On May 14th-15th, I attended the Kiehl’s Refresh & Reset Retreat at the Salish Lodge and Spa in Snoqualmie, WA. This event was a 2 day all inclusive brand trip focused on wellness and understanding skin care journey.
I was ecstatic to be invited to the event and to connect
with the Kiehl’s marketing team. I personally have been using for Kiehl’s for
the last few years. Their cucumber cleanser and lip balms are my favorite.
I had such an incredible time that I wanted to share a recap
of the Kiehl’s Refresh & Reset Retreat, my moment of imposter syndrome, and
a few highlights that surprised me during the event.
Day 1 of the Kiehl’s Refresh & Reset Retreat:
“Cleanse” Happy Hour: Hello new friends!
After work on Tuesday, I drove out to the Salish Lodge to check in around 4pm. We kicked off the retreat with a happy hour at Falls Terrace. We got to meet all 30 bloggers/influencers from around the nation. I had no idea that other women were flying in from New York, LA, Chicago, and San Francisco to attend this event.
Local bloggers like Tina from @justatinabit , Whitney from @whit_wanders, and I had so much fun meeting the other ladies.
Welcome Dinner
After happy hour, we made our way inside Falls Terrace for a welcome dinner. We had a 3 course meal and it was delicious! We also met Melanie Green – the Vice President of Integrated Communications at Kiehl’s at dinner. She gave an introduction speech about Kiehl’s history and highlighted a few products.
Day 2 of the Kiehl’s Refresh & Reset Retreat:
“Correct” Yoga at the Hidden
Terrace
At 7 am, 10 of us opted to start
the day with yoga at the Hidden Terrace. I had no idea that we would be doing
yoga in a room overlooking the waterfall – so that was such a nice surprise! I
personally haven’t done yoga in a while, so it felt great to go through a
vinyasa flow.
Nature Walk/Hike
After yoga and breakfast in our rooms, we all made our way
to the lobby at 10am for the nature walk. We were gifted new backpacks, Quay
sunglasses, and cool crystal water bottles for the hike! We started our nature
walk at the viewing point of the Snoqualmie Falls.
We made our way down the 0.7 mile trail that took us pretty
close to the waterfall. It was really easy to walk down the hill but a little
challenge to hike back up. We didn’t realize how steep the hills were walking
down them!
We got some great group photos with the waterfall. And it was fun to get to know the girls walking down and back up the trail.
“Replenish” Calendulunch at the Falls Terrace
After breaking a sweat with the nature walk, we got back to
the Lodge to get ready for lunch. Before lunch was served, we learned about
Kiehl’s new product launch: Calendula serum-infused water cream.
Calendula is a flower and have been used for centuries for herbal and skincare products. Calendula petals have been found to soothe skin, provide antioxidant protection, and reduce discomfort. You can learn more about calendula on Kiehl’s website: calendula extract.
Kiehl’s also shared a link for the Kiehl’s Sample giveaway! If you want a try the new calendula product, you can enter here.
“Hydrate” at the Spa
In the afternoon, we moved to the hydration period of the retreat. We were treated to Kiehl’s face masks, massages, and the hot tubs. I informed the Kiehl’s team applying the face mask that my skin tended to be normal to dry. So they adjusted which masks they put on me. My face felt so nice afterwards!
Meet Brianna from @briannafoxmakeup and Lexington from @looksbylexington.
“Eyes” at the Girls Night In at the Atrium
Kiehl’s threw the ultimate girls slumber party in the
atrium. We literally had grilled cheese bites with tomato soup, burger sliders,
French fries, salads, and plenty of dessert and candy. We had so much fun
watching Miss Congeniality, lounging in the bean bag chairs, and taking photos
in the photo booth.
One thing I really appreciated about the Kiehl’s team is that they took a moment before the movie to talk about their healthy skin journey as well as open up the floor for other girls to talk. A lot of the girls chimed in the say that this is one of the most diverse brand events that they attended. We had bloggers/influencers across fashion, fitness, beauty/make up, skincare and lifestyle. We had women of color, women who blogged full time, and women who worked full time/blogged on the side like me.
Now that I’ve shared my recap of the Kiehl’s Refresh &
Reset Retreat, I wanted to share my moment of imposter syndrome.
The Kiehl’s Refresh & Reset Retreat Recap is the 2nd press trip I’ve been on. (My first press trip was with Oregon Wine Country & Travel Oregon last fall.) When I realized that there were women with audience sizes of 100K-800K in the room, I had a “what the hell am I doing here?!’ moment. I realized that I had the smallest audience size there and questioned why the Kiehl’s team would even invite me out.
But during the Girls Night event, the Kiehl’s team made it a
point to say that they went through and hand selected which girls they wanted to
invite to the event. They affirmed that we all belonged there and all had
unique voices – and this made me feel a lot better.
With the Kiehl’s team and a few other ladies I met at the event, I realized that I did belong there. I realized I was experiencing imposter syndrome and I had to actively remind myself that I can put aside these feelings of doubt.
Thank you to the Kiehl’s team for hosting such an amazing 2 day event!
Thank you for all the amazing products you sent home with us, the delicious food, and for taking care of us during our time with you!
Love,
Emma
Photos: Solie
Designs
This looks like such a fun event!
briana
https://beyoutifulbrunette.com/