The Lush Creative Showcase

 

 On Tuesday I took a trip to Shadwell to the Tobacco Dock to see this years Lush Creative Showcase. Obviously I had never been to anything like this before but I've bought a few Lush products over the years and had one of the best customer service experiences there so it was great to get a first look at what was coming up and get a real insight into the company. 

When you walk into the venue the place really does look beautiful, one thing I will say off the bat is that the venue was really representative of the brand and by the looks of things they really did have the entire venue to themselves.There was greenery everywhere and dotted about the place you could see that signiture Lush front peeking at you from blackboards.

Upon arrival I was given my wristband (another thing to add to my London scrap book) and instructed to download an app that would aid in giving me more information throughout the afternoon. However a) it was slow in downloading, b) it was asking me to sign up and create an e-mail or link with facebook and c) Ambers app didn't even work so needless to say the app was promptly deleted, that wasn't a very promising start to the trip for me. 

So with no real idea of what direction to go in I headed off around the venue, starting in the Christmas Showcase and taking in the wide range of products that Lush will no doubt sell in large quantities throughout the holidays. There were massive blocks of soap, bath bombs by the hundreds and gift boxes galore as you walked around the room and took everything in. There were some staff on hand to help but overall the large quantities of crowds in the room made it hard to hang about and have a good look and the tills in the corner meant that large queues would block certain areas. 

Everything in here looked extremely festive and smelled amazing. As a rule, at Christmas I tend to stay away from bath sets as loads of people give them out at Christmas but the Lush sets really are something special and I wouldn't mind receiving something myself. We spent a good 10 minutes walking around in here and taking everything in but there will always be something really odd about hearing Christmas music during a London heatwave. As always, a Lush display always throws up the perfect photo opportunity so below are some of the pieces you will find in stores this Christmas.

My favourite part of the afternoon was seeing the selection of interior swatches that the company are coming up with to use in their stores. After a history in visual merchandising it's interesting for me to see some of the process behind showcasing different products since I'm used to seeing it used with clothes. 

Marble and copper are looking like the key materials they want to go for but whatever they choose to ride with, it looks like it will be done in a recycled and upscaled style. 

 Fun fact, some of the swatches of 'marble' seen here are actually made up of recycled plastics. 

In the make up section there was a load of lipsticks to be swatched which is usually what I would run for but these pigments were absolutely beautiful and I couldn't ignore them. Happiness was this stunning darker gold shade, not unlike the gold you get in the Naked palette but the colour payoff was oustanding. The Cinderella blue was also beautiful, definitely not a shade I would usually consider but after seeing it swatched I totally fell in love. All of the pigments I tried had spectacular colour pay off so whatever one you decide to choose you won't be dissappointed.

 Walking into the more open foyers off the Tobacco Dock is where you are really wowed by the effort that Lush have put into this showcase. There was a huge bathtub setup that allowed staff to show off their new products in huge vats and in the corner there was a deceiving cotton candy stall which oh my god, DON'T EAT because it's shower scrub. I totally thought I was about to get free candyfloss but I used the shower scrub that night and it was really amazing so that made up for not getting to eat it. 

The bath setup in the foyer was truely the shining jewel of the event. I was looking at it and thinking 'all this for a two day event?' but every single person that came across this spectacle was in awe of its scale and you could say it was a sculpture that captured what Lush is all about? I dunno, either way it was crazy impressive to look at, almost like a fountain and you literally couldn't take a bad photo of it either.

The only thing I couldn't get on board with on the day was the huge urgency to sell. The whole afternoon felt very rushed, when we arrived we were asked if we were considering jobs in Lush etc. and when you pair that with the need to sign up and use the app and the whole thing just felt a lot more like a marketing push. I have no doubt that the marketing would have been a huge driving force behind making a two day event for the launch but I just felt that the afternoon should have been more balanced with talks and interaction with the products themselves. I don't know if it was our timing but when we went into the beanbag room there was nothing happening and nothing to tell us if there was any other talks/music going to be on that day (although it was probably stated on the app.)

I would also say that there were areas of the venue that I walked into and didnt even know if I was still at the Lush event or if I had strayed into somewhere else. 

Overall the day was interesting, I seen a lot of things that I liked - in particular the make up - but overall I just felt the event wasn't very social or educational about Lush. I would say that the members of staff that I did encounter seemed super knowlegable on the products and really excited about what they were doing. Would I go back to the event again? Yes but only because it's something different to what I usually dobut I would rather go back to my local Lush and speak to staff one on one to learn about the new products when they come out rather than attend another event like this.

First Weekend in London

Friday Night

I almost cried saying goodbye to my folks on the platform but luckily I kept my cool enough to get seated on the train and silently wonder what the hell I've actually gotten myself into. 

I was literally sat there on a one way train with my bags steaming towards London at 60mph with no return date! I don't know if it was the sudden realisation of what was ahead but I sat watching Toy Story wishing I was about 15 years younger.

 The train journey itself was pretty boring, 5 1/2 hours of being uncomfortable and not being able to get my laptop on the folding tray without having it digging it into my stomach but hey ho, we can't have it all, at least the guy meant to be in the seat beside me had the decency to not turn up.

My trains arrival in London took my mind off the reality of what I was actually doing (For a start it arrived early-a clear sign I wasn't in Scotland anymore.) Within 20 minutes of dragging my bags across Kings Cross at 1am I found myself stuck in a traffic jam longing for a cup of tea and my bed even though I was only going to get 5 hours sleep.

Saturday-The work started straight away.

Less than 9 hours later I was on my first tube journey to Shephards Bush Westfield Shopping Centre to start my first retail job in London after a quick and surprisingly easy transfer from my shop back home. There was literally no time to ponder the fact that I was running on 4 hours sleep and actually starving from a lack of time I had to get breakfast. It was just hard work from the get go, tube, store, customers, sales, tube, dinner and bed.

Sunday  

Sunday was my first lie in after days of bare minimum sleep so I decided to go by myself for a bit of sightseeing. I'd convinced myself that if I was going to live in London I'd better not be ignorant and actually get some knowledge about the place, basically the worst excuse ever to book myself onto a bus tour for the day...and a boat tour.

I've done the Original Bus Tour's yellow route 3 times before now but it never gets old, I'm pretty sure I could actually host one now! If anyone gets a chance I really suggest taking a day to go and do it cause you really do go home feeling like someone who aced history in high school.
One thing I wouldn't suggest though is to do the open top bus tours on an empty stomach because some of the food I was smelling was torture! Hot dog stalls at Marble Arch and roasted chestnut vendors by Buckingham Palace literally followed me around and by the end I wanted to go into every food place on the way back to Mile End.

When I walked home I decided to round off the night by popping into a pub I always pass on the way to the tube and have a drink.
Now, I knew that alcohol prices in London were steeper than Scotland but when the barman asked me to give him £8.45 for a double vodka cola I actually nearly wet myself. Lesson learnt, sobriety here I come, went home pretty gutted!

With Monday being a bank holiday I got another day off which was basically my lazy day, by midday I hadn't made it out of pyjammas but had managed to drag my arse off the couch long enough to finally sort my suitcases out and move the hoover about the livingroom in a half-arsed effort at housework.

In the afternoon Amber came over to start my training for my new job for the next day and amazingly I managed to stay pretty calm considering all the stuff she was throwing at me, I'm praying to god I manage to pick everything up pretty quickly since I'll be repeatedly doing it 5 days a week.

In general I've been quite calm since arriving here in London but I think it has to do with the sheer amount of work I've had to be doing. At some point, possibly when I start the new job, the panic will seriously hit me...Either that or I'll fail miserably at budgeting and leave myself up creek with no paddle.
After a full week here I'll definitely start to feel more settled, my family back home don't seem to be missing me yet anyway so I'll be here a while, Mums already booked plasterers to come and redo my bedroom walls...

Winter Wonderland-Edinburgh

I'm very lucky in that I live a mere 25 minute car journey from Scotlands capital city Edinburgh. It's a place that's really easy to take for granted when you live so close but thousands of tourists come here every year to see the castle, the architecture and the Fringe festival which is an unreal arts/theatre/comedy/music festival that takes place all over the city in the summer months. In short Edinburgh is a pretty awesome place to live near.

However I'm at a total disadvantage, whilst the commute through to the city is mere minutes I am very rarely through there to enjoy myself due to things like work and having to plan months ahead for a day where all of my family is off so we can go through together.

So this year as a Christmas treat to my family I put a date on the calender and got everyone into the car for a night at Edinburghs Winter Wonderland to help get them into the Christmas spirit. No ifs, no buts, we were going so help me God!

I was also reeeeally craving crepes with nutella and banana. 

Edinburgh is a pretty amazing place to behold anyday of the week but it really comes to life at Christmas time. Princes Street Gardens becomes a hub of activity as amusement rides are set up, market stalls become occupied and all manner of foreign foods and goods are sold to tourists and locals eager to bask in the festive spirit. Princes Street itself becomes lined with christmas lights and the high street stores window displays become so extravogant it's impossible to walk past and not catch the Christmas spirit.

There's just something amazing about walking through the European Market decked to the nines in knitwear, clutching some form of potato dish and listening to Christmas music whilst perusing all sorts of items that are there.

Some of the items we saw for sale there were hand-crafted Christmas decorations, hand decorated chocolates in the form of tools such as hammers, chissels etc and then hand painted to look identical to their metal counterparts. There are also fashions such as hand-knitted scarves, spice stalls, jewellery counters, coffee bean vendors, anything you can associate with Christmas is pretty much in Edinburgh for you to have a look at and buy whilst sipping hot wine.

My sister and I also decided to take in the sights from the Ferris Wheel (partly because the seats were enclosed and we found out they had heating) and listened to some facts about the town. We had a look at the ice rink there but if there's one downside to Winter Wonderland it's that everything is much more expensive than where we stay so you kinda just have to pick one ride to enjoy. Needless to say I still managed to spend a bomb on the family but everyone had a really brilliant and more importantly festive time.

Below are some photos from the night which were unfortunately taken on my camera phone and therefore aren't the greatest photos in the world but you get an idea of just how festive and lit up the place is at night and just how much there is to see and buy in the markets...

 

The Brownlies embrace Summer

Hey everyone! So the weather in the central belt in Scotland has been absolutely stunning for the best part of the past month and as I am currently enjoying a 10 day holiday of work me and my family have been trying to make the most of the weather.

Today was actually pretty horrible for the most part but from 4pm we had glorious sunshine that spurred the family to have a picnic dinner in our local nature reserve, a place we used to frequent when me and Lisa were little kids. 

It's actually a pretty day, the family have been talking a lot lately about spending more time visiting places for leisure, especially now that all 4 of us have full time jobs and can put money away for days out together. I dunno if any of you do similar things where you make time to visit places with family?

So anyway today was a lovely change for us all and I am totally looking forwardto doing similar things again as a family. I feel like we don't get nearly enough time to have days out and explore new places and noone likes to be stuck in the same places for long periods of time. 

So here are a few photos from our day out!

 

So as you guys can see it really was such a pretty place to have a picnic and a walk about.

Today I also managed to finally film a make up tutorial on how i wear my make up for work so that's all been edited and is ready for the voice over tomorrow so I'll hopefully have that uploaded tomorrow night or Thursday!