What a close competition this was! The scores were quite close to each other, which shows an incredibly high calibre of writing from all the Adelaide Beauty Bloggers.
Huge congrats to:
You will all receive your incredible Make Up Boxes this Saturday at our #ABBM Oct meet.
Also a huge congrats to Kate who has also won the EcoTan competition. You will also receive your prize this Saturday!
And with that, that wraps up our competitions for the year. Hope everybody’s had fun!
What better way to herald the arrival of spring than with a celebration of beauty, skincare and haircare at the annual Adelaide Beauty Conference (ABC)? The 1st of September saw 25 beauty bloggers gather at Media Makeup Academy, Rundle Mall, Adelaide for the most highly anticipated beauty event of the year in the Adelaide beauty blogging calendar.
Founded by Celeste Wong of Becoming-Beautiful.com, the conference aims to bring beauty bloggers across Adelaide under the same roof to learn, network and celebrate all that is Australian. The chosen theme of the year was Australian Born and Bred: Celebrating the local industry, where the main focus of ABC was on beauty brands that were Australian-owned. This included not only beauty, skincare, and haircare brands; the venue, photography and catering sponsors were also sourced from local companies.
Amidst cakepops, photography flashes and beautiful giftboxes from Sukin, the conference was kicked off with a short welcome by Celeste. It was then followed by a tour of the premises by Bec, the owner of Media Makeup Academy, who has a deep passion for education and makeup. After a quick stop at the refuelling station (where Zedz Café and Cupcake Treats made a very delicious appearance), Evo Hair wowed the audience by showing their rather unusual take on haircare products. With a mind-blowing visual presentation, Evo Hair shared its proud South Australian spirit and showed how their unconventional approach to marketing had taken the world by storm.
Following that, it was back to science class with the attendees as The Purist Company took the bloggers on a whirlwind trip back to high school. Luckily for everybody present, they left the tests out! With ingredients on-hand to allow for experimentation, bloggers learnt about the science behind the products that The Purist Company produced and indulged themselves in the geeky nature of beauty products. The hands-on nature of the presentation left many bloggers enchanted and there was many a cry for an encore session.
After a short break, bloggers were then ushered into the next session. Mindful of the fact that attendees would have spent the last few hours paying close attention and focusing upon the workshops, a few short games had been arranged for some light-hearted entertainment. Following a particular fierce battle of Pictionary (Australia beauty brands edition), the winners were awarded with an amazing prize pack from Nak for their extensive knowledge of Australian beauty brands. A lucky dip that combined finesse, skill and packing peanuts had the attendees alternating between cheers of support and sighs of empathetic disappointment as they tried their luck at prizes from Absolutely Gorgeous.
The conference wrapped up with a heated discussion about the monetization of blogs. Guest speakers Christina (HungryAustralian.com), Melissa (MelissaLoh.com) and Celeste (Becoming-Beautiful.com) shared their opinions, experiences and stories on monetization on their respective blogs. Questions such as the journalistic integrity of the blogger that monetizes, finding the balance between fun and business blogging, and finding your own path were discussed by the panel. It was a topic that was of great interest to those attending and it was enlightening to hear the opinions of established bloggers.
The day could not have ended up on a more joyous note: with goodies from various Australian brands, the attendees were delighted with their selection of amazing goodies generously sponsored by fabulous Australian brands eager to show their support to the Adelaide beauty bloggers.
A fantastic day was had by all – thank you to all sponsors, helpers, volunteers and attendees who were involved. Planning for Adelaide Beauty Conference 2013 has already commenced, so please do get in touch if you’d like to be kept updated with our plans.
For more photos, please visit our photo gallery. All photos credit to Monique @ Adelaide Beauty Conference
Femme Fatale Cosmetics is an independent cosmetics company based in Brisbane, owned and operated by Sophie Broadbent. We specialise in hand-blended mineral based cosmetics at internationally competitive pricing.
We opened in mid/late 2011 and regularly expand to include a larger variety of products in our range. Currently we have a vast selection of eye shadows (including duochrome and colour-shifting shades that we are most noted for), illuminators, blushes and nail polishes. Although we are a small home based business, every month our reputation grows both nationally and internationally as being an affordable cosmetics line with unique quality products and fantastic customer service. We pride ourselves on producing the best products we can, products which take months to formulate – there is no guide book for what we do!
We are one of a handful of indie cosmetic companies in Australia, which makes us even more so a unique cosmetics brand. We don’t repack micas, we don’t resell private label products and we don’t have our products manufactured elsewhere then stick our label on it. Everything we sell is made by us and is the result of months of hard work and passion! We offer many vegan-friendly products and we also do not use Talc, Bismuth Oxychloride, cheap glitters, or ingredients containing parabens.
One of our biggest challenges (and successes) has been that we have internationally competitive pricing. Our product pricing is relatively on par with US indie cosmetic company pricing. This is fabulous news for Australians because it means we are extremely affordable – and this matters a lot in this day and age where budgeting is a necessity for most Australians. Our colours are just as pigmented – if not more complex – then high end label shades; the only difference being you can save up a 5th of the cost by purchasing from Femme Fatale in addition to supporting a local business. We also offer samples on most of our products, allowing customers to test a shade before committing to a full size.
We’d like to thank Adelaide Beauty Conference in inviting us to be part of the sponsorship for the 2012 conference, and we’re thrilled to be able to contribute a selection of our products to the attendees. We hope you all enjoy the products you receive as well as having a fantastic time on the day. Please feel free to contact us with any queries you may have about our company or products – we are always more than happy to assist where we can.
One last word from our sponsors: This one is a very special message about a campaign that is running throughout September.
Now, I’m personally not one for tanning, but for those who do, I would really recommend doing it the safe way. I’ve lost one friend to skin cancer that was directly linked to tanning, and I certainly hope never to have that experience repeated. So Fake it so you make it this summer, with EcoTan.
Australians are finding it tough to gain the glowing tan they desire – exposure to natural sunlight can lead to skin cancer, sun beds also give out damaging UV rays that lead to skin cancer and recently there have been concerns raised about the health risks associated with toxins present in spray tans.
There is, however, a healthy way you can still “fake it so you make it”, with Australia’s first organically certified fake tan (no toxins), Eco Tan.
Eco Tan recently made Australian history by becoming the first and only tanning company to be certified organic by the Organic Food Chain under the Australian Government strict standards.
Founder of Australian Company Eco Tan, Sonya Driver, was driven by her own personal experience with cancer to introduce a safer tanning alternative to the market. Sonya’s experience has also inspired her to do what she can to help Australians with cancer both now and in the future.
“My sister was diagnosed with Melanoma, so it is embedded in our values to ensure people can have access to a safe and natural tan, and it is important for us to make a positive impact on Cancer.
“We are therefore proud to announce that throughout the month of September, our Fake it so you make it campaign will not only be promoting Eco Tan as a healthy tan alternative, but we will be raising money for cancer care services and research in conjunction with RBWH foundation.
Throughout September, Eco Tan will donate $2 from every bottle sold nationally of Eco Tan’s certified organic spray tan Rich Honey Solution. – so what are you waiting for?
Remember those gorgeous acrylic makeup boxes from The Makeup Box Shop displayed on the day at #ABC2012?
*Makeup in image not included.
Made from the sturdiest acrylic, these amazing makeup storage organizers will not only keep your precious makeup safe, they’re also the perfect storage to displays your collection!
Want to know how you can get your lovely hands on them?
And with that, the curtain closes on another amazing Adelaide Beauty Conference. #ABC2012 was a success that would not have been possible without the support of every single person involved. Our sponsors, our hosts, our attendees, even the partners of the committee who gave their time, effort, muscles and skills without ever dreaming of any other compensation other than a kiss and a cuddle from their loved ones.
The competition details for our very last competition of the year will be up soon, and an official wrap up will be online as well. There’s a lot of things coming soon that will wrap up this year’s #ABC2012 with gusto so don’t think it’s all over!
Plus, there’s the planning for next year’s #ABC… who knows what our crazy minds will come up with?
In 2001 when young, inspirational businesswomen Melanie Gleeson and Belinda Fraser were looking for a name for their first day spa, they wanted something that was unique, beauty-oriented and quintessentially Australian. Someone suggested the indigenous Australian word for ‘beautiful’; and so began the ‘endota’ story.
Melanie and Belinda started endota after indentifying a gap in the Australian beauty market. They could see that women wanted to go to the one place for waxing, manis, pedis, spray tanning, facials, massage and body treatments. They wanted a sublime, contemporary, relaxed spa environment. But they also wanted to feel confident that they would walk out with results.
endota spa would fill that gap, and along the way become the largest spa network in Australia. There are now 70 endota spa locations; at least one in every state and territory.
endota uses all natural and certified organic all-Australian ingredients. This helps to protect Australian waterways, Australian land and Australian skins from chemicals and pesticides. 1% of all organic skin care sales are donated to Bush Heritage Australia to help preserve unique Australian land, wildlife and waterways.
endota’s strong environmental philosophy is a direct reflection of Melanie and Belinda’s personal beliefs. The endota founders went to the same high school – a school whose motto was ‘respect for self, respect for others and respect for the environment’.
Driven by this philosophy, Melanie and Belinda were determined that their business would open up opportunities for endota women to determine their own financial destinies. Their first goal was to lift the confidence of therapists; ensuring that they could take pride in their work and experience a fulfilling career. endota now lead the spa industry for training and education; with a comprehensive, in-house training program, and a strong partnership with Elly Lukas Beauty School.
Their next goal was to establish a franchise model that would make it easy for women to own their own businesses, and benefit from the support of a female-oriented network. Today, 77% of endota’s 77 franchisees are women. 72% work in partnerships, allowing them the flexibility to structure their work lives around their family responsibilities.
endota, Melanie and Belinda are strong champions of the local Australian beauty industry. At a time when many local businesses are suffering from the effects of global competition, and an inability to compete with big, global brands, endota is going from strength to strength. Revenue in endota spas climbed 11% over the past year. New endota spas continue to open bi-monthly, and endota therapists are regularly recognised and awarded for their achievements.
In Australia, endota is now THE spa brand to be reckoned with. Melanie and Belinda have absolutely no doubt that this success is a direct result of the faith, time and education they invest in Australian Beauty Industry people. And hundreds of thousands of ahhh-inspired endota clients Australia-wide clearly agree.
Our Success
As an Australian Prestige Cosmetics Company, Mirenésse we create the most innovative beauty products featuring the latest in high quality natural and organic ingredients, delivery systems and all pharmaceutically formulated. Now Australia’s Number 1 online beauty brand with Multi-Award Winning makeup and skincare, at Mirenésse we are at the forefront setting the standard for excellence in beauty.
Epitomizing the Australian success story, Mirenésse was created with an entrepreneurial passion for excellence in 1999 and today the company serves over 50,000 new customers each year, and is currently growing at a phenomenal rate!
Our Founders
Irene Patsalides (B Pharm) is the Creative Director of Worldwide Product Development with over 30 years experience in pharmacy and cosmetics “Our Philosophy is really quite simple — if a product isn’t good enough for us, it’s not good enough for our customers!” products must perform to our expectations and we are dedicated to providing these at an affordable price. Irene is constantly sought after as one of the pioneers of beauty and was recently interviewed as an expert in The Future of Beauty issue by Harpers Bazaar Beauty Editor, Eugenie Kelly.
Andrew Naumoski (B.A.) is the Director of Sales and Marketing with over 20 years experience including having won the Young Australian Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Always keeping the customers experience as a top priority has ensured a steady growth by word of mouth through customer satisfaction.
Our Beauty
High Quality, skin safety, allergy friendly, and cruelty free are standard at Mirenésse PETA approved, all Mirenésse products are free from known harsh ingredients and never tested on animals. There is no wonder why millions of our loyal Customers, Celebrities and Makeup Artists keep coming back and spreading the word.
Mirenésse Make-up features multi-functional skin treatment benefits encased in high quality and innovative packaging. Skincare uniquely fuses transdermal delivery technology with organic ingredients to keep every woman looking young and beautiful.
Mirenésse Invented the Secret Weapon Mascara that has fast become a global cult favourite! Winner of 9 awards as Best Mascara. An outstanding product with unique microwrap lash lengthening technology, rich pigment formula (devoid of the usual mascara irritants) and simply washes off with warm water.
Urban Rituelle is an innovative brand of Australian-made bath, body & beauty products based in Sydney, Australia. Co-founders Leanne Haining & Scott Kelly initially met in southern Turkey while exploring the fragrant filled bazaars of the East. Their travelling experiences throughout the Middle East, India & South East Asia restored an appreciation for life’s simpler pleasures. Upon their return to Sydney, this experience was translated into a desire to create a range of beautiful bath & body products that enhance & celebrate everyday rituals.
The very first release was the Creamy Vegetable Soap collection – which remains popular to this day! The collection has since expanded and now includes iconic Lip Balms, nourishing Hand Creams, soothing Body Balms, delightful Perfumes, skin softening Scrubs, fragrant Soy Wax Candles, cleansing Bath & Shower Gels, Men’s grooming products and an organic skincare line specifically developed for Mumma & Bubba.
Urban Rituelle believes that modern indulgence is all about celebrating life’s simple pleasures & enhancing your daily rituals. The Urban Rituelle team is passionate about creating products we truly love & believe in. As a result, we are continually striving to source the highest quality ingredients available, offering genuinely beautiful products with distinctive design.
As a 100% Australian owned and made brand, we were excited to learn that the theme for this year’s ABC event was ‘Australian brands’. In an industry as large & crowded as ours, supporting local Australian brands is critical to their future & ongoing success. Globally, Australian brands are known and applauded for their unparalleled quality and efficacy. It is only through continued support from the media that these wonderful brands will continue to get the recognition they deserve. Just like the Australian Beauty blogging community, it is an industry brimming with passionate, authentic and inspirational players – one we’re certainly proud to be a part of.
Urban Rituelle is thrilled to be a sponsor of the upcoming Adelaide Beauty Conference. To us, working with and supporting a group that are as passionate about beautiful Australian-made products as we are is the perfect partnership! We wish everyone a wonderful time during the conference and look forward to hearing all about it. For further information on the brand and product range, please visit us at Urbanrituelle.com.au
