PixiGlow launch 29th February - Pixi Beauty

I was lucky (thanks to my lovely friend Numera and Camilla at Halpern) to get a ticket to the Pixi Glow beauty range launch today. Their boutique is based by Carnaby Street in London, small in size but clean and modern. 


I would firstly like to say that the staff in the boutique were fantastic! The two that I spoke to were immediately knowledgeable about the range and the background of the company (which, from my advertising background, was an area which I was interested in)


The collection has been around for 12 years. Pixi means fairy so Petra (the creator) teamed with Disney 18 months ago to create a brand design for the new range around the Peter Pan character 'Tinkerbell'.


Below are a few pictures of the shop and the PixiGlow range. The colours of the range are beautiful and right up my street! Lots of rose, pinks and nude colours, perfect for the spring season! The packaging in the goody bag (which, of course, I am obsessed with) is a warm yellow colour with a pink flowers and leave colouring. The colour of the actual product is a mint green colour, which is definitely one of the colours of the season following London Fashion Week last week.

They also had another make-up range 'POP' on display

The staff were very helpful. The one girl, who I do apologise for not asking her name, who was showing me the products and telling me about the company was fantastic. She even showed me colours that would suit my skin colour. I asked about the fact that a lot of the products had a shimmer or glitter tone and wondered whether it was suitable to those with sensitive skin. I was told that Petra's middle sister is a make up artist and that she worked with PixiGlow to ensure that the range was suitable for all skin types.


I tested a lot of the products so I have a funny looking left hand at the moment but I am soooooooooooooooooo impressed with the colours and quality of the products. The funny thing I like about some of the range was the brightness of the pinks that have been used. When applied to skin or lips, they are not as scary as they look :)


I am really interested in testing the two products below that caught my eye in the store.

  

I ask the staff who they felt their competitors in the market were and I was surprised to be told that they felt the Laura Mercier range. Personally, I feel the products, in terms of the look, are at opposite ends. It has intrigued to have a look at the Laura Mercier range at the weekend, as I have personally been impressed by the PixiGlow products.


Again, with my advertising mind on, I asked how they were promoting the product. I was told that advertising is not an area that the creator likes to use. She prefers the products to be advertised by word of mouth and promoted through positive reviews. A refreshing take especially in advertising.


My only concern with the range is the association with 'Tinkerbell'. I fear it makes the range targeted to more of a teenage group rather than adults. It is my only concern. I was pleased overall with the company.


The goody bag is fab and has two of the products that I was interested in buying -yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! 

The website should be up and running from 5th March! 


Their flagship store is the boutique in London. The staff told me that their products are also sold on ASOS.com. They also have a youtube channel - PixiBeauty.


There is a discount code on the back of the booklet for 20% off at pixibeauty.co.uk (code - PIXIPRETTY). Would be good to see if this still works.


Very much looking forward to using these products and thank you PixiGlow for letting me attend your launch!




Rach x

Window shopping - Accessorize - Lent Day 6

Oh good loooooooooooooord ... so I go into the little village centre I work in and go to the charity shop to find some bargains. Found a fab little top, go to the till to pay for it and remembered my Lent vow of "no clothes shopping". This may be a little harder than initially anticipated!


So I am once again 'window shopping' for my birthday next month. Topshop had some lovely pieces that I put in a previous blog. I am looking at my fave shop, Accessorize!


My friends will no doubt tell you that I do not need anything more from Accessorize as I have too much HOWEVER there is always room for moreeee. Below are some of the pieces that have caught my eye:

Thoughts? I guess there is a bit of a colour theme there (unintentional!)

Rach x

Leighton Denny Nail Varnish review

Hi guys!


Friday blog, fun times! :D


I decided to give myself a little pamper and paint my nails this evening. Tonight, I have tested out a Leighton Denny varnish in a rose pink colour (doesn't have the actual product name, apologies!)


Both Leighton Denny nail varnishes were given in a freebie bag at an event I attended last year (perks of the job!) and I have finally got around to using them!


Thoughts on the product? I love the colour. It is a very warm pink and doesn't change colour once applied your nails. I have also used my OPI top coat clear varnish to finish off the look.


It was very easily to apply and I love the bottle it comes in! All glass/plastic around the bottle including the lid!


I guess the next few days will see how long lasting the product is! For now, I am a happy bunny with the colour and interested to see what other colours they do and test them out and review!


Pics below:

Leighton Denny bottles - I got two in the freebie bag

Colour used tonight

The other colour for testing soon!

Are you a fan of the Leighton Denny range? Would be interested to see what other colours they have and if they are a brand capable of beating the powerful OPI line.



Rach :)

Lent - Day 3 & Birthdayness!

Busy busy few days at work! Very happy for the weekend!


Day 3 of my 'clothes shopping ban' for Lent and I thought I was doing well until I received my weekly email from VoucherCodes.co.uk with lots of lovely discount codes for some of my favourite shops! I've resisted!


Could be hard at the weekend as I am going to London for the day. Going to some markets and going to Covent Garden. Very tempted to leave my debit card at home.


So ... I am happily 'window shopping' for now and looking at bits for my birthday next month. My obvious first choice was to visit the Topshop website. Here are a few of my favourite items:

What do you guys think?




Rach :)




P.S with my Blackberry officially dying, I am on the hunt for a great deal with iPhone. Any recommendations would be welcomed!

Ash Wednesday - Day 1

Sooooo following Shrove Tuesday (or for most of you, Pancake Day), today is Ash Wednesday which means the start of Lent.

I won't be fasting however I will be following tradition and giving up something up for 40 days (here's a little bit more information about Lent)


So what I'm I giving up? *drum roll please* ... clothes shopping! Yes, you read it right!


I am terrible at nipping out to the shops and coming back with one item of clothing (even if it is Primark, they have lovely items in there at the moment!) so let's see if I can avoid using my debit card for the next 40 days!


It's also my birthday within the 40 days so that helps a little :)


Is anyone else giving anything up for Lent? Would be interested to hear and see your progress (mine should be fun lol!)


Rach :)

Style of the day!

Mollie from The Saturdays

Mollie King from the UK girl band, The Saturdays, attended the Michael van der Ham fashion show yesterday and changed into 3 different outfits during the day.


I NEED THIS GIRL'S WARDROBE!!

Outfit 1:

Beautiful snow leopard print on a smock style dress with simple grey short sleeves. Perfect length.

Outfit 2:

I am in love with the colour and style of the skirt Mollie is wearing. I've seen this colour a lot recently on the high street. Unsure about the top. It works with this outfit but would be interested to see how it would work with something else.

Outfit 3:

I NEED THIS WHOLE OUTFIT IN MY LIFE! Love the colour blocking with the black and pink (always classic) Love the nude shoes. Would have loved to see what handbag she would have coordinated with this.

Basically Mollie, I need your wardrobe! Point me in the right direction or donate! Clothes donated to charity Rachel are always welcomed :D

What do you guys think? They are Michael van der Ham designs so let me know your thoughts.

Rach x 

Bargain disaster!!

Ok ok, so I can't always be successful with all my deals!


I received emails from Groupon everyday with the latest deals for Surrey as well as Nationwide. Immediately, I was drawn to a hairdressing deal - £100 of half head of highlights plus cut and finish for £30. I thought "Fab!" I have been home-dying my hair for about 6 months and it was beginning to turn into the horrible orangery colour so I thought this would be great for the price!


I bought the deal and booked an appointment with the hairdressers for the following weekend. I entered the salon and everything seemed normal. Polite receptionist, took my coat and offered me a drink - the service you expect. I then got taken to my seat where it appears I had an appointment with the gentleman who owned the salon. Great I thought again, this should be great if the guy whose name is on the front door is doing my hair. Needless to say, the whole process didn't go well. Rather than a few lengthy paragraphs, I shall bullet point!

• Dark lighting - very difficult to see colours being used.
• No talk about what colours I would like in my hair
• No book showing me the different colours I could have
• No technique to highlighting. Just randomly selected strands of my hair to use.
• No request to where my parting sits

Needless to say, my hair was styled in a parting that I would not usually have it. Leaving the salon, it looked fashionable and different. I get home, put it into my parting and this is what I get:

 

BAD BAD BAD HAIR

Zebra strips you might say? Just awful! (to be honest, this picture does not do it justice!) They had used a bleach on my hair for the highlights and a dark ash brown underneath. The colour I had previously and the dark ash they added had turned the bottom of my hair GREENY GREY! GREENY GREY!!!!!!!

I just thank the lord I didn't let him cut my hair as I am trying to grow it long!

I couldn't go to work with this hair. I wouldn't have been able to meet clients with this hair. Yes yes, I know, sounds very vain but you have to look professional in my job role and this hair do was not an option.

Soooooooooooooooooo a Sunday stuck in RUSH, 3 hours on my bum and a lot of colour and treatments later, I have hair presentable to clients.

I will not be doing a Groupon deal AGAIN! A complaint has been sent to the Groupon head office, explaining my story and whether they have reps that actually meet with businesses/companies prior to allowing deals on their website.

An expensive and dangerous deal. Take my experience as a strong indicator of being careful when purchasing these internet deals.

I shall upload a picture of my new hair in my next blog as I want to do a tutorial of how I style it.

A big thanks for the wonderful staff at RUSH in Staines. They were fantastic at fixing the mess!

Rach x