Events: INAA Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards 2013 Bloggers Event

At the start of this week I was invited to attend the Bloggers Do It Best Event as part of the run up to INAA's Scottish Hair and Beauty awards 2013. The event gave us an opportunity to learn a little more about the awards, who was involved and get to know some of the contributing brands. INAA (which stands for 'I Need An Appointment') are the first ever online booking portal in the UK who also offer marketing and management support to salons. I learned at the event that INAA believe in the link between looking good and feeling great - and that taking a the time to pamper and treat ourselves generally makes us feel better. I do agree with that sentiment - after a fresh dye job and the right manicure I sometimes feel like I can take on the world!

The event was also the first time that I got to meet the other Scottish blogger babes, which was a pleasure in itself! What a friendly bunch! Thanks to them I didn't feel like the new girl at school for very long and we were chatting away for most of the night. After meeting up with some of the other girls beforehand, we headed to Apartment 29 where the evening was being held. I must say, this was my first time at this venue and I was impressed. The interior was very pretty, keeping some of the original features of the building (like the stairwell and the high ceilings) and mixing them with contemporary decorating. It made for a very pleasant space to spend the evening in! We were greeted at the top of the stairs and after being signed in, were shown to a room where we were seated and offered drinks and nibbles while waiting for everyone to arrive and for the evening to start.

The INAA ladies sure know how to make a room full of bloggers feel loved! They explained the concept behind the Bloggers Do It Best event and the role that bloggers play in today's market. After the INAA ladies kicked off the event there was a short speech from special guest Lauren Goodger (of TOWIE fame and now a beauty entrepreneur with her salon brand, Lauren's Way). Following this, we were then shown into another area, a bright airy space (which still managed to feel very busy do to the huge turn out) with some very popular beauty brands occupying different parts of the room. Guests from GHD, Bare Minerals, Lauren's Way (including the lady herself) and Bumble and Bumble were carrying out free demos and chatting to everyone about their products. There was also a raffle for one lucky girl to win a new set of GHD straighteners.

I enjoyed the Bumble and Bumble stand the best - Bee from Bumble & Bumble was an absolute star, doing a variety of awesome styles on lots of people's hair. I enjoyed watching her at work, seeing what she would decide to do and coming up with something different each time. She even did yours truly's hair, giving me a sweet retro pin-up style that I was gutted to wash out later! I loved it! The lovely Roz from The Olive Dragonfly (pictured below, bottom left) got a stunning sixties-inspired beehive 'do that she really suited. Plus, I found out that Bee and I both get our tattoos at the same studio and by the same person - small world eh? I must admit getting my hair styled without a mirror was a little daunting at first, but the other bloggers were smiling and giving me the thumbs-up throughout so then I knew it must've been OK!

During the evening some of the Alison James PR team were mingling with us, taking Instagram pictures and making sure we were having a good time. I also spied the other girls getting their tan on at Lauren's Way, checking out the makeup at Bare Minerals and drooling over the new pastel coloured GHD tools. I enjoyed having a nosey at the different brands and chatting with the other bloggers (and to everyone I spoke to - it was great to meet you, you lovely ladies! I don't want to list absolutely everyone because I might forget a name by accident and don't want to miss anybody out!) - before I knew it the evening had come to an end.

We were given some fab goody bags on our way out of the event which included treats from OPI (hurrah!), Bare Minerals and Lauren's Way. We were also given a top secret list of the nominees for this years Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards (held on 26th of May) A big thank you to Alison James PR and INAA for a smashing evening, Apartment 29 and it's staff for their hospitality and the Scottish Blogger Network for co-ordinating our attendance.

More information on the INAA Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards can be found at http://www.inaascottishhairandbeautyawards.com

Did you vote in the Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards? Have you ever booked through INAA? Do you feel like a superhero after getting your pamper on?

Thanks for reading!

Pay Day Treats

I can't believe it's April already! March seemed to disappear in a heartbeat and before I knew it, it was chocolate egg time. Crazy. March was a very busy month so apologies for the lack of activity. A lot has been happening - most notably a change of job/ career to get used to (a good choice - touch wood - as I'm really enjoying it so far) and new hair which also takes getting used to (again quite a jump from what I had before...somewhere between Fabienne from Pulp Fiction and a 'lego man' bob, love it).

At the end of the month I treated myself to a few new goodies as a reward for taking the plunge. Since the "show off your haul" style of blog posts is becoming increasingly popular I thought I would have a go as well*, so here are the highlights of my end of the month goodies...

 

Blue lace dress, £15, Primark

Having seen coloured lace dresses on everyone from Daisy Lowe to Kelly Osbourne for the last few months, I wanted to try this look out for myself. The great thing about coloured lace is it really suits every skin tone as there is a colour and cut of dress for everyone. I opted for this royal blue skater-style dress from Primark. At only £15 it certainly didn't break the bank and the nipped-in waist and full skirt makes for a good silhouette. I wore mine with a red lip and nail combo for a bit of 1950s chic. Even though the dress was inexpensive the lace is really intricate and really the only thing I didn't like about the dress was the cheap PVC belt it came with (I replaced it with my own studded skinny belt). It also comes in mint green which would go great with darker skin tones.

 

Pink heart print dress, £13, Primark

Dress number 2! At this point I was on a roll and couldn't resist this cute little number. A few weeks ago the Boy and I spotted this dress in white, at which I huffed "that would be great if it didn't come in white". Et voila! It now comes in pink! Black and pink is my favourite colour combo, I don't mind looking like a liquorice allsort, especially when it involves kitsch prints like hearts. Again, despite the low price there is real attention to detail - like the bows on the pockets and button-up top. Who says 13 is an unlucky number?

Pink car print skirt, £15 (reduced from £30), River Island

Months ago, I had seen Prada's new prints for SS12 and fallen in love. The colours! The Grease-inspired retro prints! The co-ordinating guys n' gals pieces (including a very well-shot campaign featuring Michael Pitt)! It was all too much. At the moment I can't really justify spending what Prada are asking for, but one thing was for sure - I wanted some of that print! I was convinced that it wouldn't be too long before copycat pieces would start to appear on the high street, and I wasn't wrong. River Island have knocked the ball out of the park with this race car print skirt, a short yet full (perfect for twirling) 1950s inspired piece. I snapped it up faster than you could say vroom vroom.  The skirt comes with a great detachable oversized bow belt too!

Prada's print - a gal can dream

River Island's take (at a fraction of the price)

This month I also managed to get a pair of Topshop's sell-out Vectra 3 studded slipper flats. I made the silly mistake of seeing them when they first came out and thought "they're nice...I'll come back for them later". Bad move. They quickly became one of Topshop's best selling styles of the year (so far) and even had people on eBay flogging them for twice the price. Gutted. Luckily, the lovely girls working in Topshop let me know that they were expecting a small delivery of them last week and put aside a pair for me. Score!

My studded Vectra 3 beauties, £28, Topshop

It could be the influence of the many beauty blogs that I follow (although I have always been a sucker for make-up) but I also treated myself to some new products recently. I had been hotly anticipating the UK release of Revlon Colourburst Lip butters - a product that had caused a frenzy in the states - and couldn't wait to try them for myself. Believe the hype - these bad boys not only offer a range of gorgeous and well-pigmented colours, but they also condition and hydrate your lips. Much better than a tinted lip balm if you are looking for a lipstick look that does the job of a high-end lip conditioner. When I purchased my two shades (Cupcake & Sweet Tart - all the colours are named after sweet treats, very cute!), they were in a 2 for £10 offer at Boots - this offer isn't on at the moment but the Lip Butters are currently in a 3 for 2 deal if you are looking to stock up or try a few different shades for yourself.

Finally got my hands on them - Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters, £7.99 each at Boots

Another new product that I have been looking forward to the release of is Benefit's new Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation. There are a few things about this product that get my attention. Firstly, it's an SPF 25 foundation - not too common in a lot of foundations and when it comes to SPF my motto is "the higher, the better". I won't even entertain a foundation with no SPF. I also really like the range of shades available as I previously haven't been able to wear most Benefit foundations as they are too dark for my skin. The foundation comes in 9 shades (including 2 shades of ivory - one with pinker undertones and one with more yellow undertones - brilliant attention to skin tone that I usually only get on a visit to MAC) and the Benefit assistant was very helpful finding one to match me (and also gave me  some samples of other products to take home). The foundation also offers built-in skincare with vitamins C&E and a unique oil-free hydrating complex which can't be a bad thing!  The foundation is £24.50 and available at all the usual Benefit concessions.

Some of the other products I've been trying out this month are: Nail Rock nail wraps (the Marmite of the nail world, I personally love rocking the nail wraps), Models Own Beetlejuice nail polishes (so it's not just a clever name), Katy Perry for Eylure false eyelashes in Oh, My! (these are hands down the best false lashes I've ever used), and No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream for Dry/ Very Dry skin (I have been a bit slow to jump on the BB cream bandwagon, but what I like about these No7 ones is that they have different ones depending on your skin type).

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation (£24.50), Models Own Beetlejuice nail polishes (£5 each), and sample of Benefit's Total Moisture face cream -  all from Boots

Meadham Kirchhoff nail wraps (£7) at Topshop

So it has been a busy month for me and my bank card! What have you been treating yourself to this month?

* - sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, my Blackberry camera is pretty poor and doesn't have a flash!