Superdrug Press Day AW13

I was invited to my first press day by the wonderful people who look after the PR at Superdrug. The theme of the day was to celebrate brands that can only be purchased at Superdrug's stores as well as championing their own brand products. The wall above is one of two that hosted everything they sell their own brand, I did spend some time ticking off what I already use myself and was surprised it was more than I expected.

If it wasn't for me tweeting how much I love the look of the B.Skincare Facial Oil, I wouldn't of been there so it was only right that I visited them first and get some information on what I think is going to be one of the hottest new skincare launches since their Miceller Water.

 

The range is simple - split into 3 phases on not your age but what phase your skin is at the time: Phase one: Hydration. Phase two: Prevention and radiance. Phase Three: Firming and repairing. I have fallen for the B.Skincare for its simplicity as well as products that do what they say.

 

I have been lucky to try out the B.Replenished Facial Oil for Anti Oxidant Boost for nearly two weeks and already it has replaced my Antipodes Divine Oil as something that my skin really reacts to well. This I will be reviewing more in depth at a later time as I feel it needs an entry of its own.

 

I also got a chance to try some of the make up which I hadn't before. My highlights were the new Colour Correct Cream where the lightest is light enough for pale skins and provides a high SPF of 45 (Launches November at £11.99). I also was drawn to the B.Stunning Vibrant Eye Shimmer in Lizzie - described as a soft neutral pinky/beige, when swatched it looked skin toned peachy/pink with a gold shimmer, a perfect base colour if I ever saw one (Launches October at £6.99).

 

After a stroll round I did get a little giddy over finding that Nicole by OPI are stocked in some branches of Superdrug now. They are the younger sister of OPI Professional and retail for £7.99 compared to £11.99 for the professional range. I am currently hunting these down as I write this.

 

I then got distracted by the shiney nail varnishes at GOSH including the new Frosted Sand polishes, these dry to glitter but matt finish. I instantly was drawn to the vintage lilac colour that the make artist was wearing (a thank you for modelling for the photo). I have the silver version to play with after I was given it to try.

 

 

I was also having a magpie moment with GOSH's Girls on Film which is now added to the increasing wishlist.

 

 

Of course we cannot talk about exclusives to Superdrug without mentioning their biggest make up brand: MUA Cosmetics. The AW13 line up is the strongest they have had in a long time, adding to the successful palettes they are now adding the Matt palette (after a social media campaign) and Smokey palette (with eye liner).

 

Top Left: Luxe Pretty Edgy Eye Palette. Top Right: Matt. Bottom Left: Luxe Glitter Palettes. Bottom Right: Smokey Palette

 

They are also introducing another line to the MUA and MUA Pro lines: MUA Luxe. This is the on trend but premium side of MUA, the prices are only slightly higher than the other lines (Undressed is £4 while the new Pretty Edgy Eye palette will be £8). The quality of ingredients will be a higher quality to match with the  price point. A key example is that eye shadow powder in the Luxe range are more finely milled and I found go on smoother.

 

There will also be a range of glitter palettes launching with the Luxe range, suspended in clear non sticky gel there will be a choice of 4. Can be worn on their own or over the top of another colour, and will have not fall out into eyes. Palettes will be £4 each.

 

 

 

For Lime Crime Valentine fans they are also Velvet Lip Lacquers launching in October, matt finish lip paint that will honest not budge. I had these on my hand the whole day and didn't even fade after washing hands, etc. Very impressive for £3 will come in Red, Purple, Coral, Deep and Light Pink.

 

There are some very exciting launches that are coming from Superdrug at the moment which isn't great news for my bank balance.

In The News - Urban Decay Reconsider China

Urban Decay have annouched tonight that they are not going to be selling their products in china (as taken from Urbandecay.com):

"After careful consideration of many issues, we have decided not to start selling Urban Decay products in China. While several factors were important in reaching this decision, ultimately we did not feel we could comply with current regulations in China and remain true to our core principles. We know there are many progressive consumers in China who would embrace an opportunity to purchase non-animal tested products - our hope remains that we have the chance to offer Urban Decay products to these consumers someday in the future.

Following our initial announcement, we realised that we needed to step back, carefully review our original plan, and talk to a number of individuals and organisations that were interested in our decision. We regret that we were unable to respond immediately to many of the questions we received, and appreciate the patience our customers have shown as we worked through this difficult issue.

Since our founding in 1996, we have been committed to ending animal testing in the cosmetics industry. As demonstrated by the renewed support we have received from organisations like PETA and the CCIC, this principle remains at our core. Urban Decay does not test its finished products on animals, nor do we allow others to test on our behalf, and we require our suppliers to certify that the raw materials used in the manufacture of our products are not tested on animals. Urban Decay is proud to be 100% cruelty-free.

If you have additional questions, please email us at info@urbandecay.com."
 For any business out there they will make the right decision for their business, after they annouched that they were selling in China the collective backlash was huge and much bigger than I think they imagined. My husband made a good point when I told him tonight, "Could the money they made in china make up for the money they would of lost worldwide?" and clearly with tonight's decision is no.

I do feel tarnished against Urban Decay now, if they had stuck by the guns in the first place I would of admired them more. The customer of today is far more wiser and knowledge rich than ever before, there is also far more choice out there. I really hope that their change of heart is because of the reaction of their customers voices rather than their purses.

The next days there will be lots of feedback about this subject (I'm sure I will read quite a few)  - The best I've read so far is from Jaynes Kitschen.

You can also read my previous reaction here - In The News - Is this a case of business before ethics?

25th Annversary Collection Palette

I entered the Collection (formally Collection 2000) competition to go to the 25th Birthday party, didn't make it to the party. However I did get the 100 runners up prize which was this stunning palette with a selection of 25 colours from the range of their palettes.

Now I have had a play with it and the photos haven't come out fantastic (a mixture of bad camera work and me still full of cold). I really like the mixture of colours that are in there, that pink in the middle is just creaming look at me. When you use them they are not as scary as they look, they do need some building up (yes including that pink!), it's a great start if you want to get into some colour but. like me, are a little out of you comfort zone.

I do love Collection cosmetics, I've used a majority of the range and haven't really come across anything I really dislike. As a brand I think they hit their target market perfectly - their a great mixture of good quality product with something that is easily fashionable and fresh, that doesn't hit the purse so you can feel not too bad treating yourself.

Have a look at the newly funkified Collection website here

Next few days I have two special posts coming out - One for my wedding anniversary tomorrow and one on Wednesday for my 30th birthday, so keep an eye out for them :)