paris hilton

Paris Hilton once dipped herself in gold for an ad campaign to promote Rich Prosecco, a sparkling wine in a can but that may not have been enough. The Sun reports that 30,000 units of the canned wine are sitting in a warehouse in Serbia. They say that a Stockport auctioneer has been given the task of offering up the wine at discount prices. So far the cans are only offered in batches of at least 5,000 and they expire in May.

There's good news and bad news in the world of Paris Hilton today. The good, she recently her Bentley pimped out in pink so she now has her own Barbie dream car (the pictures are here). The bad news is that the LA Times has reported that an estimated $2 million worth of jewelry and other belongings was stolen from her Hollywood Hills home. The thieves apparently got in through an unlocked door. She was not home at the time and the house does have security video equipment.

This isn't the first time Paris Hilton has been the victim of a robbery. On Mother's Day in 2006, thieves stole nearly $10,000 worth of Dior baubles destined for Kathy Hilton and her sex tape, her personal papers, her Sidekick and more have all wound up missing at various times.

You've probably heard of Curtis & Co. watches. They've been seen on everyone from 50 Cent to Paris Hilton, to Stuart Scott on ESPN. They list famous wearers here, on their "Awristocrats" page.

Their collections all start with the words "Big Time," and include Air (in blue with black casing at right), Ice, Hers, and Limited Edition pieces like a gorgeous rectangular watch celebrating the new golden age of Dubai.

Are these watches "Big Time?" Yes. Each watch has a beautifully crafted face, multiple first-rate functions, and there is an extensive selection of straps in different colors and textures. Curtis & Co. makes exquisite and stylish watches for gifts or to be seen wearing.

Click here for retailers.

It used to be that if a celebrity had just a fragrance they would just create one signature scent and that would be it. Today's celebrities often create more than one scent and today I'm digging into my prize closet to offer you a choice of two scents from Parlux: Paris Hilton's fourth, Can Can or Jessica Simpson's first since her Dessert line, Fancy.

Can Can Paris Hilton was inspired by the Can-Can dancers of the Moulin Rouge. I'm no fan of Hilton's Heiress which is basically bubblegum in a bottle but this one is a little spicier with some amber and musk notes. It still overwhelms with a big presentation of clementine flower, cassis, nectarine, wild orchid and orange blossom but it settles into a fruity floral that it a little sexier and more grown up than Paris Hilton's other scents.

Jessica Simpson Fancy recently came out and like the Paris Hilton's scents it's more girly than womanly. The scent has notes of pear, apricot nectar, gardenia, almonds, vanilla and amber. This scent does echo the candy-like scents of the Dessert line but with an added dose of light floral. The scent mellows into a soft amber with a sugary vanilla core. It's not exactly complex but its sweet and uncomplicated nature reflects the woman it was created for.

I'm giving away one 3.4 ounce bottle of Paris Hilton Can Can and Jessica Simpson Fancy Eau de Parfum to two commenters. To enter let me know which one you'd prefer and why.

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, September 12, 2008. We'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries.

Some other important details:

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below answering the question above.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before Friday, September 12, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive a 3.4 ounce bottle of Paris Hilton Can Can Eau de Parfum Spray valued at $55. One winner will recieve a 3.4 ounce bottle of Jessica Simpson Fancy Eau de Parfum Spray valued at $59.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

See complete contest rules here.

This contest is now closed. Thank you for participating!

Italian prosecco is in the process of re-branding itself as the "softer, lighter" bubbly, not to mention cheaper. Production has already increased thirty-fold over the past four decades, with plans for greater distribution particularly to emerging wine markets like China, where marketing drives the majority of sales, relegating prosecco to champagne wannabe status. Hence Italy's support of reserving the name prosecco for wine produced only within the region, a formerly Slovenian area that's been growing grapes since the 1500s, to up the exclusivity factor. Oh, and then there was that little Paris Hilton promo. Italian winemakers disparaged the pairing (she was, after all, promoting an Austrian-crafted sparkling wine in a can), but Paris certainly knows a thing or two about aspirational status.

Usually children follow in the footsteps of their parents, but in the case of the Hiltons one parent is following in those of her children: Kathy Hilton has her own fragrance. Called "My Secret" it comes in a very pretty jewel-like bottle (a pink heart though? Come on) and has top notes of mandarin, freesia, and peony, middle notes of rose, jasmine, and apricot leaf, and bottom notes of sandalwood, vanilla musk, and sandalwood. Available at Macy's for $52-$68 (FYI this version of the bottle featuring Kathy's signature is a limited edition).

BONUS: Register at KathyHiltonFragrance.com to win one of 20 vintage roller-ball heart 1.0 fl oz bottles of the Eau de Parfum or the Grand Prize of a Mother's Day brunch for you and your daughter with Kathy Hilton and her two daughters.

Paris Hilton is in trouble again but this time, I can't really say is is her fault. The Sunday Times reports that winemakers of northern Italy are fighting to defend against what they say are two threats to their industry, one from Hungary and one from Paris Hilton. The battle with Hungary is over the term "Tokai" which the European granted Hungary exclusive rights to use to describe sweet wine made in the Tokaj region of Hungary. Italians say that wine makers in Friuli-Venezia Giulia have been using the term tocai for centuries. The terms "Tokai, Tokaj or Tocai" are all protected under the same umbrella. The Italian Tokai, is a very different wine from the Hungarian wine, it is light and slightly tart.

The Paris Hilton scuffle has to do with her promotion of Rich Prosecco, she's actually been promoting the fizzy drink in a can since 2006 but the recent ad campaign showing her wearing only gold paint has focused new attention to the drink and its name. Italians are angered that the drink, which is not being marketed in Italy, is being called prosecco which generally refers to the Italian sparkling wine made of grapes grown in Veneto, Valdobbiadene and Conegliano wine regions. The Rich Prosecco is, at least according to their website, made of these grapes, but putting the drink in a can and mixing it with fruit juice is considered sacrilege. Winemakers are considered that the Paris-powered beverage could give end up tarnishing the entire Prosecco range of Italian sparklers which are often considered another option to Champagne.

It's a good thing that Paris Hilton gets paid so much to do appearances, she just might need the cash. On Wednesday, her grandfather, Barron Hilton announced that he's pulling a Warren Buffett and plans to donate 97 percent of his $2.3 billion fortune to charity. That number includes the $1.2 billion Barron Hilton stands to earn from both the recent sale of Hilton Hotels Corp. and pending sale of the world's biggest casino company, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. The money will be placed in a charitable trust that will eventually benefit the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, bringing its total to around $4.5 billion. it has been rumored that the senior Hilton has been embarassed by the hard-partying ways of some of his grandchildren like Paris and her sister Nicky.

The Hilton foundation supports a variety of projects. Conrad Hilton established the foundation in 1944 and left most of his fortune to it when he died in 1979 but Barron Hilton challenged the will and after a long legal battle he agreed to split ownership of the shares in the Hilton hotel empire with the foundation. The Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters, established in 1986, is the principal beneficiary of the Conrad N. Hilton Fund. It operates under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and supports the apostolic work of sisters around the globe. Projects focus on health care, education and social service. According to the Hilton Foundation website, in order for projects to qualify for funding, they must directly serve the economically disadvantaged, and at least one vowed member of an officially recognized Roman Catholic congregation of women must be directly involved with the project in a full-time capacity. The Sisters' Fund also awards emergency grants in response to natural disasters and political crises. Most of the grants from the Sisters' Fund are small and have gone to projects such as helping sisters in Uganda to begin poultry raising projects and in Vietnam, grants for sewing machines have helped sisters to establish vocational training programs for young, rural women. So far the Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters has awarded over 3,600 grants totaling more than $38 million dollars.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Al Jean, an executive producer of "The Simpsons" has listed his home in Beverly Hills for $2.95 million. The four-bedroom house was built in 1933 and once belonged to actress Carroll Baker. It's even listed by a celebrity turned real estate agent, actress Leah Lail of the Brill Group. The listing is here.
--The Beverly Hills site of a home designed by John Woolf for Lauritz Melchior, a renowned Wagnerian tenor, has been sold for $9 million. The Woolf house was also home to actress Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan, and novelist Judith Krantz. A newer home was built on the site in 1988.
--A hilltop site once owned by Merv Griffin may be snapped up by a group of developers who will pay more than $100 million for the property and then resell it in smaller parcels.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--A fashion change-up, Pierre Berge, the longtime partner of Yves Saint-Laurent, has sold his Fifth Avenue apartment to Valentino's lifetime partner, Giancarlo Giametti, for a $7.5 million. it was our estate of the day in December last year, check out pictures here.
--Heather Mills rented Nora Ephron and Nick Pileggi's six-bedroom home in Georgica Pond area of East Hampton in August for $200,000.
--Greg Norman's estranged wife, Laura, has closed on a recently built two-story home on Moses Lane in Southampton with a $4.35 million asking price.
--Mark Messier, sold his Upper West Side apartment for just more than $3 million last year and has just sold a one-bedroom apartment at the venerable Osborne building at 205 W. 57th St. for $580,000.

Also from Braden Keil of the NY Post:
--Tony Randall's co-op home has found a buyer. The home, which was listed for $17.5 million was bought by the late Mr. Randall in the '80s for less than $900,000.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Whitney Houston has sold her five-bedroom, 8,022-square-foot house in Alpharetta, Ga. for $1,190,000, just months after it was headed for foreclosure.
CNN's Miles O'Brien sold a 1,975-square-foot unit at 222 Riverside Drive in New York, for $3.7 million (which was $200,000 above the asking price). He bought the unit in 2005 for $3,200,000 from actor Chris Meloni.
--The official sale price for Jason Priestley's Hollywood Hills home was $1.902 million.
--Actor Gary Anthony Williams of "Boston Legal" has sold his house in North Hollywood for $578,000 and purchased a home in Sherman Oaks for $1.4 million.
--TV director James Burrows has sold his Georgian-style mansion in Los Angeles' Bel-Air area for $10,500,000.
--Actress Anne Heche's Tudor-style house in Hancock Park area appears to have gone to contract after having been listed for $3,795,000.
--Matt LeBlanc has sold his six-bedroom mansion in Hidden Hills. for an undisclosed price after it had been on the market for $10,295,000.
--Actress Linda Fiorentino has sold her one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Upper West side for her $1,225,000 asking price.


From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--The father of the governor of New York, Bernard Spitzer donated 11 apartments to the American Museum of Natural History in 2004 and 2005, many of the apartments have been flipped and have yielded $6,255,000 for the natural historians.
--New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has paid around $40 million for 1014 Madison Avenue, next to a home he bought last year for $45 million for his foundation. The two buildings can be combines as long as the facades remain the same.
--CNN talking head Nancy Grace has bought a third apartment on a high floor of The Revere condo on East 54th Street for $925,000. She needs the room, she recently married and is expecting twins.
--Actress and Hyatt heiress Liesel Pritzker, who sued her father and other powerful family members over pillaged trust funds in 2002 and won a reported $500 million settlement has spent $6.2 million on a 4,146-square-foot apartment at 455 Central Park West.

From the Real Estalker:
--Is Faye Dunaway renting her two-bedroom Hollywood home on Craigslist?
--Rumors are flying that David Geffen has been quietly shopping his famous 9.4-acre Los Angeles estate for $100 million.
--Usher has listed his home in Alpharetta, Georgia for $1.95 million. We will be looking at this home later as our estate of the day.
--Newly married Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer have bought a stately brick home in Hancock Park for $11 million.
--Billy Baldwin and Chynna Phillips are renting a home in Beverly Hills for $14 million.
--Another person related to "The Simpsons," Dan Castellanata, the voice of Homer Simpson is selling his Santa Monica house. It is listed at $3.295 million. Explore the gorgeousness at the property website here.


From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--It's official, Paris Hilton has bought a nearly 7,500-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion in Mulholland Estates for $5.9 million. According to her uncle and broker, Mauricio Umansky of Hilton & Hyland she plans to convert the fitness room into a shoe closet.
--Former Arizona Diamondback player Matt Williams and his wife are asking $12.7 million for a not-yet-completed eight-bedroom home in the Phoenix area. They decided that the over 15,000 square foot home would be too large. The listing is with Walt Danley and can be found here (it is listed at $12.6 million). The purchase price includes the cost of finishing the home.
--A trust of the family of Los Angeles developer Richard Meruelo paid $18 million for a 1.6-acre oceanfront parcel listed at $24.9 million in Golden Beach, Florida in what is believed to be the biggest sale in the Miami area this year. The property was first listed for $26.6 million just over a year ago.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Steffi Graf has listed her Miami home, shown above, for $3.5 million. Graf bought the Hibiscus Island home for $1.315 million in 2001, about eight months before she married Andre Agassi. The listing is here. Only in Miami would a home like this be listed as a potential teartown.
--Real-estate developer R. Donahue Peebles and his wife, Katrina, sold their house in Santa Fe last month for $2.813 million. They paid $2.35 million in 2005 for the close to 9,000-square-foot property.
--Actor Cliff Robertson's former beachfront estate in La Jolla was recently listed for $28 million but has been reduced $22.5 million. We'll take a look at this historic property as our estate of the day.

From TMZ:
--The sale of Paris Hilton's home has hit a snag. The home appraised for under the asking price ($4.25 million). Instead the buyer got an appraisal for $3.6 million. There's some discussion of just how much all that included Paris furniture is worth. The real estate agent, Paris' uncle Mauricio Umansky says the buyers, a married couple from Texas, will pay the agreed-upon purchase price (and mostly cash to boot, taking a loan for $1 million.

From the Real Estalker:
--Los Angeles Dodger Rafael Furcal has listed his Pasadena townhouse for $1,159,000.
--Kimora Lee Simmons has sold her home on N. Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills for $5,665,000.
--The Real Estalker Mama delivers pics of Steven Cojocaru's swanky new digs.
--The Real Estalker Mama also has more pics of David Spade's Malibu home for sale for $16 million. It's quite shabby chic and girly.
--And the Mama really hits it big with a whole boatload of pics of the $165 million Ross home for sale.

From the NY Post's Page Six:
--Yankee catcher Jorge Posada and his wife have paid $3.6 million for a three-bedroom apartment t next door to their four-bedroom condo on East 77th Street.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Dixie Chick Natalie Maines and her "Heroes" hubby Adrian Pasdar have bought a $5.6-million home in a Brentwood gated community. Mr. Big Time Listings unearths the listing. You can check the gorgeous home out here.
--Stand-up comic and writer Carol Leifer has sold a rental house in the Hollywood Hills for close to its asking price of $2 million.
--Rapper Erik Schrody, known as Everlast, has put his Woodland Hills home on the market at $789,000. The listing is here. Mr. Big Time Listings reports that Everlast has bought a $1.2 million home in Altadena.
--Christopher Knight and his wife, "America's Top Model" Adrianne Curry, have sold their Manhattan Beach town home for its asking price of $1,689,000. They have bought a larger home with ocean views in the area.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--The buyer of a five bedroom home in Toluca Lake that Damon Wayans had owned from 2001 to 2006 had listed the house for $4,495,000 months after buying the home from Wayans for $3.3 million. The successful flipper sold the home for $4.4 million.
--Mr. Big Time nails down the dollars on Kelsey Grammer's recent Los Angeles home moves. He sold his Bel-Air home for $13.5 million and paid $13.7 million for a home in Holmby Hills.
--Actor Paul Reiser has paid $755,000 to purchase a one-bedroom, 1,174-square-foot condominium unit in Beverly Hills.
--Actor Steven Weber sold his house in Malibu for $3,820,000 around $1 million more than he paid for it in early 2006.
--The asking price for the Hollywood Hills home that once belonged to Bobby Darin has been reduced from $3,689,000 to $2,995,000.

When most average people think about where they're going to spend their birthday it's usually about finding the right balance between somewhere special but still affordable. We all love to splurge and spend extra money on special occasions to have a great party, but what if the parties were offering to pay you to come celebrate with them? That would change things, wouldn't it?

Such is the life of Paris Hilton. For her 24th birthday 3 years ago she was reportedly offered $200,000 to spend her birthday celebration at PURE, a nightclub in Caesar's Palace. That offer trumped the deal she'd been taking advantage of in previous years to spend her birthday at a rival club in the Bellagio hotel-casino, where they provided her with free private jet transportation to and from, a free room, a free gourmet meal, and of course free drinks.

Must be rough.

From US Weekly:
---Paris Hilton has bought a five-bedroom, Mediterranean-style mansion for $6.25 million. There's some discussion over whether she has or has not bought the home, a rather bland yet lavish home in the Mulholland Gates community. Check out the listing here, it's clear the home was a family dwelling and will need a big remodel to fit Paris's single girl lifestyle. The home may also have more bookshelves than Miss Paris may require.
--The 7,000-square-foot Beverly Hills home Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have been renting is back on the market for $100,000 a month.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Three Ponds in Bridgehampton , shown abvoe, which was on the market for $75 million is now listed at $68 million. The listing is here.
--Alan Alda has listed a three-bedroom Sag Harbor home that he used as a home for the help for $799,000.
--Patricia Clarkson has bought a loft in the Village for $1.55 million.

From the Miami Herald:
--Hulk Hogan, has sold his Miami Beach mansion to action movie director Michael Bay for close to the listing price of $18.9 million. You can see pictures of the home here.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--FIIC chairman and C.E.O. Abdul Huda Farouki, a friend of the disgraced former deputy Iraqi prime minister Ahmed Chalabi, is moving into the same building that Jon Bon Jovi recently paid $24 million for a penthouse in, the New Museum building in SoHo. Farouki's apartment is more modest, he paid $5.95 million for a second-floor condo.
--Anne Hathaway's parents have bought a $1.6 million apartment at the St. James Tower, a purplish far East Side condo.
--The daughter of socialite Denise Rich, Daniella Klistock, and her husband Richard have paid $3.9 million for a two-bedroom co-op at 785 Fifth Avenue where Ms. Rich lives in a lavish 28-room penthouse.
--The tales of Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik's search for a home in New York have been legion. Looks like Blavatnik, who has purchased a couple of blockbuster properties in New York is also the buyer of the Bronfman home making him just the second person history to pay over $50 million for a New York townhouse.


From the Real Estalker:
--Film producer Andrew Vajna has listed his Beverly Hills home for $6.495 million. The listing is here and it looks like it has already been sold.
--Tommy Lee has picked up a home in Calabasas that was listed at $6.75 million.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--"Dancing with the Stars'' dance Louis van Amstel has paid $1.1 million for a two-bedroom condo unit in West Hollywood.
--French singer Johnny Hallyday and his wife, Laetitia, have paid $3.9 million for a Mediterranean-style house in the Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills/Bel-Air area.
--Motley Crue lead guitarist Mick Mars has paid $1.46 million 3,603-square-foot home in Malibu.
The National Enquirer has reported that Lionel Richie bought actor Dennis Franz's 2,274-square-foot town home in Century City area as a surprise for his daughter Nicole Richie and her fiancé Joel Madden. The rather bland condo was listed at $1.395 million.
--Marie Osmond has listed her six-bedroom home in Orem, Utah for $1.2 million. The listing is here.
--Actress Anna Paquin and two relatives have paid $1,575,000 for a home in the Hollywood Hills.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--NBA all-star Allen Iverson has listed his five-bedroom home in Villanova, Pennsylvania for $6.3 million. The listing for the 14,000 square foot chateau-like home on Chateau Lane is here.
--Grammy award-winning producer James Harris III, better known as Jimmy Jam, sold his lakefront home in Minnesota in June for $7 million.

From Reuters:
--Hedge fund manager and Red Sox owner John W. Henry has paid $16 million for a Boston estate.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Actress Catherine Bell and her husband Adam Beeson, have put their Calabasas home on the market for $3.25 million. The listing is here.
--Robert Wagner and his wife Jill St. John are selling a home in Brentwood's Mandeville Canyon, designed by Cliff May, for close to $15 million.
--A five-bedroom modern home which belonged to the late sci-fi film writer Bernard Gordon has been sold for close to its $2.3-million asking price.
--Fashion critic Steven Cojocaru has bought a contemporary house with city views and a pool for close to $4 million. As the Real Estalker reported in May, Cojo had listed his five-bedroom Hollywood Blvd. home for $2.995 million.
--Chris Salvaterra, an executive with Nickelodeon Movies and producer of "Fast Food Nation," and his writer wife, Marjorie, have sold their Venice home to "Flightplan" director Robert Schwentke and his wife, Jen Howard. The selling price was $1.6 million. The Salvaterras bought a home in Hancock Park.

From People:
--Actor John O'Hurley is selling his Beverly Hills villa. It is listed at $6.2 million, it's our estate of the day later today.

Wow, that was fast. Even in this worrisome real estate market Paris Hilton has managed to sell her Los Angeles home in just 10 days for the full asking price of $4.25 million. Consider us impressed. After all, Hilton bought in 2004 for $2.9 million and although the pool area is quite elegant, there may be some de-Parising needed in order to remodel the home. The Spanish-style 1920s mansion is full of pictures of Paris and one bedroom was turned into a closet. No word yet on who the mystery buyer is but Paris did say in an interview that she has to buy all new furniture because the buyer bought all her belongings as well. So maybe a remodel isn't in the cards after all.

So what hasn't Paris Hilton done yet? Designed her own shoe line! The heiress will soon be adding one more industry onto her "been there, done that" list (it's gotta be a novel if she actually has one), and that's footwear. Early next year Paris Hilton Footwear is scheduled to launch thanks to a recently signed licensing agreement with Antebi Footwear Group. Paris was quoted as saying "My goal is to create a stylish and fun fashion line from head to toe."

Alrighty then. I'm curious to see what she comes up with, although I'm sure they'll be cute and stylish. The Paris Hilton Footwear collection will supposedly include something for everybody, meaning everything from stilettos to wedges to flats.

Like Kate Moss before her, a little infamy hasn't hurt Paris Hilton's endorsement career. E Online reports that Paris is the face of the new Bliss collection by Italian jeweler Damiani. Paris was recently photographed for the launch of the three-year print campaign by photographer Ellen von Unwerth. The Bliss line is the less pricey and more youthful line from the jeweler. Materials used in the pieces include gold, stainless steel, wood and diamonds and prices will range from $60 to $3,000. The higher-end line has featured Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow as models. Pitt designed his and Jennifer Aniston's wedding rings with Damiani and later sued them when the company sold the designs to the public. Paris Hilton's Bliss ads will run in magazines overseas for a year before invading the U.S.