Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Does your BOOTY need some BLING? We got you covered! Giveaway too!

We have gotten the perfect little something for your booty. Yep, we said it. Star Candy brings you the fabulous line of cute little underwear - they truly are"blinging out on booty at a time". We LOVE. Why else are we just simply in love with this line? The designer & CEO, Marisa is just a doll! We envy her for coming up with such a brilliant idea for the booty. Star Candy is the MVP (Most Valuable Panty) in our panty drawer. As for Marisa, well she has so much passion for what she does - we had to share our chat with you! Did we say how much we LOVE her?


{Marisa at the Golden Globes Gifting Suite}
{1} Tell us about the brains behind the blingin' booty, YOU!

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I grew up dancing ballet which taught me a lot of discipline & probably had something to do with my love of bling and glitter. I was a dancer for 14 years. The highlight of it all was dancing The Nutcracker with The Los Angeles Ballet Company at The Dorothy Candler Pavillion at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles. During high school I took honor's classes, was on the drill team, and became a cheerleader. After graduating high school I went on to attend the Universtity of Southern California and graduated with a degree Business Marketing from the USC Marshall School of Business.

{Marisa and her hubs, Rich at  the American Music Awards Backstage Gifting Suite}
{2} Tell us about your baby, Star Candy.

Star Candy is for the cool and confident girl who is fun and flirty. She likes to be noticed and enjoys having a little secret to surprise someone with. The undies are comfortable enough to wear daily, but could also be worn for a night out on the town.

I want women of all ages to embrace their flirtatious side, but also maintain complete confidence and comfort. When you are able to be comfortable and sexy, confidence always follows. It is so important for women to have a strong foundation of self confidence, so my goal was to create a collection of underwear that would inspire women to feel at ease in their own skin and exude self confidence as well as a splash of sex appeal.

{3} When did you realize you wanted to bling out America? Like you said, "one booty at a time!" When did the idea come to you?

It's actually a funny story. I used to do custom bling for private clients. I would decorate cell phones, belt buckles, t-shirts, & even door knobs once. I love to make rhinestone designs. One day I went downtown to this store that would let me use their heat press. I made a small design, but forgot my t-shirt. Luckily I still had some booty shorts in my car from my shopping spree the day before. So when I went out to look for the t-shirt I found the booty shorts. I figured why not just put the design on some underwear. It was literally one of the only things I had not bedazzled before. So I brought in the pair of undies (freaking out the 16 year old boy who did the heat press) and asked him to press my design on the underwear. I wore them the next day and my husband reaction was priceless. "What are those? Those are so cute!!" and that is when I decided that I was going to Bling Out America One Booty at a Time.


{4} What exactly goes into your design process?

The brainstorming process of Star Candy is never ending, It is always fun and there is no telling when a great idea might come up. Many times I will wake up and jot down some notes or a rough design and ask my husband how this would be on my booty. Once a design or phrase is selected I begin (my specialty) laying the stones and creating it by hand. Each rhinestone is set down one at a time. Once the design is finished I will press it onto the color panty I feel it should be on. After some samples are finished I like to have a little party with some friends and make it an informal focus group. The best focus session was at a happy hour with my girlfriends. One of the girls asked a group of guys what they thought of the new items, they loved them, and she got a date with the cutest one. We all agreed STOP STARING had to go to manufacturing.

We spent 1 1/2 years perfecting the fabric and making sure we had the best stones. We definitely wanted to deliver the highest quality possible. I lay the original design by hand and then send it to a factory to be mass produced. The manufacturer maintains our high standards and knows that I will not hesitate to refuse an order if it is not perfect.



{5} What is your favorite item?

I love them all but, I have 2 favorites. First is our original pair that says "WANTED" on the booty and has the pistols on the front in bright fuchsia. This is our signature pair and the one that started Star Candy. My other favorite item, which is a celebrity favorite in Hollywood, is the Skull T-Shirt. A girl can't live in panties alone!

{6} When you aren't designing your next pair of bedazzled undies, what can we find you doing?

When not working, you can usually find me at the mall. I pretty much live and breathe fashion.

I am a TOTAL animal lover. I spend time between a couple shelters volunteering and sharing my love for all the cute little furry guys. I do other charitable work for various LA based organizations. I help mainly with event planning and production.

I love to hang out with my girlfriends or double date with the hubbies. Friends are very important to me. We are lucky to be in Southern California where the weather allows us to enjoy the outdoors and my husband's BBQing. Cooking outside makes for easy clean up. 

{Ke$ha with her "Shake Your Money Maker" undies}

{7}What is up next for the biz?

We are expanding our bridal line in the next couple of months. Our goal is to have a one stop shop for the bride and her entourage.

{WIN IT! Star Candy Logo Tee & 2 Pairs of Underwear!}
We are sure at this point you are now in LOVE with Star Candy and Marisa of course - well, LOVE her even more because she is givng you a chance to win some goodies! Read on to enter to win 2 pairs of underwear to bling out your booty along with a Star Candy Logo Tee! Enter below......
 
ALL THINGS STAR CANDY
{Shop}
 
{GIVEAWAY BELOW!}



Giveaway: Star Candy Logo Tee & 2 pairs of Underwear to BLING OUT YOUR BOOTY! Pick 2 of your choice! 
How to win: Visit Star Candy and tell us which 2 pairs you would choose. This comment is mandatory. You also MUST be a follower of cupcakeMAG and cupcakeMAG for Littles. 

For extra entries you can do the following below and leave us a separate comment for each letting us know. The more you comment the better chance you have to win!

1. Follow cupcakeMAG on Twitter.

2. Follow Star Candy on Twitter. 

3. Make sure you "Like" us on our Facebook page.

4. Make sure you "Like" Star Candy on Facebook. 

5. Subscribe to our updates (top right corner above) - just sign up with your email!

6. Tweet about this giveaway and include @cupcakemag -- you must tweet, not just follow.

7. Tweet about this giveaway and include @shopstarcandy -- you must tweet, nut just follow.

8. Write a blog post about this giveaway on your blog and send us the link.

We will select a winner via random.org on Tuesday, April 12th at 11pm. Please make sure you enter the mandatory comment first before doing the extra entries.