FAUXCHELLA Recap 2017: Hiding out at the Republic Records x SBE Hyde Away

Republic Records and SBE really understand the art of hosting events, even when it's out in the desert. This year the Hyde Away emerged from the sands of Thermal, California for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon of frolic and fun. Team Fauxchella pulled into the lot and after parking our car in an open field, we were ushered to walk mere feet to the check-in tent. It was hot and even though security and other staff members were dying from the unrelenting heat, everyone we came across maintained a kind, upbeat and friendly energy with nothing but smiles. Yes, the heat was brutal, but Team Fauxchella came up, simply by looking down...at a crisp $50 bill (score!!!) sitting in the sand while walking up, which is a testament to the caliber of guests that were attending this soiree. 

The desert sandy path quickly morphed into lush green lawns, that were the placemats to a pair of hybrid (i8) and electric (i3) BMWs, waiting for guests to sit in and drool over. Any and all questions like “How big is the trunk in the BMW i8?” were swiftly and happily answered by the on-site hostess. Surprisingly, the answer to our question..."about two 30 packs of beer"...sounds good, we'll take it!

After you've had your fill with the amazing technology of BMW, a short walk takes you to another visual delight, provided by the cosmetic empire that is bareMinerals. As one of the leaders in the competitive and high stakes world of liquid lipstick (to all my Instagram beauty junkies, you know what I'm talking about) bareMinerals reps were avidly educating guests about how to apply various shades and colors as well as handing out samples of their primo product. A girl can never have too many cosmetics, especially if they're from bareMinerals.

Liquid lipsticks weren't the only pampering areas available to guests as Joico set up their Festival Hair stations where girls and some guys could get creative braids and space buns as well as little blasts of color.  JinJoo guitarist from DNCE stopped by to add a little pink to her blondness.

The heat was really pressing down so we were thankful that the bar was our next stop. Sponsored by Absolut Lime and Heineken, our sober thirsts were adequately addressed by various curated vodka cocktails, served by lovely supermodel-type bartenders, which is the standard norm at many Fauxchella events. 

Man and woman cannot survive on drinks alone (remember the Laws of Fauxchella)... FOOD became of the utmost importance after a long day of alcoholic partying and the Hyde Away definitely delivered.  And by "delivered" I mean a full on gourmet buffet of deliciously healthy, satisfying, and beautifully presented options. I fell in love with some of the best salmon I've had in a while, and in the middle of the desert?!? talk about impressive. Other edible offerings consisted of baby yellow carrots, shelled english peas, broccolini, rice with white raisins and bacon and sliced chicken breast grilled to juicy flavorful perfection. We completely forgot that this was the desert and also Coachella weekend.  As we continued to shove copious amounts of deliciousness into our faces, while simultaneously trying to look cool as f*ck (an impossible feat because no one ever looks cool eating anything), recording artist "Justine Skye" literally walks by our table followed by a camera crew and begins singing with a dance duo backing her up at the stage area below us.

As Justine Skye drops vocals like it's nothing, you can't help but notice boxes of Reeboks under everyone's arms...and with a turn of our heads there it was, the Reebok counter in the shade of a tree. "What size are you sweetheart?" was all we heard as the lady quickly began relaying sizes into a walkie talkie and shortly thereafter another lady came with a stack of shoes, our sizes included.

Talk about surreal, we just had Justine Skye and her back up dancers performing a mini concert on a private palatial estate, while we finished our lunch. 

Shortly after Justine's soulful set, hip hop artist Aminé took to the stage spitting out his hit "RedMercedes" along with a few other tracks, as we waited for our complimentary Reeboks to be brought up from the back. Who could ask for anything more?

Sunday at the Hyde Away proved to be an even more feature packed day of pool party frolics. Joe Jonas took over the decks with the rest of his group DNCE, as they hyped up the poolside antics.

But the highlight of the day was having the legendary godfather of disco, Giorgio Moroder, bless this pool party with a deliciously decadent disco house set that had many in awe. I mean, c'mon, the man just turned 77 years old!!! And he still is a purveyor of some of the grooviest tracks to hit the airwaves.

Many thanks to Republic Records and SBE for the Hyde Away. We definitely look forward to hiding out next year.