At 11.30, on Saturday February 21st, 21 bloggers (mostly from the greater Munster area) descended on Debenhams for a day of product demos, talks and networking, painstakingly organized by Zoe (sorry girl, no umlauts on this keyboard, I'm afraid!!). I am blessed and grateful to have been able to make the trip from Meath to my favourite city, to spend the day with gorgeous ladies doing something that makes me so happy.
The head of P&G Fragrances gave a talk about the latest releases and passed around scented cards and spoke about each new release in detail. Personally, I haven't stopped lusting after Dolce by Dolce and Gabanna for myself, and Gucci Guilty for men as a treat for Chris. They are seductive and utterly more-ish.
Sharon, one of 3 of Debenhams personal shoppers gave a talk about the service offered and talked us through the upcoming trends for the coming season.
Once the talks were wrapped up, there were some spot prizes drawn out and then we were split into groups of seven to head onto the store floor and receive demos by Clarins, Urban Decay and Elizabeth Arden.
Clarins:
At the Clarins counter we were talked through some of their most popular products, the stand out for myself being the Body Lift Cellulite Control, which when applied twice daily after exfoliation lifts and firms areas of "sponginess" on the body. As Clarins most popular product, you can guarantee that this stuff does what it claims!!
Clarins had organized to gift us with little treats, but they were sent to the Dublin counter and so are being sent to us at home in the coming weeks. How lovely is that??
Urban Decay:
Kate and Carolyn from Urban Decay gave talks on the new Naked Skin Concealer and Naked Skin Powder Foundation respecively. Naked Skin Concealer comes in 8 shades, which is incredible. Weightless, build-able, light diffusing and capable of covering tattoos, I was really impressed by it. The Powder Foundation would not be for me, personally but it definitely has its merits.
The stand out products at Urban Decay for me where the Sheer Revolution Lipsticks, which do it for me in every respect. They boast Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Aloe Vera among the ingredients and have the most incredible high gloss finish and come in under MAC in price at 19 euro.
Again, Urban Decay spoiled us with shadows and liners as little treats. My liner was a dark blue black called Minx and the shadow is a matte warm brown called Secret Service. Both very user friendly for my colouring.
Elizabeth Arden
At the Elizabeth Arden counter, the mantra is "Matte Is Back" and thus all the products on demo came with a matte finish, both foundation and lipstick. Rosin talked us through the Match MAker Service, where in a similar vein to No.7, they match a foundation to the tone on your skin using a nifty little light detection gadget. I got Alabaster, and I would be lying if I said I was not surprised. However, Elizabeth Arden do matte differently to others, offering a "satin matte", which is matte but radiant and gorgeous, not dull and cakey like competitors.
Elizabeth Arden gifted us with foundation samples matched to our skin which was a lovely touch.
After the In-Store demos, we all strolled back to our private room to collect our bags and have a raffle. I was lucky enough to be pulled out for 3rd prize and I claimed an Elizabeth Arden hamper. Delighted didn't cover it!! Zoe won a Clarins hamper as second prize and the stunning Aisling of Pale Girl walked away with the giant first prize hamper which was so big she couldn't take it home immediately.
Next, it was on to the Body Shop for a make-up demo and more goodies!! Some of the ladies went for threading as a treat, however I abstained. Nobody but Jenny B back home is allowed near my brows!! We spent almost an hour being talked through make-up and skincare. I picked up a Strawberry Hand Cream that smelled good enough to eat!! Nom nom nom!! Our treats contained new shadows from the spring line and either a lipstick or a nail colour; We were spoiled!!!
Finally, we migrated to SUAS on South Main St for drinks, more demos and banter. Zoe put together the most incredible goodie-bags laden with Sleek, Water-Wipes, Dream Dots, NYC, Physicians Formula and so much more!! At this point I was overwhelmed by the generosity of all these brands so I headed to the bar for a cocktail where I knocked great laughs out of the bartender over our horrific ID pictures.
Inglot gave a demo for a beautiful but simple spring smokey eye look with a nude lip. Mei Ling (Darling Buds of Mei) sat as the model and was even more gorgeous, if thats even possible, when she walked away!
MeMeMe gave a demo and the dote that is Melissa modelled for it. When she walked away, the was a glowing goddess, which is the aesthetic MeMeMe are all about!
All in all it was a day of incredible fun and I think I can speak for every one of us when I thank Zoe for her incredible organization and effort. It was so so enjoyable and I'm grateful to have been a part of it! We all had a stellar day.
I also want to take a second to thank Debanhams for having us, Clarins, Urban Decay and Elizabeth Arden for talking us through some of the gorgeous products on offer and spoiling us when they didnt have to. The Body Shop was amazing, they accommodated us so graciously and SUAS really went above and beyond giving us a private area. Inglot, and MeMeMe also showed incredible generosity and gave wonderful presentations.
Were you at the #CorkBlogMeet15??
Send me your links, ladies!!
xo,
Amy