Oral B Using Gamification | University Work

The more I think about it the more I have noticed gamification in my everyday life. I recently purchased a new electric toothbrush from Oral-B and its their Genius 9000 Electric Toothbrush and of course I had to get the rose gold version. The way in which this toothbrush relates to digital communications is that Oral-B have managed to use gamification in a way I haven't seen it before. The toothbrush comes with an app and you download the app onto your phone and connect to it via bluetooth. You can then use the camera to detect where you need to brush more. Once all areas of the mouth have been brushed you then get a score of how well you have done, this is the part where gamification comes in. Users are able to personalise the session lengths and areas they want to focus on. I find that I am brushing my teeth for a longer amount of time just because I want to achieve 100% every time I brush, which I suppose is a good thing as it means my teeth will be well looked after but this is where I notice the gamification aspect as I am getting an achievement from just brushing my teeth. The Oral-B app gamifies the brushing habits of the user.

The products provides interaction with the user which track their oral care habits and can improve their overall oral care. Whilst using your phone to track your brushing it comes up with the latest news stories, weather updates and reminders of any dentist appointments you have. Oral-B have successfully created a toothbrush and a healthcare app which helps to develop brushing habits through gamification, whilst also keeping the user entertained and improving the quality of their dental care.

Beauty and Fashion Brands that are using Instagram to their Advantage | University Work

Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms out there and I feel like ever business should make sure that they are present on Instagram. It's a great way to interact with consumers and also a great way to build relations with customers. It is also a great way to track your audience and see what your customers really love. This post links to my previous post of Influencer Marketing as more brands are choosing to work with these influencers in order to market their products. Instagram plays a big part in this being one of the main platforms that these influencers use.  Below is some brands that I think are killing it with their Instagram feed and are really using Instagram to their advantage!

MISSGUIDED

Missguided a brand who really to interact with their customer through the use of social media especially Instagram. Missguided are known for reposting customers pictures when using #babesofmissguided hashtag, this is there way of interacting with customers and building relationships. The Missguided Instagram account also likes and comments on their customers pictures a lot which also helps with interaction. From their Instagram they also have a direct link to the products they post this helps their customers quickly find things that they have seen posted on their Instagram. 

Screen shot of Missguided Instagram.

#babesofmissguided screen shot from Instagram.

BENEFIT COSMETICS

Benefit Cosmetics are a getting it spot on when it comes to their Instagram. Benefit Cosmetics have a few different Instagram pages for different countries but I'm focusing on their UK account. The lovely girls at Benefit HQ will go onto Instagram stories or live video and show their followers what they are doing and show them what its like to work at Benefit HQ. This is a way that Benefit are interacting with their customers. Benefit also feature a number of influencers on their Instagram which relates to my previous post of Influencer Marketing. Benefit Cosmetics also like to repost their customers pictures and in the beauty blogger world its a pretty big deal if you've been reposted on Benefits account. Benefit Cosmetics also interact with their customers through Instagram by commenting and liking photos. Benefit are very active on their Instagram account posting serval times throughout the day and also posting on Instagram stories, I can't remember a the last time I went a day without seeing posts from Benefit Cosmetics on my timeline. 

Screenshot of benefitcosmeticsuk on Instagram.

Screenshot of Benefit Cosmetics reposting Instagram Influencer ItsLittleLauren.

ASOS

With over 6 million followers its obvious that ASOS are doing something right when it comes to Instagram. ASOS use Instagram differently to a lot of other brands they have their main account in which they show offers, new collections and lifestyle content. 

Screenshot of ASOS on Instagram.

They also have a 'Seen on Me' page which is dedicated to to sharing pictures of other instagrammers wearing their clothes. User just have to tag ASOS and use the #AsSeenOnMe hashtag and ASOS will share the photo will a code of the item. This is clearly a marketing and selling strategy as it allows their customers to see their clothes on real people and gives them an opportunity to buy what others are wearing. 

Screenshot of ASOS asseenonme Instagram page.

The final way ASOS use Instagram is through partnering with influencers to create sponsored posts, which relates back to my blog post on influencer marketing. ASOS have worked out who is influential in their industry and work along side them to promote their brand. 

Beauty Brands using Augmented Reality | University Work

Beauty brands are merging the real world and the digital world which is becoming a popular trend among a number of big beauty brands. If your looking for a new lipstick then theres no need to trek to your local Debenhams because the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick app has you sorted. You are able to take a picture of yourself and you can try on all their different lipstick shades.

 Photo: UrbaDecayCosmetics on Instagram

By Urban Decay using augmented reality it helps them understand what their consumers like and dislike in the terms of colours. It is also a great marketing tool for Urban Decay as it helps them to promote the range of lipsticks whilst also engaging with consumers in a new and different way. The app also allows you to post pictures of yourself wearing the lipstick and allows your friends to vote as to which one is their favourite. This is another way in which Urban Decay can reach more consumers by their customers sharing these pictures and sharing their opinions on the products.

How Social Media is Changing the Fashion Industry | University Work

As the popularity of social media has increased over the past years it is certainly changing the fashion industry and the way in which the fashion industry works. Whether it's Brooklyn Beckham being picked to shoot Burberry's fashion campaign with Burberry openly admitting its not because he is a great photographer its more the fact he has over six million followers on Instagram or models being picked to walk on runway shows due to their social media following. The change in the fashion industry is due to fashion houses realising the influence that social media sites and the blogosphere has on their customers is a far better influence than some traditional marketing techniques.

Brooklyn Beckham/Burberry

Social media's impact on the fashion industry has recently started to affect the way in which brands choose their models for campaigns and run way shows. The demand for 'Insta famous' models is on the rise. By using these social media famous models it gives fashion brands more exposure on different platforms and they could end up reaching more consumers and different target markets. Although Kendall Jenner shot to fame from the programme Keeping Up With The Kardashians she has been named the ultimate "Instagirl" with 85 million of followers it's clear why brands like Victoria's Secret were so excited to have Kendall Jenner walk in their show a few years ago.

Social media is a great for fashion companies to get consumers talking about their products and its also great for for these fashion companies to engage with their potential customers and consumers.

Influencer Markerting | University Work

Over the years the way in which brands are marketing themselves to consumers has changed they are no longer using the same old marketing and advertising campaigns. From research you can see that consumers now want a product or service recommended to them by a family member, friend or even an influencer. More marketers are beginning to notice that they can use social media to target their customers indirectly and one of the main ways they do this is by using influential marketing.

I feel like most of you already know and have heard of influencer marketing, but in case you haven't here is a little summary.

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that brands use to target a group of consumers indirectly. Brands do this by paying/hiring influencers to promote and make content for the brand. This is usually through Bloggers, Youtubers and influential Instagrammers etc.

A brand that are currently working with an influencer are The Body Shop and they are working with Emily Canham who is an influential Youtuber she does also have a blog and Instagram with a wide following which allows her to influence on different platforms. She has over 700,000 subscribers on Youtube and nearly 600,000 on Instagram. She shares videos of her daily life and her thoughts and opinions on products. The Body Shop are currently working with Emily Canham on their Stand Up Stand Out campaign and Emily has posted a video on her Instagram promoting the new products. Emily will be expected to spread the word through her personal social channels. With all the followers she has you can see why a brand like The Body Shop would want to associate their products with her - this will lead them to obtain customers who seek a similar lifestyle and interests.

emilycanham on Instagram

To help you understand what the hype is all about heres some reasons why influencer marketing is one of the best ways to market and why ever brand should consider it:

Consumers now more than ever like to make their own decisions. One of the main successes of influencer marketing is the fact it helps people feel confident in their own choices. Consumers are depending on these self proclaimed gurus to recommend the best products and services the market has to offer.

The social aspect - people have moved further away from the usual traditional marketing channels and have adopted social media. Social media allows the consumers to search for the kind of influencers and products they are looking for. It allows consumers to get realistic reviews whilst learning more about the products through the influencers. Which results in better purchasing decisions.


A lot of people now see influencers as the new age celebrities, due to their new found online fame and many businesses this is the route they are now deciding to go down. In the beauty and fashion industry research has shown that 60% of brands now have a influencer marketing strategy in place (Media Kix, 2016). Brands are using the most influential people with high social status' to promote their brands and it's working.

Gamification in the Beauty and Fashion Industry | University Work

Gamification is a current trend that has a major impact on digital marketing landscapes. In this post I want to share with you all how gamification is having an impact on the fashion industry. The example I am going to use is ASOS A-List. So ASOS A-List is a loyalty scheme run by ASOS, when customer spend a certain amount of money on an order they are rewarded with A-List points these points then add up to vouchers which can be used on the site. The more points that customers add up the more rewards days they get for example, for being on level one of the ASOS A-List you need between 400-1000 points and you get 2x double points days, 15% off your birthday and competitions from brands. As you progress and have more points the rewards are better and you also start to earn vouchers for 500 points you get so it works out for every £100 you spend you get £5 back in points.

Screenshot from asos.com

In my opinion ASOS have used gamification to enhance their reward/loyalty scheme. The more you shop the more points you earn which is a great aspect for ASOS as they are obviously earning more money. I feel as if customers will be tempted to do more of their shopping with ASOS as they know they will get a little something back whether its just points towards money off or an actual voucher. I know that personally I do a lot of my online shopping through ASOS and I have received a large number of points and you do get a lot of vouchers back from shopping with them which is something that always makes me go back to ASOS to do online clothes shopping. 

I feel like the ASOS A-List brings a competitive feel to online shopping. You feel rewarded when you move up to another level. It is also another way for ASOS to engage with their customers as there are special competitions for customers who take part in ASOS A-List. ASOS also engage more with customers who use A-List as there is emails that only go out to ASOS A-List customers and ASOS also send out magazines to these customers which often have little samples of products in them. 

Overall I feel like ASOS are doing the whole gamification trend very well. I feel like it makes customers want to shop with ASOS knowing they could be rewarded with vouchers. It have enabled ASOS to engage with their customers on another level. ASOS A-List is probably not the best thing for my bank account but that doesn't stop be from always going back to ASOS to do my online shopping and now more than ever I constantly find myself checking how many A-List points I have. 

Top 5 Nudes | Drugstore Lipsticks

If you've been following my blog/Instagram for a while you will know about my love for nude lipsticks. I've never really been that adventurous with lip colours so always reach for a nude shade. I've managed to narrow them down for this post to share my top 5 favourite which are all from the drugstore!

Starting off with the Bourjois Shine Edition in the shade 26. Now that I've tried to find the link to it I've discovered that this range of lipsticks seems to have been discontinued which is so annoying as it's one of my favourite lipsticks!

The Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker lipsticks are some of my favourite, they have such a lovely formula and they smell amazing. I have two lipsticks from the nude collection. I have the shades Barley Pinking (right) and Love & O-Biege which are both Shine formulas. The lipsticks feel really nice on the lips and are moisturising. I always reach for these whether is when I'm just going to uni or when I want a nude for a night out.

The nude I've been reaching for the most lately is the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Colour in the shade 63 Seduction. Although this states to be matte it isn't completely matte but I do really like the formula of this product and I love the shade as well. This formula is long lasting and goes with so many makeup looks.

Going back to Soap and Glory another one of my favourite nudes is the Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in the shade Nudist. I love a glossy nude and this is always my go too, I love how it makes my lips feel and the way it looks. I am always reaching for this lipstick.

Hope you all enjoyed this post today! Just a little life update my summer so very hectic so I failed at being a blogger but I am trying to keep up with blogging whilst being at university. If you see a few posts which aren't like my normal ones that because I am doing a project which includes blogging so there might be a few different styles of posts coming up in the next few weeks.

Lee Stafford | Beach Ready Hair

When it comes to summer I love having that beach look to my hair, whether I have it curly or straight I like having lots of volume. When I first got this package I was surprised to see that the shampoo was in a tube rather than a bottle and that the condition was a water like consistency which then foams. I have never come across a shampoo and conditioner like these so I was really interested to try these out.

Sea Salt Crystal Shampoo - £9.99
This was one of the products I was most excited to try, I have never come across a shampoo like it before. The shampoo has sea salt crystals in it which help to exfoliate the scalp whilst also adding body and texture to the hair. After using this shampoo my hair felt so much thicker. One thing I find with this shampoo is you have to spend a little longer washing it out to make sure that you get the crystals out of your hair but overall it's a great product and it's cool to try something completely different to what I've ever tried before.

Sea Salt Foam Conditioner - £7.99
I was also really excited to try the foam conditioner as I have never tried one before, at first I was a bit sceptical about the product seeming those it is in a liquid form to start off with but as soon as you pump it out it turns into a foam. I often feel like conditioner weights my hair down so I only ever use a little bit of it but it's not the case with this product as its a foam so it is light weight which is great. Using the Sea Salt shampoo and conditioner together leaves my hair with lots of volume.

Sea Salt Spray - £7.99 
I love using a sea salt spray to finish off my look, it can be used on either wet or dry hair or even both depending on how much volume you want. I usually use it on dry hair once either straightening or curling my hair to add in some more texture and volume. I love this spray as it helps to add loads of volume to my hair!

On the pictures above I have used all three products as well as curling my hair. I finished off the look by using the sea salt spray to add in some more texture! Lee Stafford products currently have 1/3 off at Boots at the moment so if you want to try anything out now is a great time!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I'll see you in my next one! Thank you to NBPR for sending me these lovely products to try out I am loving them!

Monthly Beauty Favourites | March 2017

Urban Decay Naked Smokey Palette 
I've had the Naked Smokey Palette from Urban Decay since it first came out but I have rediscovered how much I love it this month after not using it for ages. I've been using this nearly everyday and creating a really natural smokey eye. I have been using the lighter matte shades and the shimmers to create a smokey eye suitable for everyday wear.
Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Primer
Another rediscovery for me is the One Heck of a Blot Primer from Soap and Glory, I used to use this primer all the time but it was replaced by one from Mac I had been using but as that ran out I went back to using this and I remembered how much I loved it! It's great for smoothing out the skin and making your makeup last all day long. I love using it along side with the One Heck of a Blot powder.
NYX HD Photogenic Concealer
I have also rediscovered the this NYX concealer after picking it up in Boots a few weeks ago, I love this concealer for covering any imperfections or using under my eyes. It is high coverage and blends really nicely as well. It's just an all round good concealer and the best thing is the price as it's only £6!
Maybelline Super Stay 7 Days Gel Nail Polish - Rose Raptur 
Stating that a nail polish will last 7 days is a very big statement to live up to, but I can tell you that this nail polish does last about 7 days. On day 6 of wearing this I noticed a lot more chips but I'll give them that as I don't think any nail polishes have ever lasted that long on my nails! I love this rose pink colour and it's perfect for the spring.
Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Filler 
I've never really used a brow gel which has fibers in it before but I have been missing out. This brow gel is amazing and makes my brows look so full and thick. I use it with my Dip Brow Pomade from Anastasia Beverly Hills and it's the perfect combination!

I hope you all had a wonder March! Let me know what products you have been loving this month. I will see you in my next post.

Getting That Glow | Favourite Highlighters

I love having glowy skin so I thought I'd share with you how I get that glow, here's just a handful of some of my favourite highlighters at the moment.

Mac's Mineralise Skin Finish in the shade Soft and Gentle will always make it's way into my favourite highlighter one way or another. It adds such a lovely glow to the face and is very natural, I love using this when I don't want to be too "highlighted" (is that even a thing?!?) when I'm going for a more natural look I will definitely reach for my Mineralise Skin Finish. Another Mac product that I love for glowy skin is their Strobe Cream although I only have a sample size of this I have been loving using it under my makeup and I will be buying the full size once I've finished this little one up. It gives a lovely glow under your foundation or can be used mixed in with your foundation to make your foundation more illuminating.

I feel like I've gone on about the Sweet Peach Glow Palette from Too Faced so much lately but I just love it so much! The highlighter in this palette is amazing for giving you that peachy glow and I've been using it so much, I'm going to be so sad when I hit pan! Another highlighter palette I love is the Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection, the highlighters in this palette are stunning. They are so pigmented and if you want to go all out with that glow then these are the best for it! One thing I will say is that the blushes in this palette are so pigmented so you need to use a really light hand.

Lastly, I have always loved the Watts Up Cream Highlighter from Benefit. I don'y tend to use many cream products but I love this highlighter it adds a really nice champagne glow to the skin and it really suits my skin tone.

Hope you have enjoyed todays post and I'll see you in my next one! Let me know what your favourite highlighters are!

Beauty Wishlist | Spring 2017

I always feel like my beauty wish list is never ending so I thought I'd share some of the things I've been wanting lately. As spring is just upon us there has been so many new launches from brands for they spring/summer ranges and I can say that I really want to get my hands on the new Too Faced collection. I've seen on twitter that it should be available in the UK around April time from Debenhams but for now I'll just have to wait to get my hands on it!

Too Faced Natural Love Eye Shadow Collection

As soon as I saw a sneak peak picture of this palette on Instagram I knew that I'd want it. There are 30 shades in the palette with a mixture of mattes, shimmers and glitters. I love Too Faced eye shadows so as soon as I saw this palette I knew I just have to get my hands on it (not like I need anymore eye shadow palettes).

Too Faced Love Light Highlighter 

Another part of the new Too Faced Collection is the Love Light Highlighters and these looks beautiful! I love highlighters they are one of my favourite makeup products and these ones of Too Faced look fab! The packaging is so cute as well.

Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow

After seeing these all over Instagram these have made their way onto my beauty wish list, I'm not usually one to go for a liquid eye shadow but these look amazing! They are so glittery and they are just what I've been after!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit Nicole Guerriero

I feel like most things on my wish list come with me seeing them on Instagram? I don't have a glow kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills in my collection and I've always wanted one and I think this would be the perfect one for me, I love the colours of the shades in this palette!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette

I was chatting about make up with one of my flatmates a few weeks ago and she showed me this palette which she had just got and its beautiful! After having a little swatch of it I knew it would be going straight onto my list. The colours are so pigmented and blend like a dream. I think I need this palette NOW!!!!

Hope you have all enjoyed todays post! Let me know whats on your beauty wish list this spring.

Spring Make Up | Peach Loving

When it comes to my go to spring make up look I always find my self reaching for peach and pink tones. So I thought I'd share some of my favourite peach and pink tones that I love for a peachy glowy look in the spring time.

I can't do a post going on about peach makeup without mentioning the Sweet Peach collection from Too Faced can I? Everyone probably already knows how much I love this palette by now and I think both the eye shadow and the cheek palette are perfect for spring. I love the whole peach eye look and glowy skin at the moment and it's perfect for spring!

I also really love using pink lipsticks in the spring time and two of my favourites are Angle and Cremecup from Mac. I love Mac lipsticks but I haven't brought any new ones in ages, so do you guys have any recommendations on ones I need? As well as pink lipsticks I also love peachy glosses and this one from Chanel is beautiful; its in the shade 179.

Hope you all enjoyed todays post and I'll see you in my next one!

Holy Grail | My Perfect Base

I feel like I have tried so many different foundations since I first started wearing foundation (starting with that weird Maybelline Mousse foundation that everyone seemed to use at school, but lets move on from that) I feel like I'm always trying out different foundations so in this post I have included the base products in which I always go back to so these are my holy grail base products!

Starting with primer, one of my holy grails which I actually forgot to photograph is the Benefit Porefessional Primer  I always end up going back to the Benefit primer, it is great for smoothing over the skin and of course filling in those pores! As well as the Porefessional I have also been loving the Mac Prep+Prime Skin Base Visage this is more of a new holy grail for me but I have been going back to this over my Benefit primer so it must be good? I love the primer from Mac as it evens out the redness in my skin and also adds a glow to my skin as it has flecks of shimmer in the primer, it is also great for helping my foundation stay on and making my foundation apply smoothly.

Finding the perfect foundation has always been something I've found hard to find, but I feel like I've found two foundations now which I will always want to have in my collection. The Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation, this foundation is very lightweight but offers a medium coverage but you can build it up to a fuller coverage which I really like. I like the way this foundation feels on my skin and the coverage it gives. Another foundation which I love is the Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich Foundation      I sometimes get really dry skin and a lot of the time foundations tend to cling to the dry patches but the Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich Foundation does not do that which is great! This foundation is a medium coverage but can be built up to create a fuller coverage. It leaves a dewy finish which I have been liking over a matte finish at the moment. I find the foundation has a long wear out of it.

I have 2 concealers which I always go back to and they are the Mac Prolong Wear and Collection Lasting Perfection. I love the Mac Prolong Wear concealer as it is so full coverage and a little goes a long way with this concealer it is great for covering blemishes and dark circles although I find it creases under my eyes but I am yet to find a concealer which does do that! For a drugstore concealer the collection lasting perfection concealer has great coverage and I usually use it to coverage any blemishes and I also use it to go round my eyebrows to make them more defined.

To set everything in place my favourite powder of all time has got to be the Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot powder. I have loved this powder for years and I can't even remember how many of these I have repurchased. It helps to set everything in place whilst also making the skin matte. I still use this when I want a dewy finish buy using a light hand and adding it in places where I am likely to get to much shine.

Woooah that turned out to be a really long post! You guys should let me know in the comments what your holy grail base products are as I'm always on the look out for new products to try! Hope you enjoyed this post and I am enjoying getting into blogging again! See you soon.

February Beauty Favourites

Thought February I have found some new beauty favourites but have also rediscovered some old favourites of mine! Starting with my new favourites I just have to mention the Too Faced Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette again! I am in love with this palette, I love the packaging, the smell and of course the shadows. They have such a good pigmentation and blend like a dream, I love all the colours and there are so many different looks which you can create with this palette. To go along with the Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette I have been loving the Sweet Peach Glow Palette, I've been loving highlighters sooooo much lately I just can't get enough of them. I love having a peachy glow to my skin and the Sweet Peach Glow does exactly that for me! Moving onto another highlighter palette I have been loving the Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Face Palette  before I got this palette I had never tried anything from Becca, but this palette has lived up to the hype! 

Moving onto another new favourite of mine which is the Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich Foundation, I have been finding that my skin has been really dry lately and this foundation has been perfect. It doesn't cling to dry patches and gives a lovely dewey finish to the skin whilst still adding a medium coverage. Now onto more of a rediscovery is the Bourjois Healthly Mix Concealer, in which they have recently re formulated this concealer and changed the packaging of it and I much prefer the packaging this way than it being in a squeeze type of tube. 

Moving onto another new favourite of mine which is the NYX Lingerie Lipstick, my favourite shades are 04&08 which are the top 2 shades featured in the picture above. These are really long wearing and aren't to drying on the lips. They also have an amazing range of shades and I really want to try more!

Hope you have enjoyed todays post and I'll see you in my next!

Too Faced | Sweet Peach

I'm so excited to finally have my hands on the Sweet Peach eyeshadow and Glow palette from Too Faced! I was so excited when I saw that this was launching again and I managed to pick it up from Sephora when I was in Paris over the new year.

Just as I expected these both smell amazing and have amazing colour pay off as well. I've always been a fan of Too Faced products after using their Chocolate bar palette so I knew I'd love this just as much. All the colours have an amazing pigment to them and blend so nicely together. I love the peachy glow from the Sweet Peach Glow palette its not to intense of a highlight but you get a lovely glow from it. I'm so glad I managed to pick these up whilst being in Paris and can't wait for the collection to launch in the UK so I can get some more peach goodies!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and New Year! Hopefully I'll be posting a lot more in 2017.