Alessandro nails launch in the UK!

I love trying out new brands that are launching in the UK and German nail brand alessandro did not disappoint. I always buy my nail products in Germany as I love the choice of products for such good value. The brand focuses on the use of gel and at the heart of the range are 99 colours available in regular polish, UV polish called Lac Sensation and colour gel. This means that nail technicians can match every colour with whichever medium they think best, which is unique to the alessandro brand. Alessandro’s range also consists of a new patented formula to ensure colours do not chip and are long lasting.

When I tried the Exotic Strawberry shade below, I loved how shiny the polish was and how strong it felt on my nails. One coat also lasted all week as well, which is unheard of for me as I play netball. The high colour intensiveness is due to a new UV absorber, which protects the nails and include a high gloss shine. Definitely worth trying out if you play sport and find nail varnishes chip so easily.

The polishes don’t seem to be readily available in salons yet, as they are for the professional market so look out for them in salons very soon. I did manage to find them on Amazon for £8.95 though if you are desperate to try out!

Sweaty Betty Fit Crowd Launch!

Last week I attended the launch of The Fit Crowd, a brand new online community of fitness focused women created by Sweaty Betty. I am working closely with Sweaty Betty to help share their core beliefs and help other women to find empowerment through fitness. Fit Is ‘The New It’! I love their brand philosophy of empowering women through fitness, so was very excited to be part of the new community as I love sport and fashion which is what the brand (and clothes!) are all about.

The first part of the event was hosted at the Sweaty Betty store on King’s Road, London. It was lovely to meet some new faces - fitness, running, fashion and lifestyle bloggers plus some new beauty bloggers as well who are all passionate about fitness and healthy living like me. First of all I was given some gift vouchers to purchase some clothes for our workout later or our chosen sport. As I play netball outside a lot I selected some lovely 10K Run Tight leggings, a gorgeous coral Endurance Run Tank top, some Yoga leggings, shorts and top, plus a Yoga mat and a water bottle! I've always thought Sweaty Betty clothes are expensive but the quality of the items is really high and each item is incredibly soft and fits my body like a glove. You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to sportswear in this case. I have already purchased some more gear from SB, including these Capri pants to add to my collection! We met the design team from the new Spring/Summer range who explained to us the colourful inspiration behind the new brightly coloured collection (see the lovely photo below!)

Dive into the SS13 collection inspired by the underwater world; glowing sea anemones, intensely coloured tropical fish and coral. Influences of the wild beaches of Montauk, the Hamptons and Tarifa take the collection on to land and introduce more of a surf vibe. Watch the video to follow the collection journey. 

Once we had chosen our lovely outfits we then took part in a Barrecore workout at the Barrecore studios on King’s Road. A fusion of ballet, yoga and Pilates, Barrecore workouts combine elements of high intensity interval training with low impact static stretches to hone and tone bodies. Each 60 minute class targets all major muscle groups and improves posture and alignment no matter what your fitness level. The fitness instructor was the Barrecore founder herself Niki Rein, who was fantastic and made us work really hard. Although I have taken up pilates recently, I wasn’t very good at the core parts of the workout such as press-ups and ached quite a lot the next day!! But I did love the class and enjoyed the variety of the workout; I look forward to trying it out again soon!

The lovely Fit Crowd bloggers - check out my lovely coral yoga top!

Thanks to Sweaty Betty for inviting me to be part of such a fab community, I feel very lucky. Look out for my future posts on SB and the Fit Crowd throughout the year. Don’t worry if you are feeling left out and want to get involved with the Fit Crowd initiative, you can also take part AND win some rather nifty Sweaty Betty gear! To celebrate the launch of the collective, all you need to do is:

Take a picture of yourself wearing your favourite fitness outfit

Tweet the picture to @SweatyBetty_UK

Hashtag it #TheFitCrowd

The person who takes most inspiring and creative picture will win the SB gear along with some Cowshed Spa goodies. Competition ends on 31st March... so get out there with your bikes and go for it!

You can find out more here on the Sweaty Betty blog! 

Piz Buin Wet Skin Sun Spray

Yesterday evening I attended the exiting pool party press launch of Piz Buin Wet Skin Sun Spray at the Henderson Hotel in London. I'm a big fan of Piz Buin and their allergy range in particular so was intrigued to find out more about their latest launch. Unfortunately I was a  bit late and missed the Aquabatique show in the pool. 

Piz Buin has created a Wet Skin Transparent Sun Spray in SPF 15 and SPF 30 to provide wet skin with protection from the sun. Apparently this is a key period where you are likely to burn your skin, the drying off process after getting out of the water. I always lie down for at least 10 minutes and let my skin dry which is a real danger period for burning. 

The new products can be applied directly onto wet skin, by cutting directly through water and forming a barrier between the formula and the water droplets. The spray can also be used on dry skin too. The ingredients used include polyester, resin and silicone and are included to ensure fast absorption of the oil, and vitamin E protects from free radicals and skin ageing. The Piz Buin dermatologist also told us that Vitamin E is a key ingredient to look out for in your suncream, as it helps to stop ageing from the sun. There are no plans for the moment for the range to include a face cream which is a shame as I don't usually fancy spraying suncream directly onto my face!

I will do a full review of the products when I go away in June but wanted to let my readers know about the new product as it launches this week. The products are priced at £17.99 for 150 ml and launches nationwide this week in the usual stores. Look out for the special promotions Boots and Superdrug usually have in the run up to summer to get a good deal.