the beauty mist.: May 2013

ebay

A slightly different post from me today, but I wanted to talk to you guys about an award that has just been given. The winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise have been announced and this year several companies in the business of fashion have been honoured with the prize which celebrates companies who are ‘outstanding in their field’.

Innovation, international trade and sustainable development are all celebrated and all companies based in the UK are allowed to enter. Outstanding achievement over several years alongside those who have recently gained success and recognition are rewarded in this scheme, meaning many businesses compete for the award.

In the realms of fashion and beauty, three huge and beloved British companies were awarded this accolade from the Queen, much to the glee of those who adore the products. The Cambridge Satchel Company, won an award for International Trade, which recognised the huge global success of the company, as their bags are usually brandished by celebs onscreen as well as off-screen.

Now five years old, The Cambridge Satchel Company was the innovation of Julie Deane, and now sells to over 110 countries and produces more than £5 million in sales.

Tiffany Rose was also honoured with the International Trade Award, which also recognised the recent surge in growth for the company. Producing stylish maternity wear for special occasions, Tiffany Rose has been a solid celebrity favourite in Britain for several years, and with international celebrities now embracing this fashion-forward maternity wear, international success has followed. Did you by chance see the soap awards last night? Lucy-Jo Hudson’s dress is actually a Tiffany Rose dress!

Finally, worldwide favourite Nails Inc were also honoured; meaning beauty as well as fashion has been recognised for its innovation and international success. Founded in 1999 by Thea Green, the company gained success thanks to the nail bars set up across the globe, and the stunning range of nail varnishes on offer to buy for your very own.

p.s. Isn’t it awesome that all the founders mentioned are female as well…? Clear evidence that women are indeed a force to be reckoned with!

Images belong to Cambridge Satchel Co & Nail Inc!

*This post contains partnered content.

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, by Emily / www.thebeautymist.co.uk

android

Money Supermarket's INSPECT A GADGET: Tablet Review

Tablet with Android Operating System - £41.99* (c/o Money Supermarket)

I was kindly contacted by MoneySupermarket.com and asked if I would like to take part in their new initiative called 'Inspect-A-Gadget'. Where basically they want to find out if cheaper travel gadgets can live up to the more expensive gadgets. I was given a choice of 5 gadgets and I ended up choosing a tablet.

I've always fancied an iPad and so I had pretty high expectations for this tablet and I really wanted it to do well! I went for the black colour, out of a choice of six colours. The tablet is lightweight, surprisingly enough it doesn't feel cheap, and comes with the latest Android operating system. Its a similar size to an iPad mini which makes it perfect for travelling with and just slipping into your hand luggage. It came already half charged so that meant I could turn it on straight away which I love as I'm rubbish at being patient and waiting for things to charge. Once turned on, my first thoughts were that the screen wasn't very good quality, if you're expecting image quality to be the same as an iPad then you'll be disappointed. However considering this is a quarter of the price of an iPad, the screen isn't bad at all. Another thing to note is that the charge doesn't last very long, its says an average of 3 hours but I've had to re-charge this a few times already and i haven't been playing on it for that long..

You can basically do everything you can on a normal tablet; download apps, browse the internet, check emails, etc. And it even has a memory card slot, perfect for storing files you want to travel with. Admittedly it can be a little slow at times and judging from the mixed reviews, its not the most reliable gadget. I've had no problems with this so far however. For just under £42 this little gadget is perfect for travelling with and if you've not got the budget for more expensive gadgets then this is a great alternative.

What do you think of cheaper gadgets?