Fashion Island

It's become common for upscale beauty brands to offer a gift with a purchase. Now Clarins is taking that idea, mixing in a dose of philanthropy and turning it into what the company is calling a “Gift with Purpose.” From now through April 20, Clarins has partnered exclusively with Macy's on the deal: when a consumer purchases two Clarins items (one of which must be a skincare product) at Macy's, 10 school lunches will be provided to needy children through model and activist Lauren Bush's FEED program.

OC Marathon registration is up following Monday's terrorist attacks in Boston, race organizers said. Organizers are witnessing an outpouring of support on social media for the Boston Marathon victims, and Orange County runners appear to want to compete in their honor. "The numbers continue to flood in," said race Director Gary Kutscher. "Very few are voicing enough concern that they are choosing not to run. [We've had] a number of people who said, 'I wasn't planning on running because of a slight injury, but now I want to run in support of Boston.'" In addition to those registering in support of the Boston victims, Kutscher also explained that the Newport Beach-to-Costa Mesa race had stepped up a marketing and advertising effort planned well before the tragedy with full-page newspaper ads. Kutscher said it would be difficult to determine how much of the uptick in registrants was due to Boston and how much came from marketing.

A gunman at Fashion Island in Newport Beach apparently fired more than 50 rounds in a parking lot at the busy shopping mall Saturday before he was apprehended by police, authorities said. Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove, was arrested in the parking lot near the Macy's department store shortly after allegedly firing the shots about 4:30 p.m., said Kathy Lowe, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers on bike patrol apprehended Gurrola as he was standing by a white Honda.

It's become common for upscale beauty brands to offer a gift with a purchase. Now Clarins is taking that idea, mixing in a dose of philanthropy and turning it into what the company is calling a “Gift with Purpose.” From now through April 20, Clarins has partnered exclusively with Macy's on the deal: when a consumer purchases two Clarins items (one of which must be a skincare product) at Macy's, 10 school lunches will be provided to needy children through model and activist Lauren Bush's FEED program.

During a lunch break, a couple of construction workers on the new $60-million addition to Fashion Island were lounging in their pickup trucks, observing midday shoppers, when a gold Mercedes-Benz coupe streaked by with a bumper sticker that read "Born to Shop." "I've lost count of Mercedes," one construction worker was overheard saying to his buddy. "But that's the first born-again shopper I've seen today." There may soon be many more such shoppers. The Irvine Co.

Location: 401 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. Off East Coast Highway roughly between Jamboree Road and MacArthur Parkway. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat.; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sun. Known for: "Overlooking the ocean, Fashion Island offers distinctive shopping and dining in a coastal resort setting. " That's what it says on its website; that's reason enough to go. Situated on 75 acres on a slope above the Pacific, the center attracts more than 13 million people a year to its mix of indoor and outdoor shopping and dining facilities.

Fashion Island, owned by the Irvine Co., is the fourth largest shopping center in Orange County in terms of taxable sales. Built in the 1960s, it has been undergoing a three-phase renovation since 1985. A grand opening in October is scheduled for the last phase, which adds a seven-screen theater, new stores and an outdoor food court.

Federated Department Stores ended nearly two years of intense speculation Wednesday by selecting the open-air Fashion Island Newport Beach shopping center as home for Orange County's only Bloomingdale's department store. The decision was seen as a coup for the Irvine Co.'s shopping center and a bitter defeat for the Segerstrom family's South Coast Plaza, Federated's first choice for the premiere Bloomingdale's location in Orange County.

I am deeply offended by the "political correctness" decision of the news media to purge the word Christmas this year and to substitute for it the word holiday . Every sentence is now reconstructed to pander to those they mistakenly assume would be offended. Christmas shopping is now called "holiday shopping," and Christmas presents are now referred to as "holiday gifts." Even Christmas carols are labeled "holiday tunes." And it's not just in the news. Movie critic Roger Ebert recommends putting a videotape under the "holiday tree."

Orange County restaurateur Michael Kang is closing his popular Five Feet Too restaurant at Fashion Island, the shopping center said Wednesday. The closing was "mutually agreed to" by Kang and the Irvine Co., which owns Fashion Island, a shopping center spokeswoman said. Kang, who also operates the Five Feet restaurant in Laguna Beach, plans to open another eatery in Newport Center--an office, hotel and commercial complex near Fashion Island.

Reggae musician Ziggy Marley is planning to launch his first children's book, "I Love You Too," with signings, readings and acoustic concerts at the Americana at Brand and the Grove . The first event is a concert and reading at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Kids Club at the Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, followed by a book signing at the shopping center's Barnes & Noble at 1 p.m.  The second concert and reading is scheduled at...

The gunman who fired more than 50 rounds at busy Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach on Saturday was described by police as a "destitute individual" who decided that "this was his way of venting his life problems. " Marcos Gurrola, 42, is accused of firing a semiautomatic handgun dozens of times into the air before he was taken into custody, authorities said. No one was wounded in the shooting, although one person was injured fleeing to safety. "Thank God he pointed up," Newport Beach Police Deputy Chief David McGill said.

A gunman at Fashion Island in Newport Beach apparently fired more than 50 rounds in a parking lot at the busy shopping mall Saturday before he was apprehended by police, authorities said. Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove, was arrested in the parking lot near the Macy's department store shortly after allegedly firing the shots about 4:30 p.m., said Kathy Lowe, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers on bike patrol apprehended Gurrola as he was standing by a white Honda.

For those planning to shop at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday, an overnight stay may be in order. (And I don't mean camping out in a parking lot.) The Hyatt Regency Irvine sets holiday rates at  $79 a night, and it's shopper-close to the Irvine Spectrum, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and Fashion Island in Newport Beach. The deal: The hotel is just off the 405 Freeway (Jamboree Road exit) in Irvine. Along with the holiday room price comes another little perk: gift-wrapping in the lobby, with proceeds going to local charities.

The Green Festival is bringing eco-fashion, organic  food and other earth-friendly wares to Los Angeles this weekend. The event is scheduled for the Los Angeles Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday. Some highlights include designer Rebecca Mink's “California Dreaming: An Eco-Fashion Show” at 6 p.m. Saturday on the main stage, and a panel discussion at 2 p.m. Saturday on the Green Living Stage featuring Kelsey Timmerman, author of “Where Am I Wearing?”; Chris Yura, founder of Sustain U Clothing; and Heather Franzese of Fair Trade U.S.A.

Narciso Rodriguez's limited-edition collection for Kohl's DesigNation has arrived in stores and online, as of Wednesday. The collection was inspired by a trip to Turkey and features misses' outerwear, dresses, skirts, pants and shirts with prices ranging from $30 to $150. There are more than 100 pieces, and 30 of the styles will be available only on Kohls.com. This is the inaugural offering in Kohl's DesigNation series. Events Toni & Guy in Newport Beach plans an evening of beauty beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday featuring cosmetic surgeon Dr. Robert Kessler . Speakers will discuss fall hair, beauty trends and plastic surgery options.

Coinciding with the onset of spring, Fashion Island's first Flower Festival is underway at the shopping center in Newport Beach. Landscape workers have installed more than 20,000 plants and flowers throughout the center. They created main gardens near the escalator leading to Bloomingdale's Home Store and on the grassy area outside Bloomingdale's main store.

It seems you can hardly go anywhere these days without seeing a 40-foot neon Stratocaster guitar jutting at a priapic angle over some piece of real estate. It just means yet another Hard Rock Cafe has landed somewhere, and at the chain's rate of expansion, the garish guitars will soon be as ubiquitous as the Golden Arches.

You'll never guess which city was just ranked as the most fashionable in the country. Not Los Angeles, home to Hollywood fashionistas. Not New York, with its famous Fashion Week and legions of pouty, leggy models. No, the title goes to Orange County's Irvine. That's according to Bundle , a website that analyzes spending patterns. List-makers came to their conclusion not by polling the nation's Anna Wintours but instead by looking at "fashion-conscious households. " Those households were deemed as such if they had spent money at least four times at top-end designer merchants in the last 30 months.

Last-minute shoppers at Fashion Island in Newport Beach won't hear one of the most familiar sounds of Christmas: the Salvation Army bell. Salvation Army workers and their red kettles are stationed outside Bloomingdales and Macy's at the upscale mall with an ocean view, but they have agreed to a request to not ring their bells. "You have to respect store owners, people," said Salvation Army Major Antonio Orta, who oversees the three bell ringers — their actual job title — on the property owned by the Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. "We have to comply because we solicit on their premises," Orta said.