Last week we celebrated our 1st Birthday by kicking off the celebratory month with a fab party! We partied in style at the ’24′ club on Kingly Street in London. GLOSSY lychee cocktails were served and canapés were eaten. The mini burgers were to die for!

It was so nice to be able to catch up with all the brands, press, bloggers and family and friends who came to support us. We have uploaded lots of photo from the evening to our Facebook page so be sure to check them out here. We also had a photo booth – I think the GLOSSY team got a bit carried away. Check the photo booth photos here.

Yesterday’s winner from our Facebook competition is Chey Dakota. Congratulations on winning 3 Lolita Lempicka gift sets!  

Kate Cornell is CEO of GLOSSYBOX UK, 
she lives in South London.

I was brought up in sunny Madrid until the age of 17; I absolutely loved the outdoor lifestyle, playing tennis and swimming everyday with my three siblings. When I moved to the UK I went to study French and Italian literature at Oxford University and studying languages meant I had the opportunity to live in Paris and Milan during my third year. I speak four languages, so I really enjoy travelling and experiencing different cultures. After leaving Uni I joined a private equity team at Goldman Sachs where I stayed for 18 months. I then left Goldman Sachs to work as a volunteer at an orphanage in Peru for 4 months before moving to Zurich to work in the private banking division of Credit Suisse.

I’ve always wanted to work at a start-up company as I understand how business works and I find bulding up a small team really exciting. Everything is much more personal at a smaller company and I knew GLOSSYBOX was the perfect company to join. I loved the idea of GLOSSYBOX the minute I heard about it and knew there was huge potential. The concept is so well suited to all different types of women, especially women who have less time to shop but still want to be on trend and looking good. I love how it introduces people to brands and products that would not reach them otherwise.

My role at GLOSSYBOX is CEO. I manage a team of 24, working in all the different departments. I coordinate PR and Marketing strategies online and offline helping to spread the word of GLOSSYBOX. I manage the brand team, helping them to select products to go in the box as well as coming up with ideas for our limited editions boxes. Accounting and logistics are vital parts of the company and I’m heavily involved with that too.

I love the people I work with; the atmosphere in the office is enthusiastic and exciting. We work hard on a box, send it out, wait on the reaction (our favourite part) and then start all over again for the next month.

On a typical day I wake up at 6.30am and cleanse my face with La Roche-Posay, spritz some toner on and layer on the Clarins Day Cream spf 15. I’m allergic to dairy so breakfast is soya porridge, a small bag of almonds and a soya coffee. I’m in the office by 8.15am and the first thing I do is open my emails, I usually have around 50 to go through. At 9am I meet with the Marketing team to discuss the day ahead and to catch up with individual tasks. I then meet with the brand team to discuss any new leads or deals in the pipeline. This meeting will lead onto a more private meeting with the Senior Brand Manager to discuss a future deal or pitch to a new brand.

Lunch is on the go; an M&S pasta salad, a bag of cashew nuts and a dark chocolate bar will usually do. In the afternoon I often attend external meetings for either Marketing or Brands and grab another soya coffee and Ryvita on the way back. Once I’m back at the office I’ll catch up with the operations team to discuss the packing and shipping of future boxes. I then update our head office in Berlin with our numbers; how many subscribers we have etc. I’ll approve newsletters going out to subscribers whilst looking over our Twitter and Facebook page for what our fans and followers are saying that day. Dinner is usually at the office; Margarita pizza and a Diet Coke. Whilst eating I’ll check over my emails to make sure everything important has been looked at. I walk home through Hyde Park to unwind and clear my head and as soon as I’m through the door I’ll make myself a Chamomile tea. Tea is in bed with a good book, at the moment it’s Conrad’s Lord Jim. I’m asleep by 10.30pm and looking forward to the next day ahead.

As a one-off special, we collaborated with Vo5 to make a Vo5 GLOSSYBOX especially for the guests at the FHM 100 Sexiest Party. We couldn’t miss the opportunity to attend and who better to send down than our two glossy guys, Toby and Peter!

From the photos they’ve shown us, it seems that their aim was to get a photo with as many women as possible (do we blame them?!). Spot anyone you recognise? They even got a photo with FHM’s Sexiest Woman in the world, Tulisa!

There’s not much more to stay on the topic, we just had to show you these photos!

So, do you think Tulisa deserved the title?

Last Thursday, just before the arrival of the April GLOSSYBOX, we took the afternoon off to learn about the history of perfume and to make our own!

The Perfume Studio run workshops all over the country for any occasion; corporate events, hen nights, birthdays and in our case, team day out! Robin and Warren started the workshop by talking us through the history of perfume making.. they even shared the secrets of making Chanel No.5! We sipped on champagne whilst they talked us through how the workshop would go. We then started by smelling their 18 unique fragrances, deciding which top notes, middle notes and base notes we liked or disliked. Everyone was given their own blotters to decide for themselves and in the end we were all left with our favourite scents. We were then shown how to hold them in a special fan position to test which scents work best together. Once we’d make our decision, we filled out our forms, named our fragrance and chose our bottle colour. Some of our fragrance names included, ‘Under the Apple Tree’, ‘Helen No.1′, ‘H.I.M’ and ‘Tri’. The bottle came in a gorgeous box with a feather that had been sprayed with our personal fragrance. It was a really enjoyable afternoon and everyone was really happy with their perfumes!

Have you ever been perfume making? Is it something you’d like to do?

“I am delighted to introduce my brand new Vinosource range: a promise of extrasensory efficacy from the plant world, brought to you thanks to the extraordinary richness of the vine and its fruit. Vinosource is also an expression of my determination to further my commitment to Cosm-ethics and to reducing our ecological footprint”. -Mathilde Thomas

The Caudalie Vinosource range was launched in March this year so it’s still brand new to the market! The foundation and key ingredient in the range is organic Grape water which is a miceller water naturally infused with active ingredients. The range is a natural solution for all skin types as not only dry skin gets dehydrated.

The SOS Thirst Quenching Serum is set to be one of Caudalie’s most cult and sought after products. The serum is 97% natural and is hydrating and soothing to even the most hydrated skin types. It can be used all year round after cleansing and before applying makeup. The consistency is very thin and light so will not feel heavy or greasy on the skin. The full size is £29 for a 30ml glass bottle and is available online here.

What did you think of your Caudalie Vinosource serum? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

And because we LOVE Caudalie so much, we are doing a giveaway today on our Twitter page where 2 people can win a Caudalie gift set. Visit our Twitter page here for more details.