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| Festive spirit |
One of the most exciting
things about working as a journalist is being the first to see, hear, watch,
experience, and try out new things. But these benefits are no longer restricted
to the press. In recent years PRs have been taking much more notice of the power of
bloggers; inviting them to ‘dos’ that were previously restricted. This is great
because I’ve always been inclined to believe what ‘real people’ think, rather
than someone who’s job it is to review things. I fall into both categories but
given a choice I’d much rather wear my blogger hat: what you read on my blog is
me being me; not me working for someone else.
One of
the things that land in my inbox as a writer and blogger, on a daily basis, is
invitations to ‘press launches’. I don’t go to all of them, only things I’m
genuinely interested in like trying out new lotions and potions. Last month I
went to the Christmas Press Day for Kilpatrick PR, and decided to reveal what
actually happens on a ‘press day’.
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| If only my beauty shelf was like this! |
Kilpatrick specialise in beauty products and upon
arrival (inside a glamorous central London townhouse) I was greeted by a huge
long table stretching across the room and filled with exciting new products
about to hit the shelves.
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| Shame they weren't hot! |
And because it was a
Christmas launch there were plenty of mince pies to go around!
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| Seasonal pampering |
As an Xmas gift there was
also a selection of complimentary pampering treatments – none of which I needed,
having recently got my eyebrows and nails done, and the ‘hair-up service’ wasn’t really
for me as I don’t have a huge amount of hair! But what I did opt for was a
1-2-1 with a psychic. A strange lavender lady seated in the corner…she was
dressed in ‘pale purple’ from head to toe so I knew I’d get on with her. I’m
afraid I can’t reveal what she saw inside her virtual crystal ball, but she
certainly instilled me with a confidence boost.
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| 'Me time' treats |
Then it was time to sample the new products. I tried
things I’ve already heard of, like Champneys who have designed a huge number of
gift sets, retailing from £10.
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| New brands |
Ones I’ve never seen before
like Voya; a luxury Irish organic beauty brand. Their products are made from
coastal ingredients like seaweed and are available in Selfridges, priced around
£50.
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| Affordable stuff |
Brilliant cheap and cheerful stuff that I’ve been won
over by. 2 True cosmetics cost from £1.99 and are stocked in Superdrug.
Don’t be put off by their pocket money price, they are pretty good quality.
I’ve found that even their mascara (a handy travel size) is better than some
pricier brands.
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| Posh stuff |
And
extortionately expensive products I will probably never own. Gazelli products come wrapped in pretty scarves and are only available in Harrods. Next week they are offering special facials inside Harrod's Retreat beauty parlour.
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| Can't wait to try it! |
My favourite discovery of
the night was this amazing gelSpa Luxury Bath Soak, which you pour into a
bathtub. The water turns into a huge vat of comforting jelly that you can relax
in. It contains aromatherapy oils and tiny beads that exfoliate your skin as
you lay back. A perfect addition to my Sunday Bath Ritual, the gel also retains
the bath tub temperature four times as longer, giving you an excuse to stay in
the bath tub for hours. Bliss! There are three types; Revive, Relax and Sooth
and they are available in Boots for £9.99.
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| Goodies |
An hour is a good time to spend at a press day then
when you’re ready to leave, you’re presented with a goody bag containing
samples. Hooray!
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| Lucky dip |
As it was Christmas the
lovely Kilpatrick girls had also organised a Christmas card lucky dip (some of
the cards contained vouchers.)
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| Yay! I won! |
Yippee! Inside mine was a
£25 Ted Baker voucher. I’ve never been to a Ted Baker store (though I love the smell of Ted Baker beauty
products) so this winter in the sales, I shall be treating myself to a TB item.
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| To try & test |
As for what was inside my goody bag… well I was
really happy to get a pack of the spa jelly; I can’t wait to take a soak in it!
I also got some dry shampoo from Trevor Sorbie, (perfect as mine had just run
out), a natural face sponge that has been making me look more beautiful. I used to buy really rough face loofahs from Woolworths but these ones are
soft and lovely and I now can’t wash my face without them! They are by Eco Tools and are derived from plant pulp. I highly recommend them. I also received
a serum from luxury French brand Institut Eshederm that comes in a very shiny,
bronze dispenser that I’ve been using on my face and so far, so good. The only
trouble is you have to ‘pat’ and not ‘rub’ it in, which is difficult to
remember! Also inside was some lovely Sweet Breath cinnamon tasting breath
freshener, incredible 2 True ‘cracking nail varnish’ which gives you a leopard
print effect on your nails in a few seconds, and some individual lashes which
last a few weeks (as yet I’m too scared to try them out, but maybe one day?)
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| Revolution! |
Best of all though…a light up
lipstick…what an invention!!! There’s really not a lot to say other than ingenious! The lippy by New CID Cosmetics comes in eight shades and costs about £12. It has a mirror and
in-built light so you can say good bye to smudges, even inside a dark club! I’m
sold!
So these are some of the
lovely new beauty products to look for when you’re next out and about. I’m much
more of a ‘read about them’, then ‘go to scary department stores and deal with
shop assistants’ kind of girl, so if you are too, I hope this post was useful :
)
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