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 24^th 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!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjgS2tpyxvU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iSEnW88cPI

£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 23^rd 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 10^th 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 10^th 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

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

2012 Challenges - Challenge 1 Shower Gel

You may know that I like a good challenge.  Having recently successfully completed some no spend and use up moisturiser challenges, I thought I'd embark on some new challenges for 2012.  My challenges are two-fold, trying to use up the stash of products that I have and to try to save money.  We're saving up for a new house and the less I have in my stash, the less I'll have to take with me when we eventually move!

Today I'm posting about my shower gel challenge.  My challenge is to not buy any shower gel for the whole of 2012.  I attempted this last year, but failed, buying three shower gels during the year.  I probably could have succesfully completed this challenge if I hadn't bought them, but it would've been very difficult.  Anyway, that's not the case this year.  My shower gel stash is brimming with products, swelled with Christmas and sale bargains.  I've also received lots of bubble bath at Christmas and as I rarely take baths, I use this in place of shower gel.  I have not doubt that I will successfully complete this challenge with shower gel and bubble bath to spare.

The photo of my stash shows I have 28 shower gels and bathing products.  I've also got one open that I'm using at the moment as well as one I forgot to include in the photo.  So that's 30 in total.  There's no way I'm going to use these all up by next Christmas, but I'll give it a good go.  I'm certainly going to hold myself to not buying any more shower gels in 2012.  I'll post occasionally about which ones I've used up.

Are you planning on any challenges in 2012?

Thanks for reading! xx

December Empties

Happy 2012 everyone!  I can't believe it's the new year already, how time flies!  Anyway, I've again saved all my empties up for the past month.  I've managed to get through quite a few things this month.

Hair:

L'Oreal Elvive Nutri-Gloss Shine Shampoo - this lasted me for ages.  It's clearly stuffed full of all chemicals, but my hair really liked it - one of the few shampoos I've used that doesn't tangle my long, thick hair.
Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner - I do like Aussie products, and I like this conditioner.

Body:

3 body lotions I've reviewed here.
The Sanctuary Body Wash - I've used this before and I like the smell, although it could do with being a bit more foamy.
Spa Invigorating Body Scrub - not so much a scrub, more a body wash with the occasional pathetic granual thrown in for good measure.  I got this in a gift set and although it smells really nice, its got the scrubbing ability of a piece of silk.
The Body Shop Hemp Foot Protector - another thing I've used before.  I'm not a big fan of this, as I don't find it to make a dent on my poor tootsies.
2 deodorents - I'm not sure why I've included these!  One has been empty for ages, so this was an opportunity to chuck it!

Skincare:

Clinique Moisture Surge - a staple of my winter skincare regime.  I've opened a new one already.
Avon Solutions Ageless Results AM and PM Cream - I tried these as Sample Sundays earlier in the month.
Chantecaille Jasmin and Lily Healing Masque Sample - this was really nice - I'll do this as a Sample Sunday shortly.

Thanks for reading! xx

The Body Shop Brushes - My Top Sale Bargain

Earlier in December, I did a Christmas gift guide which included a brush set from The Body Shop which I said I'd love to receive.  Well, no one took the hint, so I when I spotted it in the sale for £15 (down from £25 full price) I decided it was a must have.  The set contains an eye shadow brush, a face and body brush, a lipstick and concealer brush and a brow and lash comb as well as a brush roll to store them in.

I have to say that these are by far the best quality brushes that I own - how I had not discovered these before? 

The eyeshadow brush, in particular, is amazing.  It is soft enough to be kind on your eyelids, but is also stiff enough to give a fantastic application. Since I got this two days ago, I've found applying my eyeshadow a complete breeze.  No longer are the colours muddied and my application sloppy - this brush makes eyeshadow precise and defined.  Seriously, my eyeshadow has never looked better.  I'm seriously considering buying another set of these, particularly if they are reduced further.

In terms of value for money, this brush set is fantastic value.  The individual eyeshadow brush costs £9, the face and body brush is £16, the lipstick and concealer brush is £9 and the brow and lash comb is £8. So, if you were to buy these individually, they would cost £42 (without the brush roll they come with).  For £15 for the lot, you can't go wrong! Also, there was a huge stack of these in the store and they are still available online, so you haven't missed out on these.

I'm so glad I bought these - I'd heard good things about the Body Shop brushes before, but I hadn't realised quite how good they were.  I'm now converted!

Have you tried these?  What's your best sale bargain this year?

Thanks for reading! xx

Controversial Post Alert... I Just Don't 'Get' Lush

I think I may be the one dissenting voice in blogger-land, but try as hard as I like, I just don't 'get' Lush...  I'm always popping in there to see if there are any bits and pieces that tempt me, but I usually leave empty handed.  I'm never sure what to buy or how to shop there.  I have tried, including recommendations from other bloggers, but I just don't 'get' this brand.

In the past decade or so, my Lush purchases and gifts I have received have been the following:

1 bath bomb that got damp before I could use it (but smelled lovely)
1 bath bomb that covered my bath in glitter and left what looked like a dead butterfly floating in my tub (it was a fabric one, but I did get a shock)
1 massage bar (I do quite like this one)
1 packet of Rockstar soap (that I'm using to fragrance my lingerie drawer - I'm not overly keen on the smell)
1 very large bottle of Snow Fairy shower gel - I asked for this for Christmas after reading all the great reviews from other bloggers and thought this would be a good intro into Lush - to me, it smells absolutely disgusting - like medicine!

Maybe it's because I'm not into really sweet smelling beauty products, maybe it's because taking a bath is a very rare occurrance for me (I do shower, don't worry), maybe it's because so many of their products are messy and cluttery or maybe it's because when I was a teenager Lush didn't exist - it was the Body Shop all the way for inexpensive beauty products in my formative years.  I'm not sure why, but nothing from Lush is really rocking my world.  My job involves me visiting town centres all over the south of England and whenever I spot a Lush, I do pop in to see if there's anything to tempt me - there rarely is.

So ladies, what am I missing out on?  Please help me - am I ever going to find anything in Lush that I actually like?!  Given I don't take baths and I get through about 2 bars of soap a year (and have about 20 in my beauty storage), please let me know what you think I should take a look at.  I could really do with some suggestions, as I'm determined to finally 'get' what all the hype is about!

Thanks in advance for your help! xx

No Spend - the Final Update

I set myself a little challenge back at the beginning of November... the challenge was to not spend any money on beauty, cosmetics, skincare etc or any clothing and accessories until 25th December. 

I've updated a couple of times on this, and by and large, I completed the challenge successfully.  I find it easy not to spend money on clothes and accessories - although I love new clothes, I hate shopping for them, so this part of the challenge wasn't hard for me. 

It was slightly harder to avoid beauty and skincare products.  I blogged earlier this week that I had forgotten about two Glossy Boxes which I was billed for.  Fortunately, due to the way I pay for my Glossy Boxes, they come out of a different budget to my normal beauty spends...so I could pretend they didn't really count.  Maybe I should.  I also bought a £5 nail polish, which was bought to ensure I spent enough on Boots points night to get an additional £12 worth of points - worth it I think.  What I didn't buy was any extraneous or impulse makeup or beauty.  I didn't chuck anything into my trolly at the supermarket and I didn't just pop into Boots - this was helped by the fact my office has moved and I no longer have a Boots just next to my office... Last week, I did end up buying some footcare products, but these are more medical than beauty so they don't count either.

So I've been pretty successful with this challenge, and I'm pleased with how it's gone.  However, I have spent an obscene amount of money (for me) in the sales over the last couple of days.  There are lots of bargain gift sets coming my way and some more I picked up in the sales today.  I love gift sets! But I'm sure I'll have to do another no spend for most of next year to make up for it!

Thanks for reading! xx