Oh my word, how was this a month ago? I will get back into the swing of things again, I promise. Ugh. Anyway, on 28th June I was invited to an afternoon with Cohorted along with a few other bloggers, for tea, biscuits and a good natter. What on earth is Cohorted, I hear you ask? Well, pay attention, as you have been missing out on a gold mine - much like I had been, before I went along to meet the guys behind it all.

Put simply, Cohorted is a social shopping website, where you put in a request (or several) for a product to become a "cohort". If enough requests are made for a product, then it is launched onto the website at a discounted price. That is not all, however. The more people that join a cohort, then the lower the price drops - it's all very exciting stuff! You're probably thinking "Oh, it's probably a load of boring old crap that no one wants" - if you are, how do products by MAC, Real Techniques, Smashbox, Urban Decay (Hello Naked 3 Palette!) and Benefit sound? Pretty good, am I right? Considering that products from MAC, for example, are almost never discounted or even on sale, this is very special indeed. Not only that, but the discounts are pretty substantial too; we're not talking about a measly 10% off here. On some cohorts, there can be up to a whopping 55% off RRP and that's certainly not something to be sniffed at! Combine this with free and reliable P+P, and you can see why this social shopping website is onto an absolute winner.

So, why were me and a group of other Yorkshire bloggers meeting with Cohorted that day? Well, I can't tell you exactly what we were discussing, but some very exciting things are happening within the brand and I for one can't wait! The afternoon was quite informal, with a presentation and a couple of games, with plenty of topics up for discussion. Let's put it this way, we ended up staying for about four hours - the guys behind Cohorted did very well to keep our attention going for that long, let me tell you! They asked for our thoughts and opinions about everything; from how we shopped online to what we would improve about their website, as well as getting our feedback about details of the upcoming new website. It was a very fun, interesting and engaging afternoon; I learnt a lot about the brand and how they are planning to expand in the future. Cohorted have done amazingly well to create and maintain the website that they have got at the moment, and if the changes that we all discussed are due to be implemented then they will be going from strength to strength - something that I love to see in a brand that is close to home.

What really sold Cohorted to me, instead of being yet another place to buy beauty products from, is how much the people behind it genuinely care about you as a customer. When talking to them face to face, I obviously got that impression, but they are committed to maintaining a friendly and approachable social media presence, which I find really refreshing. Pretty much every online shop I have ever come across always makes me feel like I'm talking to a computer when I have a query or a problem - with Cohorted, I have seen with my own eyes how they really bend over backwards to listen to you. It gives a brand that has a solely online presence a human face, and therefore make me feel reassured when I shop with them. Their social shopping style is unusual, and not one that many people will have come across before, so to have that reassurance that it is reliable and that there is always someone there to answer your questions will give new customers the peace of mind that they need.

At the end of the afternoon - we we had demolished the tea, cakes and biscuits that they had so kindly laid out for us - we were presented with one of the most generous and exciting goody bags that I've ever received! These are just some of the products that have featured on Cohorted in the past, and as you can see there is quite an impressive selection.

So, what are you waiting for? If you haven't already, then get yourself signed up for Cohorted and start taking advantage of some amazing discounts on some exciting products. Cohorts that are set to be making an appearance on the website soon include the BaByliss Pro Perfect Curl, Sigma Foundation 5 Brush Kit and Urban Decay's All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - all of which are going straight onto my wishlist!