*PR sample

Hello lovelies,

When I've received a press release about Leighton Denny's new book called How I Nailed It!, I knew I wanted to read it. I was prepared to buy it but I was offered a free copy which made it even more exciting. I don't want to reveal too much detail because I want you to enjoy it as much as I did.

The book is Leighton's autobiography describing everything from his entrepreneurial flair from early age, the struggles of different jobs to the glamorous and not-so-glamorous side of the nail industry. It starts with a gripping story from Saint Tropez but I won't tell you more ;) But expect celebrity encounters, heartbreaking and sometimes terrifying stories (what happened to him was absolutely terrifying to me) and really interesting life story overall.

The book is written in an easy to read and friendly tone and after reading it I felt like I know Leighton so well! It is really strange feeling to meet the person afterwards, to see the skull key chain and earring he talks about in the book and many other little things you wouldn't notice without actually reading the book. I really don't want to describe things in the book or Leighton's whole life story, buy the book, it's worth a read ;) Leighton has not only built his own 'empire' (with a new perfume coming out!), travelled the world and worked on countless celebrities (he writes about some of them in the book too) but also has been recognised for his services to the nail and beauty industry by the Queen and has been awarded an MBE!

All of his ups and downs taught me that life might not always go as planned but if you follow your dreams and work hard for them, you will succeed. That's why I've gotten qualified as nail technician and will pursue my own dream. If a 'boy' from Bradford can succeed, so can I! ;)

I have to admit, that before reading the book all I knew about Leighton Denny was that he is a celebrity nail and beauty expert, that he owns his own brand Leighton Denny Expert Nails and appears on QVC. I was however very curious to find out how he got there and how he built his skills and career. I remember briefly meeting him at Olympia Beauty Show in London about two years ago when I was chatting to Nina Taylor. At that time I had absolutely no idea about all his accomplishments...I think it was good otherwise I would be completely star-struck just as I was when I met him earlier this month at the Kiss products launch event.

If you want to get to know Leighton and his life story and also read something truly inspirational, you'll love this book! I've never read a book so fast which certainly tells how entertaining it was and I wish it didn't stop where it did but continued up until now. It is currently available to download on Amazon as an e-book and newly you can buy a hard copy as well.

PS: Sorry if this review sounded a lot like a fan girling, I really couldn't help it lol

*I have been provided the e-book for a review

*Photos courtesy of Alex Silver PR

Hello lovelies,

I have attended a new product launch event in London on Wednesday evening and it was pretty cool so I want to share it with you!

KISS has been launching their Looks So Natural Lashes and IMPRESS Nails lines. Both lines will launch this month in Superdrug. The event was held in Home House near Oxford Street. The walls inside were beautifully decorated and crystal chandeliers were hanging off the ceiling. I felt a bit out of place as it felt like a really posh place lol....have a look:

One of the entertainment aspects of the event was a nail art competition. Each person had 5 false nails and 5 minutes to create some nail art. My hands never shook so badly I tell you :D We could use any nail art products on the table but I just grabbed pink, blue and black stripers. I wanted to create tribal nails but there was no way I could finish all 5 in 5 minutes so I did the waterfall mani on three nails and started tribal mani on the last two.

Well I don't have to tell you that the result was pretty much terrible :D So terrible I won't even show you! But maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist and hard on myself because guess what? I won the 1st place! I couldn't believe it, I was so happy! Little moi in the picture with the one and only Leighton Denny MBE and Danielle Peazer.

There were numerous beauty stations where everyone could get their nails and eyelashes done. Of course they were the new ranges of Looks So Natural Lashes and IMPRESS Nails that were being applied. Since I already did nail art on myself I didn't want to have sick on nails done but I caved and had some false eyelashes applied :)

The biggest highlight of the evening for me was the opportunity to chat to Leighton for a while. He's a huge inspiration and after reading his new book 'How I nailed it' which I'll review later, I have so much admiration and respect for him. He was very kind to take a picture with me as well :)

And this is what I came home with. It's a combination of my prize and goodie bag. I don't have to tell you that I'm most excited about the Leighton Denny goodies! I will finally try his crystal nail file! So far I have been using the Mont Bleu crystal nail files which I love but I am very curious as to how they will compare to LD.

I also got a lot of Kiss eyelashes and press on nails which I won't mostly use so I'll be passing some on to my friends and some will go into my future giveaway. And the biggest prize of all is a dinner for two and theatre tickets to London! I've never been to theatre in London so that's very exciting! I am so grateful for all the goodies so big thanks to Kiss, Leighton Denny Expert Nails and Alex Silver PR for organising this event.

What a great event! I really enjoyed it even though I didn't know anybody there. The journey home wasn't as good though as I missed last train at 'reasonable hour' so I had to wait another hour for the next one and got home at half past twelve at night! I had troubles staying awake on the train I tell you :D Still worth it!

I hope you've enjoyed the post and big thanks also to to Alex Silver PR for the photos.

Have a lovely day! Lucie x