Blogmas Day 12 - Manchester Christmas Markets

One place I HAVE to visit every year without fail are the Christmas markets in Manchester - I know some people call them the German markets but now, I feel it's way more multi-cultural.

London Fashion Week Survival Guide

With fashion month fast approaching, I thought it was high time I posted about attending London Fashion Week (LFW) and my tips and tricks for surviving the busy and fast paced week! I have been lucky enough to have attended LFW for the past 3 years, so I have picked up a few helpful things along the way, so read one to find out what they are!

Blogger Beauty School With The Training Room

As a beauty blogger, you are always thinking about how you can learn more and improve your skills with a makeup brush. I know I certainly am and have thought numerous times about taking a beauty course to learn more and also turn it into a career and I was lucky enough to be invited along to a taster day with The Training Room at the beautiful Midland Hotel, Manchester.

Pink Soda Sport and TRAIN Manchester Event

Scrolling through instagram, you are bound to have seen something about Pink Soda Sport gym wear, especially since it is a huge blogger favourite! I was lucky enough to be invited to their event held at TRAIN Manchester and have a go at cross fit, as well as testing out some of their new range.

 

LFW AW16 | Style Notes by Basharatyan V

Just a stones throw away from Brewer Street, BasharatyanV held their fashion week presentation in the alpine themed basement bar, Piste. With the perfect après-ski dinner party vibe to the presentation that not only matched the venue perfectly, but also to the amazing collection on view.

Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past year, weather that's buy reading posts, commenting, following or chatting in Twitter chats. Also, thank you to all the brands I have been lucky enough to work with and hope to work with you again. I am thoroughly grateful for everything this year and looking forward to 2016 - hopefully some big things are coming!

Love Laura x

Blogger Brunch With Get The Label

As I am sure you will know by now, I have been involved with Get The Label's #StayFitDontQuit campaign throughout September and to end the month of fitness, we were all treated to a yummy brunch! Held at Proper Tea Rooms - a unique venue right outside Manchester Cathedral, the yummiest and healthiest brunch was served made up of bagels, fruit salad, a pepper, squash and feta salad and sugar-free flapjacks alongside refreshing juice and their fantastic teas.  Everything was instagramable!
As well as amazing food, we were also treated to a spa workshop, held by the lovely Yvonne from Temple Spa. Being able to try out some of their luxury products was amazing and of course being able to smell them! It was also a chance to relax - exactly what you need after a month of spinning classes.
It was so nice to put faces to names of fellow bloggers and to also meet the team from Get The Label, who were so lovely and welcoming. Getting to try out a new place to eat in the city is also a bonus too! I have absolutely loved bring part of the #StayFitDontQuit campaign and getting to try out a fitness class I may not have other wise done. Also, the amazing goody bag filled with fitness products and snacks was amazing too! It is important to remember that you shouldn't only do fitness during the summer months, it should be a year long thing - don't quit!

Love Laura x

Bloggers Festival London 2015

One of the little things that comes along with being a blogger is the events and I was lucky enough to be invited by the lovely Scarlett to the #bloggersfestival held in the ever so beautiful Conrad London St James Hotel. With its marble entrance and gorgeous spiral staircase, it was a bloggers dream!



Wimbledon Lovin'

As Wimbledon is happening right now, so it seems the perfect time to use it as a little inspiration. There are so many items around at the moment which fit in with the tennis theme, so here are a few of my favourites. All of these items can be worn all year round however, but pairing white on white is just for this tennis event. (unless your feeling brave!)

Let me know what you think!
Love Laura x

National Running Day : Happy Socks X Happy Days

As I am sure all you fitness fanatics are aware, it is National Running Day on 3rd June and Happy Socks are holding their first ever charity 5km run raising money for the children's charity Happy Days. This event is open to all with a £3 donation from every runner going towards the charity.
Happy Socks are a brand established in 2008 who wanted to spread happiness by use of an everyday items - meaning mainly socks and also underwear. This event is being held in conjunction with launch of their Athletic Collection, which is a more sportier sock - perfect for running in!

The run starts by meeting at 7.30 at the Happy Feet store in Seven Dials and the run will commence from there.
There is also a competition running where on run participant will win a pair of Happy Socks for every day of the week and a 3 month memberships to Fitness First - how amazing is that!

If you wish to participate RSVP to HappySocks@sisterlondon.com

Let me know of you go and how you get on

Love Laura x

Warehouse's Urban Garden Party

While I was in Manchester on Saturday, I also attended Warehouse's Urban Garden Party which was held in their Arndale store. It would have been silly not to go seeing as I was already there and with the other bloggers I'd met that day!
Basically, this was a summer event to showcase their new SS fashion in store and also give the people on the guest list 20% off any purchases made in store on the day. So, although it was an 'open-to-all' event, if you signed up before hand on their website you got the offer. There was also a gift, which was a gorgeous plant, to anyone who spend over £70. Also in store, you could get your hair styled by Toni&Guy where they had the choice of around 6 different styles to chose from. I can't forget the selfie wall either! I have to say, this is where I did spend most of my time with all the lovely bloggers I met, taking photos and just generally have a chat.

With the lovely Lauren aka Fashion Panic

While I didn't buy anything, it was nice to have a look around the store as it is somewhere I don't normally look in, but they do defiantly have some gorgeous pieces. I think this is somewhere I am going to have a look at in future - maybe when it's not quite as busy!

Regram from Warehouse Instagram

If you are close to either Trinity Leeds, Dublin King Street or Belfast Victoria Square, you can sign up on Warehouse website to attend and get you exclusive treats.


Love Laura x

#TrendsIllustrated with Dom&Ink

Well today was exciting day for me as I was invited to my very first blogger event!!! (insert happy dance) The event was #TrendsIllustrated in collaboration with Dom&Ink and Manchester Arndale to promote the different fashion looks there are in the city and based around the S/S 15 trends. For those of you who don't know, Dom&Ink (real name Dom Evans) is a fashion illustrator and author of 'Map My Style' which is part journal and part style guide when you can go along and fill things in etc - its unlike anything I've seen before!

 

Now, onto the event itself. This was open to everyone who had spent over £60 while shopping in the Arndale over the weekend but, as a blogger special, I very luckily got mine for free, although I defiantly wouldn't have had a problem in suspending the desired amount! With the choice of either a unisex tee or a cropped there was something for everyone whatever their style. There was a huge range of background shapes, colours, and images along with Dom's amazing illustrations - there were so many to choose from - I was defiantly spoilt for choice. In the end, I got a simple circle with a marble effect fill along with lips and unicorns. I agree it does sound a little crazy but you might as well go all out if you get the chance to design your own tee and as you can see it does actually work. The tees were printed quickly so there wasn't any waiting round - not that I really noticed as I may have been slightly busy talking - and were placed in these cute brown paper bags which reminded me of old fashioned lunch bags?

The tees themselves are really good quality and one thing that surprised me was the way the images was printed on as it is directly on the garment and not one of those iron on then it peels of things. There were so many illustrations to choose from and had everything from pizza to a mermaid! Each was drawn out so well and had so much detail - if you haven't seen Dom's work before you really should check it out.

I had such a good day and met some lovely bloggers also from Manchester who made me feel so welcome at my first event. I now have a few blogger friends! Also thank you to the team at Manchester Arndale for the invite and to Dom&Ink for creating such amazing designs in the first place!

From Manchester Arndale Twitter

Love Laura x

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2014 in London

As it was announced yesterday, the big secret was that the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is coming to London!

All Those Heels

When it comes to buying new heels there is so much choice, making it increasingly hard to find exactly what you are looking for. What colour? Strap style? Heel type? Height? These are just some of the questions that enter you head when heel shopping, or even just selecting shoes for an event! 

Image via Tumblr

High heels first became a fashion in the late 1500s by the soon-to-be Queen of France, as she was competing with a mistress who was slightly taller. Therefore she created a pair of 2inch high heels which gave her an alluring sway and noticeable posture changes, asw ell as the obvious height. As with anything royalty seemed to do, it became a ''hit'' with the privileged and centuries later it's still here ''kicking''....quite literally.


Heel height by your heel experience -

Beginner - (low chunky heels, boots with low heels, wedges)
These types of heels are relatively easy to walk in especially boots. This is because boots hug and support your ankle making walking comfortable, even with the heel. However they are not particularly formal, so for this type of event you may have to forfeit comfort and take a risk!

Intermediate - (kitten heels, block heels with straps, medium height heels with a platform)
These heels will make your walk slower and each step more attentive, but they are still achievable even if you are a flats type of girl. However they will give your walk a slight sway!

Advanced (thin high heels with or without straps and/or a platform)
Practice makes perfect. The more you wear this type of heel, the more natural will feel and also your walk will look more graceful and have the 'sway' that only high heels can help you achieve.

Expert (sky high heels)
Only the brave and experienced high heel walker should attempt these heels! It is an art to be able to walk in around 12cm heel with no platform and being able to balance your entire body weight on an inch square. Take care when wearing these, however good they may look!

What shoes for what type of event -

White tie - This type of event is extremely formal and defiantly not the time to go experimenting. Only closed toe heels should be worn and should generally be made from leather or a satin type material. The heel height should be small and preferably no platform - think of the sort of shoes you may see members of the royal family wearing.

Black tie - This is still quite a formal event, but no where near as restricting as white tie. This means that, as long as your heels complement your dress, any can be worn within reason. Also, pretty much any colour is acceptable too! Look at the shoes you may see people wearing to a red carpet event. 

To most other events, such as dates, weddings, family events/dinners most heels will be acceptable to wear. However, in my opinion heels that are higher than 13cm and have a massive chunky platforms (nice way of saying stripper heels?) are highly inappropriate at pretty much any time.

Are you a high heel fan? What are your favourites?

Love Laura xx