SEPHORA HOLIDAY MEDIA PREVIEW 2023

It’s that time of year again! As the days grow longer and colder, we begin preparing for Sephora’s Holiday Media Preview, an event we look forward to producing for Middle Child PR every year. This year, the event was an elevated, chic dinner party at the King West restaurant Vela. We absolutely love receiving the ideas and thought starters for this event - they are always super fresh, on trend, and joyful. This year the Sephora Holiday Collection featured branded iconography of puffy gift boxes, puffy ornaments, puffy wreaths, puffy stars, and puffy makeup bottles, and it was our job to weave this concept through the event from the textures guests touch, to the food and drink they eat, in a warm and unexpectedly playful way.

a glowing and elevated holiday media party

Sephora’s Holiday Media Preview took place at Vela, a beautifully designed King Street West restaurant set in a historic Toronto building, Vela’s gorgeous sculptural ceilings, wandering light installations, brick walls, and wooden beams, create a room that is grand, modern, and ambient. We removed the in-house tables and chairs, replacing them with long banquet tables so guests could eat together.

spoiling your guests with a little something extra

We transformed Vela’s side lounge into a Lash and Pout Bar, offering guests professional lash and lip touch ups by beauty advisors using Sephora cosmetics. Jealous!? So were we. To bring attention to the installations, we erected two custom-built blue tufted arches with mirrored gold lettering at the entries, and topped them off with oversized gold bows for extra holiday sparkle.

that luxurious yet comfortable holiday feeling

Our holiday-inspired colour palette was saturated with classic colours like red, teal, navy, and gold, and if that wasn’t enough to give you the feels, we chose textures like velvet and quilted fabrics to give guests an extra soft, cozy, nostalgic feeling. The tables were vinyled in a printed version of the velvet tufted pattern seen in the holiday campaign, and on top of this pattern, we placed luxurious green velvet chargers, matte gold flatware with black handles, and gold rimmed glassware in teal. Striped and bubble taper candles lined the table in gold holders, and the oversized floral centrepieces featured puffy and oversized flowers like hydrangeas in the event’s colour scheme. A beautifully wrapped gift greeted each guest at their place setting, along with our custom designed menu featuring Vela’s culinary delights.

a playful and inviting HOLIDAY PHOTO MOMENT

We used as much velvet as possible to create a warm and bold selfie moment. Life sized versions of Sephora’s holiday iconography were set against a burgundy backdrop, and replicas of the branded gift boxes were placed on the blue channel tufted sofa as decoration and to be used as props. Sephora’s logo was vinyled to the floor and oversized florals crawled up either side of the sofa, creating a beautiful and memorable photo moment. As the night went on the photos evolved from sophisticated individual portraits to loved-up group shots, and we loved seeing people melt into the couch hugging and laughing!

The glittering GOLD Product Display

The product display was featured prominently, with tufted blue backing. “Give Something Beautiful” in mirrored gold lettering and a large gold bow adorned the top. Guests were spoiled throughout the evening with many gifting moments, introducing them to new products and making them feel cared for.

A PUFFED UP HOLIDAY MENU EXPERIENCE

We worked with Vela to offer a custom drinks and desserts menu to compliment the event’s theme. A custom marshmallow bar with pastel-coloured marshmallows of different flavours, fluffy choux pastry and meringue pavlova, and delectable cocktails like frothy egg white cocktails and Moët served over clouds of cotton candy. The treats were both indulgent and elevated, leaving guests happy and satiated.

That LOVEd-UP nostalgic holiday feeling

The holidays are all about expressing our feelings of love and care for others, a feeling that the Sephora brand embodies. By designing a tactile event that stimulated all of the senses, served comforting food and drink, spoiled guests with professional beauty services, and encouraged holiday love with shareable photo moments, we sent guests home from the Media Preview with the Holiday Collection at the forefront of their mind and a feeling of luxurious warmth in their hearts. What more can we ask for!

LOVE THIS EVENT?

If you wish you were at this event yourself and want to host a dazzling party for your team, reach out! We are always looking to connect with new people and would love to hear from you.