Sanctum Soho Hotel - Fusing Fashion with Artistry

When the black envelope embossed with gold writing popped through the door I had no idea what to expect. As soon as I opened it I quietly mouthed the words “how freakin’ cool” (expletives have been substituted) as I read that I had been invited to a launch event at the Sanctum Soho Hotel.

So what was being launched? Well, first of all there was the limited edition Sanctum Soho fragrances for him and her along with a range of cosmetic/clutch/wash bags designed by world renown tattooist Dan Gold. 

How cool is that wallpaper?!?

Cosmetic/wash bags on display

As soon as I wandered into the hotel (the first time I had visited) I was blown away by the cool atmosphere - not only did I get to finally say hello to the lovely Sophie (the reason for my love of all things Fish Soho) from KMI Brands, but cool oozes out of every pore of this 30 bedroom hotel in the heart of Soho.

There are some pictures below of the products themselves. The limited edition fragrances (which retail at £195 here), developed by Domitille Bertier come in a stunningly cool box designed by Dan, using his revolutionary style of fusing tattoo art and graffiti. Personally I love the box design, and I want one! As for the fragrances I found myself moving through a range of emotions as I tried the male version. 

The top notes of pepper are really strong, and I mean, stupidly strong on first application but it dries down faster than anything I have ever smelt before, which means that the initial phew is replaced by a wow.….warm and spicy. Nice.

The female version reminded me of about three other female perfumes. It sort of started off like Bvlgari Pour Femme to me and dried down to smell like a lighter version of Jo Malone. Strange, but I did keep going back to sniff it more. Again, lovely stuff.

Now, for the Dan Gold designed wash bags - out of this world. With prices ranging from £12.50 to £26, so quite affordable and a perfect chance to own what are in effect multi-purpose bags with stunning designs on them. You can see the whole range here but personally I like the Rose Skull Comestic Purse, it would make a great gift and the male wash bags (that are large enough to be used as tablet cases) would be an excellent gift for men who like skulls, tattoos or edgy street art. 

I have this one and it is perfect as a wash bag or tablet case

Apart from playing the celebrity spotting game, sipping champagne and soaking up the edgy atmosphere I had a lovely evening, it’s one I won’t forget. 

Me trying not to be blinded by the flashes or projection!

Now I just need to save up enough for a bottle of the aftershave and a night in one of the suites at Sanctum Soho Hotel, everything about it oozes class and sophistication. Top notch evening and top of the range products. 

Thank you Sanctum and thank you KMI Brands.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

As an aside, you can see my footage of the cool presentation of the products on my Instagram page here (crank up the sound to hear the amazing soundtrack).

You can keep up to date and follow Beautykinguk.co.uk using the various social media below:

Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Google+
Bloglovin

View Post

Molton Brown Templetree Body Wash

Anyone who casts their eyes over my little blog on a regular basis may have seen me write up my thoughts on Molton Brown Black Peppercorn Body Wash will know that I loved the manly fragrance and the fact that it banished BO (body odour). I was impressed, so when that ran out and a bottle of Molton Brown Templetree Body Wash appeared I couldn’t wait to try it out. 

I was so eager to try it that once again I committed the cardinal sin of beauty blogging by using it before taking photographs from several thousand angles - you would have thought I would learn but…..

Anyway, a small 100ml bottle of Templetree appeared, spookily a day after I had commented on a picture of it on Instagram saying I wanted to try it. Not spooky really, I could probably pick fifty random beauty products and the missus will have it somewhere. Needless to say, you don’t have to fear that my opinion has been influenced in any way. 

If you want to pick this up for yourself you can get a 300ml bottle direct from Molton Brown for £18 here. 

Like my last post, it could be me being tight with money or just because I have no idea how much things cost nowadays but £18 seems a lot to pay for a body wash. Go on, say it, I’m tighter than the rear end of a fish..….

This is what they say about Templetree over at the Molton Brown website:

‘A blissful bath and shower gel blended with moisturising algae extract and purifying templetree flower extract.

The fragrance
Top note: fragrant jasmine.
Middle note: fruity Rose.
Base note: sandalwood. 

Formerly known as Blissful Templetree’

Well, I now know what it used to be called, and the way my brain works I’ll retain that useless fact until the day I expire! 

Like other Molton Brown body wash this lathers up really well even when using only a little. If you look at the bottle in the pictures you can see how much has been used - that is after I had used Templetree for three days, so a little goes a long way, and in fact this what I consider small 100ml bottle will last for ages.

The fragrance is the clincher for me when I thought about whether I would recommend this. The jasmine and rose give this an incredibly strong aroma that is only magnified by the hot water of a shower. The lather retains it’s rich texture for ages and as it is absorbed into the top layer of skin you really start to just pull out the rose notes. 

While a lovely fragrance not that manly - so I was pleased that like an aftershave, once dried it took on a warmth as the rose was replaced by subtle hints of the sandalwood. For me, once dried off the fragrance is perfect for both sexes, not too feminine and not too masculine. 

But does it banish BO? Yes, yes it does, and even better, once it has helped wash the stink off it does have a positive effect on my skin, it does feel smoother - it’s not groundbreaking but there is an obvious difference.
Like most things I suppose, it depends upon your own personal preference, but if you like subtle floral fragrances with a solid warm base that will help clean away your sins in the shower then this baby is for you. Personally, and considering I’m tight I will buy this when the current body runs out. Hell, a 300ml bottle would probably last me for months! 

Try it, I think you’ll like it.

RECOMMENDED

You can keep up to date and follow Beautykinguk.co.uk using the various social media below:

Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Google+
Bloglovin

View Post

365 days of blogging

Well, this counts as my anniversary post, after one whole year I’m still here (what where the odds on that happening?). 

First of all thank you to everyone who has encouraged me over the last twelve months and thank you for taking the time to read my little corner of the web. I honestly never thought I would still be writing or that people would actually come and take a look. 

Taken after one or two drinks in Amsterdam

Stranger still was the reaction of the people who knew me. I made a few subtle hints about the blog before just coming out and telling both my friends and people I worked closely with - there was a little ribbing but that stopped almost immediately. Bizarrely the worst reaction came from my family who teased about being doing something constructive with my time (me being constructive is completely and utterly out of character).

So, what changes have I experienced after blogging for a year?

STEP AWAY FROM THE PHONE
This is something that I used to find irritating as hell before I started blogging. Rachel (BeautyqueenUK) would sit on her phone for hours, would take random photographs and would never touch a plate of food in a restaurant without taking pictures from three angles (using three different filters).

This is what awaited me when I attended my first bloggers event - gorgeous ilumi food

Dirty Burger in Kentish Town, Camden - the best burger ever

Honest Burger in Camden Market

I confess I now do this, I take random photographs of aftershaves when out and about, take pictures of my food (usually burgers that are making me drool - you‘re welcome for that lovely mental image) and have now even started taking pictures of my hair after styling it in the morning so that I can do a #HOTD hashtag! 

PETS WIN PRIZES
Your pets suddenly become a marketing opportunity and a way of attracting people to your social media feeds. I’m guilty of this, mainly because I have three of the best cats ever, Dude, ASBO and Dexter. 

Cats rule #thatisall

Dude shows off his climbing skills

What? More aftershave?

Dexter stands guard over the aftershave

They frequently pop up in my posts (usually when trying to take pictures they photobomb me or the product) or on my Instagram.

Weirdly, whenever they appear in posts they tend to overshadow everything else. Cute cats, they are the future.

In the words of Mr Tinkles from the film Cats and Dogs….'Cats Rule'.

DON’T TOUCH THAT YET

I was never allowed to open or use anything until it had been photographed more times than a dead body at a crime scene. 

While I find myself doing this more and more I still get shouted at for throwing the wrong bath bomb into the bath, taking the packaging off the wrong product or eating the wrong thing. Ooops!

This Clarins Eye Revive sat in it's box for months until pictures could be taken!

While I struggle to take a photograph (I work on the basis that if I take a hundred a few might be usable!) I find that more and more, I can be walking in the park and thinking ’this would make a great spot to take some photographs of x or y product‘. 

Domain and Hosting Site

Before blogging you might as well have spoken to be in riddles about hastags, alt-tagging, domain names, web hosting, SEO, labels and keywords.  Now, while I am not as up to scratch as I possible should be, I know what each of these things mean and do my best, but definitely an area upon which I can improve!

CAN I BLOG ABOUT THIS?
Yes, that’s right, you start to make purchasing decisions based upon whether you think something would be of interest to your readers, you search out products you haven’t tried before so that you can write about them and in my case buy, buy, buy.

I have found myself doing this more and more, particularly when looking at aftershaves or beauty products. Where once I had two or three of a product, now I have nine or ten.

So, one year down - what next? It looks like my addiction to aftershave is going to continue, as will my love of trying new hair styling products but it is more likely that I’ll post more about fashion (my fashion sense so expect dark), places to eat out and maybe a regular spot for my friend to write about cocktail and dive bars.

Thank you for reading, the support and encouragement.


Stephen


You can keep up to date and follow Beautykinguk.co.uk using the various social media below:

Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Google+
Bloglovin

View Post