Thursday 30 May 2013

Event: Sheffield Bloggers Meetup


We have DEFINITELY seen an increase in Northern blogger events over the past month and it has definitely kept me busy! I have been jumping on trains all over the place to attend some fabulous blogger meetups and parties and as a result this (plus trying to sort out some of the more boring post-uni life stuff), I'm a little behind on blogging! Things are calming down a little now however, so bare with me over the next couple of weeks as I try to blast out the posts from these lovely events as well as my usual outfit posts and reviews!

So- Just under two weeks ago made the journey out to Meadowhall for the Sheffield Blogger's Meetup which was organised by the lovely Rachel (Life of a Sweetaholic), Charlotte (Confessions of a Small Town Girl) and Caroline (Caroline's Catwalk). I had really been looking forward to this meetup as Rachel, Charlotte and Claire (Claire Louise) are bloggers who I have been following and talking to from the very beginning and it was great to finally have the opportunity to meet them as well as lots of new faces! The meetup was held at The Handmade Burger Co., who were ever so patient and accommodating for our party of 30 bloggers, and even offered us all a free lunch, which included a burger, a side and unlimited drinks refills! Despite being a healthy-eater, I wasn't going to ruin the opportunity to take advantage of a free meal and just order a salad, but I did try to be as good as possible by just ordering a classic grilled chicken burger with a side of chargrilled vegetables which still tasted amazing. I was a little jealous of everybody else's chips though- they looked so yummy and the portions were huge!

After our meal, we were free for an hour or so to mingle with the other bloggers- The girls who were sat on my table I had never met before, so it was lovely to have a chat with them :) Make sure you check out their blogs which are listed at the end of this post! The girls who organised the meetup also put together a brilliant goodiebag for all of us containing lots of exciting products including a full-sized Benefit Porefessional, A Lush bubble bar and some Paul Mitchell goodies. We were definitely spoilt- Thank you to all the brands who contributed!


There was also a second part to the meetup that was made possible by the lovely staff at Lush Meadowhall- We were split in to small groups to take part in a little workshop where we were able to make our own miniature models out of their playdough-like FUN. I made a little rosebud out of mine, and our models were put on a little display at the front of the store. We were then given a tour of the shop and introduced to the Emotional Brilliance makeup range, of which I have completely fallen in love with the collection of vibrant colours. We were lucky enough to be given another Lush goodie bag which contained a few makeup products that I am currently loving- I got the Dark Yellow Colour Supplement and the Charisma Skin Tint, which is a gorgeous golden-bronze colour, perfect for giving my face a summer glow.

That pretty much sums up a lovely day, and I send out a huge thank you to Rachel, Charlotte and Caroline for all the hard work they put in to organising the event! Don't forget to check out their blogs and also the lovely ladies below :)

Rachel from Lost in Lipstick
Abby from un-observed

Have you attended any meet-ups/events recently? There seems to be loads now that Summer (ahem-"Summer") is kicking in!

Sunday 19 May 2013

Event: South Beach Swim.

Megan (whats new pussy catt), Charlotte (Lurch Hound Loves), Danielle (A Blog from Blackpool) and Me :)

May seems to be the month of Northern Blogger events and I am loving it! I have been all over the place the past couple of weeks and I still have a few events lined up! On Wednesday I made the short train journey over to Manchester to attend the South Beach Swim event which was organised by the lovely Katie (The Quick Red Fox)! We were greeted by her and handed a tag with our blog names on them so that we could hang them on our favourite swimwear piece later on, and also an amazingly refreshing Strawberry Prosecco Bellini. We were then set free to mingle with all the other bloggers and munch on mini cupcakes and chocolate cornflake cakes (which took me back to my childhood and were incredibly more-ish; very dangerous for my healthy eating!). Of course, with the event being held at Frurt Frozen Yogurt, we were treated to a portion of their tasty froyo. They had lots of toppings and different flavoured yogurts to choose from such as luxury chocolate, mango and strawberry lemonade, but I decided to just go for the natural plain yogurt with a naughty topping of chocolate brownie bites and strawberries- a match made in heaven and not too guilt-inducing as the yogurt itself is fat-free and a tiny 60 kcal per 100g portion [that's my excuse, anyway! ;)]. There were also some yummy-looking alcohol-free cocktails available that were made with froyo and Vita Coco which I didn't get to try, although I wish I did now as I love coconut water!

We all got to have a nosy through a rail of South Beach Swim's Spring/Summer range where there were a LOT of gorgeous, colourful bikinis on display, but in the end I fell in love with this black fringed swimsuit (in my 7th photo) and left my name tag on the hanger. There are competitions going on for us to win our chosen piece, so fingers crossed! ;)

There was also a lovely goodie bag for each of us as we left, which included a South Beach snapback cap- Not my usual style but I'm having a lot of fun thinking of ways to style it- I wish I was going on holiday so I could wear it on the beach! Thank you Katie and South Beach Swim for putting on a lovely event and to Frurt Frozen Yogurt and Vita Coco for providing us with some yummy treats! :)

Do you love Vita Coco or Frozen Yogurt? Have you checked out South Beach Swim's Spring/Summer collection?

Monday 13 May 2013

Outfit: Psychedelic.

Jacket: C/O Quirky Me* | Top: Primark | Disco Pants: C/O She Likes* | Shoes: eBay 

Okay, so I know that this is going to be very hit or miss, but I am in LOVE with this jacket from Quirky Me.  It is currently hung on my mirror in my room and I seriously can't stop admiring it. A couple of posts ago I mentioned my sudden obsession with anything loud and neon, and with my already-established love for leather this jacket caters for my every need- not to mention it fits me perfectly! With its very 60's/70's inspired psychedelic print, it is definitely a statement piece and I think it is going to add a nice touch to many of my plain black outfits paired with my go-to bright lip. Quirky Me is a young, up-and-coming brand based in Barcelona, and they stock a range of quirky, alternative-style pieces including other variations of this jacket; I also really love the houndstooth print ones! I really recommend checking them out; they might not be for everybody but they definitely sell some unique pieces that you won't find anywhere else!

Is this jacket a hit or miss for you? Are you in to the bright/neon trend this Summer?
*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Sunday 12 May 2013

Review: Popband.


Hi ladies! Sorry about the lack of posts over the last few days- I haven't been able to find the concentration to sit down and put any blog posts together... I don't know why but recently I've been having trouble sleeping at night; I thought as soon as I finished uni that I would sleep like a baby! And as a result of this I've been feeling so lethargic during the day :(

Anyway, enough of my moaning! Today's post is a review on some little hair accessories that were kindly sent to me by Popband. I have very thick, stubborn hair, and problem that I have always found myself having to deal with is pulling tangled, broken-off pieces of hair from my hair bands after having to wrestle them out of a messy bun- such a nightmare and so, so painful! However, two weeks ago Popband came to my rescue. I have seen hair ties like these before and have really wanted to try them out as I had heard a lot of good things about them. They claim to be gentle on your hair whilst keeping it firmly in place until you want to take it down, and when you do they won't rip your hair out and they also won't leave that annoying kink behind. Plus, they come in lots of different colours and prints with a sparkly bead attached so that they look pretty worn on your wrist as well as in your hair!

Okay, so they might seem a little gimmicky- they're essentially just a piece of elastic tied in to a loop, right?  But I really do think they work and I won't go back to using a regular hair band- I quite like being able to effortlessly (and even better, painlessly!) take my hair out of a pony tail after my gym sessions and not look like I have just rolled out of bed. And if you're a lazy girl like me and like the work done for you where possible, these won't set you back too much, ranging from just £4-£6 with the option of buying a single band or a multi-pack, plus free shipping within the UK! If you'd like to see what Popband has to offer, visit their website here :) 

Don't you just hate the trouble that comes with tight elastic hairbands? Have you tried Popbands?
*DISCLOSURE: PR samples. My opinions are still 100% honest and my own.
Tuesday 7 May 2013

Outfit: Summer is Coming!

Playsuit: Motel | Jacket: H&M via eBay | Trainers: Converse | Socks: Topshop | Sunglasses: C/O Firmoo* | Bracelets: C/O The Rose Chain* | Watch: New Look | Necklace: C/O Names4ever*

Is it? Is Summer finally coming? I have been waiting for weather like this for what seems like forever- it felt like it was never going to come and the bipolar rainy weather we were having a couple of weeks ago was making me feel so depressed whilst I was tackling the last of my assignments. Alas, the sun has popped his head from behind the clouds, and with me finally being done with university I am definitely making sure I make the most of it! Today, me and my bestest took a stroll down to the park with our cameras to take some summery outdoor photos and I thought I would take the opportunity to show off this playsuit I picked up in the Motel Rocks sale last week. I was never really one for the neon trend, but recently I have found myself attracted to anything bright, tacky and/or loud. I think the fact that this Summer is probably going to be my last before I enter a doomed life of full-time, permanent work (*shudder*) has released a "wild" side in me and I just want to have some fun.

Anyway, I hope you have all been enjoying the beautiful weather, let me know how you spent the Bank Holiday weekend in the comments :) I will leave you here with a photo of my best friend looking very handsome whilst I ruin the photo with my duck face (although I have recently acquired a new love for orange lipstick-what do you think?)!


*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Sunday 5 May 2013

Outfit: #GTLUrbanParty.

Blouse: Charity Shop | Shorts: C/O Daisy Street* | Jacket: C/O Daisy Street* | Shoes: Funky Dory | Tights: Primark | Hat: H&M

I was going to pop this outfit on the end of my last post, but I decided there was already an overload of photos on there so it was better to do it separately haha. This is what I wore to the Get The Label Urban Party on Thursday. The sun was shining, but I don't trust the weather enough just yet to go all-out in bare legs and summery dresses. Instead, I decided to play it safe whilst still paying homage to Mr. Sun with this rather gaudy green blouse and bright lips and nails. I picked up these tights in Primark for just £1 last week and I love the floral design on the back of them- I wish I had picked up more pairs now as I will probably have torn holes in these after a couple more wears :(

I also forgot to mention in my last post that I had the chance to meet and chat to lots of lovely new bloggers at the Get The Label event, so make sure to check out their blogs below! :)

Danielle from A Blog From Blackpool
Lola and Fikki from Pastime Bliss
Laura from Heroine in Heels

I hope you like my outfit! Have you been enjoying the sunshine?
*DISCLOSURE: Starred items were giveaway prizes.