CIAO BELLA
As co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of BELLA New York, BELLA LA Mag and a Special Correspondent for Celebrity Page TV, Courtenay Hall has her finger on the pulse of everything cool right now. Here, her 7 selects for our 7 subjects.
COURTENAY'S RANDOM ACT
I am very passionate about increased funding for childhood cancer research. My cousin Rich died of Leukemia when we were both teenagers, and this has always been a cause very close to my heart. A charity that I am involved in is the Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation, they are a small foundation doing big things locally as well as nationally to pass laws and make funding for kids a priority.
TUESDAY // TASTE
I love food and love to try new restaurants every chance I get. Some of my favorites include Blue Water Grill (31 Union Square West) and Friend of a Farmer (77 Irving Place) in New York, Sur (606 N Robertson Blvd, West Hollywood) in Los Angeles and Le Sirenuse in Positano, Italy. Of course, sushi works any day for me, and is always my “go to” for lunch in the city.
WEDNESDAY //WELLNESS
There are so many beauty products that I adore, especially being in this line of work, but my top picks are La Mer Soft Cream (definite splurge!), IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation (it literally covers everything!), Bond No. 9 Central Park West Perfume, Roxanne Rizzo Tanning Mist (just a small amount works wonders) and Better Than Sex Mascara by Too Faced (it really is!).
THURSDAY // TRAVEL
Laguna Beach, California is my favorite place, I go every summer and love it! The Montage Hotel is my ultimate luxe splurge and is one of the nicest properties I have stayed in. I have been to their hotels in Beverly Hills, Maui and Laguna Beach and it is second to none. When traveling, my “must haves” are my PurseN travel organizers. There's an organizer for everything, and they all fit seamlessly in my suitcase. They are so fashionable and make life so much easier, what’s better than that?
FRIDAY // FASHION
Fashion is my passion! I love Adrianna Pappel and La Petite Robe; they are my “go to” designers whenever I have an event or TV segment. Erimish bracelets are my favorite right now in terms of jewelry; they are stackables and go with everything casual or dressy. One of my new favorite finds are Rikki Rosetta handbags, which I have two of. I receive more compliments when I am carrying one of those than any of the other “big name” bags I own. I love finding brands that a lot of people don’t know about and making them part of my signature look.
SATURDAY // SHELTER
Being at home is the most relaxing place for me, and I love a comfortable yet stylish feel. My favorite area in my house is my beautiful side porch that wraps around the house. I bought great outdoor furniture that makes it a real “outdoor” room that I can enjoy. When it’s warm outside, I spend hours out there, working, reading or relaxing.
SUNDAY // SOCIAL
I love Instagram and find myself browsing through amazing and inspiring images in my downtime. Some of my favorites include Motivation Mafia: the motivational quotes are so on point sometimes and really give me that push I need sometimes to keep this entrepreneurial spirit alive. Draper James, Reese Witherspoon’s fashion, accessories and home décor company is so charming and Rachel Zoe, her style is amazing!
ABOUT COURTENAY
Courtenay Hall is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of BELLA New York, BELLALAMag.com and Special Correspondent for Celebrity Page TV.
Born and raised in Summit, New Jersey, Courtenay is a 1993 graduate of Summit High School and a 1997 graduate of Muhlenberg College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications. After graduation, she landed her first position at Grey Advertising in Manhattan, and after a year on the agency side, decided to enter the world of publishing. Her first position at a major New York publishing house was with Hachette Filipacchi where she worked in advertising sales at luxury shelter magazines Metropolitan Home and Elle Décor. From there, she moved to Meredith Corporation, where she broke company sales records at the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications. After a successful venture at Meredith, she eventually accepted a position at Gruner + Jahr and was part of the New York team that launched Rosie O’Donnell’s national lifestyle magazine ROSIE.
An avid magazine reader, Courtenay began to see that there was a void in the tri-state area market (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) for a lifestyle publication that spoke to all women, not just a certain demographic, about how to look and feel their best, with the emphasis on “Beauty Defined by You.” This approach set BELLA apart, as Courtenay’s vision was not to tell women what should be beautiful to them, but to include all aspects of beauty within the magazine and let the readers decide for themselves. In January 2011, BELLA New York premiered as the tri-state area’s premiere women’s luxury lifestyle publication, offering a sophisticated combination of fashion, beauty, health, philanthropy, arts and culture, cuisine, celebrity, and entertainment news.
Since the magazine’s inception, Courtenay has had the opportunity to work alongside A-list celebrities, world-renowned authors, public figures, and many others. One of her most celebrated memories is the famous July/August 2013 cover story featuring Christie Brinkley and then 15-year old daughter, Sailor. It was the first time the duo ever posed for a cover story together and it made headlines across the globe, including features on Vogue.com, “The View,” and “E! News.” In addition to Christie Brinkley, there have been countless celebrities who have graced the cover of BELLA, including Taraji P. Henson, Rob Lowe, Lisa Vanderpump, Nicky Hilton-Rothschild, Olivia Munn, Donald Trump and Maria Shriver.
Last year (2015), Courtenay also added TV Correspondent to her resume, with weekly segments for the nationally syndicated entertainment show, Celebrity Page TV. Each week, you can find her discussing the latest in fashion, entertainment, and celebrity news or interviewing celebrities on various high profile red carpets in New York and Los Angeles.
In January of 2016, Keith Kelly of the New York Post included BELLA New York in his ‘Media Ink’ column, saying “While BELLA Media is not quite a rags-to-riches story just yet; it is at least a successful start-up in a generally unforgiving publishing world.”
With that in mind, Courtenay is spreading her wings to the west coast with the recent launch of BellaLAMag.com, and the print version to premiere by years end
