S&M Loves The National Wedding Show

The Autumn National Wedding Show is fast approaching and with this in mind, we’re hand picking our favourite exhibitors for you lucky brides-to-be to look out for!

With a vast array of gorgeously luxurious dresses, cakes, jewellery, and all things bridal; allow us to be your fairy God mother and select for you what we love right now.

The talented design duo team Belle and Bunty at the Bespoke Wardrobe show their new collections at The National Wedding Show. Highlighting vintage glamour in each phase, these beautifully elegant dresses will wow your crowd with their sweeping necklines and gorgeously floaty cuts and fittings.

We're loving the Petal Dress, their sassy take on the classical panel dress with it's understated front, revealing the open detailing and articulated low back of the dress. A modern twist on the classic bride. 

The generosity of offering us such beautiful gowns doesn’t stop there, as we have organised for one lucky Brides magazine winner to get a free dress (amongst other wedding goodies worth £6k)!  Follow the link for more details to be in with a chance of winning your perfect bridal gown.

http://www.bridesmagazine.co.uk/competitions/list/win-fabulous-wedding-goodies-from-the-national-wedding-show

Another S&M favourite has to be Le Papillon Patisserie and Miss Lola’s Bakehouse, for the most mouth-wateringly stunning wedding cakes.

Le Papillon Patisserie explore the tea party trend for the more contemporary bride; offering a vast array of cakes to personalise with flowers, fruit, chocolate scrolls, or simply create your own bespoke wedding delicacy. They provide fun displays that your guests won’t be able to wait to dive in to.

For the more traditional bride is Miss Lola’s Bakehouse with their classically designed three tier cake creations. Each cake is entirely bespoke and made to order, capturing the overall personality and theme of the wedding, with immaculate attention to detail...mmm, we can taste them already!

For hand assembled, UK based wedding invitations, Amelia Lane Paper is an up and coming custom made invitation service. Ranging from traditional and elegant, whimsical and fun, or modern and unique; Amelia Lane Paper pairs outstanding design with individual personality. We love the vintage, fun feel to her creations, a great introduction to any style of wedding. An S&M favourite!

Alongside beautifully designed gowns is a little something for the men, with Groom’s fashion from contemporary high street store Topman and Cad and the Dandy, making high end tailoring accessible to all.

The Great Gatsby inspired hair accessories are coming to the forefront of all the catwalks, injecting art deco glamour into any bridal party. Tiaras by Harriet exude 20's chic with heavily crystallised applique headpieces, suitable to glam up any bride.

Hermione Harbutt designs statement pieces and are bound to be a great hit on the runway, coinciding with the theme of vintage glamour really taking over bridal fashion this season. Hermione has also donated one of her gorgeous headpieces to the WIN page competition in Brides magazine. We love this statement piece, glamorous yet with a real autumnal feel to it.

Or for something a little different, Yelena Smirnova delivers beautifully floral, handmade head pieces and corsages perfect for a midsummer night's dream wedding.

Here at S&M we recognise that wedding planning is tiring work...did someone say holiday? Both Tropical Sky and AM Resorts in Dominican Republic offer the most fabulous holiday get aways, either for your holiday ceremony or as a honeymooner’s paradise. 

Brides Magazine featured AM Resorts with the stunning location of Dominican Republic, for one winner to receive an all inclusive, a no-expenses-spared week's holiday!

Something old , something new , something borrowed and something .....green !! Fine jewellery designers Jon Dibben and Stephen Webster offer one of the most important items on the day of any wedding. Best men have sleepless nights over forgetting it, and brides to-be eagerly anticipate how big it will be. It is of course, the ring. 

The Fairtrade Foundation are showcasing these talented designers amongst others and Brides magazine have recognised this ethical trend and have already credited these stunning designs and urging brides to think about how the gold is sourced. Read their recent blog post:

http://www.bridesmagazine.co.uk/blog/2012/09/17/idea-of-the-day-fairtrade-foundation-wedding-jewellery

Jon Dibben creates entirely bespoke items, all traditionally handcrafted within his own workshop, making them entirely personalised to you. Offering both fair-trade and fairmined gold or platinum, there truly is something to suit everybody’s tastes and wants; after all, you’ll be wearing it every day of your life!

StephenWebster’s wedding creations are for a more contemporary audience, with edgy designs for those couple’s who really want to make a statement.

As you can see we’ve been working hard alongside the National Wedding Show, carefully selecting the very best exhibitors, giving all you brides-to-be only the finest when it comes to organising your big day.

 

SkinCeuticals....the HOT Beauty Favourite

The highly anticipated annual Harper's Bazaar Beauty Hot 100 has been announced in their October 2012 issue and we're absolutely thrilled that the new SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF Gel has been voted the Best City Serum!

According to Harper's Bazaar 'this is the no-brainer for anyone who wants to ensure their skin looks younger for longer. With it's healing, skin-protecting ingredients, it's every urban complexion's safety net'.

Launched earlier this year, Phloretin CF Gel is the first serum-in-a-gel antioxidant product from SkinCeuticals, revolutionising the texture of their topical antioxidants, whilst maintaining the integrity and efficacy of the original serum formula.

Following last year, where SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic was recognised with the same accolade, this latest news makes it two years in a row that SkinCeuticals antioxidants have been listed as a Harper's Bazaar Beauty Hot 100 must-have.

Our focused awards strategy for SkinCeuticals is paying dividends as the recognition doesn't stop there, with AOX+ Eye Gel having been lauded as 'The Eye Saviour' in Glamour magazine's The Beauty Power List.

Launched last year, SkinCeuticals AOX+ Eye Gel contains a triple blend of antioxidants that protects against photoageing and keeps eyes looking fresh and has already won 'Best Eye Cream' at the Red Best of Beauty 2012 Awards.

As the ultimate edit handpicked by the Glamour Beauty Desk, we're suitably impressed that it impressed them enough to make the cut in their Everyday Skincare Essentials, featured in their September 2012 issue, making it two prestigous accolades in two months.

Not bad at all.

Jamie Stevens Hair Appoints Smith & Monger

We are excited to announce that Smith & Monger is now handling the PR for super star hairstylist, Jamie Stevens and his two eponymous salons in London and Somerset. 

At 31 years old, Jamie Stevens has firmly established himself as one of the industry’s hottest hair maestros and is of the youngest ever contenders for the British Hairdressing Awards, a title that every hairdresser dreams of winning. 

Not only did he open his first salon at 18 years old, he has also worked with some of the industry's finest from Daniel Hersheson and Beverley C to Errol Douglas, where he worked for over 7 years as Art Director.

The Clothes Show Live Celebrity Hairdresser of the Year earnt this title having styled the hair of numerous famous faces including Kylie, Stella McCartney, Elle McPherson, Little Mix, Emilia Fox, Christian Slater and Hugh Grant, whilst he is hairdresser of choice for TV shows including This Morning, Gok’s Fashion Fix, How to Look Good Naked and The X Factor.

He's recognised as a cutting-edge talent for both men's, women's and afro hair styling having won prestigious awards for all and an ambassadorial role for Matrix haircare sees him travel the world educating others.

If that wasn't enough, Jamie launched his first London salon in Kensington earlier this year and has been confirmed as hairdresser-in-residence for a second series of The X Factor, where he will be styling the contestants hair each week.

In addition to receiving his first ever HJ’s British Hairdresser of the Year nomination, Jamie is also a finalist in the London, Men’s and Afro Hairdresser of the Year categories at this year’s British Hairdressing Awards, whilst salon team member Jonathan Andrews is shortlisted for the Newcomer of the Year Award, to be announced in November 2012.

For more information on Jamie Stevens Hair please contact Katie Pearson at Smith & Monger on 08453 131713 or e-mail katie@smithandmonger.com

Follow Jamie Stevens on twitter for all the latest X Factor news @jamiestevens7

Thumbs up for SkinCeuticals!

It’s that time of year again where the aesthetic industry applauds and celebrates the very best in making us look and feel that little bit more fabulous each day - from high performance products and the manufacturers & distributors that supply them, to clinics and practitioners around the country that deliver the best in aesthetic treatments and services. 

Following last year’s success at the Aesthetic Awards where our client SkinCeuticals scooped an impressive five awards (including a Consumer Choice Award which was not announced until the night of the awards), finalists have been announced for this year’s second annual awards where SkinCeuticals feature heavily again.

The Aesthetic Awards 2012/3, in association with leading industry magazine, Cosmetic News UK, takes place on 1st December 2012 at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Voting is now open; so let's take a look at what SkinCeuticals could excel in.... 

BEST PRODUCT INNOVATION: SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF Gel

BEST SELLING RETAIL PRODUCT: SkinCeuticals Sheer Mineral Defense SPF 50

COSMECEUTICAL OF THE YEAR: SkinCeuticals

We’re delighted to say that SkinBrands, the distributor of SkinCeuticals products in the UK is shortlisted in the following two categories:

·         Distributor of the Year: SkinBrands

·         Best Customer Service by a Manufacturer/Supplier: SkinBrands

Our fingers are also firmly crossed for SkinCeuticals’ partnered spas, clinics and practitioners to outshine their competitors at this year’s race to be the very best in all things cosmetic! They include:

·         Best Clinic Chain: EF MediSpa

·         Best Clinic Website: EF MediSpa

·         Clinic Receptionist of the Year: Jasmin Byrne, EF MediSpa

·         Best New Clinic: London Bridge Plastic Surgery

·         Best Clinic (four rooms or more): nakedhealthhttp://www.nakedhealth.co.uk/

·         Best Clinic (three rooms or less): European Dermatology

·         Aesthetic Practitioner of the Year: Dr Stefanie Williams

If you agree SkinCeuticals – and any of the partners it works with – deserves to win in the categories they are nominated for, please show your support and click HERE to vote. Voting closes on Monday 15^th October 2012.

It's All Over for an Epic London 2012 Olympics

After much cynicism in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympics, pessimistic forecasts of transport nightmares and a last minute shortfall of security personnel, we at Smith & Monger, like many other Londoners, were so pleasantly surprised that we managed to pull off these Games so well!

From cheering on the Olympic torchbearers in the lead-up to the Games, to watching the Opening Ceremony a stone's throw from the Olympic Park, cheering on Team GB in front of big screens dotted around London and even getting tickets to see the Beach Volleyball (OK, so that was only Emma, the rest of us spent hours searching for tickets in vain - but we won't moan about that!), we have all been much more excited about these last 2 weeks than we expected to be.

Emma even managed to get her hands on an actual Olympic torch......!

It's been just the tonic that London needed - Danny Boyle kicked it off in style, the city looked amazing and even the weather improved as the Games went on and our medal tally went up and up! Our incredible athletes ran, swam, jumped, cycled, punched and rowed their way to make it Team GB's biggest medal haul in over 100 years and in front of a jubilant home crowd.

Enough to make you feel proud, but made even better by the fantastic community spirit shown by the thousands of volunteers who gave up their time and of course the amazing atmosphere across London and up & down the country - if there's one thing us Britons know, it's how to party!

Although we face this Monday morning with post-Olympic melancholy, we still have the Paralympics to look forward to (with Katie having bagged tickets to the athletics and the rest of us still trying!), to keep the London 2012 Olympic spirit alive and kicking for a few more weeks!

 

In Treatment with Debbie Thomas & SkinCeuticals

We were delighted to be working with not one, but two of our lovely clients on the launch of a new facial treatment for autumn.

SkinCeuticals has teamed up with advanced skincare expert, Debbie Thomas to launch a new treatment designed to help reduce redness and strengthen sensitive skin. Though to be honest, it works wonders on all skin types to tighten, rejuvenate and give skin that extra little bit of TLC as we can attest ourselves, having been lucky enough to undergo the treatment!

We recently spent two fantastic days with Debbie and her team at Hari's in Brompton Road to greet members of the media from titles including Harper's Bazaar, Grazia, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour, Stylist, Stella, Daily Express, Fabulous and more, before the experienced the new treatment with Debbie.

The treatment incorporates the use of red light and ultrasound therapy and with products from SkinCeuticals designed to meet the needs of sensitive skin - such as the new Phloretin CF Gel, AOX+ Eye Gel and Sheer Mineral Defense - this really is the ultimate treatment for anyone with skin vulnerable to sensitivity and can help those with severe redness, especially with a course of treatments.

We're loving the deep cleansing, calming and nourishing nature of the treatment and have had great feedback so far from those who've had it, with more booked in to review it soon.

The SkinCeuticals Delicate Skin Repair & Strenghtening Treatment - available exclusively with Debbie Thomas from September 2012, then nationwide from November 2012.