The sky was aglow over the hotspot in the Merrimack Valley on Friday night September 17th. By Diane Tufts
Bliss Salon & Spa (419 Andover St. North Andover, MA.) was overflowing with “the beautiful people” for a night of style and schmoozing. The gorgeous runway models: Jeanine, Theresa, Jenny Mac, Maria, Erin, Aleene, Leslie, Kristen, Michelle, Francine, Jessica & Pocahontas worked the runway through the state-of-the-art salon like seasoned pros. The makeup, the hair, the shoes, the clothes…I was in girly-girl heaven! The exquisite hair and makeup was expertly done by (owner) Belinda Gosselin, Monica Tufts, Â Ernestine Picardi, Grace Fernandez,and Nikki Capostagno.The gorgeous clothes were from the Merrimack Valley area shops and boutiques of: FABULOUS Boutique of Lawrence (fabulousLawrence.com), DRESS CODE of Andover (dresscodestyle.com), and APPLESEED’S of North Andover (appleseeds.com).
The silks, cardigans, ruffles, tweeds, scarves and lovely frocks of all shapes and sizes covered the entire spectrum of lucious fall colors and textures. Denim jackets, tight black pants, wrap dresses…as well as colorful cocktail dresses of all styles (lace, strapless, off-the-shoulder, fringed, haltered, short, long & leather) were strutted atop of some pretty hot shoes and boots! Belts were a noteable accessory in the show, as were the gorgeous jewelry pieces from the area’s top shop for bling: ROYAL JEWELERS of Andover (RoyalJewelers.com).
The evening featured a signature “Blue Bliss Martini” and delicious wines provided and served by McAloon’s Liquors of North Andover. The spa and the well-stuffed gift bags were festooned with colorful floral arrangements generously donated by HOLLAND FLOWERS of Bradford (HollandFlowerShoppes.com). The delicious food fare was supplied area favorites: GAETANO’S ITALIAN CUISINE of Methuen (Gaetanomartinibar.com) and STACHEY’S PIZZA of North Andover (Stacheys.com). The beautiful models rocked that runway to music provided by D.J. Sean at GET DOWN TONIGHT ENTERTAINMENT (getdowntonight.com) and were photographed by ROCK RIDGE PHOTOGRAPHY.
It was a wonderful evening of style, music and fun for a truly deserving cause. I want to thank owners Belinda and Fran Gosselin and organizer Monica Tufts and the style magicians at BLISS SALON & SPA for their months of hard work putting together this event, and I hope that it is the first of many annual fashion events at your amazing showplace location in lovely North Andover Massachusetts.
* AUTISM SPEAKS is an organization near and dear to the hearts of the ladies of BLISS, and was the recipient of funds raised at the event. The organization funds global biomedical research in the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for Autism. It brings hope to all who deal with the hardships of autism. (autismspeaks.org)