Last month, in February, I attended an event during fashion week at the Bene Rialto marketplace, in the Garment district. It is an innovative retail showroom and platform to NYC’s emerging designers. It was a beautiful and upscale venue that is designed to connect and encourages a shopping environment amongst people, experiences and ideas.
The Bene Collective had a selective number of merchants to meet, showcase and sell their products or collections to influencers, retailers and ambassadors in a warm environment.
My first stop was Key West Aloe, a line of beauty products instilled with Aloe Vera as their foundation and intended to refresh, replenish and restore. I sampled their salt scrub then followed up with a lotion which made my skin amazingly soft and smooth.
Next I stopped by Jamberry, a DIY set of stylish and fashionable nail wraps of art. To apply, you clean your nails and take the proper size to your nail then, warm it with a Jamberry nail heater or a blow dryer is fine as well for 3-5 seconds until it’s soft. You then, place it on your nail and apply pressure around the edges with the rubber cuticle. Trim the top off with scissors and file off the remaining of the wrap in a downward motion. Apply heat again to the nail and apply pressure to make sure the wrap is bonded to the nail. They have a wide variety of designs from solids to festive themes.
Next was Lululosophy, artisan chocolates handcrafted in NYC and the story behind this was that “life is about good food, good friends and chasing your dreams.” This became her philosophy and delightfully share it through her make of chocolates. Each chocolate has a distinctive flavor and taste of their own and are inspired by Lulu’s love for travel. I sampled a few of the chocolate and each one came from a different country, taking an element from each culture. I experienced elements from Bali, Hong Kong and Tokyo. I thought it was brilliant and very original.
Next was Destiny Candle, a candle and Shea butter body oil. What is unique about this product was it’s functionality. The candle that is used to light is the very same substance that can be melted down and used as a body oil for your skin. It has a pleasurable aroma to scent up your space when used as a candle. Pretty neat, right?
I decided to get my eyebrows threaded with Wink Brow Bar but at first I was skeptical. Due to prior bad experiences with threading, I was never a fan of it. Instead I always stuck to waxing and I also find it more efficient when it comes to the grooming process of the eyebrows. It is just my opinion anyways. As I was getting my eyebrows threaded, it was to my amazement that I felt little to no pain. The threadists were really skilled. I highly recommend Wink Brow Bar if you ever want to get your eyebrows done. I was impressed and happy with the results.
I am not much of a makeup person but I decided to get it done either way. I mean, why not? I had another event to go to anyways. This brand was called Advance Minerals Makeup and they use natural and mineral based ingredients in their line of products. MUA Natalia hooked me up with some smokey eyes and foundation. I received some compliments about my makeup. If you are interested in see more of her work, you can follow her on Instagram @nycnataliamua.
My last and finally stop was with Ammon Carver, dry blows and styling. They were showcasing their new product called COLOR WOW. A product compact like a handheld device and simply colors your roots, from grays, blacks, browns to blondes. Instead of the use of traditional pasty mascara-like color touch ups, this product is messy-free, no clumping of product and reflective which means no matter what shade of your hair color is, the product picks it up and reflects it. For example, the blonde case that was used in my hair was also used in another blonde woman’s hair who was shades lighter than mines. Our roots didn’t look unmatched with our own hair color and that was the beauty of it.
I took a few more pictures before my departure and below was my goodie bag that I received, courtesy of all the brands and Bene Rialto itself for hosting a great event. Can’t wait for the next one! Thank you for reading! xoxo, C