The Blogger Hangout Fashion Week

‘ Smoldering embers crackle in delight, sweet citrus scents drifting on by, Creams and potions lined up in a row, soft eager hands ready for inspection,Spotlights flashing upon sumptuous silk, laughter trickling like a delicious melody, All eyes on you, best face forward, pose for the camera-snap,Turn and smile, dripping in unadulterated enthusiasm,Throw that mask into the flames, watch it sizzle and pop,Flames engulf deceit and regurgitate the truth. Life is an act but don’t let that act take over your life’

Greeted by the soothing scent of citrus, rose and natural soap I entered The Blogger Hangout with my girls in tow, overwhelmed by the stalls begging for my immediate attention. Where should I start when each brand permeated expertise, exuded glamour and caught my gaze with a twinkle in their eye? Like sponges we were eager to soak up each brands knowledge and left astounded when almost every brand had some generous gifts for us to claim as our very own and I was touched by their generosity. Growing up I asked for nothing and sometimes I find it difficult to accept that this life I made for myself is actually real and tangible. I can’t thank my lucky stars enough and I pray that someday those negative people can stop and think about their actions and realize that I am not here to play.

Each brand I spoke to only further reinforced that this was the role I was meant to take in adult life and no one not even the bullies could ever take away my life from me. There were of course a few notable standouts – Jurlique, Type The Hype, UK Blogger Awards but all the brands spoke to me in a way that I cannot begin to describe.Out of all the brands the beautiful Gemma from Type the Hype made me feel at home and having met her twice before I felt like I was coming home. I was recently chosen to work with Chi Chi London- my favourite dress brand- and it is all thanks to Gemma’s efforts to get me noticed. Typically they were choosing bloggers who had a following of 15-20 K on Instagram alone and with only 2.4 K I was certain I was not going to be chosen but Gemma proved otherwise.

Gemma pushed my profile under Chi Chi’s very noses and told them to ‘look at my photography’ and the feedback was so humbling. They told Gemma that I was the first blogger in the UK to have that style of ‘photography’ and was an aesthetic they had only seen in the US. Ultimately Chi-Chi were keen to work with me and wanted to see how I could represent the British audience and I am honored to accept that responsibility. It goes to show that with hard work and determination you can push ahead and achieve your dreams. I would have never thought that I would be personally gifted by Chi Chi London when I am not even a big blogger but I am so grateful you cannot even imagine.Then came the representative from UK Blogger Awards who Gemma introduced me too as ‘the brilliant young lady you have to meet’ and honestly I felt like crying. Having such little self-belief and self-esteem it surprised me that so many brands had already had such a high opinion of me and it pushes me to keep on challenging the social norm. Sweet and genuine she told me that I needed to be nominated for 2017’s awards and stated that despite being a relatively new blogger I was going places and could tell that I had strength and drive. It was eerily accurate, I work, network and connect to the point of no return because I have an insatiable thirst to be at the top of my game but at the same time I am eager to stay grounded and the same as I was before blogging. Meeting all the brands taught me that you can still be nice-which hopefully I am- and be successful.

The day was split into two events 12-3 and then 6-9 and both the day event and night event had different brands to speak to and be gifted by. The day brands included the following: Hair Tools, Lava Angels, Leighton Denny, Magnitone Monuskin, The Braid Bar, Thumpsup Nails, Weleda, Amie, Bravura, London Collagen & Beauty Drink, Ioma, Kenneth Turner, Paul Mitchell, SBC Gels, The Curl Company, Type The Hype, Weleda, Zeo whilst during the evening event the brands included Pure Potions. Amie, Berry White, Collagen & Beauty Drink, Dolly’s, Ioma, Jones and Jones, Kenneth Turner. Lab 2 Beauty, Lissie Design, Nadia Minkoff, Sensationail, The Curl Company, Thumbsup Nails, Timeless Truth, Type The Hype, Zeohair Tools, Hydrafacial, Jurlique, Magnitone, Paul Mitchell, Stvdio, The Braid Bar, Trevor Sorbie, United Beauty, Weleda, DA Silva London, Jones and Jones, Sarvin and Xsazia .

There was a fantastic catwalk event that hosted urban brand Da Silva whose catchphrase sweatshirts would be perfect with knee high cleated boot, glamorous and sophisticated dress brand Jones and Jones, the sleek and sensual Sarvin and Bridal Couture brand Xsazia whose dresses exuded confidence and old Hollywood glamour. Out of the four catwalk collections I was most impressed by Jones and Jones whose haute couture creations treaded the line between high fashion and minimal elegance effortlessly and I could not take my eyes off their delicious creations. Because there was so many bloggers attending the event they handed us all a form to fill out with our top 5 choices that we would like to be gifted and our contact details including dress so they could be sent to our homes to review. Jones and Jones took my breath away, the sheer elegance and simplicity of the gowns directly correlated with my expectation of formal wear and I cannot wait to collaborate with them.

Perhaps the best aspect of the night was meeting new bloggers who I cannot wait to meet up with. Having gone to the Blogger Hangout event with my blogging bae Anna Maria from On The Edge, Personal Stylist ‘Kay’ and the ever-sophisticated Akua from Kuiya’s Kloset- poor Christy from Xtine Loves could not attend- I met so many lovely bloggers but there were two in particular I connected with. The beautiful flame haired Emily Rose recognized me from social media and was already following me prior to the event. Emily came up to me whilst I was stalking Jones and Jones and told me what a big fan she was and honestly it melted my heart. It was like we had known each other for ages and we chatted books, fashion and Disney princesses which warmed me to Emily even more. We are arranging a lunch/coffee date as we speak and I cannot wait to get to know her even more. Follow her on Instagram HERE.

Secondly the cool Beth Chudley from Little Capsule Wardrobe has the most perfect hair I have ever seen and her love of graphic design and drive to succeed is awe inspiring. Unfortunately she had to leave early but I was so pleased to have met her and I cannot wait to see her again. Follow Beth on Instagram HEREFrom being gifted serums for my curly hair to being advised on what skincare products would target my combination skin effectively I came away with so much knowledge that allowed me to generate future blog post ideas, organize further collaboration and establish new working relationships that would benefit both me and the brand. I want to thank everyone for organizing Blogger Hangout’s Fashion Week and all the brands for gifting me products I cannot wait to use. Do keep your eyes peeled as there will be a lot of reviews coming up on Faded Spring dishing the T on what products work best and which products did not live up to expectations. I am so honored to have been in the presence of prestigious brands like Magnitone ( Collaboration coming soon) and given the most soothing hand massage by Jurlique’s Claire who made all my stress dissipate with a simple touch. The only downside was having to carry everything back home but I was so grateful to have attended and talked to some amazing characters.

Have you attended a blog event recently?

Reviews coming soon…