Fashion Fridays

What better way to begin the weekend than a day in London lusting after winter wardrobe pieces and taking in the latest exhibitions at the V&A? This is exactly how I spent my Friday. I love this time of year when we start to feel the autumn breeze in the air, christmas decorations are slowly beginning to trickle into stores, and our summer tans are starting to fade. Summer, I will miss you dearly, but I am so ready to binge watch christmas movies and consume my body weight in hot chocolate.

Having entered my final year at University and begun researching for my dissertation topic (scary I know), I needed to draw some inspiration from current trends and advances within the industry. The V&A is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design and so I knew this was where I needed to be. Being surrounded by art and creativity really gets my brain working so I knew I would really enjoy and benefit from the two exhibitions I saw.

After leaving the exhibitions, me and Ella took a stroll through Knightsbridge hoping to find a place to lunch when we came across this little cafe called Élan. The delicious cakes and beautiful floral display hooked us instantly. Its chic aesthetic and Mediterranean inspired menu were exactly what we were looking for. The food tasted just as gorgeous as it looked and the interior was stunning... SO Instagram.

Now you cannot be in Knightsbridge and not pop into Harrods it would just be wrong. And so, we did just that. Gawking over Céline, jaws dropping over Alïa, and getting extra giddy in Harrods' Christmas world. Then, coming to the realisation that we are in fact poor fashion students and not mega rich heiresses... I put down the Burberry scarf (total SJP AW14 poncho moment) and we crossed the road and headed to Zara. Of course we only went in to look and came out with pieces that we absolutely needed. 

To finish off the day, I owed it to my younger self while in Kensington to find the house from The Parent Trap. This was mine and my sister’s favourite film growing up and I was feeling some Friday nostalgia. Overall, I had a lovely day exploring the latest of what Fashion has to offer and indulging in one too many yummy cakes. Until next time London,

x

Hello London!

So I have officially moved to London (kinda). After securing two internships with some of my dream brands, it was time for me to pack my suitcase and head to London for the summer. Moving in with my best friend is one of the many wonderful things about this temporary move, along with gaining invaluable industry experience, and exploring one of the world's fashion capitals!

One of the many good things about being in London is that lots of my friends are here too, meaning lunch dates and cocktail evenings are a regular occurrence. I spent my bank holiday weekend living my best life, cocktails at Dirty Martini, lunching at The Ivy Chelsea Garden, lusting after the many colourful townhouses in Chelsea, and laying in the sun taking in my new surroundings.

As I make my way down my 2018 goals list, Balayage, check. Read more, check. Healthy eating, almost check. My latest internship and temporary move have me feeling very optimistic about the the rest of the year. Good things come to those who wait. Good things come to those who work hard, and I intend to have it all.. or at least enough to fund my Manolo obsession. 

The Beauty Factory

After weeks and weeks of planning and preperation, the day finally arrived that I would put on my first live event. As part of my university degree for my Events Management module, I was given a brief in which we had to get into groups of eight to plan and execute a live event in order to raise money for a local Birmingham Charity, St Basils. We wanted to create a fun and sophisticated day out for all beauty enthusiasts and so me and the lovely ladies I had the pleasure of working with created our "Beauty Factory". As a BeautyCon style day out, "The Beauty Factory" is the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon for all beauty lovers, featuring masterclasses from industry professionals, blogger meetups, and pop-up stands by beloved brands.

On the morning of event day I had to wake up at 6:30am and somehow put my hair into rollers and attempt a full face of makeup whilst still half asleep as I knew this would be the only free time I would have all day to make myself look alive. We arrived at the venue at 9am to set up for the fun day ahead. Decorating the venue, we started to see everything we had been imagining for weeks start to come together and it was the best feeling. As the Brands and Makeup Artists started to arrive to set up their stands, it was so exciting to finally meet all the people I had been emailing with for the past few months leading up to the event. Looking around the space and seeing every little detail we had planned coming to life was very (as cringey as it is to say) heartwarming. 

Upon arrival, our guests were greeted with Prosecco and Fresh Orange Juice and given a gift bag along with an itinerary for the day. We had Canapés and sweet treats going round for our guests while they browsed the space. Upstairs we had a variety of beauty stands from nail and brow bars to skincare stands to a Bobbi Brown stand, there was lots for people to get involved with. Downstairs we had our masterclass studio featuring some very talented Makeup Artists sharing their expertise. On a whole, the event was a huge success. It has been a working process full of tears, stress, and sleepless nights, but the end result was so worth it to see everyone having such a good time (myself included)! 

Brands who worked the event said they would love to take part in another event as they saw potential for it to grow bigger and better with time so I definitely don't think this will be the last you hear from Cosmetize Events...

Below are the links to some lovely brands and artists that deserve a special thanks for their donations and contributions to making the day so special!
@pollylanecupcakes
@winniebeaulondon
@myglamsquaduk
@hissyfitclothing
@loveyourbrows
@placenail
@jvckriddle
@umanails_
@sef_lvllashes
@elisehegney
@picmeupuk
@tropiclaurapursehouse
@anastaciabeauty
@hennabeautee
@jemma_bowers
@wishuponasparkle
@hairandmakeup_danihaines
@hbmakeupartist
@hollybakermakeup

Day In The Life: Private Coach Event

As some people may be aware, I had a pretty exciting week last week. I was invited to a private event at the Coach House on Regent Street where I got to meet the one and only Selena Gomez. I was invited to this event along with a plus one after I purchased the Selena Grace bag that Selena designed alongside Coach's creative director Stuart Vevers.

The Selena Grace bag was available in three colours, Black Cherry, White and Red. I decided to go for the Black Cherry design as it would be more wearable all year round. I was honestly so excited to finally be able to meet one of my idols and fashion icons. 2017 is the year Selena finally found her style and honestly, I love everything about it. You can definitely see her new style incorporated into the bags she designed with Coach which is why I was drawn to them. She has left behind her Disney Princess vibes and transformed into a fully fledged style icon.

On Monday morning we got a train to London Marylebone and then got the tube to Oxford Circus. It didn't take us long before we reached the Coach store - it wasn't hard to miss with all the Selena fans circling the area. We did have to wait in line for an hour or so (Selena did have a busy day that day see her five outfit changes) but we got talking to some lovely people so time passed quickly.

We were greeted with Coach personalised hand warmers and hot chocolates which were a nice touch for people who were a little cold whilst waiting in line. On entry to the store we were asked to place our phones in a small Coach envelope and they were given back to us. This was disappointing at first but then you can imagine the frenzy of everyone at the event trying to get pictures of Selena so I understand why they did it.

The store's shelves were filled with Selena's designs and her ad campaign was playing on a loop on their big screens. It was then our turn to go down to the ground floor of the store where Selena was stood in a studio style set up in front of a backdrop. I fangirled as soon as I saw her, I couldn't believe it was really her just stood there in front of me. She hugged us hello but to me it's a bit of a blur from then on. We got our photo taken with her by a professional photographer - the lighting was awful. Selena signed my bag and after a couple of minutes we said goodbye.

Once back upstairs we were greeted with gift bags which included a Coach X Selena Gomez coin purse, a cookie, Selena's new single, bottled water, Coach pins and promotional vouchers. Afterwards, still buzzing from meeting Selena, we went for dinner at Ping Pong and enjoyed some Dim sum and cocktails before heading over to Selfridges for some late night shopping.

I didn't get many good pictures as I was just enjoying the moment but overall I had such an amazing day, it was a nice break from university deadlines before Christmas.