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Enter For a Chance To Win a Trip to LA From Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant!

Sponsor — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:45:00 -0700

Summer is nearly here and there’s no better way to get ready for it than to freshen up your seasonal beauty routine! How much do you know about Summer beauty? Log in to your TeamSugar account and answer these five questions. You will be automatically entered for your chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to attend the Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant Summer Soiree on June 4! Pamper yourself poolside and experience the hottest new beauty product and treatment from Dove deodorant.

If you can't wait until then, check out the latest offering from Dove deodorant - Dove Visibly Smooth. It minimizes the look and feel of underarm hair over time and is available at Wal-Mart now. You can find it at your local retailer toward the end of the month.

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Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act Means Free Candy For You

YumSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:30:38 -0700

Your Fridays just got a little sweeter. Mars Snackfood is giving away a quarter of a million full-size packages of chocolate on its Free Chocolate Fridays. As part of the brand's Real Chocolate Relief Act, customers are encouraged to visit RealChocolate.com, where, every Friday through the end of September, the first 250,000 consumers can download a coupon for a full-size package of Twix, Dove, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, Milky Way, or M&Ms.

In response to overwhelming demand the first week, today the company is making an exception to give away free chocolate to the first 500,000 visitors. The Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act is part of a new campaign to highlight its chocolate made with 100 percent cocoa butter.

The strategy takes a jab at archrival Hershey's for having made the switch to cheaper ingredients: "Without cocoa butter, chocolate simply is not chocolate. Some companies use artificial ingredients to make their chocolate sweeter or because it's cheaper. Know that with Mars, there's no substitute for cocoa butter." The promotion even includes tips on how to spot "fake" chocolate.

I can think of a slew of people who will appreciate this "relief act." Did you sign up to get your free candy bar?

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Dove Chocolatier: The Next Avon Lady?

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:45:19 -0700

You've heard of the door-to-door Avon lady, and been to Tupperware parties. But have you ever been to a Dove Chocolate party?

Now you can. Two weeks ago, candy giant Mars launched its newest venture, a direct-selling company called Dove Chocolate Discoveries.

The company is targeting women and men who want to start an at-home business to become independent sales consultants. These "chocolatiers" then throw "tasting parties" where they teach friends how to make everything from chocolate martinis to chocolate truffles. The goal? To convince guests to buy chocolate rimmers, cupcake baking kits, and chocolate-covered graham crackers, among other things.

With Halloween around the corner, everyone has candy on the brain, so the prospects could be bright. Sales consultants make at least 25 percent of everything they sell, so it could also be lucrative. What do you think of the concept? Would you buy lots of Mars products at a chocolate party?

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All-Star Lineup Announced For Top Chef: Masters

YumSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:08:48 -0700

If you're already missing your weekly dose of Top Chef, don't fret: Bravo has announced the cheftestant roster for Top Chef Masters, a new series premiering June 10.

In addition to its impressive cheftestant list and exciting new lineup of judges, the new show will also feature special appearances from a number of personalities, ranging from the predictable (previous winners, Tom, Padma, and Gail) to the surprising (Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, writers and producers of Lost). The show has 24 of the country's most prominent chefs vying for a $100,000 charity prize. Like its original counterpart, each episode on the spinoff show will include a quickfire and an elimination challenge - except the first six episodes of Masters will consist of four chefs competing to name a winner. The six winners will then convene in the final four weeks and one person will be eliminated each episode until the finale, when the last one standing earns the title of Top Chef Master.

A surprising number of celebrity chefs were rumored to be on the show, and while some of the information turned out to be untrue, some of it was right on point. To find out which celebrity cheftestants will compete, read more.

Rick Bayless – Frontera Grill, Chicago, IL
Wilo Benet – Pikayo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
John Besh – Restaurant August, New Orleans, LA
Graham Elliot Bowles – Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, IL
Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant, Yountville, CA
Michael Cimarusti – Providence, Los Angeles, CA
Wylie Dufresne – wd~50, New York, NY
Elizabeth Falkner – Orson, San Francisco, CA
Hubert Keller – Fleur de Lys, San Francisco, CA
Christopher Lee – Aureole, New York, NY
Ludo Lefebvre – Ludo Bites, Los Angeles, CA
Anita Lo – Annisa, New York, NY
Tim Love – The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, TX
Rick Moonen – Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
Nils Noren – French Culinary Institute, New York, NY
Lachlan McKinnon Patterson – Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder, CO
Cindy Pawlcyn – Mustards Grill, Napa Valley, CA
Mark Peel – Campanile, Los Angeles, CA
Douglas Rodriguez – Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia, PA
Michael Schlow – Radius Restaurant, Boston, MA
Art Smith – Table Fifty-Two, Chicago, IL
Suzanne Tracht – Jar, Los Angeles, CA
Jonathan Waxman – Barbuto, New York, NY
Roy Yamaguchi – Roy's Restaurants, San Diego, CA

Do you have any pre-show predictions? Who will you be rooting for?

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Do You Enjoy Trying New Things?

partysugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:50:57 -0700

Last week my sister and I went to dinner at a new restaurant, Pizza Nostra, that recently opened in San Francisco's Potrero Hill district. While the flat, crusty pizzas piping hot from the wood-burning stove were delicious, it was the grilled octopus with chickpeas, celery, and lemon antipasto that stood out in my mind.

Although she'd never had octopus, my sister boldly dove in and was pleasantly surprised by the mild taste and slightly chewy texture. We both could not get enough and swore that even our mother - who's afraid of eating more exotic cuisine like octopus - would enjoy the perfect combination of flavor and texture in the dish. However, my mother is not as adventurous as my sister and she doesn't really enjoy trying new things.

Be it a restaurant, recipe, ingredient, or culinary technique, how do you feel about the matter? Do you like tasting new experiences?

Host a Chocolate Bliss Party

YumSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:03:51 -0700

If the thought of someone sending you a box of chocolates and telling you to host a party sounds like a fun plan, then you might want to check out Hershey's new scheme. To promote their new line of Bliss chocolates, Hershey's is selecting 10 thousand folks to host Hershey's Bliss Chocolate Parties. If you're chosen to be a hostess, Hershey's will send you a party pack full of dark, milk and meltaway chocolates, as well as various host gifts. If you're interested, all you have to do is apply. The parties will be held on April 25, 26 and 27.

The new chocolate line launches this month, and while I haven't tasted it, Hershey's is calling it satisfying and sophisticated. The shape and size make me think of Dove chocolates, but I guess I'll have to go to one of these parties to find out.

So tell me, are you interested in hosting a chocolate Bliss party? If not, then are you interested in trying the chocolate? Or do you think it's going to be the same old same old Hershey's?

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Come Party With Me: Memorial Day BBQ - Music

partysugar — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:03:18 -0700

My big memorial day bbq is tomorrow and everything has fallen into place for a successful, fun, and memorable party. Earlier this week I started prepping and planning to ensure that no detail would be overlooked. From the easy invites to the grilled food, the cool drinks and the outdoor decor, all is ready for the bbq to begin. Not to be forgotten or overlooked is the music. Music is important at a bbq to encourage mingling, movement, and merriment amongst the crowd. Since this party is all about welcoming the start of summer, the songs will reflect this attitude. For my musical suggestions, read more

I like to create a summer playlist with a whole bunch of songs that include the actual word summer or images and lyrics that are reminiscent of summer. Examples are The Dove Shack & Warren G, Summertime in the LBC, Sublime's Summertime Sheryl Crow, Soak Up The Sun, and U2's Beautiful Day. I'm a native Californian and will add songs that remind me of summer in California like Red Hot Chile Peppers, Californication. Throw in the songs from BuzzSugar's bbq playlist (including my all time favorite classic warm weather hit, Fresh Prince's Summertime) and you'll have a few hours of music ready for your party.

What's your favorite summertime song? What do you listen to when you bbq? Share with us below!

We Take the 7Up Taste Challenge

YumSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 16:00:19 -0700

Do you remember the Diet 7Up Taste Challenge Kit I told you guys about a few weeks ago? Well mine arrived yesterday, and we decided to put our tastebuds to work immediately. When I opened the box I was greeted with 2 sets of instructions (I think this was a mistake), a coupon for a free 2-liter bottle of Diet 7Up, a can of the new Diet 7Up, a can of Sprite Zero and a ridiculously banged up can of Sierra Mist Free. The instructions said to refrigerate the sodas for at least an hour before tasting, but they arrived ice cold - the same temp as the sodas in the fridge - so we dove straight in. I thought that the Diet 7Up we had in the fridge was different, so I ended up throwing that into the mix as well.

I poured each drink into red party cups labeled A, B, C and D - set them out and let everyone taste. No one knew which was which (except me), so there would be no bias. Out of the ten people who participated, 5 liked A the best, 3 for C and 2 for D. To find out what was in each cup, read more

A was Sprite Zero, B was Sierra Mist and C & D were both Diet 7Up. The study itself was ridiculously flawed - I thought C & D were different types of 7Up, but really they were the same (although oddly, most people thought they tasted different) and the Sierra Mist was flat, flat, flat (that was probably since it arrived all banged up). Overall there was no real winner (although both PartySugar and I liked the Diet 7Up the best), and we learned some interesting things (including the fact that one person said she'd never drink D, only to find out that she drinks it all the time). We also had to wonder why, if given a choice, would you drink a soda with no caffeine and no sugar and very little taste? Why not just drink water or sparkling water instead?

If you didn't order a taste challenge kit in time, you can always set up your own. If you do, let us know what you think.

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