Monday 29 December 2014

The Clothes Show Live 2014 // Part 1


Earlier this month I attended the Clothes Show Live held annually at the Birmingham NEC in the first week of December. Tickets to the event include entry to a 45 minute catwalk show in the Alcatel OneTouch Fashion Theatre, hosted by a number of presenters, additionally featuring a performance from current artists. As I went on the Saturday, the show was hosted by Rick Edwards with a musical performance form Jetta.
 
Here are a few snaps from the show (it was so hard to just chose a few!):
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
An absolute fiend for the Beauty Hall, I usually buy my ticket last minute, not really worrying where I will be sitting for the catwalk, but as this year was my mum's first visit to the Clothes Show, as a special treat we decided to upgrade and purchase platinum tickets. Previously going a number of times as a standard ticket holder this was definitely a nice change! As a platinum ticket holder you get a seat much closer to the front (which was a total highlight for me as I could pretty much see every sequin on the gorgeous gowns on the catwalk) as well as a goodie bag containing the show programme and various samples, fast track entry to the Fashion Theatre, exclusive access to the Saks Platinum Pamper Lounge, the Manhattan Bar and the Designer Outlet clothing stand. The price difference between the tickets is around £12-15 which I think is reasonable (when the goodie bags alone are sold for £8). I prefer to see the show in the morning to have the rest of the day to roam the stalls and check out what's happening at the event in general.
 
 
My favourite section as usual was the Beauty Hall, where I spent most of the day. Adjoining, there were (I think) three fashion halls containing a variety of stalls including a vintage section. Throughout the day there were a number of performances held at Olympus Pen Designer catwalk stage and at the Image Catwalk stage (which was in association with company.co.uk) which displayed work from established designers, fashion students around the country as well as catwalks showcasing the latest trends on the high street.
 
 
 
 
 (This outfit was completely painted on by one of the fashion students! So impressive but must have taken her hours!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Another thing I love about the Clothes Show is the opportunity to crowd spot or meet celebrities, where you could do so at the THX total hair experts pen. Frequent Clothes Show celeb visitor are the cast of Made in Chelsea including Andy, Stevie, Proudlock and Jamie and TOWIE including Amy Childs, Lauren Goodier and Mario. This year one of my favourite bloggers Fleur from Fleur De Force was also there, doing a lovely Q&A session which was definitely a treat!
 
 
 
 
 
All in all in was an amazing day shop till you drop day and I had a great time. Probably went a little too crazy on the spending but hey, who isn't guilty of that at the Clothes Show?
 
This has turned into a pretty long post so please check out my Clothes Show Live Haul/Part 2 blog post to see what I purchased.
Enjoy!
 
 
 
 


Saturday 27 December 2014

Birchbox // December 2014


December's theme was "Put on your party shoes", perfect for this month's festivities. The box was an exclusive design by Sophia Webster who put a gorgeous jewel twist on the regular design.
 
 
 
 
My box contained: Elemental Herbology Facial Glow Radiance Peel, BiOrganics Perfect Rebalancing Shampoo, Eyeko Fat Eye Stick (a full size Birchbox exclusive), Benefit Christmas Cracker High Beam (a sample Birchbox exclusive), Models Own Nail Polish in Obsidian and Magic for Skin Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil, with the Lifestyle item this month - a purse also designed by Sophia Webster.
 
 
 
 
Overall thoughts - this has taken over as my favourite Birchbox so far! Once again, receiving such a well compiled box reminds me why I subscribed in the first place. This box is a classic example of how a mix of high street and high end items can work together and I extremely looking forward to trying out these items. In fact, I think the nail polish will be my go-to for NYE nails. I've only got one more box left of subscription and I'll definitely be subscribing again! Just one last thing - how CUTE was the Benefit Cracker?!
 
 
 

Friday 26 December 2014

Christmas Day NOTD // Barry M and Nails inc.

Merry Christmas y'all! Hope you have had a great festival season eating lots of food and spending time with your family.
 
Christmas is one of my favourite times of your when it comes to experimenting with beauty products as there is glitter and sparkle everywhere, with a constant excuse to wear sparkly nail polish. For my Christmas day nails I used the Barry M Superdrug Xmas 2012 Limited Edition polish (a silvery blue shade) as my base colour with the Nails Inc Nail Jewellery polish in Piccadilly Arcade - which is a gorgeous glittery green. I have a feeling that the gorgeous Piccadilly Arcade is soon to become my favourite nail polish of the season.
 
 
 
 
 
I am now off to enjoy the boxing day sales - hope you are too!
 
 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 
 
 

Thursday 11 December 2014

NOTD // Christmas Party nails with Jack Wills

 
In the run up to the New Year I like to sift through all of my make-up boxes, drawers, bags and any other random places to dig out forgotten treasures that tend to get saved for special occasions but  then seem to be hidden forever. In my recent find I discovered a 'Holiday Season' nail varnish set by Jack Wills, with 5 gorgeous colours to choose from. Purchased some time ago, I think I've only ever managed to use one of them, with 4 more autumnal/fall colours yet to play with. With my work Christmas party coming up next week I decided to go with a gorgeous glitter fuchsia combination in the shades Cerise and Pink Glitter, as a trial run.
 
Here is the finished product:
 
 
(It looks much shinier in person, I promise)
 
 
Glittery pinks and purples are perfect for the party season and now is the time to dig yours out! As much as I love this colour combo I was really not impressed with the quality of these polishes, especially Cerise. Not for writing negative reviews usually, but I think that nail varnishes are definitely not JW's strong point. The base polish tried with translucent finish, which in my opinion doesn't look nice at all with darker colour. Two coats later the covering still wasn't too my taste. The pink glitter disguised this so well and I was initially very happy the finished effect. unfortunately on the second day of wear I noticed some chipping! Quick chipping polish is a big issue for me and happens fairly quickly no matter which brand I use, but to only make it one day in perfect condition, was a bit much. I will keep rooting through my collection to find a similar shade to go with the pink dress I will be wearing to my Christmas party.
 
What colours are you wearing this party season?