Saturday 18 February 2012

Bristol Fashion and Beauty Round Up - February and March

I haven’t done one of these for a while, but now we’re moving towards spring, there are quite a few things going on in the next 6 weeks, so here’s my essential round-up of dates to put in your diaries. Be warned, this is a mega-post!

Grace Emmerson’s Online Shop

Last summer I reviewed a Dr Hauschka facial from Grace Emmerson – it was fantastic by the way.  Now Grace has recently opened an online shop selling the complete range of Dr Hauschka products as well as men’s grooming products from Speick. 

As well as selling the products, Grace is offering Treatment Reward Points which are redeemable against Dr.Hauschka Treatments, Rejuvenating Facials and Massage.  A £50 spend will result in £6 off a treatment – not bad! 

You can see Grace’s website here and I thoroughly recommend a treatment as well!

An Eye For Fashion – Norman Parkinson Exhibition and Events at the M Shed

If you haven’t yet been to the M Shed yet, I suggest you make your first visit to see the exhibition of Norman Parkinson’s 1950s and 1960s fashion photography that’s running until 15 April.  My friend was lucky enough to get two free tickets for us to go to the opening night party in January, which was fantastic.  Most people dressed up in vintage or vintage homage clothes, the drinks were flowing and there was a 1960s covers band, which really added to the significance of the photography to British fashion heritage. 

'Plain Girl' Jean Shrimpton photographed by Norman Parkinson in 1963

As well as Parkinson’s beautiful vintage fashion photography, there was original 50s and 60s clothing displayed throughout the collection.  What really made this exhibition come alive for me was the information about the clothing and also details of how women in Bristol were dressing contemporarily to the photographs and which shops they bought their clothes from.  It’s a fascinating slice of social history, as well as fashion history.  Another friend of mine who went to the exhibition is in her 60s and she absolutely adored itas well – it took her right back to her youth.  If you, your Mum or Granny was young in the 1950s or 1960s in Bristol, I’m sure that you/she would love this exhibition.  Anyone else who appreciates 50s and 60s style (and who doesn’t) would also find this excellent.  Seriously guys, I can’t recommend this highly enough – just go to it! 

You can see a some of the photographs from the exhibition on the BBC website here

Tickets cost £5/£4, although there is free entry on Wed 29 February and Wed 28 March

 

In addition to the exhibition, there are a series of events running in conjunction.  On Saturday 25 February there is Norman Parkinson Gallery Talk with Catherine Littlejohns.  This starts at 11am and is free if you have paid to get into the exhibition.  This tal will discuss 50s and 60 high street fashion in Bristol - I'm so there!

 At 2pm on Saturday 17 March, Angela Williams, Norman Parkinson’s assistant will be giving a talk which offers a personal insight into the Designers of British Fashion portfolio of prints.This is also free if you have paid for the exhibition and will be well worth attending.


On Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 March The M Shed is having a Vintage Weekend.  This will feature the Blind Lemon vintage fair, Magpie Markets (Magpie Markets Sunday only), retro make-overs, 60s music, vintage vehicles, dance, memorabilia and 50s turban making.Dressing up is encouraged! And if you wear vintage style you can have your photo taken by fashion photographer Matilda Temperley (Sat only).

Alternative Miss Bristol


The Cube Cinema is holding an Alternative Miss Bristol night on 24th March!  They say:

The Cube is proud to launch the Alternative Miss Bristol as part of March’s Fabulous Fortnight (featuring the Cabaret, harbinger of charm)

Shamelessly aping Andrew Logan’s Alternative Miss World, this event is about transformation, not beauty.

Contestants are invited from all and sundry to bedeck themselves in fantastical finery to best represent the area of Bristol they feel most connection with- be this a fashmina and oversized Gaga glasses for Miss Clifton or tiffin shaped earrings and graffiti-ed mega costume for Miss Montpelier...

The stage is yours for an evening of glitter, glue guns and glamour, queer beer and straight shooters, featuring our usual blend of film, music and general bloody brilliant party fun.

Participate ! get involved! email the House of Cube Mama eva@cubecinema.com !

See Paris is Burning and The British Guide to Showing Off and Bristol centre on a Friday/Saturday night on acid for funspiration!


£4 advance /£6 on the door 

Lauren who volunteers at The Cube contacted me to ask if I knew of any Bristol fashion bloggers who wanted to cover the event.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it myself, although it sounds like loads of fun, but contact Lauren if you’d like to get involved!  Her email address is laurengurteen@hotmail.com and she says you may be able to get £1 off the entrance as well!

Bristol Fashion Week at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway


The Mall at Cribbs Causeway is holding a number of fashion shows between Wednesday 21 and Sunday 25 March for Bristol Fashion Week.  The tickets are £8.95, and included in the price is a goody bag (last time I went, this was a very good goody bag), and vouchers and offers for shops in the Mall.  You can book tickets here.

However, they are also holding a special fashion show on Friday 23 March for bloggers and students!  I’m going, and you can go too.  They say:

This year The Mall is offering fashion bloggers the chance to attend a special showing of Bristol Fashion Week at 4:30pm on Friday 23rd March. As well as previewing the hottest Spring/Summer looks from the designer and high street brands available at The Mall, fashion lovers will be encouraged to participate in live blogging during the hour-long show.

Lust after the latest catwalk looks while TV stylist Mark Heyes and celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton entertain with their valuable fashion knowledge and celebrity gossip.

The lucky fashionistas who attend will also be able to sample the delights of an M&S 50’s style champagne tea party, win a designer handbag, courtesy of John Lewis, and indulge in the ‘feel good’ treatments on offer in the BFW Pamper Zone.

The first 200 tickets will be given away free of charge. Bloggers and students with a passion for fashion will need to apply to bristolfashionweek@mallcribbs.com before Saturday 10th March and include a link to their blog or for students, a scan or image of their student ID card, for the chance to enjoy the essential fashion edit of the new season trends and colours.

The deadline for applications is Saturday 10th March 2012 and if you miss out on the free ones, you can still attend if you’re happy to pay for a ticket.  The live blogging will be via Twitter (let’s hope my not-so-smart phone behaves itself for the occasion).  The hashtag #BFW will let you join in the fashion conversation!

I’m not sure if anything is going on this week in Cabot Circus, as there’s nothing on their website.  I’ll update this if I spot anything.  Personally, I prefer The Mall for fashion shows anyway as you can sit down, park for free, avoid queues on the M32 and it’s indoors with better acoustics... that’s just me though!

Harvey Nichols


Harvey Nichols are also holding a spring summer fashion show and party.  This will be on March 21 and will take place in store.  The theme will be Gatsby’s Speak Easy and will feature complimentary drinks and trend presentations.  Tickets cost £10 and are available from here.

This sounds like more of a shopping evening than a fashion show, but at £10, it’s not too expensive and with complimentary drinks as well, it sounds fun! 

Contact me if you know of any other events, promotions, special offers etc going on in Bristol in February and March (or later on in the year) and I'll add them to the list!  Are planning on going to any of these events?

Thanks for reading! xx

Sunday 12 February 2012

AWOL Ramble

Hi to everyone who reads my blog - I just wanted to say I'm sorry for going AWOL on you all for all of January and half of February.  I'm not sure what happened, I lost my blogging mojo for a bit and suddenly 6 weeks had passed.  I didn't intend to take a break, but I think life just got in the way a bit.

Anyway, I haven't just been a bad blogger, I've also been a bad beauty addict.  Since I last posted, I haven't done any of these things:
  • paint my finger nails
  • paint my toe nails
  • dye my roots
  • do a fake tan
  • do my daily moisturising.
Oh dear, I seem to have developed some bad habits!  So what else have I been up to?

  • Working hard (my job never seems to let up)
  • marathon training (this is taking up so much of my time)
  • bizarrely not losing any weight despite the marathon training
  • mainly hibernating when not doing any of the above activities!
I'm also in the middle of a marathon challenge which involves saving up loads of money in order that me and the mister can move out of our too small flat into a bigger house in a nicer area.  This is a challenge that will take at least another year and it's one that means I have to budget... and I don't mean that I'll say that I'm budgeting, but then go and spend loads of money on beauty and clothing - no, I actually have to do it!  I've got some form on this - I managed my challenge before Christmas not to spend anything for two months on beauty and I passed it with only a £5 wobble - that's pretty good going for me. 

I've had to think long and hard about how I budget over the next year - it's a question of setting a budget that is realistic, but also isn't over the top.  When I was a poor student I used to have a beauty budget of £25 a month and I was quite comfortable with this.  However, I know I couldn't stick to that today.  Now, I have more expensive tastes and I'm not prepared to compromise.  I've decided to set myself a monthly budget of £100 for all beauty related stuff - from face cream to bikini waxing, from toothpaste to haircuts.  It sounds like it's quite generous, and I think it is really.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to stick to this, with money to spare which will allow for the occasional splurge or I can save it in the house fund... we'll see.

So that's what I've been up to whilst I've been AWOL - I hope all my blogging friends are well and I promise I'll be back this week with some more posts! 

By the way, the 'k' button is broken on my keyboard - it's the most annoying thing!  Especially as my name starts with a 'k'.  I have to paste it everytime I want to type it.... at least it's not the 'e' key I suppose...

Thanks for reading! xx

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