The Beauty Playground Event by NBPR

London near Christmas is so Pretty

Last week I was invited to NBPR's Beauty Playground event which gives Beauty Bloggers and other people in the Beauty industry to have a little preview of new products from Lee Stafford, Myface Cosmetics, Lulu's Timebomb, Colour Xtreme, Skin Art and Nail Art.

The makeup I was wearing

Unfortunately I had the day from hell and arrived in London with no camera, hardly any phone charger and hardly any ipod battery, which meant that I didn't get you guys many pictures which I am sorry about.

NBPR arranged for a car to collect me from Victoria which was great as I don't know my way around London too well. I was one of the first to arrive which was great as it meant I could have a real good chat with some of the girls in a one on one capacity rather than with a group.

I was shown the new Lee Stafford Electrical collection and I must say he has created some really great tools especially the Long Tong which will make curling longer hair an awful lot easier and quicker. I must admit I didn't spend much time looking at the Lee Stafford products because I already use and know a fair bit about them and I wanted to give my attention to the things I knew less about.

The Lee Stafford Collection

My next stop was the Skin Art and Nail art section where one of the lovely girls applied some glitter tattoos whilst I had a great chat with Amy (one of the PR Girls and Makeup Artist) about some of her work, Amy did the Makeup on the Promo Images for Skin Art and Nail Art and one image in particular just screamed recreate me. Amy is going to be sending me the image with a list of products used so that I can attempt to recreate for you guys which is very exciting.

I then moved on to Lulu's Timebomb which I had never heard of, Its a line of Skin Care and Hair Care created by Lulu. I had the chance to have some of the new Miracle Glo applied to my skin, Miracle Glo is the first cosmetic in the line which works as a Highlighter and can be applied before or after makeup. I am very excited about this line which focuses on Anti Ageing, Its great that a funky new line has been created for us girls that are starting to get our first wrinkles.

Lulu's Timebomb Collection

I continued on to my new love Myface Cosmetics to have a little look at the new Italian Ice Eyeshadow Duo's and the Slinky Liquid Liners. I also got the chance to have a play with some of the other Blingtone Shadows in different shades which are so beautiful. The lovely girl that was showing me the new products (memory fails me on her name as I am getting old!) is going to be sending me some other goodies from the line to check out which is rather exciting as I really do like this brand.

The Myface Cosmetics Collection

Finally I was taken through to the plush bathroom to have my hair done. The Lovely hairdresser used Lee Stafford's My Long Tong to create some loose curls then, to give my hair volume he added some of Lee Stafford's Dry Shampoo and back combed my hair before setting it all in place with Hold Tight Hairspray. My hair looked so lovely and I will be investing in the Long Tong sometime soon as it was super easy to use and the loose curl looked so lovely.

After I had had my hair done I made my way back to the main room to say my goodbyes when I was given a huge goody bag of things to try and review so, expect a full review of all of these products over the coming weeks.

What I found in my goody bag

Have you tried any of the brands I got to see if so what have your experiences been?

Ems xo

The Birthday Treat - The Used Meet and Greet and Illamasqua Haul

I meant to post this sometime ago but, it had to go on the back burner as the last few weeks have been incredibly busy with Hospital appointments and what not.

As a lot of you know the week following my birthday I was lucky enough to go to a meet and greet with one of my favourite bands The Used. My sister and I ventured to London on the cold and wet Saturday; we started off at Illamasqua's flagship store in London.

The visit to Illamasqua was a last minute thing because as some of you are aware I had treated myself to some items for my birthday but the delivery company they use, My Hermes, delivered my parcel to the wrong address twice! I was desperate for the items I had ordered and even though I had to miss out on my industry discount I wanted the items too badly.

I brought the following items: Fundamental Palette, Precision Ink in Abyss, Masquara in Raven, Medium Pencil in Paddle, Nail Varnish in Scorn and Scorch and finally Cream Pigment in Hollow. This haul hurt my wallet extensively and seeing as at that point I had paid twice for it you can imagine what my bank balance looked like afterwards, it was so worth it though because all of the items that I have actually played with are amazing. I am yet to use the Fundamental Palette or swatch the colours so I will do another post probably later today with swatches.

Posing in our new Ves

Once my bank card was well and truly broken we headed over to Kingston's Hippodrome to see The Used; I have to admit Sarah and I were like little girls as this is a band we have followed for a few years and the first time seeing them live. We queued in the rain for what felt like forever but once the line started moving it really started moving. 

Once inside we spied the merch stall (and the very hot merch guy ha-ha) and got ourselves the vest that appears in the Merch Haul post. We both changed into our new merch as this is something we always do when we get stuff at gigs and then the waiting began.

 We were lucky enough to get a great spot at the side of the stage so we really were close to the action. Quinn and Bert arrived onstage and played a short acoustic set which truly was amazing, that man’s voice sounds no different live than on the CD itself.

I like to tell myself he is pointing at me ha ha

The set finished and we were told to make our way to the back area of the venue, Sarah and I have never moved so fast because we really didn’t like the thought of being number 699 and 700, we managed to get in line about 50 people back and then we waited and waited and waited some more.

About 30 minutes passed and then the line started moving, I personally was shaking and very excited and then finally came the moment to meet Jepher, Quinn, Dan and Bert. I had been trying to think of what I was going to say to them but nothing unique came into my head. When I reached the table I was greeted by Jepher and all I could say was thank you for the most amazing birthday present to which he replied "Oh Happy Birthday Sweetie", I rambled something about being old so he asked how old I was and when I told him his reply was "Ahhh that’s not old I turned 80 recently" with a huge grin on his face. I missed out on talking to Quinn because Jepher carried on but I would not change it.

Sarah's head and then from R-L: Jepher, Quinn, Dan and Bert

 We were rushed through Quinn and Dan to get to Mr McCracken himself now I was really shaking, we had been told no pictures with the guys although, we had seen a few people ask and be allowed so we thought we would ask but, Bert’s manager said no. Bert was so lovely about it and looked genuinely upset that he couldn’t and said "if you are coming to the gig tomorrow come see us after and I will make sure you get your picture" we told him we weren’t and he looked really sad and all he could say was sorry. If I am honest I don’t care about the photo I got to meet them and that’s something I may never get the chance to do again.

So, that ends the most amazing weekend and birthday in a long time, it will take some beating I can tell you. I hope you enjoyed reading my rambled post and if you haven’t already check out The Used’s new album Vulnerable you won’t be disappointed.

Ems xo

Ghost The Musical Courtesy of Nazila Nail Glitz and Amazing PR

I was lucky enough to win a Beauty Blogger Competition last week, to go with a friend to see Ghost The Musical courtesy of Nazila LoveGlamour and Amazing PR.

Ruby Rockets Make-up and My Holly Willoughby dress

I ventured to London on Friday to meet up with one of my Best Friends Jenny. For review purposes it should be pointed out that Jenny's worst nightmare are musicals, I however didn't find this out until I met up with her.

I arrived into London late so missed out on the pre show manicure that Nazila's team were doing, instead Jen and I enjoyed our Godminster Aromatic Champagne Cocktail and chatted to some of the lovely Amazing PR staff and Nazila herself. 

Myself and Jen were given goody bags, mine containing a set of the Nazila nails to play with as I missed out on the Manicure.

We took our seats and I have to give all props to the team, because I was not expecting front row royal circle seats and that's just what we got, in my opinion these were the best seats in the house. The curtain rose, the tissues were at the ready after being advised by the lovely barmaid that we would need them, to which Jen and I laughed.

The musical proceeded and was kept very close to the film to my delight, obviously some little bits had to be changed to be able to show it on stage. The songs were amazing I think there was only one I disliked and that was Life Turns On A Dime but apart from that the songwriting was amazing. The set itself was unlike any musical I have seen, its a visual masterpiece made up of video walls which are used to create the ever changing set, it really has to be seen to be believed.

View from the stage

I will admit that I blubbed at one point during the song With You, my whole body shook as I tried to contain the sobs. The girl that plays Molly, is amazing at drawing you in and making you believe that this is really happening to her and that her grief for Sam is real. As for Oda Mae Brown, well all I can say is the current lady playing her is perfect, the lungs on her are unbelievable and she actually got more applause than the lead couple.

Once the musical had finished all of the competition winners and their guests were led downstairs and onto the stage, where we were joined by Molly and Sam for a group photo opportunity. Jen and I didn't get a chance to speak to the pair as a lot of people proceeded to go over and chat to them. However, upon leaving the girl that plays Molly proceeded to thank Jen and I and compliment me on my tattoo and outfit which was very sweet of her.

Onstage with Jen

Jen and I left and discussed the show on the way to the tube and Jen the Musical hater described how much she loved it and how much she cried, so even a Musical hater can be turned around by this one. Overall, an absolutely amazing event to be a part of. I would go and watch this musical again in a heartbeat, its so very well thought out and has you gripped from the minute the curtain goes up.

I will be doing a NOTD using the Nazila Nail Glitz 3D Nails later in the week so keep your eyes open for that.

You can purchase Nazila LoveGlamour Nail Glitz packs here from £9.99

Have you seen the musical or tried out the nails? if so what did you think?

Ems xo

Inside the Goody Bag