Pimping my Pamper Evening

Well, I think this is officially my longest break from blogging since I started. The last couple of months seem to have passed in a blur and I thought it would be nice to share what has been keeping me otherwise engaged, particularly as it's beauty related.

As well as the usual exam invigilating I do at this time of year, I have been busy organising a ladies pamper evening as a fundraiser for my daughter's pre-school. It's the first time I've ever organised an event like this, so I don't mind admitting that I've been learning as I go. The pre-school my daughter attends is a lovely setting and the staff are really dedicated to providing early years education for all children, irrespective of their background and need. They have experience of supporting vulnerable children, which often requires input outside of nursery setting. They also have a well earned reputation for supporting children with additional needs and parents do come outside of catchment to enroll their children. As it isn't a privately run nursery, fundraising events like the pamper evening help with costs of purchasing new equipment, toys and books, as well as enabling them to subsidise educational trips for the children.

As a newbie at event organising, I have a new found appreciation for how much effort it actually takes. I certainly take my hat off to all the PR girls. Embarrassingly, in a bid to avoid using stock imagery for the posters, I created an image that seems to have an unfortunate, how shall I put it...'alternative interpretation'. I will spare your blushes by not expanding any further! With only two weeks to go until the big night, I still have plenty to do and I'm anxious to make sure everything runs smoothly. I really wish that I could suddenly become less shy, as it would make selling tickets much easier. Did I mention I have a sash?!

Of course, you will be unsurprised to learn that I have enlisted the help of friends that I've made through blogging. HelenJNT and I will be running a stall together, Oxford Jasmine will be offering Rebel Nail manicures and Karin of English Rose Cosmetics will be selling her lovely handmade products. I'll be showcasing some beautiful pieces from The Fushigi Shop on my stall because I couldn't miss an opportunity to share. I also want to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to escentual.com for generously donating a prize for the raffle.

I will end with a cheeky little plea. If any of you are in the South Oxfordshire area on 10th July and want to come along, offer your service for a stall or (cheekiest of all) provide a prize for our raffle or lucky dip, do get in touch. Without completely giving away my location, I'm very close to a main train route into London, so you don't even need to be that local to join us.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reporting how it all goes.

The French Pharmacy Discount Returns to Escentual.com

This is quick heads up that the popular French Pharmacy discount returns to escentual.com today. There's a 1/3 off Vichy, La Roche-Posay and Nuxe. Avene, Klorane, A-Derma, Rene Furterer and Pierre Faber are all reduced by 25% and there's 10% off Caudalie. Great news for those of you that are keen to get your hands on the famed Caudalie Beauty Elixir.

I will be taking advantage of the offer to re-stock on a few basics, particularly because my parents won't be returning to France until May. My Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk is almost empty and I need another tube of the LRP Effaclar AI Targetted Breakout Corrector. Also, Mr. MB wants some more of the Vichy Shaving Foam I bought for him last time the offer was on. As Escentual have recently started carrying the Bioderma range, I might have a look and see if they have the wipes pictured above but for goodness sakes don't grass me up to Mrs Hirons.

Talking of Mrs Hirons, if you haven't already spotted it via Twitter or Caroline's blog, the good lady herself will be holding skin care workshops and one to one consultations at Liberty's on the 12th and 13th March. Caroline is a lovely, extremely entertaining lady and I have immense respect for her knowledge of skin care and problem skin. You can find out more information about the workshops and personal consultations here.

BECCA Bridal Event

I thought this might be of interest to any of you involved in planning a wedding in the near future. BECCA are holding a special Bridal Event in their South Kensington Boutique this coming Saturday from 10am - 6pm. You can book yourself in for a free wedding makeup trial, they normally cost £70, but you will need to call and book in advance. It sounds like there will be other exhibitors there on the day too, offering discounts and offers on wedding related services. There are more details including the telephone number of the Boutique on the invite below.

Bookable Hourglass Masterclass at Liberty

I just spotted this on Twitter and thought I would share. Hourglass Cosmetics are having a Masterclass evening in Liberty's Heritage Suite on Wednesday 25th April from 6-8pm. There's a £25 booking fee (I'm not sure whether this is redeemable against purchases) and you can call to book on 02077341234 ext 2632.

I'd highly recommend going if you're available and interested in Hourglass products. I had a makeover last year with Gina Brooke in Liberty and it was a really enjoyable (and wishlist creating) experience. If anyone does go along, I'd love to hear how you get on!

Lancôme Rouge in Love Collection & Emma Watson PA

Emma Watson will be making a public appearance at 4.30pm tomorrow (10th February) in Selfridges, Oxford Street to launch the new Lancôme Rouge in Love collection. I think Emma is a great choice as the face for Lancôme and I'm certainly interested in the new range of lipsticks, but it's tricky to know exactly who the PA is going to appeal to. Of course, it's wrong of me to assume that Harry Potter fans can't be fans of makeup too and I suppose a younger face is likely to introduce a whole new generation to the brand. I'd probably be making my way to the counter after the crowds had died down to take a look at the new lipsticks and nail colours but that's because I'm notoriously rubbish at shopping in crowds!

There are 24 lipstick in the Rouge in Love collection which are divided into 3 colour groups: Jolis Matins - light, sheer, easy to wear shades, Boudoir Time - punchy colours with silvery and white pearl particles and Tonight is My Night - seductive shades infused with golden pearl particles for an intense shine.

Left - Midnight Rose, Right - Rose Sulfureuse

I don't know if this is revealing more that I ought to but of the 24 shades, the 2 that I am most drawn to are Midnight Rose (#377N) and Rose Sulfureuse (#379N) both from the 'Tonight is My Night' colour family. I love the look of Violette Coquette (#381B) too, a vibrant violet colour, I'm not sure that I'm bold enough to carry it off though. I looked for the shade Delicate Lace (#217M) that Charleston Girl blogged about but couldn't spot it, so I'm unsure if we have a different selection of shades to the US release.

The Vernis in Love nail colours share the same groupings as the lipsticks and there are 20 shades altogether, ranging from milky nudes to striking brights. They promise fade-resistance, gloss shine colour. If these have the same formula as the nail varnishes from the 29, Saint Honoré collection I will be a very happy lady as these are one of the few formulas that will last on my crummy nails! I have my eye on Aquamarine (#501B).

The Rouge in Love collection is currently exclusive to Selfridges (and online from the Lancôme website) but will be available nationwide from 1st April. The lipsticks are priced £21 and nail varnishes £12.


Image credit: Lancôme

My IMATS Experience in Pictures

Yesterday I trotted off to Alexandra Palace for my very first trip to IMATS. I had a fantastic day and spent much of it wandering around with my lovely friend, Sparklz and Shine. I met up with old and new faces, attended talks (more of that later) and took in as much of the atmosphere as possible. In terms of shopping, I was a bit of a failure having bought only one item. I'm still kicking myself about this now. I had fully intended to go back this morning to rectify this until I started panicking about the snow that fell overnight. Rather than dwell on it, I thought I would share my day in pictures.

David Horne mucking in at the Illamasqua stand with the rest of the team.

Illamasqua were offering some incredible discounts and attracted crowds all day long. I made several attempts to get close to the counter but I'm lacking in the necessary shopping skills for this kind of action. I made up for it by having a lovely chat with Hayley from Illamasqua over lunch.

You will be unsurprised to learn that I made a beeline for Hakuhodo! It was amazing to be able to see and touch so many of their brushes. If money had been no object, I could have racked up a huge spend. Unfortunately, they were not offering a discount for IMATS so the prices were the same as those on the www.hakuhodousa.com website. The advantage of buying at the show, of course, were that you did not need to factor in shipping costs or the worry about customs charges. I bought one brush and wrestled with the idea of buying a few more. I actually spent a while looking at the numerous other brush makes on offer at the show, and I have to admit that buying Hakuhodo has rather spoiled me. I'm ashamed to admit that I turned a snobby little nose up at many of the alternatives. Champagne tastes and beer money as my Mother would probably say!

Louise Young

Louise Young at the PAM stand sharing some of her expert tips with a small crowd, including myself, Sparklz and Shine and The Make Up Fairy. Louise used her own Essential Eye palette and her brushes as you can probably see. It was a thrill to get such a personal audience with Louise and I took away many tips. Although the show is primarily aimed at makeup artists, I think you can gain plenty as a makeup consumer and general enthusiast.

Hopefully this picture will give you a general idea of the crowds at the show. It was busy everywhere as I arrived (around 10:30 on the Saturday) and I'm told this is pretty much peak time. Most of the stands were still accessible with the exception of Illamasqua and MAC Pro which were several people deep throughout the day. Many of the stands were also offering excellent show discounts. Having said that, I was quite disappointed at the Embryolisse discounts (I had planned to re-stock) as their prices still seemed to be higher than the cost of buying in France.

An array of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics pigments and their famous lip tars

Helen swatched a number of the OCC lip tars and the pigmentation is amazing. I love the colours but I confess, I am a little nervous of them. I'd love to know if you think I missing out on a must have here?

The Real Techniques stand seemed to be attracting quite a bit of interest, especially with their IMATS discount. The brushes are beautifully soft and I toyed with the idea of getting one of the sets but none of the shapes really grabbed me enough to make a purchase. 

Artist and models getting ready for the Student Competition

 This year's theme for the student competition was 'Wild Kingdom'.

This was one of the many items on display in the museum area and I was really taken with the detail on the face. From the crows feet to the slight stubble on the neck: I think it's these realistic touches which stop it from looking too cartoon-esque.

A very pretty skull design, if that doesn't sound too contradictory!

Koren Zander aka Enkore Makeup engrossed in some 3D bodyart

Koren had attracted a little crowd that were all wearing 3D glasses when I took this photograph. I confess, I was most mesmerised by the Hello Kitty brush belt.

This is Vincent de Monfreid for Makeup Atelier Paris working magic on his extraordinarily professional (and presumably very cold) model!

The model and artist above were stationed at the Mistair Ltd & Stageline Professional stand. I thought the shirt and tie detail on the model were amazing.

IMATS was a great experience and I'm already turning my mind to 2013. Of course, next year I will definitely be armed with a list!

Disclosure: I received a press pass for the event so admission was free. I paid for my own transport to the event.

IMATS London 2012

The International Makeup Artist Trade Show will be taking place in London at the beginning of February. The exhibition will be held at Alexandra Palace: Friday 2nd is open to professionals only but the trade show is open to the public on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th. This will be my very first time at IMATS, the show normally takes place in January so giving birth and birthdays have prevented me from attending in the past. I confess that tales of how busy it gets have also made me slightly reluctant too. I tend to get a little flustered in crowds but this year the show has moved to the Great Hall so hopefully there will be more room to move around and explore.

Image by SparklzandShine.com

There is a full list of exhibitors on the IMATS website as well as a schedule of the classes and events that will take place over the two days. I have been told by more seasoned IMATS visitors that it's best to decide which talks you're interested in attending in advance as there are often queues to hear the speakers and spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. As a first timer I really enjoyed Lipglossiping's tips on how to get the most out of a visit to the show.

Image by SparklzandShine.com

Image by SparklzandShine.com

The stands that I am most excited about visiting are Hakuhodo, Make Up For Ever, Emryolisse, Guru Makeup Emporium and PAM. The thought of one big room filled with cosmetics and brushes that are usual hard to access is a huge draw. I fear I may struggle with my self-imposed eyeshadow ban as I browse the stands. There are a couple of things that I already know will test my resolve if I spy them. I'm sure there should be plenty to keep me distracted and I can always go and stroke some brushes if I get stressed!

Image courtesy of www.imats.net. Photo by Nick Wall

Many thanks to Sparklz and Shine for giving me permission to share her images from IMATS 2011 with you. Will you be going along to IMATS this year? Do you have any advice for a first time visitor like me?

Dr. LeWinn's Customer Event at Debenhams, Oxford St.

For those of you planning a shopping trip into London tomorrow this may be of interest. If you pop along to the Dr. LeWinn's counter in Debenhams, Oxford Street tomorrow you will be able to get a personal skincare consult. There is an gift with purchase offer (buy two full sized products and get a free R4 gift set and necklace worth £40) and kind people on hand to serve yummy chocolate to you tired shoppers.

Although Dr. LeWinn's isn't a brand I've tried myself but I've always heard great things about the nail repair treatment Renunail. Have any of you tried Renunail? As someone with notoriously terrible nails, is it worth me investigating?

10 Years of Kate Moss and Rimmel London

Rimmel London threw a party this week to celebrate their 10 year collaboration with Kate Moss. I wouldn't normally cover this sort of event but I couldn't resist the urge to share some of the celebrity photos. I don't tend to read the gossip/celebrity magazines these days, in fact many of the celebrities that attended this event were a total mystery to me. Not so for the old Kate Moss gang of course; Sadie Frost and Meg Matthews were both in attendance. I was actually quite sad to see Sadie suddenly looking her age. I'm not sure the outfit helped matters.

Talking of outfits, I thought Kate looked good. I don't think you can go far wrong with a classic LBD and red lipstick but I did glimpse a couple of shots that suggested a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. The lipstick she was wearing is apparently Shade 1 of the By Kate collection.

Liberty Ross attended the party in rather unusual attire. It looked like a Victorian themed ensemble but with see-through lace panels at the side. I suppose it's no different from the usual glimpses of cleavage but I wasn't sure it really worked. She is stunning though which draws the eyes away from the strange bib.

I thought Donna Air looked fabulous (what is she up to these days?) and I love the lipstick choice. It looks a lot like MAC Girl About Town.

Back on topic now, I believe the By Kate Rimmel lipstick collection has already been released. There are seven lipsticks altogether. I'm going to have a look at them next time I'm in Superdrug or Boots, the colours look interesting and I've had a few trusty Rimmel lipsticks in the past. I'm not really taken with the packaging though, am I too old to be whipping out a lipstick with Kate written all over it?


Photos by Dave M. Benett/2011 Getty Images

  
My apologies for this unusually shallow post. I suspect watching The Bachelor on a Friday night is having a detrimental effect on my brain cells. Normal service will resume shortly!

BECCA Masterclasses This Saturday

BECCA are holding Masterclass Sessions this Saturday. I thought it might be of interest to anyone that's in London this weekend. There are three Masterclass slots, all covering Spring/Summer beauty trends. I think the Summer proofing session sounds very useful.

The sessions are being held at the Boutique in Kensington. You can call to book in for a session on 0207 225 2501 or email beccalondon@beccacosmetics.com. Details of the times and other things that will be happening on the day are listed on the invite below.