Bangor native April Leffingwell will meet some of the biggest names in Hollywood on Saturday, Nov. 19, as she caters to American Music Awards talent. Her beauty products company, Shea Chic, earned her a ticket to the Talent Only Private Suite, where she will meet rock stars and pop singers on the morning before the awards ceremony to talk to them about her line of fragrant creams, soaps and balms.
“It’s a private gifting suite, where they handpick the people to be there with their products,” said Leffingwell. “It’s a loungy feel. Basically, they come in and it’s just a relaxing environment and are able to just visit with each other.”
Ninety of the stars have confirmed they are attending, Leffingwell said, but she doesn’t get a list of names.
Pop, hip-hop and R&B stars Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber and Mary J. Blige are among those set to perform on the AMA stage.
“Seriously, if Katy Perry is there, I will just up and walk out because I might just pass out,” she said.
Leffingwell graduated from St. John’s School, now All Saints School, in Bangor. She now lives in San Diego, Calif., with her husband, Matt, and her mother, Barbara Rohn. Since someone had to remain home to take care of their five dogs and three parrots, Matt and Barbara played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would take the trip to Los Angeles as Leffingwell’s assistant. Barbara won and left with her daughter on Friday morning for Hollywood.
The Talent Only Private Suite is an LA Studio, but Leffingwell can’t disclose the location. She must arrive at 7:30 a.m. and be ready by 10 a.m., when the talent arrives.
This isn’t the first time Leffingwell’s products have been chosen for the famous, but it is the first time she has been asked to personally hand out her products and meet them face-to-face.
In September, she received a request to make 800 Shea Chic items for the 32nd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards held Sept. 26 in New York. For the event, she created “M.E. Chic,” a lotion with a sweet, smooth, nutty fragrance called “Cashmere Musk.” The products were included in the Emmy Swag Bags at each of the guests’ seats.
For the AMA’s, Leffingwell again created a special product. “AMAzing Chic” is a body cream with “a sexy, berry, musk” fragrance.
“It’s sweet, but it’s sensual,” said Leffingwell. “It’s perfect for the AMAs. You know how musicians are kind of boisterous? For a rock star, the fragrance fits perfectly.”
She chose the fragrance from a perfumist based in Ohio, intending for it to be her own signature perfume because it’s so expensive. But in October, while scrambling for a scent for the stars, she knew it was meant to be.
In addition to “AMAzing Chic,” she’ll bring all of her Shea Chic creams — about 25 fragrances in all — to the event, with the hopes that she’ll be able to interact with the stars and find a product that matches them.
A woman who works for Dick Clark Productions initially contacted Leffingwell to ask her to be a part of the private event. She told Leffingwell that she heard great things about Shea Chic, and that the stars love their beauty products.
“I’ve got to find out how these people are finding me, so I make sure to always do this,” Leffingwell said. “Maybe someone from the Emmy’s told her? I don’t know.”
For information about Shea Chic, visit sheachic.com.