Beauty: A (much needed) Makeover from Vogue Hair and Beauty, Liverpool*

Beauty: A (much needed) Makeover from Vogue Hair and Beauty, Liverpool*

Saturday, 15 July 2017

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We all love a good pamper session, right? I know I do. The last few months of my life have been hectic, full of sleep deprivation and a lot more stress than is healthy for a girl of my age. I have to admit- I’ve really let myself go. I’ve skipped putting on my makeup on a daily basis to benefit from that extra 20 minutes in bed. I’ve let my brows go, to the point where they’re as far away from en fleek as possible. I have EYE BAGS. At 23!!!!

When one of my favourite PR ladies got in touch with me on behalf of Vogue Hair and Beauty Lounge in Liverpool, I honestly felt like all my prayers had been answered. I was offered the choice of a complimentary curly blow or makeup application. As I had a leaving do for one of my jobs coming up, I thought I’d get my makeup done so I could feel like the belle of the ball for once rather than the ugly duckling that teaching has turned me into.

  

Vogue Hair & Beauty, situated on Old Hall Street right in the heart of Liverpool, is a little gem. Hidden away in a old-fashioned building, the salon itself reeks of style and sophistication and everything you look for when aiming for glamour. When I arrived, I was offered a drink by staff and seated comfortably. Beth, the lady who was doing my makeup application, was a lovely and attentive member of staff and I felt at ease from the word go. The salon was beautifully furnished and decorated, bright and full of light, and really felt welcoming as you entered.

I’ve had makeup applications before where I’ve had to spend a LOT of time post-application dabbing off excess product and toning down what had been done to me. That most definitely wasn’t the case here. The makeup was applied with precision and care, and Beth took the time to ask me about my thoughts before applying. The products that she used were of a high standard and complimented my skin tone perfectly. I opted for a lash-less look as I’m not really all that used to wearing them and I have pretty long lashes anyway. I also opted for nude shades on my eyes- I’d bought a gorgeous skirt from Topshop to wear and the makeup really matched with the look. Beth finished off the look with a gorgeous coating of a matt lip version of the infamous MAC Velvet Teddy lipstick and I was good to go, after taking a few selfies of course!

I would definitely go back to Vogue for a makeup application- and I’m planning on booking in for when we take a trip to the races. I’m quite a safe makeup user- I use the same products, in the same way, every single time I put makeup on, so it was nice to go out of my comfort zone and spice things up a little. I felt confident after application and got SO many compliments on the amazing job that Beth did on my makeup. Thank you so much to the guys at Vogue for the treatment, it really was much appreciated! 

Beauty: MetQuarter Christmas PR Event!

Beauty: MetQuarter Christmas PR Event!

Monday, 14 November 2016

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I’ve had a good few weeks events wise and I’m excited to share my experiences at another little event here! At the end of last month, I was invited to an event at Metquarter in Liverpool. For anyone who isn’t local to the area, Metquarter is a grotto of amazing shops including MAC, Illamasqua and Armani, Links of London and GHD, amongst others. I was blooming over the moon to be invited to their press event and being able to see some of the shops’ new collections earlier than the public! Thanks very much to the lovely Emma, part of the Carousel team for the invite to the event!

I’m going to be honest… I felt a little weird going to a Christmas event in OCTOBER. OCTOBER. I could probably have dealt quite easily with an event in November, as I understand that they have to get the products out early, consumer markets, yada yada. October messed with my sense of festivity a little bit. Granted, this last about five minutes as when I got there I got right into the swing of things, singing along to all the Christmas music and ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the amazing decorations.

I nipped into the store pretty early on in the day and met up with a few fellow bloggers who’d gotten there at the same time. It was nice to have a catch up and see the amazing new products that shops had put out for us to have a look at. I fell 100% in love with the brand new Christmas collection that MAC had put out- I’ll definitely be going back to purchase a few of these, it was SO difficult to pull myself away and resist the temptation of spending my entire wage slip on pretty eye shadow palettes and make up brush kits. I also found myself falling in love with the most BEAUTIFUL shoes I’ve seen in a long time, from L. K. Bennett! Fingers crossed Father Christmas puts them under the tree for me this year!

I wasn’t able to stay as long as I would have liked to as I had to get to work so unfortunately I missed out on getting my makeup done by a MAC artist! We were given lovely little goodie bags with money off vouchers, a little MAC mascara and an Illamasqua lipstick in them! There was also a little macaron from Patisserie Valarie included in there, which was a lovely little touch! Who doesn’t love a macaron, after all?

I can’t wait to go back to the Metquarter and fill up a basket with some of their fabulous goodies for my family and friends this year!

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Beauty: MDMFLow @ Harvey Nichols Bazaar, Liverpool

Beauty: MDMFLow @ Harvey Nichols Bazaar, Liverpool

Thursday, 22 September 2016

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Around a year ago, I read an article in the newspaper about a young woman who, after recognising that her skin tone didn’t really suit the lipstick shades she wanted to wear, started making her own beautifully pigmented lipsticks in her shed. She eventually named her brand MDMFlow.  On Saturday evening, I got to meet this woman and by gosh, it was an experience.  

What Florence has done here with her brand is nothing short of impressive. I was lucky enough to be invited down to Harvey Nicholls Beauty Bazaar in Liverpool at the weekend to take part in a little lipstick making session and meet Flow. We also got to have a chat with her and discuss what she’s done to make her brand unique and appealing to the beauty market.

Unfortunately, I had work so I was a tad late and missed out on the actual workshop but my boss was kind enough to let me go early enough that I didn’t miss the whole thing (thanks Denise, if you’re reading!) When I arrived, I was handed Prosecco (always the way to a blogger’s heart!) and was able to ask loads of questions about the brand and the processes undertaken to make the product. The girls saved me a couple of lipsticks and they’re nothing short of GORGEOUS.

The packaging is phenomenal. There’s actually no other word for it. It’s completely recognisable as being a part of the MDMFlow range and I’ve honestly never seen any packaging like it. I love the shape of the little gold bullets and I definitely would feel really fancy whipping them out for a touch up on a night out. I’m not sure I’m quite brave enough to fashion this gorgeous glittery pink, Barbie Unicorn, but the nude, which the group named Snog a Blogger (amazing!!) is absolutely stunning and will definitely become a staple part of my make up kit. Her range is mainly marketed at black women, but her lipsticks definitely suit every skin tone- they appear differently on everyone which makes them highly marketable and a perfect purchase for anyone looking for lipsticks a little out of their comfort zone. Her colours range from classic reds and nudes, to deep purples and bright blues.

As a personal brand, Flow is the epitome of empowerment. Her bold colours definitely reflect her boldness, and even her brashness at having the guts to quit a join to pursue her dreams. The event was one which I enjoyed a lot more than previous beauty events- it was absolutely amazing to meet the brains behind the operation rather than just a PR team and see the passion behind the brand first hand. It was also really interesting to see the lipsticks being made right in front of us – it made the experience all the more personal and makes you realise just what is involved in creating these sorts of products. I had a quick swatch of the lip-glosses as well and I definitely think I’ll be treating myself at the end of the month on pay day as they are probably my favourite part of the collection. They paint on glossy and dry matte, which is my favourite type of lip-gloss. I’m eyeing up the reds, of course!

Thanks so much to Flow and Liberty for the invite, your brand is amazing and I can’t wait to see where you head next with it!

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