Proud to be British

From red, white and blue bunting bedecking the streets of Britain and adorning children’s painted faces to street parties galore, Sunday’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant, Monday’s spectacular Queen’s Jubilee Concert and Tuesday’s balcony appearance, what a royal extravaganza of a weekend! 

As the last 4 days demonstrated, Britain really did want to acknowledge this very special occasion and institution which is so uniquely British and so we’ve been extremely proud to be working alongside our client Yardley London on their new scent – Royal Diamond - launching at a time when British-ness is at its peak....and the Olympics haven’t even started yet!

So, as we celebrate the Queens’ 60 year reign this year, share a thought for Yardley’s impressive 240 years of keeping us smelling fabulous! A brand well established for quality and excellence, its strong British heritage and obvious connection to the Queen through the two royal warrants it currently holds made Yardley London well placed to celebrate such a historic occasion with the launch of Royal Diamond.

A departure from the previous classic single note floral scents from Yardley London, Royal Diamond is their first floral bouquet inducing three levels of loveliness incorporating fruity citrus accents and a romantic floral heart, with a soft, woody base to complement and intensify the scent.

In a multi-faceted diamond inspired bottle, Royal Diamond exudes true British elegance into an already celebrated brand and as England has been embracing this right royal knees-up, the S&M beauty team has been showing their patriotic side in helping Yardley London’s Royal Diamond find its way onto the beauty pages of the national and regional titles, consumer monthlies and weeklies and a whole host of online sites and bloggers.

  

Here’s just a small selection of the press coverage that Ma’am herself would be proud of:

Very proud.

The Best of Spirit of Summer 2012

Despite the gloomy British weather, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee demonstrated that we certainly weren’t going to let it dampen our spirits, as did London’s premier boutique shopping event, the Spirit of Summer Fair, in association with House &Garden magazine.

After months of preparation, we decamped to London’s Olympia to manage and run the press office for the Spirit of Summer, organised by our client, Clarion Events. 

Following the first day’s filming for ITV with money saving expert Martin Lewis and the Lorraine TV crew which you can watch here - http://www.itv.com/lorraine/money/martinlewis/martins-real-deals-may-17th/ (it was the chocolate pizzas from Wow Candy that caught Martin’s eye!) – it was a busy hive of activity as we welcomed numerous press from national, regional and lifestyle titles to enjoy the exhibitors and features at the show. 

Our feature highlights included:

Mosimann’s SummerRestaurant – situated at the very heart of the Fair, there were plenty of ladies lunching to be seen, with delicious light brunches, bento lunch boxes, afternoon tea and champagne, of course.

Summer Lifestyle Workshop – The exciting line-up of expert workshops included The London Ladies Club’s sale of beautifully nearly new silk scarves in support of the Retired Greyhound Trust – we spotted a few genuine Hermes up for grabs! We loved the floral sensorial experience from Laurent-Perrier and master perfumer Roja Dove, whilst the Diamond Jubilee provided the theme for the hugely popular flower-making workshop with WendyBlack of The Dorchester and cupcake making with The Cookie Girl. 

Interiors & Garden Theatre – A packed audience turned out for Nina Campbell’s unique design inspiration, whilst Debbie Wild from Jo Malone London gave great insight on how to decorate your home with scent. Equipped with colour advice from Farrow & Ball’s Joa Studholme and design & interior collectable tips from Rabih Hage, we’ve got our paint pots & brushes at the ready to transform our homes!

And here’s some of our key boutique picks from the Fair....

Alexis Dove

Chloe Croft

Cissy Cook

Connock London

Damselfly

Harriet Sanders

Have a Gander

Lily Matthews

Milliemanu

Mrs Moore's Vintage Store

Thornback & Peel

Next up is the eagerly anticipated Spirit of Christmas Fair (30^th October – 4^th November 2012)…..but coming sooner is the launch of Spirit-Boutique.com, an extension of the Spirit of Summer & Christmas Fairs and a one-stop shop for stylish living online! Sign up now to be the first in line to find stylish gifts and treats that you won’t find on the high street.

http://www.spirit-boutique.com/

Our White Gallery London Bridal Pick of 2012

As our attentions turn to driving PR for the Autumn edition of the National Wedding Show organised by our client Ocean Media, we decided to check out the bridal collections of some of the best UK and international designers at the White Gallery London in Battersea Park.

Also organised by Ocean Media, the White Gallery London is an exclusive three day international trade event, attended by some of the most exclusive bridal wear retailers and media, so we were looking forward to discovering the latest trends and the hottest new names in the bridal world.

Getting there just in the nick of time for the last catwalk fashion show of the day – International Flavours – one designer really stood out to us, Greek bridal fashion designer, Victoria Kyriakides

We were wowed by her gorgeous Futuristic Grecian collection, tailored with fabrics like organza, mousseline and airy voiles, which were structured and sculpted in flattering pleats and folds. 

Beautiful. One to watch.

No ifs just great butts!

Couldn't resist sharing this great advert.

Not only did the perfect derriere stop us in our tracks whilst cycling home last night, but we are now super excited to check out the unique fitness classes at Frame.

Frame joins Spinn Revolution, 10 Pilates and Bikram Yoga, leaving all those in NW10 with no ifs....(great butts remain to be seen).

Frame opens this weekend. We think we might start with Barre Frame.

Thank God no previous ballet skills are needed.

What a ride! The Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam

Nearly two weeks ago, I completed an epic 750km cycle journey for Stage 2 of the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 and though I’m almost fully recovered, it’s taken nearly this long for my hands to start working properly, after holding the handle bars for such a long time!

Five extremely long but very rewarding days across Italy in great company and a great spirit in the pursuit of raising money for some very worthwhile causes alongside rugby and cricket icons Lawrence and Freddie.

Highlights included a Day One ride on a very long straight road plus 30 degree heat leading to rather severe sunburn – which kept me under observation for the next few days as we continued to cycle in the same direction.

A Day Three cycle to break my personal distance best of 190km, and a Day Four Cycle after 4 hours sleep that took us 175km up and across snowy peaks and over two killer climbs – the first 50km long and the latter 30km – not for the faint hearted! More often than not, the head writing cheques that the body could barely cash. Nothing like 13 hours cycling to find your levels!

Day Five saw us cycling 125km through Tuscany and finishing in Siena - some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever enjoyed. What goes up must come down, but doing long sweeping descents in the mountains after being caught in a torrential downpour, is a bit chilly in one layer of soaking lycra and soggy shoes. 

I’ve learnt that endurance cycling is a sport (arguably ‘sentence’ might be more appropriate) where ‘the rich get richer’ – be as fit as possible, cycle quick, cycle in a peloton, expend less energy, get to the hotel early, have physio and a late lunch, chill, get organized, enjoy dinner. In my case, not much of that applied. Next time I will be better prepared. I will take lights for my bike.

For those of you that have donated, thank you so much for your kind support. The guys are still on Stage 4 and we have some way to go to hit the target for fundraising so any further donations would be much appreciated:

Here is the link for donations:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/richardlamballe

Please dig deep. The money raised really does get well spent on some incredibly emotive needs where it makes a genuine difference. Thanks.

Mr. Smith