Soap and Glory #Mistletoepout

Anyone that knows me or has been reading my blog for a long time knows that my favourite body care brand is Soap and Glory. I love their products and they are that one brand that I will forever repurchase from.

The Glory Girls are Soap and Glorys top team that have been touring the country to bring all things Soap and Glory to beauty fans across the UK. When I heard The Glory Girls were heading to the Birmingham area, I knew I had to pop down and see what was going on.

The Glory Girls were offering mini make-overs, discount and free products, they were lovely too and a lot of fun. I loved my mini Soap and Glory makeover, I opted for a pink blush and nude lip with a natural eye. I loved the look that one of the girls had created, it was really simple and very me. It was great to try out some of the Soap and Glory make-up line; I have tried quite a few of their cosmetics before, and this makeover has made me want to buy more! There was also a chance to receive a free travel size body product if you shared a picture on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #Mistletoepout... how cool is that!?
The Glory Girls were also giving out 20% discount vouchers on the day, so I went and purchased the nude lip from the makeover; Sexy Mother Pucker Matte Powder Coat in Super nude. I love it!

The girls are next in Nottingham, so if you are local, I would recommend going over and having a makeover.

Pretty Lovely Bloggers Santa's Grotto Event

I am finally starting to get excited for Christmas, and have done so by watching plenty of Christmas films this afternoon. I have shared a few gift guides on my blog, including stocking filler ideas, quirky cards, my top picks from Boots and some last minute gift ideas. I love Christmas!
Today is another festive themed post; featuring a lovely blogger event I attended recently, which was put together by Pretty Lovely Bloggers. It took place a few Saturdays ago at the Rose Villa Tavern near the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. It was a Christmas themed event called Santa's Grotto, I was super excited about wearing a Christmas jumper before December and I loved the decorations and the Christmas songs that were playing in the background.

The event was a lot of fun. There were quite a few brands at the event who gave talks and showcased their products, it was great to hear more about a variety of products and talk to the team behind them. Brands that attended the event included: 

 Friction Free Shaving

The Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Co.

Viridian

 Pure Potions

 Lipivir

 DryU

Skin Sincere

Pretty Lovely Bloggers had also arranged a raffle, with money being donated to the charity Mind. There were lots of things to get involved in and plenty of people to talk to. We also received a very generous goody bag with lots of brilliant products, I will be featuring those on my blog in the future too. A big thank you to all brands involved as I really do appreciate it.
I had a lovely time at the event and it was great to talk to bloggers; some I had met before and some I hadn't. I loved the venue and it is somewhere I have never visited before, but I am hoping to go back soon.

Thank you to both Adele and Kirsty for organizing the event. You can really tell how much time, effort and hard work they both put into all of their events and I had a brilliant time.

*Images belong to Clare*

Afernoon Tea at Bettys, York

Recently I visited York for the Day whilst I was up North visiting family. I have always loved afternoon tea and I am into anything like that, so we decided to head to Betty's.
You may have recently read my guest post from Georgina here, where she lists her favourite locations for afternoon tea in the UK. She included Betty's so I knew it must be a good place to go.

We chose afternoon tea for two, which consisted of; smoked salmon and cream cheese, roast Yorkshire ham, roast free-range chicken breast and egg mayonnaise & cress sandwiches, a sultana scone with strawberry preserve and Yorkshire clotted cream each, a selection of hand-crafted miniature cakes, and of-course a pot of Tea Room Blend tea. We also had a glass of homemade raspberry lemonade too as it was quite a warm Day, so we wanted a refreshing cold drink as well as tea. 

The food quite simply tasted amazing. Everything tasted fresh and I really enjoyed it all. The sandwiches were tasty, the cream tea was surprisingly filling and the strawberry preserve was sweet and delicious. The miniature cakes were really tasty too, and it was nice to have a selection of cakes to try. Next time I will definitely be bringing some cakes home with me.

If you love tea and cakes and enjoy afternoon tea, I think Bettys is a great place to go just for the experience. I probably wouldn't go too often as it is a real treat, but I would definitely recommend it for a nice day out. The staff are extremely friendly and the customer service really is fantastic. 

BBC Good Food Show Summer Event

I am a big foodie. I love food, I like to cook and I enjoy to eat, there I said it! The BBC Good Food Show Summer Event was on at the NEC, Birmingham last Week for a few days, and when offered the chance to go, I took it. As ao.com and the Summer Kitchen were the lead sponsor of at this year’s BBC Good Food Show Summer event, I knew it was going to be good fun.

If you haven't been to the BBC Good Food Show before it is a lot of fun - full of stalls and talks, as well as of-course lots of yummy food to try and buy.

It is always lovely to see some old favourite companies at events like this, and I really enjoy supporting new brands I have never heard of before. If you are a big foodie like me, enjoy cooking and checking out new products I'd definitely recommend going to the Good Food Show, its a nice day out. If you love food gadgets and trying out new products, I would suggest you go to the next BBC Good Food Show - you can check out where and when the next event is by checking out the website here.

*I was gifted tickets to attend the event*

Intu Spring/Summer Fashion Event

Last Week I headed to the Intu Shopping Centre, Merry Hill, for a sneak peak at the Spring/Summer collections which are hitting our fashion stores now. It was a blogger and press event, where we were able to see some previews of what will be featuring the fashion shows at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre this Weekend coming. We were treated to refreshments and were able to see the gorgeous models walk down the catwalk in style in some stunning clothes which are available at reasonable prices - and you can pick them up in the high street stores, too, which of-course is amazing - who doesn't want to look gorgeous for a fraction of a designer price?!

Fashion stylist Lola Royle presented the show, explaining why she put the outfits together and gave us plenty of info on what is on trend this Season. We were able to have a sneak peak of some of the latest fashion trends and were able to see some of the beautiful collections that the high street stores have to offer this Spring/Summer 2015. 

The stores which were involved in the fashion show were New Look, Diffusion, Phase Eight, Warehouse, Topshop, Oasis and River Island. I am loving the clashing of colours and patterns that were involved in the fashion show. My favourite pieces were definitely from New Look and Phase Eight - I will definitely be visiting both of those stores next Weekend when I am doing some shopping in the centre. 

Lola Royle told us that the clashing of different prints and patterns is very on trend this upcoming Season, and we saw a lot of brights, jungle inspired and also 70's inspired outfits. She also told us that fringing in our accessories is going to be pretty popular too. I am keen to pop over to the shops this Weekend to pick up a few statement pieces ready for this Spring/Summer.

If you are local to the West Midlands/Birmingham area, why not head down to Merry Hill Shopping Centre this Weekend to pick yourself a bargain or watch some amazing catwalk fashion shows? 

You can get involved on Twitter by using the hashtag #IntuColours

• You can catch the live catwalk shows on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March on the Lower Mall at Merry Hill Centre. Shows start from 11AM.
• There will be exclusive offers available on the 28th and 29th only, with over 35 fashion and beauty offers up for grabs, from brands such as Dorothy Perkins and Diffusion. You can find out more information on the website. 

Clothes Show Live 2014

Last weekend saw me attend The Clothes Show Live 2014, which was held at the NEC in Birmingham. I have been a few times before and I have always really enjoyed going along and watching the show; it is always a fantastic show they put on and this Year was no different. The show took place in the Alcatel Onetouch Fashion Theatre and it really was such an amazing display they put on. Not only did the models look amazing, they were also amazing choreographers and put on a fantastic show. The music and the set up were both perfect matches to the show and to the clothes. Oh, and the clothes! The gorgeous models showcased an array of different clothing items and accessories which were beautiful, I definitely have a lust list full of a lot of the clothes I saw showcased on the catwalk.The show itself was inspired by New York, and I feel that the clothes, settings, backdrops, choreography and music really went well together and suited the theme. The show lasted around 50 minutes and really was a pleasure to watch. Before the show, Rick Edwards and Jim Chapman presented and we also saw X Factor's boy band 'Stereo Kicks' perform a cover song, as well as Amy Child's sharing with us her new clothing collection which was available to buy on the day.

Of-course, as-well as watching the fashion show, the event saw a huge amount of exhibitors in the hall ranging from fashion, clothing, vintage, jewellery, beauty, tanning, hair, cosmetics, candles, lifestyle, accessories and much more. Brands I loved seeing at The Clothes Show were Elemis, W7, Rimmel, Lee Stafford, Flamingo Candles, Elsie and Fred and Silly Old Sea Dog. Both me and my friend Clare had a good browse around the hall a fair few times during the day and we saw a lot of lovely things. A lot of the beauty brands were offering their goody bags for set amounts of price, but we both passed on them as we both admitted we have way too much make-up at the moment that we don't use that often so we didn't want to add to it! I did pick up a Lee Stafford goody bag though, which cost £15 and was full to brim of full sized hair products. I also picked up the Cosmopolitan Magazine which came with some samples. I always grab Cosmo while at the Clothes Show as I usually pick it up anyway with my weekly shop.

I had a great time at The Clothes Show and was so impressed with the fashion show. I really recommend going to The Clothes Show next year if you are big on fashion and love to watch the show, or even if you just fancy a good bargain and get yourself some fashion and beauty must-haves. 

*I was given a press pass to attend the event for the day.Thank you Clothes Show Live for providing me with the pass!*

Grand Designs Live

Last Week I had a really exciting email asking if I would like to attend Grand Designs Live! I of-course said yes, I love the show and absolutely love home decor so I couldn't wait to go along. 

Knowing that there would be over 500 exhibitions at the event ranging from technology to decor got me quite excited. 

Grand Designs Live took place in the NEC, Birmingham, over four days. It was split into six sections: interiors, gardens, kitchens, bathrooms, technology and build. There was pretty much a stall for everything you could think of; windows, heating, art, furniture, homeware, food, technology, body care, heath and fitness, building - if you are in the trade or are refurbishing your own home, Grand Designs Live is a great place to visit.

I was really interested in browsing some of the exhibitions. There were a lot that appealed to me - definitely something completely different to what I expected. I really enjoyed the talks - I have now decided I want an iKettle - an eyewatering £11 for a kettle but how convenient you can boil your kettle from anywhere in the house at the touch of a button - well, from your iPhone!

The tickets I received were kindly donated by British Gas. British Gas had a stand at the event this year, where they were promoting Smart Energy, in particular smart meters in the home. The British Gas team were at hand with expert advice and helpful tips of how to be in control of your energy. I had a little chat with some of the team, who gave great tips and advice. British Gas offer insulation to homes which need it. You can read more about that here.


*I was kindly gifted to tickets for this event to share my views on my blog. All opinions are 100 %  honest and my own. You can view my full disclaimer policy on the contact tab above*

Event: Nail It! Birmingham, Urban Coffee.

Nail It! 

At the weekend I headed to Birmingham to attend an event held at an independent coffee shop Urban Coffee. I was really looking forward to it, as it was all about nails. I am quite clueless and not the best with painting my nails, so I was looking forward to trying some new colours out! 

On arrival, we we were given refreshments and we then took a seat to begin our nail styling! We used Avon's New Gel Finish Nail Polishes and their other Nail Polishes - I absolutely love the lilac shade - there was a huge selection of lovely colours to choose from. We also tried out the Magnetic Nail Polish and the Magnetic Wands - very impressive. other items we tried out were the Avon Nail Gems, Nail Enamel Corrector Pen, Gem Applicator, and lots more! We also had a look at some of the Avon Perfumes, Mascaras and Eye Shadows as well as having a good browse of the Avon brochure.

A big thank you to Rickie for arranging the entire event. I think it was a huge success and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, it was a lot of fun.
You can purchase Avon products from Rickie here.

DEBENHAMS BEAUTY BLOGGER EVENT

A few weeks ago, I had an email inviting me to a local shopping centre near the Birmingham area (my home town) for a beauty blogger event at Debenhams. Off course I jumped at the chance, knowing I would be able to have a chat with the lovely ladies at Elemis, Urban Decay and Elizabeth Arden. 

Before hand, I met up with fellow blogger and friend, the lovely Clare from A Bit of This and That Blog. I was a little bit of a silly blogger that day and was so forgetful to bring my camera (complete blogger fail!) so all of the images I have belong to Clare.

We first headed to Elemis, where we chatted to two of the lovely ladies on the counter about our skin care routines and the skin care products we use day to day. We then received a little facial, and were able to try out some of their best selling skin care range. The ladies were so lovely and told us all about their products and what is best for our skin types. 

Next up, make up time. We tootled over to the Urban Decay counter where we had a complete make over, using some of Urban Decay's best selling products, as well as their new eye shadow palette, the Electric palette. I was a little hesitant at first with the eye shadow as I don't tend to use much colour on my eyes, but the assistant doing my make - up kept me at ease and created a lovely purple/silver smokey eye. 

After a cheeky purchase from Urban Decay, we then popped over to Elizabeth Arden where we were given the low down on all of their lip products: a lipology! It was really interesting hearing so much about the care of the lips - I often neglect to look after my lips. I enjoyed having a try with their lip liners and lip glosses - a few of them have crept on my wishlist for sure. 

I had a great time at the event - we were treated to lots of pampering and beautifying! Thanks to all the staff at Debenhams at Intu Merry Hill for having us! We were very well looked after and provided with nibbles, drinks and were even given some samples to take home with us! 

All Images Belong To Clare. You can see her original post here.

Ray Quin launches MiSmile at Birmingham

Recently the lovely Dancing On Ice star Ray Quin  launches MiSmile in my local area of Birmingham. 

Dr Sandeep Kumar has launched his new venture of MiSmile, which is his new clinic that creates an invisible brace treatment. This is the UK's first Invisalign only treatment, so it is very exciting. I really do wish this was around when I was younger as I wore braces, and I would have much preferred them to not be visible. I can really see the benefits and I am sure there will be a lot of interest in MiSmile. 

The lovely Ray was given a little Q&A which I found very interesting! 

Q: What five things couldn't you live without from your wash bag?

A: I always take my hair wax, a good deodrant and a selection of aftershaves, because I can never decide which is my favourite. At the moment I'm loving Creed, Jo Malone, Pomegranite Noir, and Tom Ford.

Q: What makes you smile most about Birmingham?

A: Oh thats easy! The people in Birmingham are so warm and friendly, it reminds me of home.

For more information, check out www.mismileinvisalign.co.uk.

Clothes Show Live 2013

Clothes Show Live Birmingham NEC 2013*

I am sure you are aware if you live in the UK, that Clothes Show Live takes place at the NEC arena in Birmingham every year in December, showcasing many fashion outlets, beauty products, recruitment centres, as well as off-course the fashion show itself. I have been previously when I was around 15, around seven years ago (wow I feel old!) and I remember really enjoying the day, I was thrilled to find I had won tickets to attend this year. 

I was super excited, I made sure I woke extra early to ensure I arrived at the NEC bang on 9AM. On arrival, I was impressed to see it wasn't ridiculously busy at that time and so I could have a good look around with ease. As you can see from the photograph I took below, it was pretty quiet when we arrived, it didn't stay that way for long though! 

There were many fashion stalls representing themselves at the show, I found there was many indie clothing brands which sold a lot of on trend pieces. I am not really a trend follower, I was more interested in the beauty side of things and that is what I was excited about. 

With brands such as Barry M, Rimmel, Models Own, Bare Minerals, Miss Patisserie, Clarins, Fake Bake,  Ciate,  Helen E Cosmetics, Jelly Pong Pong, So...? With Attitude, With Love Jess, Elemis, Bomb Cosmetics, w7, Laurens Way, Leighton Denny, Mary Kay, along with other indie beauty stalls, I was over-whelmed and brought a few things. 

A few of the reality TV stars from Made In Chelsea and The Only Way Is Essex were at the event over the weekend, I caught a glimpse of Gemma Collins from TOWIE representing her plus size clothing brand, she is even more pretty in real life.

With plenty of stalls, including; womens wear, mens wear, candles, jewellery, teeth whitening, confectionary, beauty, hair, accessories, vintage, plus size, perfume, lingerie and footwear, there was plenty to see and purchase!

The same as every year, a few Magazine stands were offering their goody bags for £3, including Cosmopolitan and Company and Elle Magazine, which is good value for money seeing as the magazines tend to cost around £3 alone anyway.

A lot of the make up brands had fantastic deals on goody bags and buying so many any times for a certain price, making fantastic discounts. Some highlights were; Rimmel's £5 goodie bag including 4 products, Barry M's goody bag for £10, 10 items for £10 at w7 or 3 for £10 for higher priced items, Buy 3 Models Own Polishes for £10 and a free goody bag, Buy two goodies bags from Jelly Pong Pong for £10 which included four items, and many more.   

Echo falls, Diet Coke and Starbucks were dotted around the floor giving away samples which kept us refreshed!

A disappointing point of the event, was that there were about 6 cash machines inside the hall, and none of them worked. There were two outside the hall which off course was super busy, I would recommend withdrawing money before arriving at the building if you were to go in future, as not many of the stalls accept card payment.  

There were lots of social media onsite with photobooths, Capital Radio FM were there along with a camera crew so there was a lot going on. There was also a 'Take Me Out Live' event where you could pay to watch, or auditions for you to take part in the show!

As I arrived early I didn't have chance to catch all of the fashion shows, but I am told they were fantastic. 

The halls were easily located as there were many sign posts to direct you to the hall, staff were very friendly and helpful, and overall I was impressed with the day and enjoyed myself. It was off-course began to get very, very busy at around 11 AM, so I would suggest if you are given quite a early afternoon fashion show time, go as early as you can to avoid queues and missing out on some fantastic deals. 

I picked up quite a lot of beauty bits, I haven't had chance to sit down and photograph them all properly on my camera, but once I do, I will test out and review the products and pop them up in a different blog post! I took a couple of rubbish quality photos on my phone though which I have included below. 

Have you been to the Clothes Show Live before? 

The Festive Gift Fair 2013

                                                  The Festive Gift Fair Birmingham NEC 2013*

On Saturday the 23rd of November, I was kindly sent tickets to attend the festive gift fair located at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, as I won the tickets through a fantastic giveaway. A big thanks to Rachel from Pretty Petticoats (who has a fantastic blog by the way, be sure to have a look!) for making it all possible.

The gift fair was open from 9.30AM up until around 4PM. We arrived roughly around 10.30AM and it was so so busy! I didn't manage to take any photographs bar the one below, which shows just how busy it got! There were a range of many different stalls for lots of quirky and different products, including lots of candle stall, skincare, beauty and hair stalls, decorative and personalized gifts, clothing, toys, festive gifts, alcohol, food and drink, home-ware, jewelry and much more. The full list of exhibitors can be found here.

For the blogger in me, I was excited to see stalls such as Lauren's Way, Elemis (they had a treatment bus!) and Helen E Cosmetics!

There were also lots of singers performing, notably the Birmingham choir; they sounded fantastic! 

It was a fantastic day spent at the NEC, coincidentally there was also comicon and a motorbike convention taking place at the NEC on the same day, so the trains and the arena was super busy!

It was a great festive day out and I would recommend going next year if you get the chance!



We Are Fashion AW/13 Event

We are Fashion Autumn /Winter 2013 Event

Hi everyone. A few weeks ago I was kindly invited to a fashion preview event, sharing the upcoming trends for Autumn/Winter 2013. There was a fab catwalk show with girls from Vero Moda, Internacionale, New Look, Warehouse strutting their stuff on the cat walk showing us the lovely new collections they have to offer.

It was fab seeing what gorgeous trends are in style for the upcoming seasons - there was a stunning jacket from New Look I had my eye on which I spotted on one of girls on the catwalk which I have since been out and purchased !

We were very lucky to be given lots of yummy pizza and drinks, a great dj, as well as chats with ladies from NO 7, Maxfactor, Origins, Pleats Please, Smashbox, whom offered lots of beauty tips and tricks.

We were very kindly given a lovely goodie bag too with lots of lovely things which I am very grateful for.

It was great catching up with the lovely local bloggers as always. Thank you to the organisers of the event as you put on a fantastic evening which I thoroughly enjoyed!   

Just to let you all know if you are local to the area (Merry Hill/Birmingham) that there is a fashion take over from the 13th - 15th September where there are lots of offers to be had and great discounts on some of our favourite stores, such as Vero Moda and The Body Shop! You can pick this voucher booklet up from the concierge in Merry Hill! There will also be lots going on around the centre so be sure to pop down if you are local to the area!

Both Photographs belong to the westfield photographer