Monday 30 May 2016

Essie Gel Couture #essiexrankin

Hey everyone! This weekend in the UK was a bank holiday weekend, I know it was also Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. so I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Without sounding like I'm starting a pity party, I had the worst weekend. My car was smashed up with a hammer, I got food poisoning and my camera charger blew my electrics and set off my house alarm. They say bad things come in threes, that's a big enough three for me. Nevertheless, my nails have been a welcome distraction, and I've been writing up some blog posts to try and get ahead a bit.
Today's post is about my day at the #essiexrankin event a couple of weeks ago. I was kindly invited by Essie to join the event to promote their new Gel Couture range, and have my portrait done by the one and only Rankin. I'm still pinching myself that it actually happened, it was such an amazing opportunity, and one I definitely won't forget in a hurry. 

I was given the chance to pick out a shade from the Gel Couture range to highlight in my picture, this is the shade I chose, called Spiked With Style:






The event was held at the Ice Tank in covent garden, I've been before for previous events but it looked great decked out in flowers and nail varnish, lots and lots of nail varnish.

Photo credit: Essie

These were the shades I had to choose from for my manicure, it's not the full Gel Couture collection but just a quick selection (to make the process quicker I imagine). There are 30 shades in total, 25 of which will be available in the UK.



I then had my hair and make up done, which was an entirely new experience for me and it was great to be pampered and made to look glamourous. 



Rankin had lots of assistants wandering around helping him out, so I didn't get to see the man himself until I walked up to the camera. He was such a nice guy. I couldn't pose for the life of me and he made me feel comfortable, and took some extra photos so I could find one I liked. 


They had a big screen up showing the pictures that were being taken, so my friend managed to get the picture above whilst I was having my photos done. I also took a picture of the 6 pictures Rankin narrowed it down to for me to choose from. I couldn't choose which one to pick at all so I let him pick his favourite


In our goody bag we were also given a polish from the Gel Couture range and the topcoat. I received 'Sew Me' which is a peachy shade. Below is two coats with a coat of Gel Couture topcoat


It's claimed you don't need a basecoat as the polishes contain a basecoat themselves. I wore this colour for a week and I didn't get any staining, but it's a relatively neutral shade. I did find the formula slightly hard to work with, but that's only because it's quite thick due to it being a gel range. 


How amazing are the bottles though? Although I must admit they were a pain for holding properly for swatches, as you can see above and below! The life of a blogger ey?

The Gel Couture range launches on the 1st June, so not long to go. Keep an eye out on the Essie website for more information.


And this is the finished portrait that Rankin chose: 


I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to go to the event. This little blog has given me so many wonderful chances to do things I could only have dreamt have doing, but this comes pretty high up the list of 'cool things blogging has done for me'. I hope you like the finished result as much as me!

Alice

7 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry for your troubles Alice, what awful things to have happened! On the bright side, this photoshoot is so exciting and I'm really happy for you to have gotten this experience! Your photos looks gorgeous!

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  2. Oh Alice, hopefully you'll have some better luck this week. Maybe get yourself a lottery ticket, as you're def owed some good karma.
    The portrait is gorgeous, is anything being done with them?
    I'm also loving these bottles, the design is so different.
    Have a good week, Vicky xx
    @thepolishlist

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  3. You still look amazing dear eventhough there are troubles. Love those bottles...unique one.

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  4. So sorry about the awful weekend (huge understatement) you had Alice. I hope things look up for you soon and that you may feel better and you get the car issues fixed. :( Big hug! So amazing you got to experience having your portrait taken by the legendary Rankin - the finished shot looks SO beautiful, you totally look like a model! Your hair & makeup (and nails DUH) are flawless!!! This new Essie line looks great, not sure I am sold yet on the bottle shape but it does look very unique!

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  5. Oh my gosh Alice, this sounds dreadful, but I am hoping you feel better and that everything is going better for you now. This event seemed so fun and I absolutely loved all the pictures that were taken of you. You look so glamorous and elegant! So gorgeous! This Essie line looks stunning and the bottles are just adorable.

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  6. First of all - so sorry you had such a rough weekend :( BUT this post is so great! Looks like a fabulous event and your photo is gorgeous! <3 I really like how the essie top coat is in a white bottle, instead of black like all the other hybrid top coats...it fits with their brand nicely!

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  7. Your weekend makes me so sad :( but the rest of your post makes me so happy :)! It sounds like you had such an awesome experience. That final photo is just priceless, I love it!

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