Think pink

We've been treated to an unbelievably glorious week here at VKHQ, and the sun has shone proudly every day. If one thing is going to get us excited for summer, it's the arrival of blue skies and sunshine, and the first thing we think of as soon as we have gotten over the initial sunshine-induced excitement? Our nails.

We like summer nails here, because really anything goes. Winter nails are very much focused around darker colours - deep reds and pruples - and at Chrismtas time reds and golds take over, but in summer, you are free to take your pick of whichever colour you fancy! Neons, metallics, blues, greens, yellows... there really isn't a colour that you can't wear in summer.

A firm favourite here; is pink. Truthfully, various shades of pink can be worn at any time of the year, but there is something about pink in summer. Shades of pink can be feminine, cute, sexy and are always fun. We have a fairly large range of pink nail colours in our current collection, however we have four to show you today that we can't wait to use this summer!

117 - Shiny Baby Pink

A cute, girly polish that is subtle enough to wear during the day whilst being pretty enough to take you right through until night.
Perfect For: A day shopping and lunching in the sunshine with your girls.

118 - Rose Pink

Similar to Shiny Baby Pink with a slight edge. A hot pink to bring out the confident summer goddess in you!
Perfect For: Warm evening drinks.

130 - Neon Pink

No summer is complete without a seriously bright pink. From UK festival to Ibiza boat party, there's no way your nails will go unnoticed with this polish.

Perfect For: That summer festival you're counting down the days until!

135 - Pink Glitter

Glitter is the ultimate accessory all year round. Wear Pink Glitter this summer on its own or over already painted nails to instantly spice up your look.

Perfect For: Sparkling on the beach or by the pool on your summer holiday.

Whatever you're doing this summer, make sure you do it with fabulous nails, and - most importantly - have fun!

Don't forget to keep us up-to-date on your summer plans and summer nails, we always love hearing from you. Just get in touch on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts and hashtag #vivienkondor.

Until next time,
The Vivien Kondor Team

Vivien Kondor and Miss Universe GB

A few weeks ago we announced our partnership with Miss Universe GB for the 2015 competition here. We will be the platinum sponsor - the headline sponsor for the main event and during the build-up.

This means that we will be lucky enough to support the girls on every step of their journey towards the Miss Universe final. We will, of course, be on hand to provide them with any cosmetic products they may require and will make sure there is never a naked nail in sight. We have already gifted each girl with one of our gorgeous gift sets of six polishes, to introduce ourselves and allow them to get to grips with our products - and have had wonderful responses from them all.

Some of the MUGB girls after receiving their welcome gift from us. Taken from our Instagram page.

As much as the Miss Universe pageants are about celebrating beauty, they run so much deeper than that. Did you read this post about self acceptance, and how incredibly important it is to be happy in your own skin? This is what the Miss Universe pageant is all about, self acceptance, confidence, ambition and the act of using these qualities to help others.

Miss Universe GB run a campaign entitled 'Not in Vain', which has become a huge part of the competition. The campaign has been developed with the goal aims of empowering women and making a difference. The website (which you can find here) states the following about the Not in Vain campaign:

"Empowering women: As an organisation run by women, for women, we are keen to encourage young women to grow in confidence, build their self-esteem and reach for their goals. By being involved in the Miss Universe Great Britain process, our contestants will meet other like-minded women who are intent on growing as individuals. The Miss Universe Great Britain event brings us together and provides us a great platform to celebrate womankind.

Making a difference: The Miss Universe GB brand provides a unique experience for young women from all walks of life to come together to fund-raise as a unified group for good causes. The platform, coupled with the vision, enthusiasm and determination of our contestants provides an incredible opportunity for individuals to raise money in a way, which may nor always be possible independently. Since being involved with the Miss Universe organisation, the Miss Universe GB competition has raised thousands of pounds for charity."

The adopted charity is Strongbones Children's Charitable Trust, an incredible charity who support the families of children suffering from conditions of the bone including brittle bone disease, bone cancer and arthritis. To check out their amazing work or find out ways to help yourself, visit the website here.

Every year at the Miss Universe Great Britain final, the finalist who is believed to have promoted and embraced the Not in Vain campaign most successfully is presented with an award.

Strongbones and Miss Universe GB handing over £6,000 to children's services at Queen's Hospital thanks to the contestant's fundraising. Source: Strongbones.

In a time where the confidence of young women and the ability to embrace self-acceptance is more challenging than ever, it is competitions like this that not only help to remind us of the amazing things that can happen when you accept yourself for who you are, but of the things we take for granted along that self acceptance journey, and the ways in which we can help others, no matter how big or small.

To find out more about Strongbones, Miss Universe Great Britain or the Not in Vain compaign, visit the websites linked below:

Strongbones | Miss Universe GB | Not in Vain

To get involved in the conversation, tell us about your experiences or cheer on the girls, visit our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages and use the hashtag #nailedit. We would absolutely love to hear your stores of how you have #nailedit for charity.

Until next time,

The Vivien Kondor London Team.

Cosmoprof 2015 in Bologna, Italy

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to attend Cosmoprof in Bologna, Italy as exhibitors in the British Pavilion.

As a brand, we try to attend as many exhibitions as possible in order to spread the word about our products and get our name heard. Attempting to reach out to just the nail polish consumers in the UK is difficult enough, but when you have to begin to think about larger companies from both here and abroad stocking your products and shipping them to stores around the globe, the task becomes considerably more daunting.

Thankfully, exhibitions like Cosmoprof are there to give you a helping hand. Instead of having to go out and visit companies that you could potentially work with one by one, exhibitions such as this put everybody in one place. It's a very exciting thing to be a part of, and each day brings something new and different to the table.



We have been to a fair few exhibitions in the UK, as both visitors and exhibitors, and we have a pretty clear understanding of what they involve. There is no UK exhibition however, that could possibly have prepared us for the size of Cosmoprof... it is huge, and we mean HUGE.

Have you been to the NEC in Birmingham? If so, imagine that, twice. It really is that big. There were beauty exhibitors from all over the world showing off a huge array of products, from spray tans to waxing and eye brow tinting to perfume, anything you can think of to do with beauty, chances are you can find it at Cosmoprof.

Cosmoprof is not exclusive to Italy, and exhibitions of the same name are held in Las Vegas and Hong Kong yearly. It really is a world-wide event and in a much bigger and more exciting league to any exhibition the brand has been able to experience before.

We were so honoured to have been able to exhibit at such an event, and more exhibitions and events like this are just around the corner as the brand continues to grow; Las Vegas and Hong Kong watch out for Vivien Kondor!

P.s. We also managed to do a little bit of sightseeing while we were in Italy, and it didn't disappoint!

Until next time,

The Vivien Kondor London Team.

Delving deeper into the cosmetics industry: why make-up means so much more than what is on the surface

According to CTPA (the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association), in 2013 the EU cosmetics market was worth EUR (€) 72 billion.

Also according to CTPA: “cosmetic products are enjoyed by millions of people all over the world contributing to healthy lifestyles, well-being and confidence in appearance – feeling confident about one’s appearance rates as the most important factor for building self-esteem. This is a consistent finding from several years of research, conducted by CTPA since 2004, and comes above having a large group of friends, being financially successful and even having a supportive family.”

Research such as the above proves the importance of cosmetics in 21^st century life, and it is very interesting to read exactly how much of an impact our personal appearance has on our self-esteem. Cosmetics have become a huge part of everyday life and people who were once labelling it and unnecessary and shrugging off the idea of it generating huge profits and jobs for the country, are now beginning to sit up and take notice. It has escalated to mean considerably more than the simple act of enhancing or changing your external appearance. Cosmetics runs much deeper than what is on the surface.

Self-confidence is a huge issue in today’s culture. Despite stereotypes, it is not limited to women and it is certainly not limited to the young. Magazines, music videos, TV shows, movies and all forms of media are constantly bombarding us with images that represent generic beauty, beauty that fits whatever the most current trend is at that time. It seems that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to go anywhere without being faced with the media's idea and portrayal of beauty. It has been said a million times before, and there are thousands of articles and blog posts floating around the internet about this issue, but it will not be enough until people begin to realise and understand that they are free to be whoever they want to be, whether or not that version of themselves matches up to the media’s definition of beauty, is irrelevant.

This issue, no matter how it is interpreted by each individual, has helped to catapult the cosmetics industry into the billion-pound industry it is today. The media’s interpretation of beauty and their way of forcing that interpretation on us, has caused us as a nation to be more self-conscious than ever before, more aware of our appearance than ever before and more likely to flock to Boots on a Saturday afternoon to pick up the latest cosmetic collections than ever before.

Building up your individual style is one of the most effective ways to express yourself. Experimenting with your appearance in whichever way, particularly at a younger age (come on guys, we all did it!) helps to shape us into the person we are becoming. Experimentation and expression are key factors when developing your own self-identity.

To feel confident in your appearance is a huge step towards all-round self-confidence, and without meaning to sound horribly cheesy, if we are confident with ourselves there is very little we cannot achieve (we know, we know, super cringe – but hear us out!) Being self-confident eliminates our thoughts and cares (to a certain extent) of what other people think of us. If you are happy with yourself and those closest to you love and accept you for who you are, then what does it matter what anybody else thinks? What a wonderful way to think, ey? Self-confidence is the first major step towards self-acceptance, and self-acceptance makes for a considerably easier life.

All that from just applying a bit of lipstick in the morning to brighten up our face… who’d have thought it!?

What are your thoughts on self confidence? Do you find it extremely difficult, or have you found peace with yourself?

We'd love to know what you think.

Until next time,

The Vivien Kondor London Team.