#whatnormalfeelslike

I have said it before, but will say it again. Breast cancer is an issue that is close to my heart. My best friend from my early school days died from the disease when she was in her early 20's and three current friends have it. Everyone it seems knows someone with the disease, has had the disease or is undergoing treatment from the disease.

CoppaFeel! aims to stamp out late detection and misdiagnosis of breast cancer by ensuring that people know that signs and symptoms of breast cancer, know what their boobs look and feel like normally, check their boobs regularly throughout their lifetime and have the confidence to seek medical referral when they detect abnormalities. Currently 5% of diagnosed cases are already at stage IV with breast cancer being the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 30 in the UK (181 new cases diagnosed and 12 deaths annually). CoppaFeel! strives for a country where no one dies of breast cancer because of late detection or misdiagnosis. The charity receives no government funding and relies solely on voluntary donations. 

To celebrate the launch of #whatnormalfeelslike, CoppaFeel!s new advertising campaign, the breast cancer awareness charity are opening an exciting pop-up in London’s Brick Lane in association with bath, body and beauty brand I Love…

Visitors to the pop up will be able to create their own campaign style shot in the ‘Boob Booth’, a specially created photo booth to capture your bare-chested beauty. All those that dare to bare will take home a CoppaFeel! goody bag full of beauty treats from I Love… and Balmi.

Lynda Matthews Head of Marketing for I Love… commented ‘I Love... are delighted to be collaborating with CoppaFeel! on this very special Pop-Up. As a brand, I Love appeals to young women and anything we can do to support the incredible work Kris and CoppaFeel! are doing to encourage breast cancer awareness is a positive thing. We want to get that conversation started to ensure that we can help women in the future feel confident about going to their doctor if they feel that something may be wrong. This is the first step in making that happen.’

Open from 18th-21st September, it will exhibit original imagery from the campaign, which features seven bare-chested women, each body painted with the word that best describes how their boobs feel to them. Shot by British photographer Rankin and using words such as ‘squidgy’, ‘spongy’ and ‘bobbly’, the campaign calls on women to reclaim the vocabulary surrounding breasts and learn #whatnormalfeelslike for them. The cult East-London nail salon WAH Nails and Barry M will also be on hand, giving exclusive, complimentary CoppaFeel! inspired manicures Thursday and Friday.

On the Saturday and Sunday, Paul Mitchell and Vintage Hair stylist will be there creating classic up-dos.

The #whatnormalfeelslike campaign was born after months of research and conversations with women across the UK. The research showed that women age between 18-30 struggle to find words to describe their boobs beyond big or small.The reason being is that the sexualisation of boobs has led to women only thinking about theirs in terms of size. Therefore the purpose of this campaign is not only to inform young women that there are other words they can use to describe their boobs but to also help women reclaim the vocabulary so that they know #whatnormalfeelslike for them.

Kris Hallenga founded CoppaFeel! after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at the age of 23. One in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease at some stage in their life and CoppaFeel! aims to get the message out that the sooner we get checking, the sooner we get to know our boobs and are able to spot any changes.

Kris says; ‘We want to make it normal for girls to talk about their boobs. Society and the media think of breasts in a sexual way but by creating this campaign we want to give boobs back to women and encourage them to think and talk about them in terms beyond size. The more normal it is to talk about boobs, the more likely women are to check themselves regularly and spot any changes early.”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coppafeel.org
Twitter: @CoppaFeelPeople
Instagram: http://instagram.com/coppafeelpeople 
Website: http://coppafeel.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ILoveCosmeticsLtd 
Twitter: @IloveHQ
Instagram: http://instagram.com/iloveofficial 
Website: http://www.ilovecosmetics.eu

Beauty Boxes - Do you need them?

This coming week on my blog I am going to devote each day to a different Beauty Box. Why? Well they are a big part of the bloggers blogging life for me and they take me through a roller coaster of emotions each month/quarter when they are due to arrive or when I am notified by email I need to do some product choosing. But do we need them?

When I first stated blogging, I had only ever heard of Glossybox because some non-blogging friends has subscribed and they raved about how good it was, so I hopped aboard the bandwagon and now over a year later, I still subscribe.  Now there are more and more of these boxes coming onto the market and I have tried some amazing ones, many as a one off and some as I have mentioned I subscribe too.   Glossybox, Birchbox, Look Fantastic box, Wantable Box, You Discovery, My Little Box, Latest in Beauty, Love Lula Box, SoukSouk, Memebox, Fragrance Shop Discovery Club and Love Me Beauty to name all of the ones off the top of my head.  I have no doubt there are more, so if you subscribe to others, please do let me know.  

So why are they important to me? As I have said, it is all about those roller coaster of emotions when you know that something is on its way.  The one box I always know the contents of is You Discovery Beauty box because, unlike others, you get to choose two items from a list of products.  I am glad I get to do this with one box because, let's me honest, so beauty boxes have been shockingly bad and their contents really really awful, so knowing I am getting two products I have chosen, is a relief but still exciting at the same time.  The word excitement is also quite important with these boxes.  Not knowing what you are going to get within these boxes is exciting, even if your box turns out to be a bit rubbish, it is exciting until you unwrap it, the deflation afterwards is another emotion to deal with as well, the whole screwing up your top lip to form an impression of Elvis is something I have done on more occasions than I care to remember, but I still subscribe!  

The other reason I subscribe is because I love beauty products - whether they are for skincare, hair care, body care, foot care, face care, make-up, nail polish or beauty tools to name but a few things, I love them, want them and relish trying them out.  A lot of the products I have received over time are ones I probably would never have tried, had I not been sent it in a beauty box, on the reverse, I have come across products I would never use again.  So there is always a 50/50 chance with these boxes that you like or hate the enclosures.

My own experience with the boxes I have had, has been more positive than negative.  The brands I have come across, such as Caudalie, Rodial, Dr Jart+ and one of my holy grail products Dr Lipp Nipple Balm to name some of them.  

As always, people will have their own views on whether or not here boxes are worth the money we pay for them and how much better that money could be spent and I am genuinely interested in all of those views.  This week you will be seeing reviews on Birchbox, Glossybox, You Beauty, Look Fantastic Box and a new box which I was lucky enough to attend the launch of this week and I would love to know your thoughts on each and everyone of them and if there is a box you absolutely would recommend singing up too!

As for whether or not we need them, well probably not, but they are a bit of fun, you never know what you might come across and the rollercoaster of emotions you feel whilst waiting for the impending arrival is often worth every penny!  Do you agree?

So do you subscribe to Beauty Boxes? Do you have a favourite? 

Is there one you really want to try?