Exclusive Benefit Mascara Masterclass with Birchbox

Last weekend I attended an event with Birchbox and Benefit, two great brands in one amazing Curls Best Friend pop-up shop for exclusive Benefit Mascara Masterclass.

I arrived at the store on time after a powerwalk from the tube to be greeted with all the lovely Birchbox girls, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting before. Warmly welcomed with a choice of cocktail or mocktail, I quickly made my decision and had a lovely time chatting to fellow bloggers whilst we waited for the event to start.

The event. based upon the March Birchbox, which gave subscribers the choice of three different Benefit Mascaras - Bad Gal, They're Real or the brand new Roller Lash, Lisa Potter-Dixon, who is Benefit's Head Make-up Artist was on hand on to show us some looks she had created using each of the mascaras and an abundance of other Benefit products.  

We were also able to ask questions along the way including advice on which products we could and should be using as well as Lisa giving us some of her top tips - for example... have you ever used Hoola on your eyes or lips? No me neither, but it is a tip I shall be taking away with me and this video shows you some amazing tips and it features the lovely Jessica, Birchbox Editorial Director and Lisa herself.

After the make-up demonstrations we were given the opportunity to go down into the salon to have our make-up and hair done using the products that Lisa had used (not literally) to demonstrate each look with.  The Salon was amazing, I could have spent hours in there just chatting to the staff who were all so helpful and lovely.  I had my make-up done by the lovely Alison, who herself gave me lots of hints and tips when it came to using Boing, Fine One One and the fabulous World Famous Neutrals Most Glamorous Nudes Ever kit, which I now feel I need in my life.

Finally, alongside some amazing cupcakes that were well and truly divine, we were all given an amazing goody bag to take home and play with and it was so incredibly generous, thank you Birchbox and Benefit.

Now there's still time to subscribe and select your very own Benefit mascara! Which mascara will you be choosing?  

The Bee Good next Great British lip balm competition!

Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that I am a huge fan of the brand Bee Good and have featured many of their products. One of my favourites from the range is the Vanilla lip balm which is intensely conditioning and soothing, especially for chapped lips. So I was delighted when an email dropped into my inbox with the question:

Do you dream of designing your own beauty product? 

Would you love to see your name on-shelf across the UK? 

Well yes I do, who doesn't? It would be a dream come true! Well the team at Bee Good are on a mission to find the next Great British Lip Balm and they need your help to create the next flavour! 

Beauty bloggers have been an integral part of the Bee Good success story to date, so as a thank you for the supportive reviews and help with new product testing, Bee Good want to give something back! Everyone at Bee Good values the expert opinion of a beauty blogger, so who better to work with for such an exciting project?! 

All you need to do is use your imagination to generate an idea for the next Bee Good lip balm. Following on from the best-selling Vanilla & Honey Lip Balm, your new idea will need to be creative, yet appeal to the masses as the winning flavour will potentially be on-shelf at not only Waitrose, but also retailed online on the Bee Good website and hopefully in Bee Good's other stockists including LoveLula and Urban Outfitters.

Here are our top reasons to enter Bee Good’s competition to design the next Great British Lip Balm which will be launching before Christmas!

• Every beauty blogger that takes part will be provided with artwork and badges for their blog site to encourage votes… use your loyal following to secure support in the final public vote! 
• You will be profiled on Bee Good communication channels throughout the competition, including a feature in the e-newsletter and if chosen as a finalist, on the online voting portal! 
• Five semi-finalists will be invited to Waitrose HQ to present their lip balm to the Waitrose beauty buyer and the Bee Good team (Bee Good will cover your expenses to and from the venue.)
• Three finalists, determined from the judging day, will receive lab samples of their creation to give to family, friends or lucky blog followers.
• The winner, voted by Bee Good customers, will have their blog name printed on the packaging design!
• The winning product will be retailed on the Bee Good website, plus potentially in Waitrose and Bee Good online retailers including Urban Outfitters and LoveLula.

If you’re interested, all you have to do is drop an email to 

info@babushkacommunications.com and we will send you the details you need to take part… including some helpful hints from Bee Good’s marketing director.

Please note that the closing date for entries is 17th April, so hurry!

Wrap.me

Are you like me and spend many hours during the day on Instagram liking photos, uploading photos and generally re-arranging things on your desk, in a shop or at home to take a picture of for instagram? Well what else could you do with those photos other than leave them in cyberspace for people to click on?  Turn them into things that is what...

I came home a few days ago to a package I hadn't been expecting.  My first thought was my mister was playing a practical joke or had bought me something, but as soon as I opened the package, the look of surprise on my face and then his firmly put those thoughts to bed and this is why:

A package had arrived wrapped in photos of my cats, but how or why?  Well the cute little note card explained all and honestly it made my day.  Let me introduce you to Wrap.Me  who are a newly launched website that allows you to create personalised, bespoke wrapping paper, from handpicked images, tailored to the time of year or your intended recipient.  You can upload photos from your desktop, Instagram or Facebook and use up to a maximum of 30 photographs, re-arrange them as many times as you want, decide whether you want a black or white border and submit your order.  

From the package I received, the quality is simply superb, the images, taken from my Instagram are printed to such an amazing quality and the wrapping paper itself is really good quality paper.

Since this little gift arrived for me, I have spent some time look at Wrap.Me and inventing my own wrapping paper... some of the ideas brimming in my head amuse me no end because the list is really endless - embarrassing photos of my nephew for his 18th Birthday (9 years to go), something for my mum of all her grandchildren (though she would probably frame it) or maybe even something for your better half covered in photos of you - how romantic!

Anyway, inside my little package was the following really thoughtful gift:

So there was a little book that is described as follows "Delight your furry friends with dog and cat treats made from your own kitchen! With pet owners becoming increasingly concerned about the ingredients in commercially prepared pet treats, making them at home is a great way to ensure that you know exactly what’s in the treats your dogs and cats are eating. 

Making pet treats is surprisingly easy. It’s a great activity to share with children, too! With 25 recipes to try and choose from, this book is sure to provide some new favorites that your pet will love. They also make great gifts to give your friends’ dogs and cats, especially at holiday time".

So now I can have a go at making my boys some treats and that's not all, Wrap.me also sent me an extra sheet of wrapping paper, which was just so lovely and thoughtful, though it is so cute, I don't think I could ever use it.

I urge you all to go and look at the Wrap.Me website to explore this idea in more detail and even have a play yourself! Prices start from £4.99, with a large 3 metre roll costing £14.99.

Busy B Stationery

As a member of Bloggers Love, there is a section of the website which allows Bloggers and Brands to collaborate and that is how Busy B Stationery came into my being.  I was so blown away by the pretty designs that I hoped, having sent off my request, I would be selected and that in turn would allow me to feature them on my blog.

Now I am a huge stationary fan, I have penpalled since a very very young age and whilst I don't send and write letters as much as I used to, I still have a huge passion for pretty stationery, more so if I can use it at work or for blogging. 

Behind the brand, which was originally called K Two and having been re-branded as Busy B, the story, which you can read HERE, is really one worth reading because it is amazing what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.  

As I have mentioned many times, I have an extremely busy working life and right now I am busier than I have been in a long long time, so much so that these two items have come in brilliantly handed to keep me organised, on track and smiling!

This weekly desktop planner is just so pretty, it features 60 tear off sheets and has enough room for me to plan what I have to work on for the following week, include my to-do list and make notes on things which might just pop into my head as a reminder.  Once my sheet is filled out, there is also the inclusion of two handy little magnets which are perfect if you need to stick something to the fridge, or like me, to the side of my computer on my desk.

The pastel blue dotted design with little flowers really does make your desk look extra pretty and all for just £8.99 which for an item that lasts one whole year, is fantastic value for money.

The second item is this fantastic tin of labels, which keeps to the pattern of the desk planner and is just as cute. There are over 80 labels in this tin and there is no right or wrong way to use them, you can stick them on your planner, onto any letters you might write and so on.  Then once all the labels have been used, you have the tin which can be re-used as you see fit.  This item costs just £6.99 but Busy B have a great offer where you can purchase both items for just £12.49 right HERE.

You can also find Busy B stationary on the high street in stores such as John Lewis, Lakeland and Hobbycraft.

If you hadn't guessed, I absolutely love both items and they have brought some colour and delight to what was a boring working desk.