Nisha Singal is giving away five of her 100% wool scarves from her company, L’Affaire Cashmere–a company that specializes in authentic, one-of-a-kind cashmere and pashmina-blend scarves, stoles and shawls. Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: which scarf would you most like to win?

In 1989, FOF Nisha Singal founded her own apparel manufacturing and export facility in India, working with big brands like Target and Zara, as well as major French brands like DDP, Liberto, and Lee Cooper. As her company grew, Nisha traveled throughout India to oversee all the aspects for apparel making for her company, including the weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing, and embroidery process. She also educated herself on the different types of washes and treatments that can be used on different fabrics to make them have different looks and feels.

When she closed the doors of her business in 2008 due to the economic recession, Nisha started thinking about her next career move. She read about the special methods used to weave pashmina and cashmere and traveled to the small household factories in Nepal and Kashmir to observe the delicate handloom weaving process that is involved in making such scarves. “Pashmina and cashmere products are not mass produced because the nature of the yarn and the method of production are tedious and delicate,” says Nisha. “Sometimes it can take over three months to hand embroider a single piece of cashmere shawl!”

After learning all she could about pashmina and cashmere, and armed with her background in apparel manufacturing, Nisha decided to start a scarf company of her own.  She launched L’Affaire Cashmere in spring of 2012. Her company is a family affair–her son manages all of the technical issues of her site, while her daughter oversees the aesthetics including the scarf hang tags and packaging. She ships her stylish scarves all over the world, and perhaps what sets her apart most from other online scarf purveyors is that Nisha offers international shipping for free.

“I think when a woman over fifty shops, she looks for a quality product,” says Nisha. “She wants something that she’ll love and treasure.” Nisha has made it her company’s mission to supply women with just that. “We endeavor to bring women everywhere the luxury of pure cashmere and pure wool–a perfect accessory for themselves, or a great gift for a friend or loved one.”

Enter to win a 100% wool scarf from L’Affaire Cashmere by answering this question in the comments below: which scarf would you most like to win?

Five FOFs will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes January 24th, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

FOF Adrianne Weisman is giving away a luxe, pure cashmere wrap (retail value: $392) in pink or black from Evelyn and Arthur–a clothing and accessories company that specializes in apparel for women over fifty. The line is designed to “take you from the country club to the theater,” according to its president, Adrianne Weisman.  Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: What would you wear with this cashmere wrap?

In 1984, Adrianne Weisman’s parents, Evelyn and Arthur Lewis, retired to Palm Beach, Fl.  Arthur had enjoyed a long career as a manufacturer of women’s clothing in New York, while Evelyn stayed home and took care of their children. When Evelyn, 52 at the time, found that she couldn’t find any clothing in her new town that were the fit, color, or material that she wanted, she and her husband decided to open a clothing store of their own. They opened their first store, Evelyn and Arthur, in 1985, but couldn’t do it alone. They asked for help from Adrianne and her husband Fred, who were both working as buyers for Macy’s in New York at the time.

With the help of Fred and Adrianne, Evelyn and Arthur grew from one flagship store to seven stores throughout Florida. When Arthur retired in 2007, Adrianne took over the company, becoming its president.  Each day, Adrianne determines what items are selling well, gets in touch with manufacturers to check on shipments, contacts the stores to see what the needs of the stores, salespeople, and managers are, and organizes in-store charity events.  Some days, Adrianne spends at the Evelyn and Arthur stores, talking to her customers to find out what they want, what they like and don’t like, and what’s fitting well.

Evelyn and Arthur carries a mix of clothing and accessories carefully selected from other manufacturers, as well as clothing designed by their in-house design team–a team which pays careful detail to the influence of trends that are selling, and the fit of the clothing and colors that Evelyn and Arthur customers love. While they’ve made a name in Florida, Evelyn and Arthur will ship all over the U.S. from their online store, evelynandarthur.com.

“Our clothes have a great fit and they’re age appropriate,” says Adrianne. “You don’t want to look like your 20-year-old daughter, and you don’t want your clothes to fit that way. Our clothes are fashionable, they fit well, and they’re quality–that combination, along with the customer service in the stores makes it a place where women over fifty want to shop.”

Enter to win a cashmere wrap from Evelyn and Arthur by answering this question in the comments below: What would you wear with this cashmere wrap?

Don’t forget to “like” Evelyn and Arthur on Facebook.

One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes January 10th, 2013 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

FOF Grace Gallo is giving away this tailored, plaid jacket and stunning onyx necklace (retail value: $680) from her new line, Grace Gallo New York. Enter to win by leaving answering this question in the comments below: Where would you wear this blazer and necklace?

FOF Grace Gallo was born in Italy but grew up in Australia, where she spent 12 years working for the largest fashion retailer in the country, Coles Myer, on their advertising and marketing campaigns. She left Australia in 1992, when her career led her to Hong Kong to work on international marketing for a few Hong Kong based fashion companies. Grace’s company transferred her to New York in 1999 to set up their U.S. operation. Once she had that accomplished, she launched her own consulting and marketing business in 2001.  Inspired by New York, a place where she felt that she could achieve anything, she decided to fulfill her dream of having her own fashion line. “I felt that women needed some guidance on how to dress in the workplace,” says Grace, “and I wanted to help women do just that.”

Grace started product development for her line in 2010. Since she had worked in the fashion industry for so long, she had many contacts to reach out to for guidance. During the two years that she spent creating her line, she spent time in her birthplace of Italy, gathering expert advice on which fabrics would maintain a crisp, tailored look that she wanted her line to have.

Grace launched her line just last month, exclusively for sale on GraceGalloNewYork.com, and already she’s working on new additions.  She’s currently working on getting Grace Gallo New York into specialty boutiques, and hopes to have retailers pick her line up within the next few years.

“My line is classical, yet incorporates new trends,” says Grace.  “My designs lend themselves well to career women who doesn’t have time to go from the office to home to change to go out for dinner–they transfer well from day to evening.”

Enter to win a Grace Gallo New York blazer and necklace by leaving answering this question in the comments below: Where would you wear this blazer and necklace?

Like Grace Gallo New York on Facebook for an extra chance to win!

One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes December 27th, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

FOF Lana Abrams is giving away one queen-sized silk-filled cotton comforter (retail value: $279) from her luxury line of bedding, Mulberry West. Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: Where did you have the best night’s sleep?

In 2006, Lana Abrams, a graphic designer, took a tour through Beijing on vacation, and noticed a trend at the hotels where she stayed. “They all had these beautiful silk comforters,” says Lana. She went on a tour of the factories where the comforters were made, and discovered they are also made to be pest, mold, and mildew resistant.

When Lana hit menopause a year later, she wanted a lighter weight comforter to alleviate her night sweats. She found that there was nothing available in this country that compared to the silk comforters she had experienced during her trip to China. “I figured a lot of baby boomers might benefit from a comforter like this,” says Lana who at that point decided to start her own line of bedding.

Lana started collecting samples from different silk factories in the U.S. to see how they stacked up to the ones from her trip. Not satisfied with anything she found in the U.S., Lana decided to outsource silk and cotton from China for her own bedding line. She hired a manufacturer there to outsource Mulberry silk, which according to Lana, is the highest quality silk available. It is made through a process that was perfected over hundreds of years by the Chinese, in which the silk worms are fed a diet of only Mulberry leaves, causing them to spin a larger silk cocoon than wild silkworms, which have a varied diet.  Lana also made sure that her cotton was unbleached, without any formaldehyde or other chemicals. She even went a step further and had the silk and cotton used in her comforters certified by a silk and cotton certification company.

“Women who are in menopause are constantly throwing off their comforter, and then they get chilly so they throw it back on,” says Lana. “Mulberry silk is a great solution to this problem because has a lot of breathability, and it wicks away moisture.”

Lana launched her line, Mulberry West, in December of 2010. “I named it Mulberry West because we use Mulberry silk,” says Lana, “and I used the word ‘West’ because I wanted it to have an American sounding name.”  Since launching, she’s sold over 2,000 of her luxury comforters, which are available online as well as in brick and mortar stores across the U.S., from Hildreth’s in the Hamptons to Emissary Fine Linens in Washington, D.C. All Mulberry West products are also hypoallergenic and naturally pest resistant, due to the sericin protein found in silk, which repels bed bugs.

Enter to win a Mulberry Silk queen-sized comforter by answering this question in the comments below: Where did you have the best night’s sleep?

One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes December 20, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

FOF Harriet Campbell is giving away six sets of her BowlOvers–clever, reusable covers that go over bowls and store your leftovers! Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: Which set of BowlOvers would you most like to win?

Harriet Campbell, an FOF from the U.K, worked in merchandising for a home decor website much of her adult career. Her job exposed her to many products, but she found that she wasn’t satisfied with anything on the market for storing food. “I wanted something that you could cover your leftovers with like cling wrap, but that you could wash and reuse,” says Harriet. One day, as Harriet watched her husband cover a saucepan of potatoes with a tea towel to keep them fresh, she had an a-Ha! moment. Her idea was to create a set of different-sized covers that adhere to bowls using an elastic band. The covers would be adorned with sayings and themes for different occasions.

Harriet worked with a designer to give her product a vintage feel. The designer, also inadvertently gave Harriet the idea for the product’s name. “She was working late on some designs and emailed them over with a spelling error–she missed the C in ‘Covers,’” says Harriet. “The moment I saw it I knew that was the name–BowlOvers! You can be ‘bowled over’ by the idea, and they go over bowls!”

Harriet found a manufacturer in China to mass produce her BowlOvers. She already knew that she wanted her product to be microwaveable for reheating leftovers or to steaming vegetables. She also wanted them to be 100% machine washable. The manufacturer came up with some additional adjustments that Harriet hadn’t thought of, such as putting holes in them for safer reheating, and adding washing instructions on each one.

Harriet officially launched BowlOvers in March of last year. She sold 15,000 in the U.K. her first year and is hoping to double sales this year since launching her U.S. retail site this past summer.

“You can use them to keep food covered before a party, or when you are eating outside and want to protect your food from flies,” says Harriet.  BowlOvers are also perfect for FOFs.  “As people get older it gets harder to tear the cling wrap evenly off the roll,” says Harriet. “BowlOvers are a much more attractive alternative to cling wrap. They’re reusable, so you’re not contributing to landfills. While cling wrap won’t adhere to plastic bowls, BowlOvers fit over any type of bowl.”

Enter to win a set of BowlOvers by answering this question in the comments below: Which set of BowlOvers would you most like to win?

One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes December 13th, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

Betsy Karp is giving away a 90-minute Color Your World session, which will help you discover colors that calm your energy, reduce your stress, and positively impact your life. Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: what color makes you feel powerful?

For 25 years, Betsy Karp designed scarves for major fashion brands including Oscar de la Renta, Banana Republic, and Ralph Lauren before launching her own women’s, high-end sportswear line, Betsy Karp, LLC in 1999. Her clothing line was sold in 75 stores all over north America. Her success came to a halt on 9/11. “All of my orders from the exclusive boutiques got cancelled,” says Betsy. “I had put my heart and soul into my business. I was down and depressed. I had to refocus my life.”

Betsy went back to school in 2006. She became a certified health counselor through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and earned a Certificate of Health Counseling from Columbia Teacher’s College. “In order to graduate school we had to work with two clients,” says Betsy. “That made me realize that I loved working with people, and that this was my calling; helping people.”

Using her training in health counseling and her knowledge of color theory, Betsy created a system to help empower her clients through the use of color. “Power colors are universal,” Betsy explains. “Each color is associated with a certain energy, and has a different impact on your emotional and physical being. I help people discover which colors they need to use depending on their life needs: there are colors that calm your energy, reduce your stress, and more.”

Since launching her company, iadoreme, in 2008, Betsy has given presentations on color,  meditation, and life design makeovers everywhere from underserved schools in the Bronx, to major companies like UBS and Lululemon, teaching her techniques and empowering people to live positively.

“Women over fifty are women who are reinventing themselves on so many different levels,” says Betsy.  “It’s important they learn how to empower themselves through color. It can really have a wonderful effect on your life.”

Click here for more information about Betsy’s Color Your World session, and to download her free Color Your World e-book.

Enter to win a 90-minute Color Your World session by answering this question in the comments below: what color makes you feel powerful?

One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes December 6th, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.

FOF Yamuna Zake is giving away one of her YAMUNA® Body Rolling Gold Beginner Kits (retail value: $60.95), a body healing and realignment system. Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: What aches and pains have been bothering you lately?

Yamuna Zake knew at a very young age that she was destined to help people.  Thinking the best way to do that would be through a career as a teacher, she pursued a degree in education.  It was only after Yamuna sustained an injury that she found her true calling. She started developing a system of body healing, now known as YAMUNA® Body Logic.

“Body Logic is a very deep hands on therapy,” explains Yamuna. “We assess and reorganize the structure of the body.”  Yamuna uses her hands to work each part of her client’s bodies to get the muscles elongated and toned, and to make the body’s range of movement unrestricted. The practice of YAMUNA® Body Logic creates a space between muscle and bone, enabling the body to work in a logical and correct order, to perform optimally. “People came to me from all over the world for help solving back, shoulder, and knee problems,” says Yamuna. “Finally I thought, ‘how can I make this available to everybody?'”

Aiming to bring Body Logic to the masses, Yamuna developed a ball to use for YAMUNA® Body Rolling. “Body rolling uses very specific sized balls with different weights, densities, and sizes,” says Yamuna. “They are used to actually organize your anatomy so that everything works smoothly, correctly, and effortlessly.” Instead of Yamuna using her hands to heal body issues and restore body alignment, the ball does the same action and motion that a hand would, allowing people to do the work themselves. “You’re using your own body weight on the ball,” explains Yamuna, “You’re sitting on the ball, you’re lying back into the ball, you’re lying face down into the ball, working deep into your abdomen.”

“Women of my age were all running around doing high intense aerobics,” says Yamuna. “My generation was told to run for your health, do high impact aerobics, and now women are really suffering.” Yamuna says that it is especially important for women over fifty to avoid high-impact fitness. “In your fifties, joints wear, aging happens in your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones,” she says. “Your estrogen levels decrease — there is more stiffness, tightness, structural injury, and weight gain.”

Yamuna says that FOFs who haven’t exercised in awhile and then try to engage in high-impact activities “don’t lose weight because they have so much impact in their bodies.” She explains that Body Rolling help smooths the transition and acclimate the body to physical activity. “Once women turn it around with YAMUNA® Body Rolling, they can go back to doing what they love, and they can be pain free.”

Currently, Yamuna has a network of over 2,000 licensed practitioners who are healing people through her Body Rolling system. “We have group classes, private classes–we have practitioners all over the place,” says Yamuna. ” All you need to do is go to our website and find a practitioner.”

“So many people’s bodies get stiff and tired when they get older,” Yamuna says. “YAMUNA® Body Rolling really works, and helps people get amazing results.”

Enter to win a YAMUNA® Body Rolling Gold Beginner Kit by answering this question in the comments below: what aches and pains have been bothering you lately?

One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes October 18sth, 2012 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S.