By Hannah Muehlberger
On March 28th, 2022 GBK Brand Bar Made a Roaring Comeback to Celebrate the 94th Academy Awards with their Ultra-Exclusive Pre-Oscar Lounge at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel: The eBay & GBK Brand Bar Pre-Oscar Luxury Lounge!
GBK Brand Bar is the world’s premiere Celebrity Gifting lounge that is dedicated to providing high-quality, tailor-made service to its individual clients. GBK Brand Bar is known for integrating the Entertainment, Luxury Consumer Products, and Non-Profit industries to create unique and memorable high-profile experiences that maximize its clients’ brand-building efforts. GBK Brand Bar’s CEO Gavin Keilly is a well-established name in Luxury Celebrity Lounges with over 20 years of experience as an industry leader. His lounges are legendary in Hollywood (and beyond) for having not only the best gifts but always attracting the hottest celebs who continue to come back year after year.
Since its inception, GBK Brand Bar has always been the most exclusive celebrity lounge for major awards shows. With the sudden stop of all events during the pandemic, GBK quickly pivoted, shuttering GBK Productions and launching the GBK Brand Bar. During this time, a permanent, physical location opened at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood, helping brands that would originally be showcased in gifting lounges continue to gain exposure even without lounges.
Now in March 2022, GBK Brand Bar has come back to lead the way for celebrity lounges with the Pre-Oscar Lounge at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The title sponsor of this year’s lounge was eBay, which gifted luxury handbags and watches to attendees. This was an All-Encompassing Pre-Oscar Gift Lounge as they have not been able to hold any other gift lounge this year due to COVID, so they also invited SAG, Golden Globe, and GRAMMY Nominees. They honored the Celebrities for all the good work they have done over the year and brought joy to many of us that decided to stay at home and be entertained by watching TV.
With a 27-year heritage in high-value goods, eBay is the original luxury enthusiast marketplace, connecting 147 million buyers and 17 million sellers all over the world, and offering Authenticity Guarantee – its authentication service that vets and verifies inventory to ensure a trusted experience.
GBK Brand Bar is the first gifting company to give to charities. They have hosted over 100 non-profit organizations at their lounges, to educate attendees about their cause, and to raise funds to further their work. GBK has donated or raised over $10 million in products and services since 2002. This year guests were invited to participate in a private retail activation and personalized closet clean-out program in support of the American Red Cross to benefit Ukraine.
GBK Brand Bar founder Gavin Keilly said of the event, “It was a pleasure to work with our luxury partner, eBay, to offer celebrities the ability to clean out their closet in support of the American Red Cross to benefit those in need in Ukraine.”
Attendees this year saw talent from Oscar-nominated films such as Westside Story, Coda, House of Gucci, Encanto, and more including Oscar Winner Viola Davis, Actor Anthony Anderson (Blackish), Acting Legend Bruce Dern, Encanto Co-Director Charise Castro Smith, Singer Liam Payne, Actor Jason Ritter (Raising Dion), Actor Nestor Carbonell (The Morning Show), Actress Ashley Greene (Twilight), Actor Eric Roberts (The Righteous Gemstones), Grammy Nominee The Deftones, Actor Wilmer Valderrama (Encanto, NCIS), Singer Jordin Sparks, Actor Jacob Vargas (Mayans M.C.), Actor Kevin Dillon (A Day to Die), and Singer/Songwriter Pia Mia among many others.
Participating brands in the suite include Cabo Couture, House of M Beauty, PURPLE RAINA Self Care, and Super High.
Cabo Couture
With Cabo Couture’s Signature Pool and Beach Spray, vacation is wherever you are. Cabo Couture’s first unisex fragrance, Sunkissed. Formulated to bring in your pool or beach bag and for daily wear. It’s fresh, beachy, yet sophisticated and comes in a 30ML bottle of beachy perfection.
House of M Beauty
House of M Beauty’s Saffron Serum through its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial properties, high vitamin content, and plentiful antioxidants, saffron works to help brighten the skin and improve pesky hyperpigmentation, signs of acne, and blemishes. Derived from the flower of the Crocus, saffron is a truly magical and complex plant that offers an impressive range of natural medicinal benefits, especially for the skin. Saffron is also rich in minerals, which protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV rays, free radicals, and other environmental stressors. When properly incorporated within skincare, this miracle plant assists in improving skin elasticity, radiance, and softness. Not all saffron is created equal, and that’s where House of M Beauty’s connection with this sophisticated herb truly stands out. They specifically grow and source the rarest, highest quality form of saffron, Super Negin, using a refined process that produces only the most potent threads for maximum skin-supporting benefits. Super Negin is different from the saffron you may be used to seeing in that it has been much more precisely cut and sorted to produce only red stigmas (separated from yellow styles). It’s within these stigmas where the compounds Crocin, Picrocrocin, and Safranal can be found. By prioritizing the cultivation of Super Negin in our formulas, they’ve ensured that our products yield maximum impact.
Purple Raina Self Care
Purple Raina introduces their PURPLE RAINA CBD Balm Wand. Conveniently and sanitarily packaged in a 2.2 oz twist-up eco-friendly plastic tube containing 275 mg of Hemp CBD in Chakra 1 Root – Fearless & Grounded. Apply to affected areas and massage to soothe muscles. Feel the effects usually within 30 minutes. Help calm skin irritations, sunburn, and tattoos, or use as a spot moisturizer to “de-ashify” feet, hands, knees, and elbows and to help minimize scars. Apply to dry skin on the face, and as an under-eye rejuvenator and lip balm. Use as a hair and beard pomade and as an “edge control” to smooth and nourish the hairline.
Super High
Featuring Super High’s own skincare line, High Beauty, High Beauty offers skincare products that are all vegan, cruelty-free, organic, gluten-free, and paraben-free. Their high five Hempseed Oil Facial Moisturizer is a nutrient-abundant moisturizer that will be your daily multi-vitamin for a glowing complexion and is just one of their 5 amazing skincare products. BioCanna® in combination with CoQ10 and Vitamin C will help boost cellular turnover, protect with potent antioxidants and brighten healthy, beautiful skin. Organic and clean beauty formulator, Melissa Jochim, has realized her highest achievement as the founder of high®. Expertly formulated with BioCanna® and hempseed oil, one of the most nutrient-abundant skincare ingredients, every high® product nourishes the skin and sets a new high for clean beauty standards. Formulated with hemp seed oil, bioflavonoids, and pure essential plant oils, high® delivers the high-powered benefits of hemp, to protect with potent antioxidants, balance with adaptogens, soothe, hydrate, and replenish. Organic Aloe-Based, Organic & Clean Ingredients, Vegan & Cruelty-Free, Free of Harsh Ingredients, Eco-Friendly, Dermatologist Recommended.