#BloggersTeaParty

Yep... I'm drooling too. I think my tastebuds remember the thick creamy frosting (sounds a bit wrong) and the moist sponge and flaked chocolate. I want to eat it again :( Well I wish I ate it in the first place. You see I was a little worse for wear the day of the Tea Party so couldn't stomach much.. but don't you worry my fellow cake lovers.. I took the rest home!!  Just looking at the cake again made my mouth water... For anyone that's wondering.. It's Chocolate and Guinness cake. It tasted really rich and earthy. Was SO nice! Back on topic - I was lucky enough to bag a last minute place at the BloggersTeaParty, hosted by the lovely Nadja (from Throw me Something Beautiful) and Olivia (from Beauty from the Fjord) and I apologise girls for not posting this sooner! A big thank you and a congratulations for hosting such a lovely afternoon full of beauty, networking, chatter and most importantly... CAKE. Set in the most ideal location for a tea party.. Just look at the cute tea pot!!

It was so nice to meet such a lovely group of girls and guys in such a nice setting. I got to exchange URLs and Twitter accounts etc. and weirdly already were following a lot of them! Many of the girls brought along their business cards; I always find it interesting how people present themselves on business cards.. It makes Blogging seem so much more formal and adult! So bizarre. Unfortunately, Kirsty had to work that day, so I jumped on a train on my lonesome, but I think it allowed me to socialise a more and talk to as many people as I could (I was trying to hold down my breakfast most of the time). I got talking to some lovely girls and chatted about our blogging lives, our lives outside of blogging, our favourite products etc. I felt at home, talking about things we're passionate about. I love these blogging events!

As well as the delicious cake, there were other things on offer.. that were Free! We bloggers love goodie bags. I for one love the new brands I get to experience - that's the main reason I subscribe to Birchbox! I will post separately about the goodies, reviewing them individually, as I'm slowly doing with the other two events I attended recently.

Nadja and Olivia had a Twitter Raffle set up for all us bloggers to tweet for a chance to win any of these products (below, left). This included a Jelly Belly vending machine and Jelly Bean bags, a Collier Campbell Tablet case from Quintessential and a selection of skin care products from Seascape.

Also up for grabs were the lovely full to the brim goodie bags put together by the girls. It contained a mixture of product types; from moisturisers to lip glosses and there was even a little cake in there! But more on that in another post... The girls were very fortunate to get so many brands involved in sponsoring the event. So much so that the girls were able to provide a mini beauty pick 'n' mix bar where there was Ciaté, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, Foryou moisturiser, and a cute origami package full of Jäson sachets.  

I went for the Almond Magic Soap - it smells divine! Like marzipan!, the M3 tester of Foryou moisturiser for Oily skin and the pinky-nude Ciaté in Couture as well as a blue origami package.

Inside were a handful of different lotions, creams, body washes, moisturisers, face scrubs etc from Jäson. 

I cannot wait to try them all and review them!

Once again, a MASSIVE thank you to Olivia and Nadja for hosting and spending ALL their time organising this lovely event, and getting hold of all these products. I really admire them for it, and am going to have to ask for pointers for the Herts Bloggers meet up I'll hopefully be planning shortly!

Have you been to a similar event? Are you from Hertfordshire and want to attend an event like this?

Calling all Hertfordshire Bloggers

Hello Beauties! By chance, I came across a tweet from a fellow blogger on the #fblchat about bloggers in Hertfordshire not having much of a presence (group-wise). We've all seen those London based blogging forums, meet ups, groups, gatherings etc. and envied their ability to just hop on a tube and meet up! And the weird thing is... I was actually thinking yesterday, searching on meetup.com for Hertfordshire meet ups, but none.. none at all.  So I thought.. why not us! So looking into forums etc, I realised Google offered one, so I set one up! You can find it here.. or at the top of our blog under Herts FBL Bloggers If you're an avid blogger, a newbie or just an enthusiast for all things blogging, please join! It's a free space for discussions, chats, gossips, exchanging reviews, and a place to gain blogging friends! We'll soon be organising our first #hertsfbl meet up - locally! Where we will be getting brands involved to sponsor the event and hopefully give you lovelies some goodies to review! Make sure you follow, like, +1 and subscribe to every new member! Can't wait to meet you all!

IZABELLE HAMMON Beauty of London Nail Wraps

If you've seen many of my Instagram photos or read my blog posts over the last few months, you'd know just how obsessed I am with nail varnishes and well.. anything to do with nails. You'll also hopefully sympathise with my lack of nails at the moment (I'm crying inside when I look at my little stubby fingers) I'm trying so hard to grow them back as I did the last time Acrylics ruined them! As you can see in the photo above, I'm wearing stick ons, as my nails were so short and thin when I attended the #BloggersFestival.

 

 At the event, there was a little nail stall with two lovely girls applying a wide range of IZ Beauty of London Designer Nail Wraps to bloggers ring fingers. With 20 different designs to choose from, You'll be more than happy with the range and selection of designs. They've got everything from bright and colourful to simple and understated. I can honestly say.. I want them ALL!!  

These three in particular I LOVE.

Black and Gold Diamond 3D

Neon Diamond

 

White Diamond 3D

They're designed to be compatible with all types of gels so can be sealed into gel nail varnish with precision. They're easy to apply, with the help of the included nail file to neaten the edges, and just as easy to take off. They dissolve easily with acetone based nail polish remover or just peels off if placed on top of glossy nail polish. 

At only £6.50 per pack (20 wraps), you'd be a fool not to get them! I just wish I'd picked up a few more packs at the event. Love Love Love these.

Did you attend the #BloggersFestival? Which wraps were your favourite?

#BloggersFestival Goodie Bag

Having attended the #BloggersFestival a few weeks ago, all the stuff I brought home has sat in it's bag in my living room along with the bag from the #PegasusLIVE event I attended (keep an eye out for those reviews as well) I've finally had a delve through and tried some of these gems! This won't be an in-depth review, as I'll review them all separately, but just giving you a taster of the goodies that were up for grabs!

Needless to say.. I polished off the cupcakes and wine that came in the goodie bag... 

After visiting the Lee Stafford stall at the event, I got some great hair products for dry, damaged or coloured hair. I use them almost every day after washing my hair to give it that extra protection and an added shine. Not to mention the fruity smell it leaves on my hair. I've given the colour treated hair to Kirsty as her hair still hasn't recovered from the extensive bleaching.

A brand I'd not yet discovered; Oriflame had slipped a lovely lipstick-come-lipgloss-come-lipbalm all -in-one! Amazing! Its a triple-core lipstick that not only colours your lips a beaut shade, but also adds a shimmer and moisturises your lips. But more on that in another post.

Cellulence is a product I haven't yet tried but will be starting their phase two in the next few days. They provided small samples of their concentrated body cream that firm and moisturise the body. 

Also at the event, were two lovely girls applying their IZ Beauty of London nail wraps to blogger's nails. I went for the most colourful wraps I could find and asked the rep to show me how to apply them. She applied them to my ring finger. With complimentary shades, this colour pop would look amazing.. Just need to wait for my nails to grow back again (ruined them with acrylics again.. I know.. When will I learn!) they're shorter than short at the moment so am not drawing any attention to them so am keeping them plain as plain can be! 

Urban Outfitters were also at the Bloggers Festival and were promoting the Fujifilm Instax 8 - Which I want so bad, but can't afford at the moment *sob* 

Also on the Lee Stafford stall were these great brushes. Ideal for blowdrying. I've used this a couple times (it takes ages as my hair is so long and thick - don't be jealous.. it's a nightmare. Trust me) The thicker pink bristles help comb out the hair whilst the shorter, thinner black bristles allow the hot air from the hair dryer to be distributed evenly. The handle end is pointy which made it very easy to part my hair with one hand. Quite a decent brush actually! Didn't melt under the heat of my dryer which is always good! Lastly, a lovely couple were manning the Bee Good stall, offering a range of honey infused products with the finest honey taken from their own bee farm. Beautifully packaged, and well thought through as well as being locally sourced. A brilliant business for two lovely people. (They won me over with their honey cookies) I look forward to sampling some of their products! Did you attend the #BloggersFestival in London? What goodies did you pick up? xxx

My MAC Favourites

It's been a while girls... I was going through my VAST makeup collection and was surprised to only find a small amount of MAC products amongst the hundreds of blushers, foundations, mascaras etc. that I have accumulated over the past few months! So I am making it my mission to invest in some more! I think I have the most important products though. Apologies for the long gaps in my blogging. I'm now in full time work and am just completely zonked when I get home. Having also moved into a flat recently, I have only just finished furnishing it, so should be able to blog a lot more now! I feel that all my posts begin this way, I feel so bad! 

As you all should know, you need different shades of foundation dependant on the time of year; your skin will not be the same shade in the winter as it will be in the summer, or after a holiday. My skin flicks between three shades. I use MAC's Studio Fix Fluid Foundation. It has an SPF of 15 so no need to lather your face in sun cream in the summer! It's full coverage, which is good for blotchy/ uneven skin tones like mine. 

I range between C4.5, NC30 and NW30 depending on the time of year and whether I'm predominantly indoors or outdoors for that day. When you're colour matched in MAC stores, you're under fluorescent light, which often makes your skin look a different colour to when you're outside. An annoyance, due to the amount of money I have to spend on multiple shades. 

 

These are my most recent purchases. I went shopping in Milton Keynes with my friend and Debenhams had a 10% sale on so I pretty much got the blush for free.. (or so they told me, I haven't bothered doing the maths).

I lent my powder to one of my friends ages ago, along with my powder brush (not sure why, I'm too generous) and I haven't seen them since, so I needed a new powder that would actually get rid of the shine. I feel that even though the Studio Fix gives full coverage, it leaves me quite shiny. This Blot Powder / Pressed is great to get rid of shininess. It's not good coverage wise, but I didn't buy it for that purpose. I bought it in Medium Dark. The only thing I don't like about it is the little puff that comes with it.. its too rough and well.. they harbour bacteria so I don't like using them. I use my Real Techniques Powder Brush that I bought in Boots. I give that a regular clean so it's not as gross. 

The third item is the Powder Blush in Trace Gold which is a shimmery gold colour. I use it as a bronzer/ to highlight when contouring. It has many uses if you have an olive skin tone like myself and Kirsty.  The other items in my MAC collection include the Studio Finish Concealer in NW30 which I use for contouring. It's SPF 30, so at least if you do use it as a concealer, your spots won't tan... random. Also in my collection is a mini of Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage, it's this beaut primer that leaves a slight shimmer, it calms and soothes skin, evens out redness, removes excess oil and leaves it looking pore-fect. Literally the perfect product for me. Unfortunately though, unlike some other primers I've used with the same gel-like consistency, MAC requires a lot to be used at one time. I have to use an amount as big as a 5p to cover my face, whereas others, I just use a tiny weeny amount. The final and most important product I own from MAC is the Fix+. It sets /finishes makeup, helping it last all day as well as leaving a tingly refreshing dewey feel to your skin. You can also use it as a primer to even out your skin surface to apply your makeup to. I feel that I need to experiment more with their products, maybe I'll have to venture out and purchase a lipstick or two or start building my own eyeshadow palette or a moisturiser or nail varnish (not that I need any more...) I better get shopping! I love my MAC products,  do you have any of these mentioned? Have you bought anything from MAC recently?

My Heart Belongs to Phyto

Phyto is a hair care brand i've become really familiar with over the last year and their ranges are so varied I want to try everything. My favourite shampoo is definitely the Phytojoba Intense Hydration Brilliance Shampoo, it makes my hair feel so clean but soft too and it smells insanely good. Washing my hair has been tricky since my hair disaster which means I have to find the balance between getting my hair clean and not stripping all the moisture out. I don't usually spend €10 on a shampoo but this is the exception to that rule.  The dry hair range, Phytojoba also includes the Intense Hydrating Brilliance Mask which I have been using once a week to try and get my hair looking like hair again.  I have already been through one 30ml bottle of the Phytokeratine repairing thermal protectant spray, it really feels like it's doing my hair good rather than just sitting on top of it like many heat sprays do. When I saw the special blow-dry kit in my new favourite pharmacy I couldn't resist and was very happy to see another bottle of this included.  The set has also given me the opportunity to try the Phytovolume Actif, which is a volumising spray for fine hair. My hair is definitely the opposite of fine, but since having it cut into a long bob, I like have a little extra oomph.  I have a vast array of oils for my hair and the Huile Supreme is a welcome addition, its especially for dry, thick & rebellious hair which sums my hair up nicely. Finally, the Secret de Nuit Intense Hydration Regeneration Cream is a lovely leave in treatment for reviving damaged hair.  Have you tried any Phyto products? For more info this is their UK site.  xo

Chanel Rouge Allure Rouge Noir

I was looking for a very dark vampy red/purple and Chanel Rouge Allure in Rouge Noir was recommended to me. I love love love my other Rouge Allure Lipstick I was eager to have an excuse to buy another shade. I think they were reformulated in the few years in between purchases and they certainly feel very different in texture.  It's not quite as dark as I wanted, and it could do with being a little more opaque. It is a lovely shade and is very buildable though. It doesn't long very long on my lips, it sort of fades in the middle but fortunately doesn't run or bleed, even without a lip liner. 

It's perfect for this time of year and can be bought from Debenhams here. xo

Cattier Masks

I have seen Cattier Masks featured occasionally in French Pharma Hauls after a blogger has been on a trip to Paris and I really don't know where they were buying them! It took me nearly 9 months to track them down, and I found all three that I wanted at different stores in one day! I was expecting them to be a lot more expensive but I think the most I paid was €4 for one, the others were slightly less. I chose the Argile Verte Menthe, Argile Rose Aloe Vera and the Ready to use Montmorillonite-Illite Green Clay Masks. The minty green mask is ideal for oily skin, the pink is for sensitive skin and I still don't know what to use with the straight clay. I'm going to try and experiment and add something to it, the tube suggests making masks and poultices so there are endless possibilities!  I have really enjoyed using the mint mask so far and my skin looked very refreshed and not at all dry after use.  What do you think of Cattier Masks?   xo