If you follow me on Twitter then you'll probably know that yesterday, I took a casual stroll down to London for the Wilkinson's Health and Beauty event. It is pretty much my first event that I've been to - other than the TRESemme one which was in Nottingham so it was a lot easier to get to. And doubt about it, I was very nervous. For starters, I had to navigate myself around two train stations and for me, that's as bad as it gets because quite frankly, my sense of direction is shocking. But surprisingly, I managed it! I then had to find my way around the tube (which cost me £7 by the way) which could've resulted in a disaster. I have been to London before with my sister and I got on pretty well with the tube but back then, I wasn't alone. Luckily, I did it perfectly. Not bigging myself up here or anything but I waltz around the tube like I was a seasoned Londonder. But then came the hard part; finding the venue. No joke, it took me a full hour to walk from Covent Garden underground station to The Hospital Club. Now, if you're a true Londoner (like I myself now am) then you'll know that the walk from those two places is around 10 minutes. So yes, it took me a very long time to find it. But nevertheless, I made it. In one piece! And in fact, I was early so I was allowed to have a 'sneak preview' at the items before anyone else was!
Walking into the beautifully decorated room felt like a magical experience. It took me back to being on holiday back in September and of course, who doesn't want to be on holiday?! All the products were surrounded by tropical fruit and the TV was playing a lovely sea tune - definitely a relaxing and chilled atmosphere. I was also offered some champagne and of course I said yes - who would pass up on that offer? So I wandered around the room looking and sniffing all of the products, drinking champagne.. I definitely felt very professional.
First up is their wonderful bath and body range. One great thing I learnt at the event is that the buyers of the products actually go to a lab and hand pick every single scent themselves. This means that the smells of these products are 100% exclusive to Wilkinsons - how amazing! And because they're exclusive, you definitely need to pick them up from there because I can confirm that they smell incredible. The great thing about this range is definitely the price; prices start at 68p and go up to no more than £1.48. Plus there are '2 for..' offers on the majority of them so you're definitely saving a lot.
The Skin Therapy skin care range is a big hit and includes one of their biggest selling the products - their skin wipes which retail at just 57p! The whole range is designed for those with sensitive skin. The range includes a cleanser, toner, moisturiser, hand & nail cream, chin & forehead strips, nose strips, face was, eye make up remover, shower cream, bath cream and shower gel. So a lot to choose from! And once again, the most expensive product in the range is £1.48 for 200ml of hand and nail cream.
The hair ranges are really beautiful. One range is very bright whilst the other range is more professional looking. The Salon Styling range includes a heat protectant that protects hair up to 220 degrees and also improves smoothness. There's also a setting lotion, a hair serum and a dry shampoo. All of these are on par with more high end hair products and the dry shampoo has even been compared to Batiste! Prices start at just 98p and go up to just £1.75. The hairsprays and mousses have been specially formulated to contain Pro-Vitamin B5 which gives hair added strength, extra shine and protects against UV damage. These start at 55p and go up to £1.17 for 450ml of hairspray.
And finally, the suncare range which surprisingly, I was most interested in. I'm very fair skinned so when it comes to sun protection I'm willing to spend a lot. But thanks to this range, I don't have to. Each product has a 5 star UV rating (which is on par with Sol-Tan and higher than Nivea) and prices start from just £1.50. There are lotions, sprays, aftersun lotions, gels, body butters, scalp protection, lip butters and even a kids range to take your fancy! Each product ranges from SPF 15 all the way up to SPF 50 for the kids. But the real gem in this range is the £10 family care pack which is has everything you need - SPF 15, SPF 30, aftersun lotion and SPF 50 kids lotion all in a plastic travel bag!
In true tourist style I took a picture of the underground. But I actually got shouted at by the 'underground man' for taking flash photography on the underground. I apologised but he felt the need to tell everyone on the platform just in case they followed my lead because I'm so influential you see!
The goody bags we received were exceptionally generous and I received a Fruity Berry Shower Smoothie, Extra Firm Hairspray, Skin Therapy Face Wash, Thermal Defence Protection, Fruity Tropical Hair Mist, Express Refresh Dry Shampoo, Facial Sun Cream, Total A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals, Scalp Protector and Skin Therapy Fragranced Facial Wipes.
And I thought I'd leave you with a few things I found out whilst on my journey to London -
- Trains don't have seatbelts. Sounds obvious yes but I was genuinely shocked by this revelation!
- Trains do have plugs. And the plugs they do have are very handy. Unless the girl next to you is sleeping and blocking the plug.
- Try not to listen to music on headphones whilst travelling on a train because you probably will miss your stop.
- No flash photography on the tube!
- In London you have to pay to use the toilet. They charge you for natural urges.
- London is posh. It took me forever to find a McDonalds and it was tiny.
- It's hot in London. A lot hotter. I know it's closer to the equator but only by a teeny, tiny bit!
- Trains go really fast. I thought I was going to die when one shot past me at Newark station!
I'd just like to say a big thank you to all of the lovely PR girls and Wilkinsons team. They truly made the event special and their hospitality was outstanding. It was lovely being able to chat about beauty products and get all excited about new products and ideas!
xxx