April 20th, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

Curly Wurlys & a cuppa . . .

What do we ladies love . . . shopping and chocolate?

Now we can combine the two, as Cadbury is set to introduce a national chain of cafés to Britain’s high-streets.  The branded cafés called ‘Cadbury Cocoa House’ will sell the company’s selection of chocolates, confectionary, as well as the brands range of hot chocolates. With plans to open 60 stores in the UK across major cities and towns, we’ll soon be able to rest our tired tootsies after pounding the high-street with a ‘glass-and-a-half’ of cocoa deliciousness!

This is the first time that the company has directly competed in the coffee shop marketplace, a fiercely competitive market with the likes of Starbucks and Coffee Republic to name but a few. Despite the stiff competition, this could be a clever move as the coffee shop sector has proven to be incredibly resilient throughout the recession. Whilst other high-street stores were permanently dropping their shutters, some coffee chains were in fact expanding as consumers refused to give up their daily dose of caffeine.

Despite the recent hostile takeover by US giant Kraft, Cadbury will still position itself as a proud British brand, and what could be more quintessentially British than afternoon tea – which will be served in all café’s.

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March 19th, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

Chanel, Chanel where for art thou . . . ?

I’ve yet to meet a woman who wouldn’t love to own a piece of Chanel. But if you’re like me and can’t justify (okay more like afford) spending over £1,200 on a 2.55 quilted bag, then purchasing from the brand’s cosmetics range instead is a far less extravagant cost with that same warm fuzzy feeling (okay not quite the same, but almost)!

The big bosses sitting pretty on Avenue Charles de Gaulle, Paris, are aware that beyond the small collection of fashionistas who can afford Chanel, there’s an even larger group that can’t, but who desperately want to be a part of the iconic brand. Enter Peter Phillips, Chanel’s global creative director of cosmetics, who is not only responsible for satisfying this consumer demand but who is also solely responsible for starting the ‘nail madness’ craze that is currently sweeping the nation, with the limited edition pots of Chanel nail polish.

This is no ordinary polish, this tiny pot represents desirability and exclusivity, everything that Chanel stands for. Last summer, every beauty page that mattered featured Chanel’s ‘Jade’, followed by the A/W shade ‘Particulière’, a mushroom coloured beige, and just recently the number one colour of choice for the summer ahead is the ‘Nouvelle Vague’ – an electrifying tone of blue.

Never before have there been outrageous waiting lists for a mini pot of polish (months the orange tinged beauty assistants tell me), the extortionate prices on eBay or the copy-cats that have since followed (Essie do a good one called ‘Jazz’ by the way).

As we move from one season to the next, beauty fans wait with baited breath to see what’s going to be Chanel’s next hot nail colour. Whatever Chanel does, the rest follow.

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March 11th, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

To kiss, or not to kiss . . . ?

 

Whilst reading an article on ‘Office Etiquette’ in this week’s Stylist magazine, I had a little chuckle to myself as I remembered a recent embarrassing moment at work . . . 

My ‘cringe’ moment took place a couple of weeks ago, when I walked into a client meeting and goodness knows what came over me but I lent in for a smacker with one of the two clients (a double smacker whilst grasping onto both shoulders – Mediterranean style). As I was kissing him, a little voice in my head screamed ‘what am I doing? Boll*cks, I have to know kiss the other one so he doesn’t feel left out!’

Many of you are probably wondering ‘what’s really cringing about that? I always kiss my clients when we meet’. I partly agree, I do have clients which always kiss on hellos and goodbyes, but they’re typically ‘PR dahling’ types, these two clearly weren’t by the crimson coloured cheeks and wide-eyed look on their faces.

This was the tenth meeting over the course of 12 months, and I had never kissed them on any of these previous occasions, so why start now? I then spent the next hour of the meeting sweating about how to handle their departure, ‘as I’ve kissed once, do I kiss again? Will they expect it from now on?’

I didn’t, I stuck out my hand (abruptly) and sighed with relief as we were now back on familiar ground – the good old handshake.

Reeling with confusion after my illicit encounter, I approached one of our MD’s, Steve Earl and asked ‘to kiss or not to kiss?’ His response was simply ‘if they pay seven figures they get tongue’.

If only the guide to office etiquette had been published earlier!

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March 1st, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

Love it, hate it . . .

I’m a loud and proud Marmite lover – there’s no better snack than a wedge of cheddar dipped into a jar of luxuriously silky dark Marmite, so you can imagine my glee when I read in today’s Metro that Unilever has produced a Marmite Extra Old, also known as XO. Due to hit the supermarket shelves a week today (March 8), XO is a result of a secret blend maturing for 28 days – four times longer than the original product.

The new recipe has been developed with the help of the Mamarati – a secret group of 40 hardcore fans that have expressed their love for all things Marmite flavoured across a variety of different social media networks.

Other fans of the savoury spread can join the new social media group at www.marmarati.org – a website dedicated to Marmite’s loyal fans. Here you can engage in conversation with fellow Marmite lovers and upload videos, poems and photographs of how best to enjoy the strong tasting spread – the most creative posts win one of 200 commemorative jars.

Marmite is the latest in a long line of brands that are using social media to interact directly with their consumers and they’re doing it well.

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February 23rd, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

Live the life of a fashionista (for 1 week) . . .

For those of us who haven’t scored front row tickets to Mathew Williamson’s show or who are still sitting pretty waiting for an invite to Henry’s after show party, fear not as there are several other things going on in the city in celebration of London Fashion Week.

Here are my top 5 favourite things to do during LFW ’10 . . .

  1. Afternoon tea at the Berkeley – aptly called ‘Prêt-á-Portea’, the menu has been inspired by the A/W ’09 fashion collections. Why not try the Mulberry ‘Bayswater’ white chocolate and coconut truffle bag or the Roger Vivier chocolate ‘over the knee’ boot biscuit (available daily from 1pm – 6pm)
  2. Pop to Selfridges for a new signature lippie – Rimmel has opened its first pop-up shop in London’s busiest store and it coincides with the launch of their new Colour Show Off lipstick. The campaign is fronted by newcomer Georgia (if only our lips pouted like hers) Jagger and the temporary stand will be up until mid March
  3. Topshop rocks fashion week – live catwalk screenings of the shows, DJ, pop-up bakery, nail salon and blogging workshop – you name it Green’s got it covered. All available at the flagship Oxford Circus store daily.
  4. Oh! You Pretty Things – is a must see exhibition for fashion photography fans at Liberty. Held in the 4th floor exhibition space, enjoy an afternoon with the new generation of British fashion photographers including Josh Olins and Alice Hawkins. Running until March 14 during store opening hours.
  5. Champagne Darlings! – after a long day of hitting the shops, head to the Mayfair for a well deserved cocktail. Try ‘Destination Fashion Flight’ – a trio of cocktails inspired by leading fashion capitals, Milan, London and Amsterdam (£25).
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February 8th, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

Cheap Thrills . . .

As Valentine’s Day fast approaches we’re subjected to the annual display of tacky red balloons, heart shaped confetti and endless boxes of red ribboned chocolates currently setting-up camp in the windows of the all main high-street retailers.

Now I object to spending a small fortune on one day, which let’s be honest is nothing other than a mass marketing ploy by all the major brands to entice us to part with our hard earned cash. So for those of us who aim to beat the credit crunch you’ll be pleased to hear that there’s no need for that annual visit to Agent Provocateur or Hotel Chocolat but instead why not try Poundland.

Poundland which saw a 24% rise in sales last December has launched its first range of Valentine’s adult goodies. If you’re looking to exploit your naughtier side then this kinky collection is right up your street – nipple tassels, poser’s pouches, edible G-strings and chocolate willies are all available at a pound a pop – bargain!!

So if I’m not in on Monday morning it’ll mean they forgot to enclose the key to the red fluffy handcuffs – there are certain things that maybe we shouldn’t scrimp on!

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January 25th, 2010 by Marie Efthymiou

January Blues . . .

According to a survey conducted by Sky Broadband, today is the poorest day of the year for us Brits. What is it with Sky? They’re always poised and ready to remind us just how dreadfully gloomy January is – remember the story they issued back in 2005 as part of the Sky Travel publicity campaign, where British psychologist Cliff Arnall created a scientific formula to explain why the third Monday in January is the most depressing day in the year – now known as ‘Blue Monday’.

I’ve only just got over last Monday, now to be told that I’m skint as well as depressed?!

I’ve looked into this a little further and discovered another five (un-scientific) reasons to why we should hate January:

  1. Detox/diet – nothing but faddy diets and detox regimes, when let’s be honest all we really want is sausage & mash and a mega bar of Galaxy chocolate
  2. Celeb workout – Davina’s doing it, Coleen’s done it, even Hannah Waterman’s got one – is no-one safe from the invasion of spandex clad c-class celebs?
  3. January sales – at no other point in the year would you consider that item to be a good, well-thought out purchase
  4. 6 week month – we’ve been eating nothing but own brand baked beans on toast for the past three weeks
  5. Vogue – the fashion pages are filled to the brim with bronzed models sashaying round in SS’10 collections, yet it’s only +2° outside
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November 27th, 2009 by Marie Efthymiou

Topsee Tipsee . . .

It was your typical Wednesday night as three consumer girls headed to the launch party of topsee – the new iPhone application from lastminute.com at Jewel Bar in Piccadilly.

Not another app I hear you say, but actually this one is rather special in a number of ways (and I’m not just saying this because there were lots of free drinks):

  • It basically let’s you in on all the very best places, things to do, see and eat in London (just Zone 1 area for the moment)
  • Tells you what’s in and around you – ¼, ½, 1 mile radius etc. and directs you to the exact spot
  • With the touch of a button you can email your favourite things, tweet them, or send them to Facebook
  • Everything is compiled by the elite London Blogging crowd – it’s like they’ve let you in on their secret finds
  • Full content is provided, this includes a picture, address, map, opening hours and a quick summary of why it’s a must visit
  • Dip in via the fun and colourful pictorial interface and you’ll find something special i.e. a little unknown café in Southwark called Pickles offers the best fried breakfast in the city (located behind the Tate Modern)

dotimageonphone_02

So if you’re interested in finding out about the real London, over and above what you would expect to read in the traditional guide books, I would highly recommend downloading topsee.

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November 20th, 2009 by Marie Efthymiou

Blood-sucking Mummies . . .

You must have been hiding in a hut, on top of a mountain, and had no communication with the rest of the world over the past 18 months to not have heard of Twilight,  Stephanie Meyer or most importantly, the delicious Edward Cullen.

Now I’ve read the books, seen Twilight the movie (wanted to be in it) and yes I’ve already scheduled a cinema visit next week to see the eagerly anticipated sequel, New Moon (out today), but that’s as far as I’ve gone.

Not far enough or as some, according to this week’s feature story in Stylist.

The article aptly titled ‘Twilight Moms’ (TM’s), explores the growing number of married, mothers who are obsessed with all things Twilight, so much so that they’ve neglected their kids, domestic chores and marital duties. Once I’d giggled my way through the feature, I was left even more curious by this inappropriate love affair between TM’s (who let’s be honest should know better and are quite clearly in the midst of a mid-life crisis) and these nubile, young adult males.

I didn’t have to go very far – the web is littered with fan sites dedicated solely to mother’s who spend all day fantisising about 17 year old fictional vampires instead of doing the ironing!

Top 5 favourite (cringing) finds:

  1. Twifans
  2. TwilightMOMS
  3. Twilight Moms Facebook Group (2,400 members)
  4. The Twilight Moonlighter
  5. Confessions of a Twilight Mom

Lesson of the day – don’t presume to second guess your digital audience. Who would have thought middle aged women would have been spending more time online than their daughters, lusting after RPattz . . .

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October 30th, 2009 by Marie Efthymiou

Style and substance united

By Marie Efthymiou, Consumer

There are very few establishments that can claim to have conquered the best of both worlds, which appeals to your average professional white-collared worker. With prices sky-rocketing and unemployment rising, finding products that balance quality and cost is proving difficult.

Retails outlets such as Debenhams matches its products to the needs of its customers, offering them the choice to purchase goods from its designer range which features the likes of Matthew Williamson, Julien Macdonald and Betty Jackson or alternatively from its modestly priced section. Regardless of what you buy, and the individual price tag – you’re guaranteed quality.

Despite what we are led to believe, we should not have to choose between style and substance and the combination should not have to be expensive. Retailers such as Debenhams, Gap and Hotel Chocolat have proven that this is possible.

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