Branded Lab Spring/Summer'15 Showcase: Get Branded

Hello!

I recently went along to PR agency, Branded Lab's Spring/Summer showcase - 'Get Branded'.

Branded Lab look after some great high street fashion brands and as I'm not so familiar with some of the labels they represent, I was really excited to see their SS15 collections and get to know them better.

The brand showcase was held in Manchester's amazing Rosylee tearooms - one of my favourite places which has recently been transformed into more of a restaurant; I haven't been in for a while so it was great to see the changes to their menus and decor.

Clutch bags from KoKo Couture

Pieces from South Avenue

Bejewelled Coord by KoKo Couture

Pick 'n' Mix!

South Avenue Coord and NaaNaa paisley playsuit

Alex and I looking at the ranges and being papped by photographer Sophie Lobban

Rosylee provided the perfect atmosphere for a fashion event - the inside is so sophisticated yet still maintains that Northern Quarter quirkiness. It has a real vintage feel to it and lots of pretty touches like interesting light fittings and plants around the venue.

While being treated to delicious, classic spring cocktails and the most incredible mini desserts (not ashamed to say that I tried all of them!), it was great to catch up with some of my favourite bloggers as well as meet some new faces.

On to the collections! I was really impressed with the brands on display which included British-made leather bags by Harriet Sanders, Jailbird Jeans, Ruby Prom, NaaNaa and South Avenue. The latter two brands were behind my favourite pieces of the evening which I've photographed above: the dreamy pastel pink Clueless-inspired check coord two-piece set and the cool boho-style red paisley playsuit.

Thanks to Branded Lab for a great evening and for a fabulous goody bag which included products from Lipcote, Elf and Avon - as well as a huge bag of sweets from their amazing pick and mix stand!

Have you seen anything you'd love to wear this spring from these brands?

Manchester Meets Las Vegas: DivasGlamVegas!

Hello!

Last week I attended a very glamorous event, allowing me the chance to get properly dressed up (for once).

The event, which was held at the ultra-glam Milton Club in Manchester, celebrated everything Las Vegas; complete with a roulette table, indulgent cocktails, a photobooth and even our very own Britney Spears!

Me left: Necklace - Vivienne Westwood

Dress - Little Black Dress

The #DivasGlamVegas event was hosted by Thomas Cook Airlines who really knew how to look after us. The Milton Club was a perfect venue for a Vegas theme as it's so opulent inside (and they can make a great cocktail, which is of utmost importance in my book).

There was such a feel good vibe and I really enjoyed trying my hand at roulette (which I was shocking at!) and messing about in the photobooth with Fikki and Lola from Pastime Bliss and the lovely Frances at Frances Cassandra, as evidenced above!

There were also some great mini makeovers on offer like ombre lips and sparkly eyelashes - the perfect finishing touch to our diva looks. I was actually a little apprehensive about wearing my dress as it's pretty over-the-top compared with my usual uniform of ripped jeans and trainers; though it was great to see that everyone else seemed to have gone all out for the Vegas spectacular.

I would absolutely love to visit Las Vegas myself. I'm sorry to say that I've never travelled further than Europe - I would love to see more of the world but struggle to get enough funds together for a big trip away. I was pleased to hear that Vegas is a little more within reach as this event was to mark the introduction of affordable return flights to Vegas from Manchester Airport, as well as a handful of other airports, which start from as little as £549.

Thomas Cook have put together a great mini website full of tips and ideas for things to do and see in the city, especially for us chicks! Get the low down, here.

Have you been, or would like to go to Las Vegas?

Katy Perry at Phones 4 U Arena Manchester

Hello!

This post is a bit belated though exciting all the same.

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to see Katy Perry in concert on her Prismatic World Tour along with a handful of other bloggers in Manchester.

The amazing team at the Phones 4u Arena invited us into our very own VIP suite to enjoy a little pre-party complete with cake, nibbles, drinks and complementary make-up and manicures.

Did I mention cake? Oh boy was there cake! Sorry for what's probably too many photos but wow, that cake was good.

I indulged in a gorgeous slice of red velvet cake which, if I remember correctly, had bubblegum flavoured icing.

If any Manchester-based readers would like to try cakes like these, they're made by the very talented Charlotte O'Toole aka BakeOrama and her team who also supply Northern Quarter eateries Home Sweet Home and Almost Famous with their sweet creations.

It was really nice to attend the event with a small group of friendly bloggers. Above are Lily and Frances, always nice to catch up with these two! I also met the lovely Terri for the first time (hope we cross paths again soon) and the beautiful Rosie was there too.

Sheer daisy top- Glamorous

Bralet- Forever 21

Fluffy green pompom earrings- DIY

Choker- eBay

High waist leggings- Tinned Bananas  

The venue was absolutely packed with fans and there was a great atmosphere. You get a really unique view of things from the VIP boxes and can see the whole arena.

Katy was supported by Swedish female duo Icona Pop who you might know from the hit '(I Don't Care) I Love It' which has been all over the UK charts.

There was a great build up to Katy Perry's entrance and the crowd went crazy when she reached the stage.

I haven't really been to many big arena shows so this was such an experience for me.

The choreography, staging, outfits and lights were absolutely sensational and Katy had a great rapport with the crowd.There was a prism-shaped standing area at the front and those guys were seriously close, getting lots of high fives from the singer!

Some highlights for me was the staging for 'Dark Horse' which was Egyptian-themed with an awesome huge horse on stage which you can see in my photos below; the 'dance cam' which picked up some hilarious moves from the audience; the big inflatables during 'California Gurls' which included a replica of the smiling poo Emoji! And of course the amazing outfit changes. There were so many outfits! During the 'kitty purry' part of the show, she donned a pink catsuit backed by dancers completely kitted out as cats (was there a little pun there?). I also liked her acidic yellow smiley face costume which had a 90s rave theme, as did part of the show.

All in all she was amazing and I'd definitely recommend going to see her live. You forget just how many hits she's had!

She also did a double encore which involved getting a lucky member of the crowd on stage for 'Birthday' and she finished the show with an amazing version of 'Firework'.

Enjoy the photos!

We were given some more amazing cake to take home as well as a great goody bag which featured some thoughtful bits from Boohoo to tie in with their #ExperienceEverything campaign.

Thank you so much to Phones 4U for inviting me- I had the best night!

Have you seen Katy Perry in concert before?

Love,

Foxy x

La Senza Hello Sugar Event

Happy 2014!

Funnily enough, I'm opening with a post from last year. I just never got around to blogging this and it was a great event so better late than never, ey!

I'd like to say that I've resolved to blog more in 2014 etc. but it's just not the case. I find that I really don't have much free time at the moment and I'd rather do a decent post when I get time than just post for the sake of it. Hope you all will stick with me on that front.

Yeah so this one was a fab event for lingerie brand La Senza which was held at their Trafford Centre store to mark the launch of their 'Hello Sugar' push-up range. The first image below is one of the styles.

It was a really nice intimate event with them inviting just a handful of us Manchester-based bloggers to the store, which they closed just for us!

We also had the amazing WAH Nails on had to give us manicures with a nail art accent. I chose an awesome glittery green leopard print design- so wish I could do that shit myself!

Take a look at my pictures from the event below.

After having a really informative talk from the team about getting the perfect bra fit (actually learnt a few things!) we were offered bra fittings and the chance to browse the ranges and choose a lingerie set for ourselves. The lovely Lola from Pastime Bliss took the above picture of me grinning with my bag of goodies!

I chose tiger print style above from La Senza's 'Beyond Sexy' collection which has amazing harness-style straps across the front.

I've worn it a few times under low neck tops to expose the straps and got loads of compliments.

I think this style is actually in their January sale at the moment too!

Do you shop at La Senza?

Love,

Foxy x

Fabb Events Manchester

Hello!

Wow, hasn't the weather in the UK been so nice!

I think last weekend was probably when the heatwave kicked off, however rather than been outside, I was at the Fabb blogger event in Manchester's Northern Quarter. Not to worry though as it was a really great day. Ray and Tor, the organisers, did such an amazing job with it!


Here's what I wore.

Football jersey: Oh My Love

Earrings: House of Midas

Black skinny jeans: Primark

Vagabond Flora Sandals: ASOS

I've started wearing my hair up more and more at the moment now it's long enough- too hot to keep it down!

I've also got a closeup face shot in there as I'm wearing some new makeup. I was recently asked to choose a few things from Debenhams to try out. I actually didn't realise they stocked MAC (I'm sure they didn't in my local store when I last went) so that was a nice surprise. I chose a new lipstick- Lickable, which is a Creme Sheen. I've never had one of the Creme Sheen lippies before and actually really liked this. It's a really bright pink with a slight blue hint. I think fans of Girl About Town would love this one too. I also chose the Superslick Liquid Eyeliner in On The Hunt (black). I was actually really impressed with this liner; it dries super fast and doesn't budge all day. I went out with friends after the Fabb event and didn't need to reapply it all night!

I'm also wearing my new favourite sandals ever.

Introducing the Vagabond Flora's! They have been likened to 'Dad on Holiday' sandals by some and I'm not gonna lie, I spotted an aging gent wearing a very similar brown pair in the park yesterday but I love them all the same.

I got these half price in the ASOS sale; still there I believe. I actually had a mini crisis at the checkout as I couldn't decide between black or white so ordered both! Sadly I had to part with the white, despite quite a few people preferring them. Black 'til I die.

Anyway, back to Fabb.

I was there as a kind of hybrid guest. I'm sure some of you will know that I work for South Beach Swimwear and we took the brand along on the day so I got to experience the event from a brand point of view as well as a blogger.

Here's our stand:

As I blogger working professionally on a brand, it's great for me to get feedback from other bloggers as I truly believe that bloggers are overtaking traditional media in terms of trendsetting. As always, it was lovely to speak to everyone on the stand and get people's thoughts on the collections.

There were some other amazing brands there too.

Among my favourites were fashion bag brand La Moda. Loved the black bag below.

Plus Tinned Bananas who I absolutely adore. Must admit, I've ready bought some stuff with the generous discount code they gave us! Check out their amazing prints.

And also Lavish Alice. Their Autumn/Winter'13 collection is AMAZING. Fell in love with their checked, vinyl trim blazer below.

Other great brands at the event who gave us a generous supply of goodies were Vita Liberata a self tan brand stocked by top salons, Health Point Ltd. who gave everyone really generous goody bag full of beauty products (their Derma V10 products are really great value- keep a lookout!) and Eldora false eyelashes who make the most insane fancy lashes! 


Ray and Tor also had the most amazing event goody bag put together for everyone too. I had to take a video of my haul from the day because there was so much!

A massive thanks to Ray and Tor a wicked day. If you're a blogger, make sure you look out for Fabb Events coming to a city near you.

Love,

Foxy x

South Beach Blog Party

Hello!

I thought I'd share another event that I've been at recently, though this one's a bit special as it was organised by little old me!

I don't think I've really mentioned work much on my blog but for anyone who might be interested, I work for an imports/wholesale company who supply lots of high street and online clothing and accessories shops. My title is Website Coordinator which, let me tell you, covers a hell of a lot!

We do a lot of swimwear so last year decided to launch a brand; South Beach- who do lots of gorgeous colourful biknis, swimsuits kaftans and cover-ups. Definitely check them out if you're going away somewhere hot this summer.

As Website Coordinator I've been very much involved with promoting the launch handling all the marketing, website, social yadda yadda... SO deciding to put my lovely blogger contacts to good use, I organised a blog event!

It was held at the fabulous Frurt frozen yogurt shop in Spinningfields, Manchester. We thought it would be really fitting and summery; and frozen yogurt is reasonably healthy right? (I'm justifying adding Hershey's Cookies and Creme chocolate to mine that way) So perfect if you're trying (and failing) to get bikini ready this summer like me.

I was flapping around the office like a mad person on the day, packing goody bags, cleaning glasses and generally panicking that no one would turn up- all made worse when the sky turned grey and it poured down, Manchester style! Luckily, like some divine miracle, as soon as we got there the sun came out which looked amazing shining through the big glass front of the shop.

Most importantly, people came.

Here are some of the photos I took (as the 'official' photographer haha).

My strawberry prosecco bellinis

I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar- true story. Having been a barmaid for a number of years comes in handy from time to time in life, as witnessed above with my yummy strawberry prosecco bellinis (very easy to make) which I think went down pretty well!

Lovely bloggers Amy (www.thepretrender.blogspot.co.uk/) Clara (www.countessdublush.com), Victoria (www.inthefrow.com) and Rosy (www.rostinted.blogspot.co.uk)

Gorgeous ladies Sindy (http://www.sindy-ng.blogspot.co.uk/), Lily (http://www.lilykitten.com/) Martyna (http://www.elmartina.blogspot.co.uk/) and Ashleigh (http://www.prettygirlrich.blogspot.co.uk/) 

Martyna (www.elmartina.blogspot.co.uk), Lily (www.lilykitten.com) and Lola/Fikki (www.thepastimebliss.blogspot.co.uk)

Beaut ladies Megan (www.whatsnewpussycatt.blogspot.co.uk), Charlotte (www.lurchhoundloves.com), Danielle (www.ablogfromblackpool.com) and Frances (www.francescassandra.blogspot.co.uk)

Frances (www.francescassandra.blogspot.co.uk), Joanna (http://www.mintyessence.com/), Danielle (www.ablogfromblackpool.com) and Lola (www.thepastimebliss.blogspot.co.uk)

And the only picture of me on the night below.

Me: T shirt- vintage shop in Manchester; Jeans- American Apparel; Brooklyn T-bar wedges- Jeffrey Campbell

With, of course, the lovely Sarah of Fashion Dotty- she looked amazing!

I also stuck the Vita Coco cabinet on the side (it's not all distorted and pink and surrounded by stars in real life- though it should be) as I thought these guys deserved a mention. I'm not all that keen on the plain coconut water but the staff at Frurt made us some UH-mazing fruity mocktails with this stuff and they were to die for! They also set up a beachy deckchair and palm tree for us which you might have seen as a prop in some of the bloggers' posts.

There's a few more pictures of the event here too.

Sorry for anyone I've missed pictures of, it got quite busy at one point and there wasn't much room to get down to the bottom of the venue with my camera. I know in particular Rosie and Maria, I didn't seem to get you!

I had such a stressful good time organising the event; I can't remember who said it but one of the girls said to me on arrival that it must be like organising your own birthday party- you can't enjoy yourself until you're actually there which I could definitely identify with!

Big thanks to Frurt and Vita Coco for giving us all something lovely to eat/drink and HUGE thanks to all of the bloggers who took time out of their days to come down and check it out. From the bottom of my heart, I was really touched by the turnout and the lovely feedback on the event and range.

If you want to see what any of the bloggers thought, try searching #SouthBeachBlog party on Twitter for posts and also on Instagram too for pictures.

Much love,

Foxy x