Bullring Birmingham #bullringbloggers Event

The Bullring Birmingham is home to so many great shops and brands, so the lovely folk at Bullring invited myself and a host of other Birmingham bloggers along to an event recently to showcase just some of the fabulous beauty and fashion brands on offer.

Hosted in the management suite, I came straight from work and dived into the refeshments table to give me some energy before checking out brands such as Kiehls, RMK, Clarins, Urban Decay and Umberto Giannini.

The drinks were served up in adorable mini milkbottles with pink and white paper straws, and Millie's Cookies even created a special cookie cake for the night emblazoned with #bullringbloggers. Later on in the evening, we were also treated to Nandos and Wagamamas treats (can you tell I'm a foodie?) but I digress!

We were welcomed to the event and then heard a fashion presentation from Karen Millen and had a talk on the new Umberto Giannini Curl Friends range from Umberto's PR manager.

Then, we were left to our own devices! I tried out some products from Giorgio Armani including the Blushing Fabric in two shades, one, a beautiful gold highlighting shade and another that gave a lovely natural flush to cheeks. I also tried out the Luminous Silk Foundation which was super light on skin.

RMK introduced us to their beautiful skincare range, including the Cleansing Balm and we learnt about the brand and its popularity in the Far East.

I also got to try out some beautiful products from Urban Decay and was super impressed with the Strip Palette! I loved how glowing this set made me look and it's definitely on the shopping list.

Next, I had a chat with the lovely Nicki from Kiehls (hope I've spelt that right!) and went through some of their new products as well as classics such as the Creme De Corps, then the girls at Clarins went through their pretty Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector collection of plant therapy infused balms.

We also took a look of some of Shu Uemura's iconic products including the super softening cleansing oils and colour pop make up.

Here's a snap of my fabulous curls courtesy of Umberto Giannini - I just wish I could have my hair done like this every day!

NutellaTasha, The Style Floozie and me!

Last of all, we had a lovely surprise waiting for us in our goody bags - a personalised Tatty Devine necklace! This was such a lovely gesture and I adore my necklace so thank you so much!

Big thanks to everyone at Bullring for organising the event :)

Summer Holiday Outfit Part 2: Fun Florals

Have you made the great Bank Holiday escape? If like me you're still in England, here's a summery outfit to cheer you up!

Floral dress // Peacocks, Gold Flip Flops // New Look, Panama Hat // Primark, Triangle Necklace // Primark

This is not something I'd ordinarily wear in the UK as I tend to shy away from colour and stick to neutrals, but bright colours always look better in a hot climate.

The dress is so easy to wear and could still be worn with a denim jacket if the weather got cooler. Dressed down with simple sandals, it's a great throw on outfit for pool days!

Elizabeth Arden Event at Debenhams Bullring Birmingham

Did you know Elizabeth Arden is over 100 years old? That's just one fact I picked up at the Elizabeth Arden beauty event hosted in Debenhams, Bullring last week.

A host of beautiful Birmingham bloggers headed over to counter for some serious pampering. As well as snacks and drinks, Elizabeth Arden provided us girlies with neck massages, skin analysis and more at the event.

Heading over from work, I went straight to the chair for a blissful neck massage from Stephanie on counter, who runs this fabulous blog. Just the thing to help us unwind, I was putty in her hands as she used the famous Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules Youth Restoring Serum on the neck, one area that we all agreed we don't pay much attention to (naughty!)

Here's a picture Chloe from Flying Fox took of me, as well as one of Hayley having a pamper.

My neck massage in progress thanks to Stephanie from Elizabeth Arden

Stephanie working her magic on Hayley from Strangeness and Charm

As if that wasn't enough, we also got to try out an absolute revolution. The Elizabeth Arden Skin Scanner is a genius machine that measures skin moisture, texture, radiance, pigmentiation and elasticity. Free of charge, simply visit the counter and the therapist will hold up the machine to your skin to measure the above. The best bit? At the end, it will also find your perfect match foundation! Mine was Ceramide Lift and Firm Make Up in shade Beige (I think!).

Elizabeth Arden Skin Scanner

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Foundation

It's such a genius idea as it can be a time consuming process to find the perfect foundation, and I'm keen to try this shade out when it comes back in stock.

I also had a look at the products available and my favourite has to be the lipglosses in these beautiful shades.

We had a great evening and it was so lovely to catch up with everyone. Here's a few group shots:

Paige - Paige's Preferences, Hayley - Strangeness and Charm, Tasha - NutellaTasha, Chloe - Flying Fox, Me, Sunny - Wardrobe Mag, Emily - Emily Jayne Image and Emma - Fashion Mommy (sorry if I've got any names wrong!)

Paige, Hayley and Emily.

Big thanks to Kim and the girls at Elizabeth Arden for putting on the event!

Summer Holiday Outfits - Part 1

It's that time of year again; summer holidays. I've already had my summer holiday but I thought it would be a good idea to share my holiday outfits with you in a mini series.

I took some pictures of my holiday outfits once I got back to the UK so I could show you exactly what I wore, and I'm a little more tanned in these pictures than usual!

It can be really difficult shopping for summer holidays as you don't want to just wear shorts and t shirts, but want to relax too, so I've tried to put together some really easy to wear outfits.

Here's my first summer holiday outfit, and to start, it's an evening look!

Tribal skirt; Primark, Oversized grey t shirt; Primark, Triangle Necklace; Primark, Black strappy heels; Matalan, Sunglasses; D&G

The tribal skirt is a real statement piece that actually features a lot of metal sequins and beads, so to dress it down I added a super casual oversized grey t shirt. To keep it suitable for evening I added plain black strappy heels that and a gold triangle necklace. This look would also work with flat sandals. The black heels are so versatile, I packed something plain on purpose to save space in the suitcase and make sure I could get away with one pair of heels for the duration of the trip.

The entire outfit is budget friendly (my holiday clothes always seem to get ruined from being washed abroad!) and all of these pieces can be worn back in England and I've worn the heels loads since I got back.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Collection Deluxe Lipstick Review - 01 Prohibition, 02 Tallulah, 05 Silent Movie Review and Mardi Grass Lip Balm in Green Apple

Superdrug is a dangerous place to shop. If you're anything like me, time can stand still and I can get lost in swatching lipsticks in particular.

On the way to a meeting, I dropped into Superdrug recently and these Collection Deluxe Lipsticks caught my eye. For such a budget brand, I wasn't expecting much...until I tried them on.

At £2.99, you wouldn't think that a lipstick could have such great formulation, but these glide on to provide long lasting rich colour.

I picked up three shades, 01 Prohibition, 02 Tallulah and 05 Silent Movie and I think they were on offer so I got the Mardi Gras Lip Balm in 01 Green Apple worth £1.99 for free!

Collecion Mardi Gras Lip Balm available here 

Here are the swatches.

Packaging

I love the fact that you can see a true to life colour sample at the end end of the tube thanks to the see through end. The chrome/mirrored effect packaging is a little too easy to get chipped and dirty, but I don't mind this at all. The bullet twists up easily and the shallow slant makes it easy to apply without needing a brush

Formula

What surprised me most about these lipsticks is the creamy formula. According to the website they are a "70% blend of lip conditioners, antioxidants and hydrating ingredients including Shea Butter, Avocado Oil and Vitamin E" which is pretty impressive.

In particular, Tallulah deserves a special mention for being the creamiest, non drying of the lot. I actually think the colour is similar to Bobbi Browns Bikini Pink too.

Prohibition however has a more drying formula and doesn't apply as evenly as Tallulah which is a little bit of a let down when Tallulah is so impressive! I'd wear it with a lipliner for better staying power.

They do need to be reapplied but they dry out evenly which makes this easier.

Colours

Prohibition is a dark, purple toned red with a real retro, vampy 1940's feel, whilst Silent Movie is more of a classic 1950's pillarbox red. Tallulah is a creamy nude pastel pink which is so wearable on my medium skintone. The colours are meant to be 'retro inspired' and you can see this in the red shades especially.

Mardi Gras Lipbalm

Similar to Maybelline Baby Lips, these lip balms are flavoured and scented, and available in Green Apple, Strawberry and Orange. To be honest, I wouldn't have purchased this on it's own as I prefer to go for a more nourishing lipbalm, but this is fine for younger skins.

These really prove that whether a lipstick costs £3 or £30, there's something out there for everyone!