This year, Shecky's switched venues from the venerable

Moore Building downtown to the Catalina Hotel on Miami Beach.

Parking-wise, it sucked about the same - downtown Miami and South Beach

aren't exactly known for their easy parking situations. In terms of

layout, this beauty blogger prefers the Moore. Giving each vendor their

own little space illustrated two things - First, the rooms at the Catalina

are teeny, and second, shopping is best done in an open and free-flowing,

rather than enclosed and confining space. Rooms were either crowded

beyond belief, or seemed echoingly empty. The three-storey maze-like

setup seemed to prove to some vendors' disadvantage, especially when a

rumor that no vendors were on the third floor proved to be false. A

little map would have helped, or at least signs indicating which way to

go. And having the gift bags all the way at the back of the venue by

the pool proved to be super annoying when the gift bag guardians

started getting stroppy about collecting their tickets.

Honey Shine was held in a very curious location - a mansion far off the

beaten path, in Pinecrest. Parking was free but quite honestly, the

sheer number of shopaholic, cell-phone obsessed housewives driving

giant SUVs along the narrow street made navigation difficult. The

layout of the venue turned out to be quirky and fun. Vendors were

simply everywhere - tables were set up in the living room, all along

the back patio, out front, in the enormous kitchen space, and

hilariously enough -  even in the bathroom, which boasted huge mirrors

and the biggest shower stall we've ever personally laid eyes on. But

the at-home setting and lack of walls dividing the vendors from each

other made for a better browsing experience. Honey Shine won this

category.

Vendors

Shecky's being a known quantity, means a collection of

vendors who are well known - it seemed almost everyone had a print out

from Daily Candy or a page from In Style or Allure to brag about. The

available items included timeless and lovely jewelry by Louisiana

designer Original

Sin, to Atlanta's Beryl Blush

Blond. The usual laser hair removal and Botox-shilling

vendors actively courted customers with offers of steep discounts,

there were purses galore, and I personally was enthralled by the skills

of JFishKicks. Local

entrepreneur Jason Fishbein's company produces fly handpainted sneakers

that can be customized any way you want. The Sean Taylor Miami

Hurricanes kicks were truly notable.

Honey Shine tended to hew more closely to their target demographic, so

there were lots of cool handmade kid's clothes, home décor items,

delicious bath and beauty products, and jewelry, jewelry, jewelry.

Almost everything was made with love right here in Miami, so from a

local perspective, it was really cool to meet entrepreneurs who call

the 305 home. The creators of Aromessence Body products,

Eittige Jewelry, and Amaloa

Jewelry were all extremely warm and receptive, and excited

about the turnout - Honey Shine's bazaar was an all-day event and

reportedly traffic never slowed down. And it was really cool that Honey

Shine founder Tracy Mourning was greeting customers as though she knew

them each personally. It gave the event a special kind of warmth.

Freebies

Shecky's won this category hands down - from entry visitors were being

handed samples of Crest Whitestrips, and there were mini bottles of

Dove for the taking. Cocktails by corporate sponsors Cointreau and

Anheuser Busch kept the ladies feelin' groovy.  And then there were the

giftbags, which were truly heavy and filled with items of note. Schick

Intuition razors, big super dark chocolate bars from Lindt, and

astoundingly refreshing Borba water made it worth the while. Honey

Shine doesn't yet have any gift bags, so perhaps that's something to

come as the event matures. But admission was free, so no harm, no foul.

The winner - all of the beauty loving ladies of Miami! Both events

brought out crowds and the attendees all seemed happy, celebratory, and

ready to shop. Most notably, the crowd at Shecky's was diverse and

festive. Honey Shine brought out the moms and their little ones, and

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everyone seemed to have a good time. There were excellent discounts to

be found, and it seemed to us that almost everyone who attended walked

away with something new and cool for the holiday season.

-- Patrice Yursik