Busy Bee Part 2

Hello everybody!  So last blog post I said I would further divulge why I have been so busy and blog post less this month.  Well this is why.

After the excitement of Birmingham and winning, I had to get my head down and make sure that I had everything prepared for a photoshoot I had the following week.  It was again with the fabulous talent in one woman, Morgana of Iberian Black Arts.  She did my hair and make up as well as the photography AND the digital arty stuff afterwards (yay for photoshop!) which makes her a genius!  I shot with her two new items, for which I tweeted little teasers for y'all.  But for those not on twitter these are the fabrics the new items are made from.

Scrumptious candy floss coloured fabric (cotton candy)

AMAZING leopard print crepe de chine

I can't wait to reveal these babies, but in all honesty it won't be until the new year.  First comes the Tempest set (which hopefully I get delivery of this week!!! *fingers crossed*), then remember this one (below right):

Well this comes next on my to do list in production.  It has been a bit of a nightmare to source this fabric in any great quantity.  Apparently pale blue stretch satin is a rare commodity!  I bought mine to make this sample above from a fabric supplier who buys end of run type fabrics so he rarely has the same fabric twice.  I bought all he had which was about 11 metres.  I can probably get about 10-12 garments out of that at a push, so not much use when  it comes to production numbers which are a lot higher.  This means it would have cost a ridiculous amount of money for the size of the garment.  I'm talking like £95 which is the same as my Black Nell Robe.  So I don't think my lovely customers would want to pay £95 for a little teddy, no matter how awesome it is.  However!  A couple of days after my photoshoot the other week, I went to a fabric show in London.  And I think I may have found some suitable light blue satin to match up to my high expectations (satin can look and feel really nasty if you don't do it right!).  So it's back on!!!  I will be making the Hedy Teddy next :).

THEN the pink number will be released in time for Valentines :) so I will be putting it up on my website in January so you all have time to buy it to spice up your Valentines Day.  I may be kind and let you pre order it in December......it depends how nice you all are to me.

The shooting of this item even had a valentiney prop to make it look extra cute.  This picture to the left is the prop I used.  A beautiful vintage chocolate box - unfortunately there were no chocolates in it boo.

I decided again to model the items,  if you hadn't already guessed.  I had such a fun time last shoot with Morgana that I thought why the heck not!  And it was nice to hear feedback such as "ooooo who's the new model?! Haven't seen her before", which is obviously good for my business as my competing brands have not used this "new model", so it sets me apart from the rest :).  Clever non?!  Anyway the below picture is the make up and hair look that Morgana and I went for this time round.

The hair was inspired by Betty Grable in the film Pin Up Girl and for the make up we stuck with a neutral eye pallet to make a big POW with bright pink lips to match the pink set.  Morgana has the ability to turn ANYONE into a glam pin up girl, so if you want to treat yourself or your other half with some beautiful photographs be sure to look her up!  Her blog is here.

The last thing that has been keeping me nice and busy is the afore mentioned leopard print number.  Again I managed to choose a fabric that is as rare as hens teeth.  I have enough for an initial run of garments, but I have a horrible feeling it is going to turn out to be my new best selling design.  So I am desperately sourcing the right kind of leopard print fabric.  Leopard print is a funny old thing.  You can get it right, like I hopefully have, or you can get it very very wrong - as in looking like a prostitute wrong.  It's a very fine line between a classy leopard print and a trashy one and I have seen a lot of unsuitable prints in my search.  Again this is where the fabric show came into play.  I think I may have found a suitable substitute, should this design sell incredibly well and I need to get more made.  The only drawback isss...................it has a slight glitter in the fabric.  I'm not sure how I feel about a glittery leopard print.  So I thought I would open it up to you.  Yay or nay?

It is similar to the fabric I already have in that it is of a similar scale of print, but it is a stretch cotton as opposed to a crepe de chine (shiny satiny type fabric).  If you click to enlarge it you can just about see the glitter running through.  Please leave comments on whether you think glitter is good or bad.  It could be quite Hollywood glam I suppose.  Anyway let me know your thoughts!

Hope you have enjoyed my catch up, I will try and blog more next month I promise :).
Lots of Love
Betty xxx

Lady Luck

Well I have been as busy as a bee these past few weeks and haven't had a chance to sit down and blog about it all.  There is much for you all to catch up on!!  So I will start from the beginning.

It all started with an article in the Basingstoke Gazette about being a finalist at The Start-Up Hub UK competition at the Conservative Party Conference.  I was on the FRONT PAGE!!! as well as page 3 (don't know if I should be mildly offended by that or not but hay ho!) and was famous in my village from that day forth.  The postman even commented to my Dad, and I quote, "I saw your daughter in the gazette............in fact I saw quite a lot of your daughter"............enter awkward laugh from my Dad.  Here is a photo of said article.

I hadn't shown the pics of me in the Tempest Set to my Dad to save his blushes..............until they were in the widely distributed press, sorry Dad!!

So to add to my accolades I can now say I was a page three girl.  (For my foreign readers a page 3 girl is someone who poses topless for the tabloid papers to be perved over by those of dubious nature).

This article led to a phone call from Solent news who asked me a few questions and prepared a press release to be sent out to the national press.  At this point I probably should have self edited, but I apparently don't have that function built in, because journalists take every word you say very literally.  Anyway I don't care as publicity is publicity right!  A couple of days later I got heaps of very excited emails and txts from friends saying OMG I'VE JUST SEEN YOU ON THE DAILY MAIL WEBSITE.  The article can be read here.

I'm pretty sure that the journalist lady I spoke to practically coached me to say I think Sam Cam should get one of my Nell Robes.  But I do happen to think she would look good in it, she has a wonderful figure.

The next day I got even more excited txts and emails saying OMG YOU'RE IN THE BLOODY METRO.


For the benefit of my foreign readers, The Metro is a daily paper that is distributed to all the train stations in the UK.  Typically commuters read it on their way to work, but anyone taking a train can pick one up.  In short the circulation is HUGE and this is a massive milestone for Betty Blue's Loungerie!!!  I think I gave the people in the Start-Up Hub office a mild heart attack with this article, as scantily clad models and politics don't usually mix very positively in the press.  But technically it wasn't my fault ;-).  None the less it was an hugely exciting moment in my life as it was one of my mini goals for my business to be featured in such a newspaper :) GO ME!!!!!

The exciting few days culminated in the actual event of The Start-Up Hub competition the following day.  To say I was excited was an understatement.  Rarely is one given such an excellent opportunity in life to shmooze with the elite.  Political party preference aside, this was a really great opportunity to promote my business and meet the kind of people who may be able to further my business or just generally give me advice or help.  I was very aware in the weeks up to the competition, the amazing opportunity I had been given and wanted to make the very most of it.

I'm afraid this came out in a way that only I could do, I was like an over excited puppy.  I think a few people were perplexed by why a young lady in the fashion industry was so excited to be at a political party conference.  Generally these things are considered to be a little stuffy and boring, especially to someone of my age who is not in the political world.  I, however, had the best time ever!

Me on my stand mid sentence - thanks to @ToryBusiness for the piccy

The idea of the competition was to convince people to vote for your company to win by placing a coloured ball in your tube.  The tube with the most balls at the end of the day wins.  Anyone walking past the stand could vote, so it was down to me to convince people.  There were 12 finalists exhibiting over 3 days, so 4 on each day.  I was up against three other companies.  They were:
Funding Options - Looking for business finance?  Well they help you find it!
Blendology - They do gadgety things that are very clever with 'tap' technology and were close competitors to me!!
Icotope - An amazing server cooling product that saves energy

Picture of the ball tubes, I stuck a picture of the Tempest Set on
mine :) - again thanks to @ToryBusiness for the picture

All worthy contenders and all awesome in their own way.  However they all lacked one thing..........pictures of scantily clad ladies.  I'm not going to lie, I may have used my feminine charms to gain a few votes.  Jokes aside though, I think people voted for me because I was able to communicate my enthusiasm for UK manufactured goods and my passion for glamorous loungewear.

As well as the passers by, I did manage to meet a few of the "Big Wigs" in UK politics.  I met the Home Secretary, Theresa May as well as Andew Lansley.  I did also meet a Lord, but I can't for the life of me remember which Lord it was, but one I do remember was Lord Feldman who had been "in the business" (fashion/rag trade) so he was pretty interesting to talk to.  Another big wig that I met was Damian Collins, the MP behind the Start-Up Hub competition.  I get the impression he now thinks I am a complete crazy because I kept saying to him, "Thank you SO much for inviting me, this is SOOO exciting, I don't get out much as I work from home so I've had an amazing time".  Pretty sure I said this more than once haha, I was just so excited!  Especially as I actually won on my day!!!  MEGA EXCITING!!

The official pictures of the winning ceremony haven't been posted online yet so I can't show you my super happy face but this is the certificate I was presented.

I'm putting it on my office wall so I can see it eeeeeevry day!  Something else I am putting on my office wall (and something I totally nicked) is this awesome rosette.

Technically this had already been promised to one of the other days winners, but I had asked Damian Collins MP if I could keep it and he said yes, and we all know politicians don't lie, so meh (sorry James I hope this doesn't get you fired, I tried so hard to behave myself but it's the former student in me; big signs must be stolen).

As well as the certificate and giant rosette, I also won some prizes from the sponsors of the Hub.  I got this awesome tablet computer from the lovely people at Fujitsu.

Anyone who is anyone in the business world owns a tablet computer, especially of the Apple variety.  You only have to watch "Be Your Own Boss" (programme with the Innocence Smoothie guy about helping start up businesses by investing in them) to see this.  EVERYONE has them.  Now as a start up company myself, and a young one, I am slightly confused by this as they can cost anything up to £1000 and that to me is A LOT of money that I could invest more sensibly in stock.  But ho hum, everyone spends their money differently, and something I have learnt is that not all start up businesses are new to the business world like I am.  Many have worked in the industry for other big corporate companies, before setting out on their own.  I think this puts my win on the Start-Up Hub into perspective; I have no previous business experience but I still won over other companies :-D yayyyyy.  Anyhoo I can now pretend to be very business like and consult my tablet computer when people ask me questions.  Awesome!!  I also got 3 months free on the Fujitsu cloud, as did all the other finalists from Fujitsu which is pretty awesome too.  The other sponsor, Immersat, has given me business mentoring as part of my prize.  This is something I was actually looking into before the competition, so again pretty awesome prize all round!

To finish off my day of awesomeness the final sponsor BVCA, invited myself and some of the other Hub finalists to the business dinner, where the Chancellor of the Exchequer made a speech.  The dinner was AMAZING!  The type where the plates are decorated prettily and the food is in small stacks to look all "cheffy".  It was extremely yummy.  I then went out for drinks with two of the other finalists, Bency from Think Drink and Peter from Iceotope.  I don't however have any pictures because my phone battery died :(.

All in all I had the most fantastic day.  It was so lovely to be surrounded by people who actually took the time to listen to what I had to say, and people were genuinely interested in my business.  Usually when I do events people don't really want to stop and talk or take your leaflet, so it was a refreshing experience.  I did have one silly lady come to the stand.  Unfortunately I was eating my lunch at the time so my Mum (who I took along with me) was the one who spoke to her, I wouldn't have entertained her ideas.  This "lady" did not want to be glamorous whilst she was lounging and didn't understand why anyone would.  She liked wearing tracksuits and T-Shirts and just did not want to look nice and pretty whilst lounging.  This is ok, not everyone is going to like my business and I accept that.  But my Mum was quite taken aback at how rude this woman was about my business to her face.  I wouldn't have talked to her.  The way to deal with those kind of people is just to get rid of them because she is NEVER going to a customer, so don't waste your energy!  But bless my Mum, she wasn't to know that.  Luckily that was the only negative person.  Everyone else was lovely!  A HUUUUUUGE thank you has to go out to Damian Collins for inventing the Start-Up Hub and all the lovely sponsors I met, as well as the delegates who voted for me :).

In my next blog post you will be able to hear about what I did the following week and why I've been so busy and unable to blog.  In the meantime though, if you haven't already, sign up to my newsletter for all the latest news :), you can do so on my website.

Lots of Love
Betty xxxx

What is a Peignoir?

I have long had a fascination with the origins of lingerie in its various forms.  In fact in my 2nd year of Uni I practically wrote a book on the subject.  We had to write an essay on The History of the Corset.  In typical me styley I got a little carried away and wrote an essay that was around 2" thick when bound.  I felt a little bad for the tutor who had to read it!  So to indulge my inner geek I thought  I would share some knowledge with you about the origins of the Peignoir.

So what exactly is a Peignoir?

The origins of the peignoir come from the French word "peigner" to comb the hair; a garment worn whilst brushing ones hair.  Isn't that just lovely!  A special garment to don just for the few seconds (or hours I suppose if you are brushing out pin curls) that a woman brushes her hair.  They were worn typically whilst women groomed, whether it be brushing their hair, removing or applying make-up, getting ready for bed or to go out somewhere and whilst getting in and out of the bath or shower.  These tasks traditionally take place in the bedroom so the peignoir has quite a romantic or even saucy connotation to them.

Peignoir's are usually an ecompanient to a nightgown, babydoll or negligee.  Some of the designer sets were also sold with matching sheer long elbow length gloves and stockings made of the same fabric.  These sets were intended for occasions where the wearer may be seen in her night clothes, or even just to wear in bed.  Stockings in bed?!?!  I'm not sure how comfortable that would be!

These days the peignoir is synonymous with the pin-up paintings of Gil Elvgren; depicting an outer garment that is usually about knee length, or even longer, has sleeves and is made of a sheer fabric such as chiffon or georgette.

Having researched into the peignoir it has struck me what a great little garment it is.  Do you often drop foundation into your lap when getting ready to get out, or get hair all over the place?  Well you shall no longer have that problem!

The Solution?  I suppose I have already designed a peignoir without realising it - The Nell Robe.  But I'm not sure I would want to drop make-up down mine.  It does fit the description though: a cover up to wear whilst preening, semi sheer fabric (lace sections) and floor length.  But to me a peignoir should be shorter and flirtier, like those of the 50's/60's Gil Elvgren pictures.  So to answer this I designed the Tempest Bed Jacket.

It is technically a peignoir, only bed jacket is easier for people to pronounce ;-).  A cutsie little cover up that is fun and flirty but not as expensive as the Nell, so you can drop hair and make-up down it to your hearts content.  (The Bed Jacket is £45)

This item, along with the accompanying Babydoll and Briefs are now available to Pre Order from my website here.  I am due them in mid October and anticipate to post them out the last weeks of October, all being well.  So go on and treat yourself!!! Once again get yours over on my website.

My Babies 3rd Birthday

On 16th September my business, Betty Blue's Loungerie, will be 1 years old.  The day before however will be my two sausage dog's 3rd Birthday.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore my two little doggies.  I was even dog owner of the week over on Poodles and Pompadours blog in June of this year.  So I thought (as it's a slow news week) I would introduce you to my babies.

These are my little uns on their first day at my house.  The speckly silvery one on the left is Frank and the black and tan on the right is Tess.  This is when they were all ikkle and cute and had not yet developed their sausage noses.

Before long the had all grown up and we were celebrating their 1st Birthday!  I made them a special doggy cake with all their favourite food in.  They wolfed it down - much better than horrid dry doggie biscuits!

The seasons came and went and they enjoyed dressing up as a little devil (Frank) and a witch (Tessie).  I never thought I would be one of those people who dresses their dog up...........BUT LOOK HOW AWESOME THEY LOOK!!!!!!  Haha.

It hasn't all been plain sailing.  There were a couple of run ins with sleeves.  The two above are both Frank, but Tess did get stuck down a snuggie sleeve but I don't have a pic.  She was so wedged in, for a while we thought we may have to cut her out.  We eventually pulled her out backwards, silly sausage!!!

Most of the time they can be found sitting on my lap.  When I'm answering your emails or on the phone, they are usually on my lap having cuddles.  They regularly have objected to something or someone passing my house whilst I am on the phone and I've had to appologise for the noise!  Hmmmm I wonder how many people think it's weird there's a dog in the office, I do work from home!

Name: Frank
Nicknames: Fronk, Fronkers, Bonkers Fronkers, Sausage, Faufage, Faufage Monster, Frankie, Puppy.
Favourite Food: Bananna (he will literally kill for banannas!) and Chicken
Favourite Person: Betty
Favourite Toy: His critter because it has a squeeker in

Frank is a mammas boy.  He follows me around begging for cuddles.  If I don't notice that he wants a cuddle he barks at me, just one high pitched woof.  It's particularly frightening when I haven't noticed he's in the room and always scares the life out of me.  He is my bestest friend and I love him lots :).

Name: Tess
Nicknames: Tessie, Tessie Pops, Popsie, Tettie, Princess, Princess Tess, Puppy.
Favourite Food: Chicken, anything that's not dog food.
Favourite Person: My Dad
Favourite Toy: Her brother Frank (she likes to beat him up)

Tessie rules the roost.  She can stop my other dogs dead in their track with just one look.  She likes cashmere - in particular my jumpers!  I have often found her curled up asleep in my jumpers!  She prefers my Dad to cuddle her, I think it's because he feeds her ;-).

One of the things I love to do with my puppies is to take pictures of them in funny positions, mainly when they are asleep.  Cracks me up!

So those are my two little babies, I hope you enjoyed learning about them.  I shall leave you with an informal picture of myself and my little uns doing what they do best - giving me kisses.

I shall be celebrating their birthday by again baking them a doggie friendly cake, so you may see some piccies up on twitter/facebook - so if you don't follow me head on over and click 'like' on facebook and follow @bbloungerie.

Lots of Love
Betty

Start Up Hub Finalist 2012 - My first business award

Hello!  Well I have some very exciting news!  A few months ago I entered a competition being run by the Conservative Party (for my foreign readers that is the political party of the UK Prime Minister David Cameron), called the Start Up Hub:

"The Conservative Party is providing entrepreneurs with a unique opportunity to showcase their ideas at the Conservative Party Conference in the 'Start Up Hub'.

The Conservative Party Annual Conference event is one of the largest political gatherings in the UK, with an attendance of nearly 13,500 delegates. The Start Up Hub gives entrepreneurs a chance to market their idea in front of delegates, national press, company representatives and senior Conservative politicians."

I entered for a host of reasons.  Firstly because I thought I could win.  Secondly because if the UK government is really interested in helping small businesses, then they should pick my business to win and lastly because I hope to highlight how fantastic and superior UK design and in particular manufacturing is.  You should all know by now that ALL Betty Blue's Loungerie garments are made right here in the UK.  I even wrote a blog post about it here.

Well I've only gone and won it!!!  Well I haven't won the whole competition.....yet, I am one of 12 UK finalists.  So my prize is to have a space on an exhibition stand at the Conservative Political Conference this October.  It means that not only will senior UK politicians (hopefully Mr Cameron himself and maybe our dear Mayor of London Boris) become aware of my business, but there will be representatives from all sorts of businesses from big corporate companies to retail giants.  I'm hoping to use this opportunity to meet department store big wigs and basically beg them to stock my beautiful garments in their shops.  How could they resist the Black Nell Robe?!

The other upshot of being selected as a finalist is the publicity side.  Nationally distributed press representatives will be in attendance.  And as cameras tend to follow around the main players in the political party, how cool would it be if I could get on the telly by accosting David Cameron, or even better Boris.  I'm certain Boris will love my brand!

I think Dave should buy the Nell Robe for Sam Cam!

I have a horrible feeling that I will be the smallest "small business" of the 12 finalists.  A small business is determined by a few factors, such as number of employees and annual turnover.  According to the tinterweb a small business is a company who has less than 50 employees and an annual turnover of no more than £2.6 million.  By this I have determined my business status; if a small business was an animal it would be an elephant.........I would be an ant.  But from small acorns grow mighty oaks, so I don't plan on staying an ant for very long.

Lovable rogue Boris

So does this mean I can win the overall competition?  Well I have to persuade Conservative delegates that my business should win.  From what I can ascertain they will vote for their favourite business over the three days of the conference.  Each day there are 4 of the 12 finalists on the Start Up Hub stand.  So my plan is to hand out lots of leaflets of scantily clad women to the men, and let the ladies try on my beautiful clothes.  This way they will have to vote for me because the men will be blinded by titties and the women will be blinded with how amazing and gorgeous they feel in my loungerie.  Win win all round I think!  I'm hoping this will be my advantage over the other finalists and their swish corporate talk and huge turnovers. 

Man in charge of the money, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne....I may or may not harrass him

Maria Miller, my local MP and recently promoted to
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
and shes a woman so may very well love my loungerie

I do of course joke with you about fluttering my eyelashes and lowering my neckline.  I do have an important political message for the PM and his delegates.  As part of a generation of University Graduates with 0 job prospects, instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself and claiming from the state, I went out and made my own future by starting up my own business.  Also by manufacturing in the UK, I am helping other small businesses and their team of employees.  If I could start my own business with zero experience in the business world, then anyone can no excuses!!  If you think about some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the world many have built their empires with little or no money, so excuses are for losers.

Do you want to help me win this thing then?  Well if you think I should win it for all the 'micro', self funded and god darned determined young entrepreneurs out there then this is what you can do for me.  Head on over to the Conservative Party website and look up your local MP (for those who are based in the UK).  They are listed alphabetically by name rather than region so it may take a while.   Then send them an email saying how much you love Betty Blue's Loungerie and that they should come and visit me on the Start Up Hub stand in the exhibition area.  To help you I have put together a little blurb for you to copy and paste and then fill in:

Dear .................

I thought I would email you to introduce you to Betty Blue's Loungerie - one of the finalists in the Conservative Party run initiative, The Start Up Hub.  The reason I want you to know about Betty and her business is that she is a great ambassador for UK manufacturing and small businesses.  Betty's aim is to provide girls of all shapes and sizes with glamorous and most importantly comfortable loungewear, to rid the world of unsightly sweat pants and hoodies.  All of her garments are made right here in the UK.  I love Betty Blue's Loungerie because.................[enter your thoughts about why you love my business]..............................................  Be sure to visit Betty on the Start Up Hub UK stand in the exhibition area.  She will be on hand to talk to you about her fab business and there will be garments there for you to look at, or even try on!

Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoy discovering all about my favourite brand Betty Blue's Loungerie.  Kind Regards.

.....[put your name here].......

Easy peasy!  I'm not sure what the overall prize is for the winner, but I want to win reguardless just because I'm competative, and the publicity will be great!  To reward you for your hard work in getting me to win, I will make even more delicious loungerie for your lounging needs.  I may even take a few snapshots of some delights I've been working on recently.  You can also send the above email to any local or national newspapers and magazines if you so wish, the more publicity the better.

Thanks in advance ;-)
Lots of Love
Betty xxx

Dita Von Teese for Art Deco Make-Up

As promised I have tried out all my Art Deco products and taken a few photos for you all to see what it is like.  A few days or so ago I ventured into the Debenhams in Guildford to seek out the Dita Von Teese range of make-up for Art Deco.  As Dita was previously a make-up artiste I was quite keen to try them out as she obviously knows a thing or two about make-up.










My first impression was a little underwhelmed.  Art Deco is one of those brands that isn't the top end designer price point, yet neither is it cheap as chips.  It seemed to me like the Art Deco stand was just shoved in any old place.  There were several staff milling around but no one approached me.  So I looked over all the products carefully to see which ones I might like to buy.  There was quite a choice so I was unsure which colours to go for.  Still not quite knowing what I wanted I asked the shop assistant if she could help me choose.  Now at this point I was expecting a little bit of knowledge from the staff, maybe she could suggest colours that may suit my complexion and help me put together what I wanted.  All she did was look at the back of the compacts and proceed to tell me what I had already read on the back of the packaging.  The compacts are magnetic and depending on the compact you choose, you choose your items according to how many slot in.  As you can see in the above picture, the packaging is pretty self explanatory.  This is of course a Debenhams staff training issue not anything to do with the brand of make-up.  Disappointing though as I probably ended up choosing colours I already know suit me, rather than try anything new.  Anyway customer service aside and on to the products!

The packaging is beautiful, sleek and glossy with cute imagery.  The insides have just as much attention to detail with writing on the mirrors

"Beauty is Art"

It is the little things that count I think, especially when the price point is quite high.  Even the covers over the individual eye colours and blushers are pretty.

The normal Art Deco ranges don't have this cute little detail, it is just Dita's colours :).  So as you can see I bought blusher number 09 and eye shadows numbers 371, 520 and 524,  The lightest is from the shimmery range and the two dark colours are matt.  You can see the sparkles better in the below picture.

Lets now look at what this make up looked like on yours truly.

So how did I get on with the products?  Well let us start with the eyebrows.  I have struggled to find the right product for my eyebrows for ages.  I don't like when my eyebrows are too dark because my eyebrows are naturally quite light, and it looks a little 'heavy' on me.  For this look I used the middle brown (no 520) and I was very impressed.  It gives my eyebrows definition without looking too dark or eveningy, so this gets a big tick from me.  On my eyes I used the light shimmery beige (no 371) and the dark brown (524).  The thing to mention with all three eye colours is that it is very powdery; there is a lot of fall out.  I usually wet my make up brush and make a sort of paste out of my powder shadows as for me it makes the eyeshadow stick on my eyelids better and gives a stronger pigment.  So either mix your powder with water if you have this problem, or tap the brush before applying to get rid of the loose bits.  The result was this lovely subtle day look.  The dark brown was quite dramatic on first application but with a lot of blending it can create a subtle look.  I guess it is just a question of preference or what occasion you are wearing it for.  So ticks all around for the eye shadows!  The blusher, as with the eye shadows, is quite powdery so this time I made sure I tapped the brush before applying.  Number 09 is an utterly gorgeous peachy/apricotty colour and adds a lovely healthy glow to my cheeks.  I am keen to try the pinkier colours that were also in the range, I love this blusher so much.  It's super wearable in the day and can be layered up for a more dramatic evening look.  Now on to the powder.

For what it is I thought it was quite expensive at £29.  The texture is lovely.  As with the other products they are all really finely milled and soft to the touch, so it certainly makes your skin feel silky soft.  The packaging, again is spot on and really well presented.  My only problem was, it is more of a finishing powder than a powder you can substitute for foundation.  The coverage is not all that good on me and didn't cover my freckles or blemishes.  Like I said it is more of a finishing powder.  If I use this again it will be to set my liquid foundation.  Used in this way it gives a nice velvety matt look.  In all reality I probably won't use this again as I am happy with my Clinique face powder, which gives a really good coverage and I use when I just pop out to the post office (instead of using my liquid foundation, which I only use when going out somewhere nice).  My Clinique powder is also cheaper at only £22.  So I was a little disappointed with the Art Deco compact as it was so beautifully packaged and I SO wanted it to be good.  But hey we live, we learn.  I took a slightly better lit photo to show you all my freckly face so you can see the coverage for yourself.

Zoooooom in to see me in all my freckly glory, it's the last time you'll see them ;-).  Oh and the lippy I am wearing is good old Rockalily.  I would have bought an Art Deco Dita lippy, but a) ReeRee would kill me and you gotta support the small indies out there!! and b) don't fix what aint broke.  I am 100% a Rockalily lippy girl as they are better than MAC and the colours suit me and quality is unrivalled.  Anyone who has tried Rockalily lippies will agree with me!  I may try the coraly colours in the Dita range though when I next have a splurge on make-up.

And so, I have saved the best till last.  I had already spent WAY too much on make-up that day, so the nail varnishes actually belong to my mummy.

Again full marks for the packaging.  I applied the dark red colour just as a taster (sorry no pictures).  I didn't put a clear base coat, or a top coat on and I applied two layers.  This nail varnish is amazing!  I was doing it in a hurry and not really taking care, but it lasted AGES without a bottom and top coat with only minimal chipping.  So I'm guessing with both top and bottom coats it will last even longer! The red is also a lovely deep brooding red.  My mummy put the pink colour on.  She experienced the same feelings as me.  She didn't put base or top coat on either (must be something in our genes lol) and said that it was much better than average in it's staying power and the colour was very pretty.  She also said that she likes Rimmel nail varnish as it is really good..............thanks for that tip mum!

So there you have it, my views on the Art Deco - Dita Von Teese range.  I hope it helps you decide which items to get - just don't count on knowledgeable staff if you buy it in store at Debenhams.  All in all I give it a thumbs up with a slight sideways thumb for the face powder.  Do let me know if you get any and how you get on with it.

Lots of love
Betty xxx

Cointreau Rendez-Vous

Last Thursday evening I was lucky enough to go to the Cointreau Rendez-Vous event.  I was especially excited to be going as they had promised 

"Upon arrival you will be greeted with a complimentary Cointreau drink and whisked into an intimate masterclass in the art of cocktail making. Throughout the evening, top fashion advisers from Wish Want Wear will be on hand to offer style tips and advice, as well as showcasing this seasons must-have designer gowns. For a chic finishing touch, expert nail technicians will be creating bespoke 'Cointreauversial' manicures."

 

Being a bargain hunter (code for cheapskate) I was especially drawn in by the complimentary drink and goodie bags we would be getting.  And they did not let me down.  Upon arrival we were given our drinks tokens (to left).  I had requested 3 tickets to the event so I took along my fellow business women Ellen, of B Millinary, and Pip, of Pip Jolley.   Cointreau were very generous and gave us two tokens each and there was also the cocktail that we made in our masterclass too, so a total of 3 free cocktails each.  More than enough to get me sozzled!

On to the cocktail masterclass!  We were taught how to make 'MargaDita's', Cointreau's take on the traditional Margarita.  This is the man that taught us --->  there was also another man on hand to help if needs be.  So what is in a MargaDita?  Well here's what:

1 measure of Tequila
1 measure of Cointreau
1 measure of Fresh Lime Juice (not the bottled stuff!)
1 bar spoon of Rose Syrup
A pinch of Chipotle Spice (some sort of chilli powder)

Add ingredients and ice to a cocktail shaker and shake till the shaker is all frosty.  Pour and enjoy!

 

Here you can see Ellen and Pip adding their healthy measure of Cointreau and Myself and Ellen shaking our tail feathers/cocktail shakers.  The set up of the room and bar learning area was really proffessionally done with 3 to 4 people per bench and just enough people to make it feel busy but not so many you couldn't hear what was going on.  The man teaching us was really easy to follow and the recipe really easy!  The only slight nag I have is that the Monin Rose Syrup and Chipotle Spice are quite specialist ingredients and so may take a search on tinternet to find rather than being widly available in supermarkets.

I tweeted this picture to Dita and got a retweet from Mama Von Teese whoop!

The finished result!  One perfectly formed MargaDita.  The glass that it is in was part of our goodie bag (and it's real glass! Impressed!!!).  The goodie bag had everything in it needed to be a host of a cocktail party......well sort of.  

We got a rather snazzy paper bag and in it a mini plastic cocktail shaker, full size martini glass, mini bottle of Cointreau and a voucher for money off a full size bottle of the good stuff.  Ellen's cocktail shaker was a metalic pink shaker whereas mine and Pip's were plastic.  At first we were a little jelous but the plastic one has lines on it for the ingredients to make a Cointreaupolitan so it was just as good as the posh metal one :).  The voucher also had another Cointreau cocktail recipe on it so we were given plenty of good ideas of what we can make at home, not just the MargaDita we made.  And as our masterclass showed us, it is very easy to create amazing cocktails.

 The next activity Cointreau layed on for everyone was a manicure a la Dita Von Teese.

Ellen and I being pampered and a shot of me with my manicure and the cocktail that I made.  There was a limited choice of colour for nails, about 4, on the theme of Cointreau colours.  The ladies were working really hard and there was a long queue of ladies waiting to have their nails manicured.  I chose the traditional orange Cointreau colour for my nails.

The final activity Cointreau had organised was one that was a little dissapointing.  A company with a rail of designer dresses were there.  The point of their website is for women to hire expensive designer dresses instead of them having to buy them.  A brilliant concept as many young people can't afford to buy designer dresses so being able to hire one for a special occassion is great.  They had a rail of lovely looking dresses but, and here's the stinger, we weren't allowed to try them on :(.  They were however running a competition for people attending to win an opportunity to hire a dress for a night for free.........or something like that, to be honest I was a little tipsey at this point.

The other notable thing and possibly the highlight of my night was the venue itself.  It was held at the ninetyeight bar in Shoreditch, London.  The decor was fantastically eccentric

I particularly enjoyed the blue plastic dinosaur that had potpourrie in!  And the ducks on top of the spirit and liqueur bottles.  We bumped into the owner of the bar and she was a lovely welcoming lady.  So if you are looking for a fun, quirky and relaxed place to drink cocktails in, in London, go to the ninetyeight bar!  Anyway the amazing potpourrie dinosaur was sitting on top of a piano..........so naturally in my drunken little head I had to play it.  I have not played the piano in about 10 years, at least!  But I had a go anyway and Ellen filmed it.

I thought Ellen was only going to take a picture so that is why I am grinning insanely and staying very still.  And I clearly have hearing problems.  I decided to play chopsticks because in my drunken mind that was the only thing I remember how to play, and I did a pretty bad job of it haha.

All in all it was a fantastic night with really good company.  I'm a Cointreau drinker and cocktail maker at home anyway, but for those of you who aren't I urge you to try it.  Making cocktails at home is not as difficult as you may think, and Cointreau have made it even easier for us.  Head on over to their website and you can learn about their history and pick up loads of yummy recipes to try out at home.  I even met the man of my dreams.

Lastly here is a group shot against the Cointreau background, a great opportunity for a spot of posing!

I'm wearing quite high heels and still I look like a midget compared with the other girlies.  Oh well!  Thanks Cointreau for a great night :)

Lots of Love 

Betty xxx

P.S  I almost forgot I totally need to get me one of these:

Very "on brand" ;-)