On the 25th of June, Glitterbels finally launched their latest collection. The Glitterbels Hema Free Builder-bel Gel has arrived in style, with 60 amazing colours to suit each and every skin tone and a perfected formula to add strength and long-lasting protection to natural nails, we knew we wanted to create a special day for our customers to swatch and see this fabulous new product.
The Glitterbels team worked for months to create the perfect party, complete with a life-size, spinning unicorn, a Builder-bel Gel movie with popcorn and treats to eat whilst you watch, so many gorgeous photo opportunities because we all know if it’s not on Instagram… it didn’t happen. We also hosted our first-ever Glitterbels “Nail Boss” awards, a competition with different categories for our customers to compete in and show off their skills. The event was held at the Mercure Hotel in Manchester.
The morning started very early for most of our staff, some even arriving the day before to help prepare the venue. Excitement and a little bit of nervousness hung in the air, so many hours of work had gone into this event, and everyone wanted the day to be a success.
Annabel started her day at around 6am, getting her glam on. Her hair and makeup were done by the fabulous ladies, Meg, and Lily Gray from @ladygraysalon. With the queen herself ready to go, we took the short elevator ride to the venue and were instantly transported to a room of flowers, pink clouds, and heavenly products.
Walking through custom-designed walls, filled with information and graphics for the new product release. A balloon arch with 6ft Builder-bel Gel bottles sat at the entrance to the venue. Our famous Unicorn, Dave, was standing on a flower-covered plinth, rotating as you entered the room, he had his mane done for the event, featuring some beautiful pink bottles.
The venue was lit with grand chandeliers, each one twinkling magically.
Pink seats sat in rows, ready for our customers to watch the product being demonstrated. Our very own sweet cart was stacked to the brim with all types of sugar-filled goodies. Hundreds of pink swag bags sat behind the shopping area, ready for collection. A custom-made, heart-shaped desk created by @bespokesalonfurniture, sat centre in the huge room, lined with lamps and gorgeous shades from our Builder-bel Gel range, ready to be swatched.
Our Head of Education, Charli Jepson, gave a talk on stage about what would be happening throughout the event and our lovely friend, Marian Newman gave an in-depth talk about all things Hema and Hema Free.
Across from the heart-shaped desk, sat a platform stage where Annabel and some of our brilliant ambassadors would be creating beautiful nails for our celebrity guests. Annabel (@nails_by_annabel_m) used shade “Crème Cup” on Chloe Patton (@chloepatton_), from MTV’s Teen Mom.
Aimee Link (@allnailss._) created a gorgeous set of nails using the shade “Peek-a-boo” for Lateysha Grace (@lateysha_grace), from MTV’s The Valley.
Katy Rose (@nailsbykatyrose) created a dreamy set of nails using shade “My Pearl” for Chloe Ferry (@chloegshore1) from MTV’s Geordie Shore.
Another Geordie Shore legend had her nails done too. The one and only Sophie Kasaei (@sophiekasaei_) rocked shade “Soya” and her nails were created by our education ambassador Monica Ip (@mipxnails).
Our last celebrity guest was the lovely Safiyya Vorajee (@miss_safiyya_), founder of the Azaylia Foundation (@theazayliafoundation) and Sunday Times Best Seller. She had a lovely set of nails by Jess Swinburn (@beautybyjesssxx) and chose shade “My Pearl” for her look.
During session 2 of the day, we held the awards ceremony for the first-ever Glitterbels Nail Competition, in which there were different categories occurring on the balcony during the launch party. Here are our winners, as well as our runners up, congratulations to every person who took part:
Build Your Perfect Structure
1st - Aila Jepson
2nd - Ieva Mckell
Build, Create, Celebrate
1st - Hang Huynh
2nd - Shannon Martin
3rd - Wyoni Etnel
Acrylic Innovation
1st - Jodie Day
2nd - Lauren Adkins
3rd - Morgan Smith
Gel Polish Perfection
1st - Janel Grant
2nd - Maisy Jeffrey
3rd - Kerry Saile
Gel Polish Delight
1st - Stacie Pepper
2nd - Charli Violet
Box Art: Release Your Inner Glitterbella
1st - Kerry Saile
2nd - Margareta Gal
3rd - Wyoni Etnel
The day was a huge success. The entire Glitterbels team had a fabulous time and a lovely day meeting all our wonderful customers. It was wonderful to see so many months of hard work paying off and it was even better seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces. We want to take this time to say a huge thank you to everyone that came to the event and those who supported us online.
Our Builder-bel Gels officially launched on our website on Monday 10th July, so make sure to sign up to be the first to know when they are live! We have so many fun things lined up and ready to share on our socials in the run-up to the 10th of July, including a live video every day.
Be sure to post any of your photos from the event and tag us, we love to see what everyone got up to. If you missed any of the swatches or want to see the full Hema Free Builder-bel Gel range, please watch our YouTube Movie:
