Hello my little cherubs. I am in a good mood today as I have some exciting products to show you from a new cosmetic brand to the UK, A.K.A Cosmetics. I was invited to attend the launch evening last night in London at the Vanilla bar and restaurant. I had a lot of fun and met some lovely people.
The waterfall effect lighting at Vanilla
The seating was comfortable yet chic
Guests sipping drinks and munching on canapes while having their nails and make-up done. I didn't actually get to have my make-up done, but I will show you the products later in this post that I am going to have a little play around with. There was a really relaxed vibe here.
The lovely Anna who painted my nails on arrival. It calmed me down as I had trouble finding Vanilla. I am someone who hates being late for anything. I left my phone at home so I was a lost little kitten in London, ha ha. I did arrive on time though.
The Nail Polishes come in 12 shades. They are 14ml each. They claim to be long lasting. I like the look of shades Silky Claret, Perfect Sky, Red Peck, Risky, Candy Floss, Bare All, Heavens Cloud, Mocha, Soft Mink, Tarnish and Hidden Secret.
The nail shade I chose is Silky Claret
This is a very rich, deep mauve shade
Drinks were served to guests. I had the fruity one of these and my first Cosmopolitan a bit later :)
The area I was facing when I was interviewed by the very sweet cameraman Hugh
That's Hugh on the left
The Liquid Eye Liners come in 3 shades of Black, Blue and Brown. They are 10g each. I swatched one of these at the launch. It had just the right sized applicator giving a smooth, even line and was very pigmented. These are fragrance free.
The Mascaras come in 3 shades of Black, Brown and Brown/Black. I think these are staple shades of mascara that every make-up brand should have. I would have liked to have seen a navy blue in there though. These are fragrance free with pro vitamin B5. They are 12g each.
The Lip Pencils come in 3 shades of Red, Nude and Pink. All of these I think would be nice to try. They are 0.4g each.
The Eye Pencils come in 3 shades of Black, Brown and Grey. They are 0.4g each. I have used this twist up design of eye pencil before and I really like it. I swatched one of these at the launch and it felt very smooth gliding onto the skin nicely.
The Blushers come in 6 shades as above. They are 3.1g each. I love the look of Pink Kiss, Natural Glow, Terracotta Hint & Embarressed Glow. These are a satin formula that is fragrance free.
The Eye Shadow Duos come in the 6 palettes as named above. I particularly like the look of Black Russian, Blue Hawaii and Cafe Latte. I swatched the right hand shade of Blue Hawaii. It's deep purple blue that seemed quite buildable. Great for a smokey eye. I also swatched the left hand shade of Cafe Latte which is a very sparkly grey brown shade. These are fragrance free. There is 2.8g in each duo.
The Quad Shadow Sets come in 3 palettes as above. They have 4.8g in each quad. I really like the look of all of these. I think that the colours are well put together in each palette as you can create subtle or more dramatic looks with any or all of the shades. For a weekend away you could take just one with you.
There are 6 Lip Gloss shades. They are 10g each. The Pink Cadillac, Ecstasy and Sumptuous shades appeal to me the most.
There are 12 Lip Sticks in this range all of which I would like to try. They are 3.2g each. Vamp is the only shade I think I would not wear as often as the others because it has a more moody, vampish side to it. It is a deep purple shade.
The A.K.A Catalogues, Business Cards and Goody Bags
The lovely Sacha making a speech about A.K.A Cosmetics. We spoke earlier in the evening and he answered lots of my questions.
The morning after the night before .....
My Goody Bag
My A.K.A Catalogue and a the business card I picked up when I left the launch event. The catalogue includes details about the brand and of course the range itself. I also received a letter in my bag introducing the brand. It says that A.K.A stands for 'Also Known As' and that the brand is a cutting edge, modern collection of make-up products to awaken the 'other you'. The brand was created with the concept of achieving three defining and contrasting looks:
- Demure (pretty and classic)
- Smokey (sexy and sultry)
- Carnival (outrageous and fierce)
A.K.A is a British brand created by a collective of make-up/cosmetic professionals who pooled years of research and experience into the mix and the knowledge of what is desired in a cosmetic brand.
The free products I received in my bag. I couldn't wait to see which ones were inside, but I did wait until today to open them and take photos. I really like the packaging. It's simple yet it has a professional appearance. I do like the fun slogan print across the white background.
Left To Right: Terracotta Hint Blusher, Bloody Mary Lip Gloss, Harlot Lip Stick, Red Peck Nail Polish, Brown Mascara & Milk Chocolate Bar.
Left To Right: Terracotta Hint Blusher, Bloody Mary Lip Gloss, Harlot Lip Stick & Brown Mascara.
Terracotta Hint Blusher
This is a very subtle terracotta shade. I thought I might like this for contouring, but I think I would use it as more of an everyday blush. This one I think is better for fairer skin tones as it probably won't show up on darker skin. The blusher has not fallen out of the palette, but I worry that it will as when I swatched it it moves away from the edges of the packaging as if it might.
Now I know that usually great quality make-up brushes do not come with make-up palettes, but this one I have to give a big thumbs down. The quality is poor as it has a bit of a rough texture and is not a great shape. I could have forgiven this had it not been for the wooden splint I am showing you in the above photo. If I had swept this across my face and scratched myself I would not have been impressed at all. Make note of this A.K.A Cosmetics!
Bloody Mary Lip Gloss
This is an orange red shade with gold shimmer. It's quite sheer. I expected it to be more opaque, but it's still a nice lip gloss. It has a doe foot applicator.
Harlot Lip Stick
I love, love, love this lip stick. It has really great pigmentation. This shade is a creamy hot pink with a gorgeously glossy sheen. It's quite a buttery formula so one to keep in a cool, dry place I think. My only fault with this product is that I can't twist the lip stick back down. I'm not sure if it's just the one I have or if this is just the way the lip sticks work?
Red Peck Nail Polish
This shade is right up my street. This is a true classic red. I will be using this in my NOTD next week.
Brown Mascara
It's always good to try different mascaras so I will give this a go. I usually wear black, but I like stepping away from my comforts once in a while. This has a large classically shaped wand.
Milk Chocolate Bar
This was a fab touch. I munched on this today and it was very nice :)
I took another photo of my nails today as I thought the colour would show up better in this lighting. This is again the shade Silky Claret.
So let me tell you a little information I found out from Sacha about A.K.A Cosmetics. The website should go live between 18th and 19th May 2012. The products may be available to buy in stores at some point in the future, but this is still in discussion. The prices of the products range between approximately £5 to £9.50 each depending on the product. I can not give you exact prices as the website is not yet live.
Here is a link that will hopefully be updated soon to akacosmetics.com
Even with the negatives about the blusher and the lip stick I am still a fan of A.K.A Cosmetics and will be visiting their website once it launches. I think that the majority of the products in this range have quite high or very buildable pigmentation and quality. The packaging really appeals to me. I like the way the palettes are displayed because you can see the shades through the lid. This is something I think I would like to have seen transfer onto other products such as the Lip Sticks and Liquid Eye Liners. These things are very handy for goddesses with busy lives :) The price range is definitely one I like the sound of. These products are very affordable for the average customer. I will be using the products I received and showing them to you in a FOTD next week.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Touch Media for inviting me to my first Blogging/PR event. I had such a great time. Kat and Katie you are both gorgeous and lovely. Alex you are a true beauty also.
You can find A.K.A Cosmetics on Twitter, @AKACosmetics.
Vanilla bar and restaurant you can find at vanillalondon.co.uk and on Twitter, @vanillalondon.
If I have any names wrong in this post I deeply apologise.
If any of you have written a post yourselves on the brand please let me know by adding a link in the comments. If you attended the launch last night what did you think of the products?
Love to you all
Thanks Hun. I will check it out :)
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