InnoCos Digital Summit in London (Review) - Boohema Boohene

The international innoCos conferences have not only set a goal to organise exciting presentations, rousing speeches and inspiring workshops, but also bring together representatives and leading professionals from the fields of Innovation, Marketing, R&D, retail, branding and packaging in the cosmetics industry promoting networking to challenge and inspire. 

The third Annual #Beauty20 Awards took place on April 29th and MCM were given tickets by BlogsRelease to attend the ceremony. It was an extremely pleasant experience to be amongst some of the largest beauty companies such as Mary Kay, L'Oreal and Benefit. There were also other big corporates such as Asda and Phillips which gave the event media based content as well as information about the beauty market currently. There were two presentations that really stood out for me during the day. 

The first presented by Phillips and their speaker talked about the various beauty products, that they have for males and females. The speaker recommended some websites that other beauty brands could use to reach a wider audience in terms of advertising. A lot of the content in each presentation was focused on the importance of the internet as we learnt that many consumers now prefer to buy make-up online as they can order it from their homes, as well as read reviews and see ratings on products. Therefore online marketing is crucial for a company in order to not loose customers.

The speaker from Asda spoke to us about how Asda have used Youtube to reach their target audience which are mothers. They have launched a channel called 'Mum's eye view' which consists of videos from popular vloggers sharing Food, Lifestyle, Fashion and Beauty videos. This has been a big hit for Asda as many mothers work from home and browse Youtube so it would be easy for them to stumble across the page. Asda also engage mothers through online competitions and quizes. The speaker emphasised that everything is strategic in terms of getting hits on their page. Around 3pm is when mother's pick up their children from school meaning they have a few spare minutes to be on their phones, which benefits Asda.

After the presentations we were then moved to another room where we were greeted with wine and a variety of canapé's to unwind as momentum was built for the awards. The rewards went to the most successful beauty brands, retailers and bloggers for the categories of Best Beauty Blog, Best Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, Best App, Best Online Video, Best e-Commerce Website, Best Beauty Startup and Best Beauty Brand Online. 

Benefit Cosmetics was the big winner this year winning three categories. Best Twitter, Best Instagram and Best Beauty Brand Online. Although all companies are in the same industry you could really feel an atmosphere of togetherness and support from everybody. It was more of a networking opportunity than a competition which was nice and professional. 

The day then came to a close and everybody received beauty goodies with products such as nail varnish, mascara, lip balm, and cleansing liquid. 

Overall I enjoyed the day very much although I am not specifically a beauty blogger it was nice to learn more about the industry in depth. It was also a great event to learn more about online marketing tools that you can use to expand your business. I'm glad that I was able to be part of such a great ceremony and would definitely return.

BE THE BEST YOU - PAUL OLASEHINDE (30/03/2015)

So as we delve into the fourth month of the year, it’s a decent time to look back and see how we’ve done since the beginning of 2015. Me personally, it could be better… a lot better but slowly and surely things will pick up they always do. One question I was asking myself is, am I being the best version of me? I mean of course we can all visualize where we ultimately want to be but I’m asking myself and you, are you the best version of yourself day in day out?

I’m sure a lot of us are in a situation or situations we don’t want to be in. Jobs we don’t like, family problems, relationship issues and the list goes on, but unfortunately that’s life. However, its imperative you find yourself smiling and staying as upbeat as  much as possible. Life is filled with opportunities everyday, if we look hard enough and if we’re lucky enough some of them fall at our feet. You would hate to have missed out on one because you weren’t in the mood or just weren’t being the best you. Imagine you had a conversation with a manager at your place of work and because you weren’t bothered and just acted anyhow he told you he decided not to put you forward for a promotion as a result of that. You’d be kinda vex right? Now this is just one of the opportunities you know you had that you missed because you weren’t being the best you. Imagine all the ones you would have missed out on that you didn’t know of.

Now don’t misunderstand me I’m not trying to be unrealistic. Life is a handful and plenty more of them. Days will come, weeks and even years where it will feel like it you will need to draw on every fiber in your body to crack a smile. Sometimes it might not even be possible but that’s exactly it, you do what you’re capable of that day. Sometimes you’ll just manage a smile, some days it will be a smile with a bop in your step making everyone laugh and lighting up the day. In this example the day you only smiled isn’t lesser than the day you were walking with that swagger because on both days you were the best you possible and that’s the best you could do. Everyday is different so we must continue to adapt to what it brings and be realistic with how we feel but always aiming to push past the pain and disappointment some days may bring.

There are some real bad days though right? Nothing you’re attempting is helping you and it feels like the day is dragging you somewhere you don’t want to go. This is when I recommend you reach out to someone. Friends aren’t there to just help you take pictures for Instagram,  I've talked about this in a previous post, if you trust them enough, open up to them they could be of more help than you could imagine. They could say one thing that could change your whole outlook on that day, they could say something you have already told yourself but say it in a way that was different and it just hits you. At the end of the day, commit everyday to God and I’m sure you’ll come out the other end all right.

So I encourage you to take control of how you’re feeling. Circumstances play a huge role no denying that but at the end of the day you decide how you let it affect you even if you think you don’t. Be the best you! You never know who you’re going to meet that day. One conversation is all it takes and it could be life changing in so many ways. First impressions mean a lot and once its gone you cant get it back. So show everyone the ten out of ten version of you, you wouldn’t want them to get the wrong idea right?

EXPECTATIONS BY NNENNA MOIZE (RE UPLOAD)

The older we get the more the search for someone who we can share the rest of our life with becomes cardinal. 
   It is safe to say that in today's world 'the game' has changed drastically, most of our parents probably met at university or were high school sweethearts who ended up with their own little version of 'happy ever after'. However with technology and our generation’s heavy reliance on the media to teach us life lessons the basic concepts that were in place in older generations are not present in modern day. 
   One of the main issues I've noticed amongst the young adults in our generation who are dating is their expectations from their partner. I've heard my parents speak time and time again about their own dating experiences and the one thing both of them seem to draw back to is that whilst dating they were searching for someone who had potential. With everything being so fast paced in our generation we inevitably crave a partner who is essentially 'ready made', meaning: great job, good car, nice house, no bad habits. Just someone who's good to go. Now who am I to say that doesn't exist? Some of you are looking at your partners and thinking, "What's she talking about I found that," however truth be told you probably didn't, the person they are today most likely came from hard work and patience on both ends. 
  I am fully aware of the fact that not everyone wishes to settle down, however if you are someone that does be realistic about your expectations and search for the right things in a future partner. So many relationships fall apart nowadays because people go in searching for the wrong things; they place heavy emphasis on variables and ignore constants. I can not sit here and tell you what you should be searching for in a partner as, but I can give you a few pointers; instead of looking for someone who's one hundred percent financially stable look for someone who's working towards that and is taking the correct measures to be there. That's the ambition we all want in our partner. Presentation is important but instead of worrying about how well they dress focus on their beliefs and morals, these are the things that make a relationship, dress sense is a variable that can easily be changed. Allow futile issues fall by the wayside and focus on the things that will matter in the next 20 years. 
   Whilst studying in America I remember an athlete saying to me, "the problem with females now is they see us broke in college and aren't interested, they don't want to ride out with us till we become that man on ESPN." The truth is who the person you're with is today isn't who they'll be in the next ten years and this goes for both sexes, dating someone who seems "perfect" now doesn't mean they won't be an overweight couch potato living off benefits tomorrow, however when you go in search of constants such as; their morals, ambition, mindset etc with hard work the change is more times than not positive. 
  My mother has always told me that the man I call 'dad' now was not the man he was when they first met, everything from sense of style to his financial situation indicates growth. Now she stands proudly next to a good man that loves and provides for his family. A man she grew with and had faith in. 
  As I said earlier, we live in a media saturated generation where we are taught to emulate couples like Beyonce and jay-z and completely overlook the hard work they put into getting there. Men are more focused on dating a woman who looks great in every picture and fills their friends with envy rather than a woman with a good head on her shoulders, and women search for a man with money, perfect style and who is self made rather than someone with potential to become that man. 
Overall we must be realistic in our expectations and seek out the appropriate traits, focus less on variables and more on the constants that will be there in 20 years. 

"When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are." - Donald Miller