Yes it's bubbling up inside me and
I just have to tell you.....
One week on and we get an order from an 'Old USA Client' to be sent to the following yacht I might feel obliged to take this personally you understand!!!
Monday 27th June - the internet started to buzz - we had mention in the Daily Mail - regarding Make-up you might wear to bed!!!
We have now had two winters where getting our Lip Inks out to clients has hard a few wintery hurdles to overcome! We are situated on a hill leading down to Little Loch Broom - a single track road, as many are in the Highlands. Because our local snow plough and gritter has a 20 miles stretch of moorland to keep clear, often he is working back and forth on that and does not get chance to work on our smaller side roads. In fact when we saw the map of the Highlands and the priority given to roads we found that never mind our little side road, the single track road that we join was not even listed - despite the school, church, post office and shop all being on that road - and more residents are off that road than the rest of the main road put together!!! We had to acquaint the powers that be of their 'error'!
Waiting Sheep by R Ian Nelson
In the winter of 2009/10 when the gritter finally came to tackle our road he realised that it was extremely treacherous and so he backed down, so he could drive on the road he had just gritted. There again we learn that because crofters have complained about salt in the grit 'damaging the croftland' we no longer have salt in our grit! I would like to get hold of these people.....well one hopes that they have 'slipped off the road' when the grit has had no salt in it! Having grown up in a the Lakes with a 1/4 mile drive I have always known that you have to keep your own road open. So we have stationed a shovel at the top of our road in a pile of grit so we can clear our junction where you have to pause in order to ensure there is nothing coming on the single track road either side. Once paused...fatal.....
Winter Snow at Seaview by R Ian Nelson
So I have set off many a morning with my walking poles to slip and slide my way to the Post Office taking my Lip Ink parcels in a haversack on my back - I am sure that that effort was good for me given that most of my day is sedentry. Invariably on my return journey I would endeavour to clear that stretch at the top of the road to make it easier for those brave souls who would attempt the trip in their 4 wheel drive vehicles - never really got them trained to perhaps put in some spade work too - yet!
Despite my personal efforts it transpired that it was not always possible for Royal Mail to get to the Post Office to collect our parcels. I failed to get a suitable photograph taken of me with loaded haversack. I often felt that with all my clothing on - should I fall over I would never get up again!
Denise van Outen strutted her stuff at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival wearing Fire Red Lip Ink!!!
She is doing vignettes of famous Blonde performers and will be holding a microphone to her mouth for a whole hour - she needed to be sure her Lip Colour would stay were it should - on her Lips and that is why she came to Lip Inks! Did anyone catch her performance?
Bethanie Lunn - the Queen of Fabulousness
We have been adopted by Bethanie who would like to be the 'Face of Lip Ink ' - 'Yes Please' say we! Bethanie is about to produce a book 'A Modern Girls Guide to Fabulousness' but she was an 'Expert' at the Glam show at Earl's Court last October. Bethanie is one of those very busy ladies who seems to be able to wear just about any colour, but she loves 'Fire Red' (not in this picture I note!). Because we are both so busy - as yet we have not found time to work out just how Bethanie will be our 'Face' - so watch this space?
The Stars rave about Lip Ink at the recent pre OSCARS party in California - see all the photos and comments
Recently we have been asked to provide brochures and information to Joy Parker-Fleming and her very helpful team from the 'Patient Advisory Service' who give advice and guidance to those considering cosmetic surgery. A place to go to get all the facts before you embark down this route. Of course a lot can be achieved with Lip Inks that might prevent many surgical treaments to improve lip size and contours. Lip Inks Liners in particular are a godsend to those who want to 'cheat a little' about their outline or shape of their lips generally - cheaper and certainly less painful than surgery!!
Similary we have passed on information to those who practise camouflage make up, where you have blemishes or scars that need to be hidden - as Lip Inks adhere so well and are of course organic this helps to disguise them wonderfully.
No great surprise to us is to discover that members of the 'Transengendered Community' love Lip Inks® too - the good colours, long lasting and smudge proof qualities are of great value to them as you might imagine - we have been mentioned in their very own 'Repartee' magazine which comes out every quarter.
The idea of Lip Ink 'Spots' is slowly spreading - where you can go and try out the Lip Inks in Hairdressers/Beauty Salons/Health Clubs etc - then you can order online with confidence - if you think you know somewhere that would be ideal can you ask them to get in touch with us - many thanks!
Jenny Fowler a long time wearer of Lip Inks - long before me even - runs this splendid service of helping Clients choose Cosmetic surgery abroad - she even travels with the groups to give that extra feeling of re-assurance. She has opened new premises in HornChurch and she stocks Lip Ink Testers for those anxious Londoners to try.
August 2008!!!
Thursday the 7th August 08 was a typical morning for about an hour when suddenly we realised that something was causing a deluge.. Kind words had been said in the Femail section of the Daily Mail - well in that one day we had the equivalent of two months orders and by the end of the 2nd week we had more orders than the first six months this year or twice our first years trade! Although we had been told it would happen at sometime we did not know what or when...we had a few words mentioned in other weekend papers but invariably just a couple of lines which had given us an flurry of extra business for a week or two - so this was something that we were not at all prepared for an became somewhat of a logisitcal nightmare as we had to input your web orders into our system so that we knew what to have sent over from the USA.
Obviously we did not handle all of it as well as we might but I am extremely proud of my team who all just got on with it as best they could and never forgot to remain cheerful and smiling -despite becoming more zombie like as the days passed. My own brain is still like a quivering jelly and I even more inclined to doze at the drop of hat!!
Haven discovered that they could only pack between 150/200 parcels a day - we have 300 plus items to choose from.... and more than two people trying to do it and they get in each other way....so some thinking required there.
Somehow we consistentently underestimated the demand for our most popular colour which is Nude and Sampler Kits and this took us almost 3 weeks to catch up on. Equally some orders that were placed right at the beginning went out last...we are not sure how this happened other than we processed goods in batches of similar items - i.e. like the Sampler Kits. If we were unable to complete the batch the remains would be held over until the next stock was delivered from the USA and it might have been that if you were lower in the alphabet you might fall off the end again????
A lot of analyising going on I can tell you. Lastly on the third week our dear old Royal Mail seemed to fall apart - now in the scheme of things our postings are a drop in the ocean but somehow when we really needed our post to arrive next day - which is normally does, it did not, it was taking 3/4 days... excrutiating after all that flat out effort - that is also under scrutiny.