Events: Selfridges Work It - Beauty Launch

Selfridges are currently hosting a new campaign called Work It. Encouraging people to reclaim their lunch breaks and reavaluate the 9 to 5, there is a whole shcedule of activity taking place in Selfridges Birmingham. From Digbeth Dining Club taking over the terrace space outside Kidswear to the Big Beauty Lunch Breaks, there's a reason to drop by every single day.

A little about the idea behind Work It.

"The way we work is changing. From the death of the '9 to 5' to innovations in technology, we're exploring the shifting work-life landscape with a programme of pioneering talks and workshops, life-enhancing product launches and inspiring beauty experiences."

I was lucky enough to attend the launch of The Big Beauty Lunch Breaks and met with some of Birmingham's beauty bloggers to toast the week long series of makeovers, demonsrations, lessons and more. From YSL Flash Makeovers, to Bobbo Brown's Secrets of on the go make up, I even got to meet the fabulous Vivianan Does Make Up!

Selfridges even generously handed out Pret lunch bags to anyone who participated in a makeover from 14-17th May.

Following a week of beauty themed events, there's also been everything from a CV surgery to a chance to have a professional LinkedIn profile picture taken, as well as a talk from Zoe, the store's Personal Shopper on taking your look from day to night.

There's still time to learn how to make the perfect biryani with itihaas and Hemsley + Hemsley on Sunday from 12-4pm instore at Birmingham Selfridges.

Did you come in store during Work It?

Food Review: Wrapchic Birmingham Bullring

Ever heard of an Indian Burrito? That's the concept behind Wrapchic, labelled The Indian Burrito Company.

Serving Indian food in Mexican wraps, Wrapchic first opened in Birmingham in 2012, and now has eight outlets across the UK.

I was invited along to try out this entirely different concept at their Bullring location. Just behind Debenhams the Wrapchic outlet is located on the walkway towards the Pallasades. With plenty of seating and a funky bike decorated in Mexican/Indian style, this place is fun and friendly.

We sat down to try out some of their exciting dishes such as the Wraplette, a mix between an omlette and a wrap and the Wraposa, a toasted bread samosa.

The Wraplette and Wraposa

Whilst my fellow bloggers tucked into Wraps, Burritos and Tacos, I opted for the gluten free alternative, the Bowl.

The idea behind Wraphic is that you choose your outer, then choose your filling, extras (hummus, sour cream, cheese, jalapenos), and add a drink and/or side (nachos, chicken wings, wedges).

Chicken Mughlai Rice Bowl - The Gluten Free Alternative

Choose from a Wrap, Burrito, Taco or Bowl first, then fill with Chicken Mughlai, Chicken Chettinad, Chicken Rajasthani, Fish Malabari, Mutton Madrasi, Mutton Panjabi, Paneer Masala and Soya Amritsari.

As I explained that I was after something that wasn't too spicy, I was recommended the Chicken Mughlai, tikka style chicken in tikka sauce.  Served with a hearty porton of white rice, it also came with grated carrot, onion, red cabbage and cucumber. Despite all this, it still tasted fresh and light as well as very tasty!

Sadly, I couldn't try out the unusual desserts but the banana and black pepper muffic and chocolate chilli cookie looked fantastic.

There are also plenty of drinks to choose from, including a whole host of flavoured lassi from mango to blackberry as well as soft drinks.

Wrapchic is a great place to pick up fresh food fast. Everything we tried was tasty and service was fast and friendly too. This is definitely a recommended pitstop on those busy Saturday shopping days! With thanks to Wrapchic for inviting me to the dinner.

Clinique Smile Event - Chubby Stick in Curvy Candy

Aren't the people at Clinique generous? Last Tuesday Clinique held a Smile event to promote the famous Chubby Stick.

All you had to do was visit their Selfridges Birmingham counter and receive a lip makeover as well as a full sized Chubby Stick in the shade Curvy Candy!

I headed down in the morning and was greeted by the lovely Nicole. Sitting down for a chat, Nicole administered a lip scrub and moisturiser before applying Curvy Candy for me. I also got to sip on tasty a smoothie.

Not only that, but because I was one of the first 100 customers I also received a free bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk and tote bag! Lucky me!

I'm also booked up for a follow up appointment called "For Your Eyes Only", where I'm hoping to find out more about the Chubby Sticks for Eyes.

Did any of you make it down to the event?

Event: Harvey Nichols A Beautiful Mind

Harvey Nichols recently hosted A Beautiful Mind, an Evening of Intelligent Beauty at the Birmingham store.

In the midst of a redevelopment but scheduled for completion in the next few months, the Birmingham team put together a night of beauty workshops from Cloud Nine Hair, Shavata Singh, the eyebrow maestro herself, a Dr. Hauschka expert and Space NK national makeup artists.

As well as serving up glamorous drinks, guests were treated to some thought provoking workshops, my favourite of which came from Shavata Singh.

Shavata Singh

I've been a big fan of Shavata for many years and always wanted to have my eyebrows done by her. Whilst I haven't had the guts to grow out my brows and take the plunge, I was able to hear Shavata speak and impart a few words of wisdom.

Shavata spoke on how eyebrows are affected by your age and profession, and your job has more of an influence than you realise in this area. In addition, she said that it's not about the number of hairs you take away, but where they go from. She also used my favourite adage, which is that eyebrows should be sisters not twins, and revealed that you can tell which hand you write with as the eyebrow on that side will be higher.  Who knew?!

Shavata spoke with such passion and knowledge, it was an absolute treat to be able to hear her talk.

I also had a play on the Nars counter, as my heart seems to beat faster everytime I come near to their fabulous products. I tried on the Palais Royale Lip Pencil and I am officially in love. I really need to start purchasing Nars as I don't own anything from here yet!

I only managed to take a few pictures on the night, but a big thank you to the team at Harvey Nichols for the invitation.