My Fabulous Trip "Down Under"

I am totally in love with Australia! I have just returned from a whirlwind week “down under” to visit with the new friends I met during our adventure on the Great Wall of China. Life greets us with unexpected surprises sometimes and that’s what happened to me when actress Rachel Gordon, singer Chantelle Delaney and TV host Ajay Rochester came into my life. Four different generations, women from diverse backgrounds, somehow managed to find common ground and friendship. We call ourselves “The Muffs” (long story), short for Muffin, but more on that later…

My Operations Manager, Bobby Xydis, and I took a trip to Sydney to do some work for Sheer Cover. Our mineral make up has increased over 100% in the last year so it was exciting to do some advertorials and publicity to support the brand. The Guthy-Renker team in Australia is top notch! A fun group of professionals who made our trip a blast, regardless of dealing with a big dose of jetlag!

Our brand manager in Sydney is Joanne Wilkie and she did a great job of producing our visit. Michael Aylward and Kieran Bragg (our media production gurus) were true pros and we were so impressed with the entire Guthy-Renker team, including Managing Director Mark Boyle (who unfortunately was in Europe during our visit), Samantha Holder and Kerri Tebbutt. After shooting a live and a taped advertorial for Channel 7 with Glenn Wheeler, we did an interview with Kate Turner and had a chance to see some spectacular views of the harbor!

Before we left town we did a bridge climb of the Sydney Harbor Bridge at night! If you ever visit, you HAVE to do this. Right at the top on the night of our climb, it started to rain, which made it even more magical as we looked out at the iconic Sydney Opera House and the cityscape. I felt invincible!

Then, on to Melbourne we went where my friend Rachel Gordon was starring in the play Boeing Boeing. She was fantastic and the play was hysterical. The entire cast was absolutely brilliant. Afterwards we had dinner with the two other women who play fight attendants along with Rachel…Sibylla Budd and Helen Dallimore. They were so much fun and offered us great hospitality. Even Rachel’s dad, Michael, rolled out the welcome mat for us. Thanks Rachel for sharing your talent, your friends and family along with your deep love of ice cream! By the way, I’m still recovering from our extravagant night at one of the best restaurants in the world…Tetsuya’s in Sydney. Rachel suggested that we try this 12 to 14 course dining experience…it was a gastronomical delight!

Chantelle Delaney is “the IT girl” in Melbourne right now. The young talented singer along with her Australian Football League fiancé, Jess Sinclair, took us out to dinner to a cool place called Riva (it was amazing) and got us great seats for my very first AFL football game! So many men in shorts with great thighs on the field! Jess is one of the sports biggest stars and we were lucky to get the inside track from him. Then it was a shopping extravaganza with Chantelle which would put a smile on any girls face. From Ed Hardy (where my daughter Lexi and I got cool tshirts) to Grab (for a couple of coats and a mini-dress), it was fun to work the retail world with Chantelle! Her publicist (the oh so cool Simone) hooked us up with some adorable t’s too…all by Rine. We even scored some great shirts for my two sons! And get this…Simone introduced me to my NEW FAVORITE THING! It’s called “Tweeze Me”…a pair of light up tweezers! Is that genius or what?!?! It’s from an Australian company called Cosmetic Candy. Not only are my brows gonna be in great shape, but this will revolutionize my application of individual eyelashes! Thank you Chantelle and Jess for a great adventure!

Now, about “The Muff”…well, one of us, Ajay was missing. We were all sad to be without her and can’t wait till a return visit for a proper reunion. “In Muff We Trust” is our motto after all! My friend, an honorary Muff himself, “J-Muff” or “Muff Links” had tshirts and caps designed. So Ajay, yours is on it’s way to you…till then here’s a sneak peek with “Inspector Muff” (Rachel), “Queen Muff” (yours truly) and “Princess Muff” (my daughter Lexi).

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