London Events & Country Hotel Escape: Beauty Pie & Winchester (Lainston House)
What a whirlwind week this has been - from driving into central London during a tube strike to staying at the most dreamy country house hotel. I had to share this one with you because it was such a mix of hectic city chaos and absolute countryside bliss.
The day started with Rosie eating my bank card (seriously annoying timing), then battling London traffic to get to Carnaby Street for a Beauty Pie event. They launched their new Youth Bomb Retinol and had this fascinating skin analysis machine that told me I'm a year younger than I actually am - I have to say I’m pretty chuffed with that result, especially as a former secret smoker!
But the real highlight was escaping to Lainston House near Winchester for 24 hours. This place is absolutely magical - a 17th-century country house with the most incredible kitchen garden and cookery school. I was invited to the launch of their Season Cookery School masterclasses, working with head chef Tom Hamblett (MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 winner) and Matty Edgell (Bake Off 2023 winner). We spent the day rotating between Tom's elevated savoury creations and Matty's signature bakes - the two of them make such a brilliant team. The food was just wonderful, and getting to cook with ingredients picked minutes before from their kitchen garden was incredible.
Then I had another lovely day out with Bower Collective at Pythouse Kitchen. I've been working with them for ages, and it was wonderful to finally meet the team in person. The day included welcome drinks, a yoga session that was absolutely blissful, and fragrance-making with their expert Cassie, plus hearing from founders Nick and Marcus. They're all about sustainable home products and zero-waste refill packaging, which I'm completely behind. We even won the fragrance blending challenge with our bergamot, jasmine and mandarin combination!
I'm still buzzing from the whole experience, from the skin analysis results to cooking with ingredients picked minutes before from their garden. The contrast between the hectic London morning and the peaceful Hampshire countryside was exactly what I needed.
Sometimes the best adventures are the unplanned ones. I hope you join me on this one!
Love, Charlie x
Products/Brands Mentioned:
Beauty Pie (Youth Bomb Retinol, Youth Bomb serum, SPF, Japan Fusion Cleanser) - https://www.beautypie.com (Ad/Invite)
Lainston House Hotel (Hampshire country house hotel with cookery school) - https://www.exclusive.co.uk/lainston-house/ (Ad/Invite)
Season Cookery School (at Lainston House) - https://www.exclusive.co.uk/cookery-school/ (Ad/Invite)
Living Proof (Persian Reed spritz) - https://www.livingproof.co.uk
Good Girl by Carolina Herrera (perfume) - https://www.carolinaherrera.com
Dior Lip Maximizer (001) - https://www.dior.com
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Intensive (hand cream) - https://www.elizabetharden.co.uk
Bower Collective – https://bowercollective.com (Ad/Partner)
Discount code: ASKCHARLIE15
Trinny London (Freddie blusher) - https://www.trinnylondon.com
Guinea London – https://www.guinealondon.com (Ad)
Beaufort & Blake – https://www.beaufortandblake.com
Ava Grace (pyjamas from Liberty) - https://www.liberty.co.uk
Lucy at Say I Do Socials (Intro Creator) - https://www.sayidosocials.uk/