Tropic Skincare Party !

Hi all, I told you that I’d get something up on Thursday didn’t I?

Just last week my cousin hosted a Tropic Skincare Party and I thought i’d just give you a little write up about the experience I had.

But first of all…

 

At just fifteen Susan Ma (founder of Tropic)  was in her mother’s kitchen making the products and later selling them at Greenwich Market, London.

‘The Apprentice’ 2010 contestant then went on to prove her business to Lord Alan Sugar. She put forward her vision for a vegan friendly, all natural and cruelty free skincare and makeup brand and later became a 50/50 partner with Lord Alan Sugar! The company has grown from strength to strength and offers ‘pamper experiences’ at people’s homes. I’m imaging something like the Virgin Vie parties that used to happen (Is Virgin Vie still a thing?)
The range consists of makeup, skin and body care which all come with a 30 day money back guarantee – something not many beauty/skincare brands offer!

The Party Experience…

To start the night the host, let’s call her Sue* introduced herself and explained why she had started to host the Tropic parties. She was very bubbly and friendly and explained what products she would be talking through with us. She asked each of us our names and generally welcomed everyone to the evening.

She explained the history of the company which I had already looked at online. To begin she used my cousin to demo a mini facial on using the cleansing products from the range. Whilst doing this Sue* then went around the room with the product to each guest and applied a small trial amount to the back of our hands. This allowed us to feel and smell the products; as well as feel the benefits the products gave.

When smelling each of these products Sue* explained that different people will be able to smell different ingredients that the products have; from lemon, cherry, shea, cucumber and citrus there was always something each of us smelt differently. Being able to smell and feel the products before potentially buying them was a big plus for me!

Sue* went through each of the products she had in the collection from the foot spa to the deluxe collection to make up and body care; there was so much to look at, feel and smell !

At the end of the product demos and questions, Sue* then explained that there wasn’t any pressure to buy anything and that she was plenty happy that we had shared the experience with her.

Although Sue* was enthusiastic about the products I think she did need a little more training and background knowledge of the products and their ingredients. Instead of Sue* saying that the products had “really good things in them” it would have been more beneficial if she had known just a couple of the ingredients; this would have shown more knowledge and professionalism with the products.

Before we left we were advised that if we wanted to place an order that we would need to fill in a order form which Sue* helped us individually fill out. My cousin was the last to place her order; as the host she would get 15% of the final total sales to use against products for free!!! I do feel that this is the main lure and attraction of hosting a party to begin with as many people and clients I know are not aware of the amount of products that are not cruelty free.

 

I bought the body smooth refreshing polish (£24.00), sculpting palette in coral blush (£24.00) and the organic nail nectar (£8.00). I will be doing a review of these products in the coming weeks once I’ve had chance to use them. I would say that the price is mid range but for the quality and the cruelty free and vegan friendly products they are worth paying extra for if you want to support the ethics of the company.

Overall I think that the party was a good experience and I have mentioned the company to my family, friends and clients and they seemed interested. the ethics of the company is definitely  something that I will be looking out for in other companies and brands. It makes you so much more aware of what goes into skincare, body care and make up products.

STAY TUNED for a review of the products that I bought at the party within the coming weeks. And if you are interested in Tropic just click here and go visit their site !

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Don’t forget to leave a comment on this post and my other social media platforms or email me at: mylifeasjessthebeautytherapist@hotmail.com with ideas for new posts, requests, thoughts or questions.

J

xx

*The name of the party host was changed for confidentiality purposes.

Keeping up with the Karda… Beauty and Spa Industry !

You didn’t really think I’d do a post on the Kardashian’s did you? Well I suppose in some ways they do have an influence on the industry. I mean they have makeup, nail care, hair care, eyelashes ! You name it they’ve probably done it! (And probably will do everything else beauty related in the future).

They’ve definitely left a large stamp on the beauty industry and with shows such as theirs; TOWIE, Geordie Shore and various others it’s no wonder these ‘celebrities’ make such an impact on our industry.

Just the other day I had a lady for an eyebrow wax and she wanted them like ‘Kim K’ and yes I knew instantly what that meant; I had to explain to the client that eyebrows are defined by your face shape and will not look the same on everyone! I explained and she asked tonnes of questions and seemed really pleased that I spent the time to explain this to her (She left really happy I might add – without Kim K eyebrows).

So as part of my action plan I decided that being in the hair,beauty and spa industry is very quick paced with new products coming out every week or so. I needed to brush up on my knowledge and keep ‘on trend’ and up to date.

I started by looking at companies on Facebook and these linked to different pages that advertised new products and up and coming trends. Facebook was easily accessible as I already have an account and know how to use it. Facebook was ideal also as it linked me to local and international companies that had great products; I was notified immediately when these companies posted new trends or products so it was easy to keep up.

    

Next I looked to Instagram which I also use on a daily basis to keep up to date with friends and celebrities day to day lives. Again the format was easy to follow as I already have an understanding of the site and use it regularly. I could easily look through ‘tags’ on different subject areas such as ‘spa’ or ‘facial’ to bring up products, reviews and new treatment ideas. I have found that both Instagram and Facebook are really current and up to date as they can post anything with a few clicks. Twitter offered a similar platform to Instagram and often posted links to websites, training courses and companies with new products or treatments. Just by searching terms such as ‘beauty’, ‘spa’, ‘facials’, ‘waxing’ etc.

   

 I’ve found that for myself as a Beauty Therapist Dermalogica’s Instagram accounts are really up to date and show new products and trends. There is at least one new post each day; whether it be a new product launch, inspirational quote or competition.

 

   Another really good find was my subscriptions to Cosmopolitan and Glamour Magazine; the monthly magazines have regular beauty coloumns, articles and pages on hair and beauty products, trends and spas.
  

LinkedIn has also been a great influence in keeping up with the trends; being able to connect with people in my industry and following companies, and people who I can learn from or have an invested interest in. It has allowed me to contact people in the industry that have different skills and training to me and has also opened up an opportunity to attend the Beauty UK Show in May this year.

    

I’ve also made use of the thousands of videos on Youtube; I have watched different videos from how to carry out Dermalogica Skin Mapping, The Spa Find Youthful You Anti-Ageing Facial and more…. The opportunities were endless, I watched product reviews, product and treatment reviews and ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos which has opened up a new variety of explanations as to why people experience goosebumps or tingles on their body when listening to a person carrying out their treatment.

 

 

Although these websites, apps and accounts have been helpful and influential I still think that training is essential in terms of continually keeping on trend and up to date. It has helped me to be able to converse with clients about new products on the market and to be able to sell Dermalogica products but I feel that if I attended some training I would have seen more benefit from this development activity.

These social media platforms however are a really easy and cost effective method of ‘keeping up with the beauty and spa industry!’

J