Branded cosmetic items are nothing new, a quality promotional product supplier like Gift Selection can offer a great range of branded beauty and grooming gifts. Recent research has shown that we would have appreciated some promotional make up, far longer ago then we first imagined.

Scientists in Murcia Southern Spain, claim to have found the first persuasive evidence that cave men, wore body paint and make up approximately 50,000 years ago. Their team reported their findings to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), showing that shells containing pigment residues were used as Neanderthal make-up containers.

The team said their findings end “the view of Neanderthals as half-wits” and shows they were capable of symbolic thinking. I’d like to mention that I’ve seen plenty of women in the Preston area wearing plenty of make up, which I wouldn’t say guaranteed any sort of thinking, symbolic or otherwise.

Professor Joao Zilhao from the Bristol University in the UK, told the BBC that; “this is the first secure evidence for their use of cosmetics… the use of these complex recipes is new. It’s more than body painting.”

A simple but effective promotional product relating to the cosmetic industry, would be a printed lip balm. My favourite style of printed Lip Balm, are the little round pots which can be branded in vibrant full colour. Printed lip balm pots can not only be printed in full colour, but are available in really vibrant and attractive colour ways too.

Whether you want branded lip balm sticks, branded lip balm balls, branded lip balm lanyards or branded lip balm boxes - Gift Selection in conjunction with Promostore can be of service.

For 2010 Giftselection and Pens2order are launching a new range of low cost promotional pens – the Scripto series.

Scripto being the Latin word for ‘I write’, this budget pen brand is actually rooted in early 20th Century American ingenuity and design. Scripto went into business in 1923 and was known as the M. A. Ferst Company. It was a major supplier of graphite leads. The following year the company name was changed to Scripto. The company hasn’t looked back, and is popular in the U.S promotions market.

In the New Year they will offer a collection of “noteworthy” promotional items, in a range of smart designs and expressive colour ways. There is the eye catching Scripto feather ballpoint, right through to the cost effective Stockholm and Marcos models, set to rival popular models such as the Senator Superhit or the Alaska Frost.

 So if you are looking for a low cost promotional pen, the sort of thing to give out at trade stands, or to send out in the mail, why not make some enquiries about the new Script range of branded pens.

I’m sure you’ve all seen branded mints before, such as branded mint cards or printed clic clacks. However if you’re looking for some branded mints that are more recognisable, then we can now offer Tic Tacs with bespoke packaging!

They were first produced in 1969 and have been a popular product throughout their history. They are usually sold in small transparent plastic boxes with a flip-action living hinge lid. Originally, Tic Tacs were dyed the specific colours, such as green, red or orange. Now, in many countries, the transparent plastic boxes are coloured for the specific flavours and the actual Tic Tacs inside are white.

Branded mints are a breath of fresh air (sorry), but on a serious note, they do create a novel and effective way of promoting practically any organisation. If you require any sort of branded mint, then contact the friendly promotional confectionery experts over at sweets2order who will be happy to help.

A nice lady from Bic pens has just left our office, letting us know about a handful of tempting offers. Bic promotional pens offer exceptional value for money, and are popular all over the world. If you don’t want to spend a fortune on a promotional pen, then Bic are well worth considering.

The main point that separates Bic from other low budget pen manufactures, is their ability to print digitally in full colour, on nearly all of their range. Giftselection and pens2order are offering great offers at the moment, on the whole range of digitally printed Bic pens.

Previously you may not have enquired about the price of digitally printed Bic pens, as your budget wouldn’t have allowed it. Now for a limited time, it really isn’t much more money to print your promotional pen in eye catching full colour.

Contact their friendly teams, who will be happy to talk you through the any pen in the promotional Bic range. As well as knowing all about Bic pens, they can also answer any questions you have about Bic notepads and their new range of promotional bags.

The promotional pen experts over at pens2order, have recently put their popular Berol pens on a B.O.G.O.F promotion. This sensational offer will only last until the end of the month, so if you’re in the market for some promotional pens - get in contact with their friendly team.

Berol promotional pens are often said to be unique in offering outstanding writing performance, at an exceptionally affordable price. The popular promotional Berol pen is available in a range of options:

> With UV ink for protecting property.

> With a special handwriting nib, “The product teachers recommend your children learn to write with”.

> With Permanent Ink, so you can write on practically anything, or with Dry Wipe ink which is ideal for those who make mistakes.

> With a Fine Point Nib, ideal for making a point!

The famous Berol Handwriting Pen is used by over thousands of children in UK schools. The lightweight design, easy grip position and abrasive fibre-tip of the Berol Handwriting Pen make it perfect for young children learning to write as well as older children developing their individual writing style.  The amount of promotional Berol pens that you can have free is unlimited, however the minimum order quantity is 1000 before you can be eligible for the discount.

A major direct mail campaign is about to start from ‘The Dogs Trust’, who are the good people who look after many an abandoned dog. If you’re a lady over the age of 45 who’s known for her love of dogs, then you may well be receiving a pack soon. The Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, catering for over 16,000 dogs every year via its 17 re-homing centers.

This promotional campaign is geared up to ask for help to re-home larger dogs in particular. The ladies will be sent a loveable A3-sized poster featuring a number of dogs reading: “Why is it hard for big dogs like us to find love?” Presumably because there badly behaved and expensive, but don’t let me put you off. The pack will include stores highlighting their plight, and why they need extra help, as well as a suggested donation and a pre-paid envelope. Adrian Burder, marketing director of Dogs Trust said: “There’s a disturbing increase in the number of big dogs being brought to us across all our centers.

If your business or charity is looking to invest in a direct mail marketing campaign, then Giftselection has all the promotional products you could be interested in. If you’re mailing out promotional items, they need to be relatively inexpensive and lightweight. Giftselection has loads of traditional options like printed promotional badges, logobugs and keyrings. They also have more unusual promotional items that could work well like printed; nail files, mouse mats and letter openers.

The London based marketing giant CMW, have posted out a limited run of Cadbury’s Crème Egg direct mail packs, to a selection of respondents from Cadbury’s 2008 digital campaign.

The packaging is humorously printed with “please do not handle with care”, while the outer packaging has a “This way up” label on the back with arrows pointing all over the place.

The wacky theme behind the brands campaign, is that the eggs inside have sabotaged the pack, hoping that carelessness will release their goo everywhere.

This direct mailer of adventurous eggs is part of a broader campaign focusing on social net work sites, mobile, web-based games and interactive online advertising.

If you’re thinking of using promotional products for a direct mail campaign, then there are many factors to consider. One business with more great promotional ideas then they know what to do with is promostore. The chaps there are promotional experts, and will have your business mailing out superb promotional items in no time.