Christmas Gift Guide – Part Three!

*Preen*

The third and final part of our gift guide is all about the right tools for the job to help you preen to perfection!

If you’ve left it until the last minute to get a present  for a friend who always looks perfectly coiffed  then don’t panic! T-H-X (Total Hair Experts) retail exclusively at Tesco, so you can pick up this  Make it Big Hot Air Styler with your bag of sprouts! This hot air styler has a powerful 800-watt drying action and two heat/speed settings, meaning it is great to use on wet or damp hair. You can use this rather than a dryer and barrel brush, so it will save you time as well as giving your hair some body! £16.50 from Tesco.

Where would we be without Batiste Dry Shampoo? This mini kit containing three of their best sellers, is ideal for friends who are always on the go, whether its the ones who are constantly on their way to the next party, or those who are running around after their kiddies! The cute miniature bottles are perfect for popping in a handbag. £4.99 from Boots.

Have you heard the old wives tale about brushing your hair 100 times before bed for shiny locks? Well we have, and always gave up with an aching arm. However, now many years later we’ve found an alternative! The Denman Boar Bristle Brush is brilliant for smoothing your hair without damaging it, and we’ve noticed a massive difference in the appearance of split ends and increased shine since we started using ours.  We also like that our Gran has a Denman brush which shes had for as long as we can remember. You’ve got to hand it to a brand that can offer that kind of lasting quality. From £12.47 at Denman.

Brows frame your face and complete your look, so for friends who don’t  like even a brow hair out of place, you can’t go wrong with the 3 Steps to Beautiful Brow set from Billion Dollar Brows. BD Brows tell you how to Condition, Colour and control your brows with their three popular products. Brow Boost to help stimulate growth, their universal Brow Pencil to get your perfect shade and the Brow Gel to hold the look in place all day. £47.50 from KerieHoy.com or your local BD Brow Artist.

If you’ve got a friend who takes makeup application seriously, but you don’t quite have the budget to kit her out in expensive brushes, take a look at ecoTOOLS. Their brushes are really affordable, but also great quality. We love the natural looking bamboo handles too! Their 6-piece brush set is £15.99 from Boots.

Know someone who is always moaning about how short and sparse their eyelashes are? Or who thinks they’ve got the barest brows? Get them some RapidLash or RapidBrow this Christmas and by Valentine’s day they should be fluttering their luscious lashes in thanks! £41.00 from Boots.

November TBO Awards!

November is over and we’re already in the final month of the year! Who can believe it?

Here are thebeautyobsession’s Top 10 products out of everything we tried and tested in November…..

No. 10

In first at number 10, it’s anatomicals Java Lava Coffee Buzz Body Cleanser, we can’t wake up in the morning without this, and we love how the scent stays with us all day! 

No. 9

Up next it’s our new favourite lipbalm. Balmi is attached to our keyring and follows us everywhere! 

No. 8

We love this gorgeous scent from Paco Rabanne and we’re wearing it day and night! 

No. 7

If you’re looking for nails that attract attention, you should take a look at our three favourite magnetic polishes.

No. 6

At No. 6, it’s the AnarKitty Denman D3 brush. Not only do we love the Limited Edition design, we love how well the brush allows us to style our hair and keep it smooth and sleek. 

Our Top 5 were really difficult to choose between as we love all of them, but here it goes….

No. 5

We have to credit the Guy Kremer Hydro Rescue Shampoo & Conditioner with improving the condition of our dry, damaged hair. Not only is it shinier, smoother and stronger – it smells lovely! 

No. 4

Our fourth favourite product this month goes to Temple Spa In the Beginning Deep Cleansing Melt. We can’t live without this, especially at this time of year. Our skin thanks the guys & girls at Temple Spa unreservedly! 

No. 3

In at No. 3, it’s a product we use every single day – MUA Cosmetics Brow Kit! We love the mix of colours and the wax that makes it stay put all day. We also really love the price – £3.50!

No. 2

Second place goes to the best foundation we’ve ever used! Chanel Vitalumiere gives a flawless finish and feels lovely on the skin. 

So, which product makes it to the No. 1 spot for November?

No. 1 – Winner!

We’ve been blown away by how good the Real Techniques brushes are. They make all makeup appear so much more flawless, they’re excellently priced and they don’t shed. We also love the video tutorials by the brush creator Samantha Chapman, there’s one for every brush! 

Which products would make your Top 10? Have you tried any of the ones we’ve featured?

#MeetThe……..BeautyPR!

Ever wanted a career in the Beauty Industry? Follow our new series #MeetThe… for exclusive interviews with people throughout the industry.

For our first #MeetThe… interview, the lovely Lisa Bickerstaff, Account and Social Media Manager at JWPR, kindly agreed to talk to us here at thebeautyobsession. A specialist hair and beauty PR firm in London who’ve been established for over 15 years, JWPR represents brands such as Aveda, Darphin and Denman. They say cutting out the grandstanding and air-kissing, and getting on with proactive public relations is what they pride themselves on. So does that mean there’s no freebies and glam parties? Lisa gives us the lowdown….

“Thanks for agreeing to talk to us Lisa. Can you tell us about your early career and how you started in the PR industry?”

After getting my degree in Journalism from the University of Westminster, I was eager to get involved in the world of PR & Media as soon as possible, especially as I lived in London! I put myself forward for lots of work experience and intern placements and emailed companies I liked the look of, asking if I could work for free!

“That must have taken some time! How many companies did you contact before you heard back?”

I estimate about 40 or 50 in total. I think around ten got back to me and I picked four that I liked the sound of best…

“Good to know that perseverance pays off. So how did you end up as Account & Social Media Manager at JWPR?”

One of the companies that responded to me and I thought looked great too, was JWPR. After working for free for a few more weeks, they offered me a part-time paid role, and the rest spiraled from there! Soon I was working as a full-time Account Executive. My role has developed within the company, which is how I’ve ended up in my present role.

“So, have you come across any obstacles whilst in the wonderful world of PR?”

I think the biggest obstacle is usually the tube! I can’t think of any huge difficulties since starting work. I think the hardest part for me was getting started, but once you’re in its all good.

“Lots of people think PR is all about lunching and glam parties. What does a typical day actually look like for you?”

A typical office day involves A LOT of time on the Facebook & Twitter pages of my clients. That’s how I like to start the day! I have lots of emails to deal with on a daily basis, sending out images, picture collections, prices etc. Often I will be writing press releases. But it is quite varied, I find myself meeting journalists in central London to review one of our salons; at a shoot; or at a client meeting about the next product release or big idea. No two days are the same and as we are a small company there is always plenty to do.

“It sounds like you really enjoy it! What do you love most about your role?”

It has to be the people you meet by far! I have been lucky enough to meet lots of the big names in hairdressing including the legendary Vidal Sassoon. I love networking, meeting journalists and there are always a few celeb parties here and there!

“Wow! No wonder you love it! If others want to follow in your footsteps, what would you advise them to do?”

My advice would be to start building your work experience as soon as you can. It’s a competitive world out there – especially in London, and one of my regrets was not getting in more experience back when I was a student. You actually have the time then to work a couple of days a week at a PR company or wherever and it sets you apart from the rest. In terms of getting into the industry without a little experience, you just have to be prepared to work for free for a while and hope it pays off… Don’t be dismayed by rejection emails, keep going!

“You get to hear about lots of lovely new hair and beauty products before they hit the shelves. What’s your must have beauty product at the moment?”

I have to say I am a Batiste girl! Never without my can and my can of the moment is the new Batiste Paisley! I also love a bit of Lanolips, the Lemonade one is my tube of choice.

“And finally, you must have picked up a few beauty tips along the way. Can you share your top tip with us?”

Never try to go swimming in false eyelashes… it rarely ends well!

“Wise advice! Thanks Lisa, it’s been lovely to talk to you!”

You can find out more about Lisa and the team by visiting www.jwpr.co.uk  or tweet them @jackiwadesonpr

Look out for our next #MeetThe…. interview, with Karla Powell, Head of Makeup Artistry at MUA Cosmetics! Not to be missed…