few days before, and I do a spray-tan; I can’t sit in the sun anymore—too much sun damage. The day of, Ally and I get up super early and start hair and makeup at 7 a.m. to give us time to get dressed, take some photos and arrive at the venue before 11 a.m. By noon, it is showtime!
We definitely have some “tips” to keeping your makeup on all day and not melt in the sun. First up is a great moisturizer with sunscreen. Jill Zarin Beauty is the BEST product for that. It is a day cream and sun protector in one. After that, I use a few foundations—but my favorite right now is one I buy on Amazon. It’s a spray foundation that comes in different skin tones. I put that on first and build from there.
Faux eyelashes are also the best way to open your eyes. I just learned a great trick for applying eyeshadow: Take your eyelash curler and lay the curve onto your lid, with the top laying in the crease. Take your color—I use a medium/light brown to start—and, using a crease brush, put the first drop of color above the eyeball at the highest arch of eyebrow. Then, press the color on top of the skin touching the metal to give you a clean line, and using a “wiper movement,” spread the color across, from left to right. Do that few times and lift up the curler. Blend it in and using a moist sponge—a must in any makeup drawer—wipe away excess on the corners or under eyes. Try it a few times, and you look like you had it professionally done!
I also like a cream contour stick and blush and I use a moist sponge to blend. Make sure it is moist. It makes a huge difference! Plus, I love watching the water on the sponge make it double in size. I still stare in amazement!
I also love a lipliner a little darker than the lip color. Amazon sells the best, most moist lip liner for under $10 from NYX Professional. I hope this help you the next time you are getting ready for an event!
