Last week I headed over to Manchester for Lookfantastic's Mid-Summer event. It was held at The Walrus -a cute little bar- and the downstairs was converted into a beauty and fashion HEAVEN.
The Benefit stand showed off all the new products and offered people make-overs and a chance to test everything out. The new Rockateur blusher got a lot of attention. It's a beautifully embossed, pinky, powder blush with sections of shimmer to add some highlight. Not my kind of thing really and the packaging looks a little tacky: surprising for Benefit.
I did fall in love with their new eyeshadow release, though. The Longwear Powder Shadows are just amazing! There are 12 shades, some with a little shimmer and a couple of matte ones. Being a no-sparkle gal, I gave the matte shades a little swatch and lovedloved them. 'Quick, Look Busy' was my favourite. A really deep, matte, brown - it's great for creating a smokey eye that's daytime appropriate. And they live up to the claim of being long lasting. My only niggle would be the packaging, again. The pan is a little bulky and, although they've tried to go for a 'vintage' look, it looks a little childish and toy-like. I'm just not getting on with Benefit packaging recently.
There was also a Moroccan Oil stand at the event, giving out info about all their amazing products and some of the cutest mini samples I have ever seen. Moroccan Oil are one of those companies that have a reputation that proceeds them and they let the products talk for them. The success of their oil has allowed them to develop into a strong brand and they do so many other great products away from the oil. After chatting with the lovely lady at the stand there are so many of their products that I am exciting to try. The Hydrating Styling Cream was incredible and exactly what my hair needs. Their Dry Scalp Treatment is another that I want to get my hands on. A powerful and more successful alternative to Head & Shoulders or T-Gel, battle flakes massaging this into the scalp. But, as we all know, the products are a little pricey and that's the only thing stopping me from buying the entire range.
L'Oreal were there too showing off the, wonderfully innovative, Steampod straighteners. I've had these used on my hair at my L'Oreal salon and they are a lovely product; using water and steam to give you a top notch finish with hair that oozes glossiness.
Another haircare brand at the event was Australian company Evo. I think that this is one of the most exciting new brands that I've seen recently. Something about them as a brand and their products just really appealed to me and they had me from the word go. It's just good to see something a little different, with an edge. Their campaigns are far from the glossy, over-done looks that are so typical of haircare brands. They're a little tongue in cheek and like to put humorous (and sometimes bizarre) labels on all of their products. I suppose Evo's the American Apparel of the hair world.
Burt's Bees had a little stand too and I got to learn about their new campaign 'Wild for Bees'. I'll be doing a full post on the campaign itself soon so won't let on too much for now. But I adore Burt's Bees products and the whole concept and ethos of the brand, too.
Nails Inc. had a nail bar at the event too giving manicures to all the bloggers and showcasing their new products. The Gel polishes were DUH-mazing! Colours, formula, packaging, they just got everything spot on with these babies. They also have some new glitter offerings for the Christmas months as well as the cutest crackers! None of the products will be out until A/W though but keep a roving eye out for them when they do drop.
The event itself was just wonderful, with demos from all the brands and some fashion bits too (the Jeffrey Campbell shoes and Mi-Pac bags had me drooling). A big big thank you to the organisers for putting on such a great night and for all the wonderful wonderful goodies that I came away with. I haven't actually mentioned the goody bag but it was full to the brim with some brilliant products that I am currently trying out and will be blogging about soon!
Well done if you made it through the length of this post! You can buy from all the brands that I mentioned through Lookfantastic and the shoes and bags are available at All Sole and My Bag, respectively. You can also find all the pictures and posts about the event using #midsummermeet on both Twitter and Instagram.
N.
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