#OxMeet - Oxford Blogger Meet Up

Probably the last one of the beauty bloggers to write about it, today I'm coming at you with my #OxMeet post. My first ever blogger meet up, I journeyed to Oxford on 23rd March to spend the day with a lovely little group of people who shared my passions for beauty and blogging. An amazing experience, organised by Wonder Woman who, by day, goes by the name Adrienne, I left with a new group of wonderful friends, a goody bag to rival Santa's sack, and blog ideas coming out of my ears! Safe to say, a perfect time was had by all!

Mo, Asha, Tami, Hannah, Steph, Hattie, Rachel, Grace, Jess, Me, Ellie, Kelly, Jess, Adrienne, Danielle, Katy, Samantha
Thanks to lovely Sam for the image!

Our first pitstop was Wagamama, where we all came together for the first time over Chicken Katsu Curry and copious amounts of Diet Coke. Despite having never met any of the lovely ladies before, I instantly felt at home, discussing make-up and snap happy tendencies with my newfound friends. I sat and chatted all things intern with beautiful Jess (I hope yours went well by the way!), and I got a bit nostalgic for my student days when she told me all about her uni ball. Sat on my other side was the gorgeous Tami. I'd been following (read: shamelessly stalking) her blog for a while, so it was lovely to meet The Guilty Girl herself. It was such a great first meeting, and would have made the perfect icebreaker, had there been any ice to break. 

After a bit of an impromptu circle time, in which we all introduced ourselves properly, we mozied on over to Crabtree & Evelyn, where we were given an introduction to the company and its products. Kelly and I spent a fair amount of time lusting after their new Pear & Magnolia range, whilst the rest of the girls were pampered with hand treatments and manicures. Whilst we were ogling the C&E offerings, Adrienne took us out in groups to pick up our goody bags. It was like a little school trip, and I definitely felt a sense of childish glee when she handed us bags full to the brim with all manner of cosmetic goodness. It was during our little jaunt to pick up our marvellous goody bags that I got to talk to lovely Grace, a beautiful girl with a beautiful blog, which has just had a redesign FYI, so check that out! We left C&E with a cute little bag containing a few samples and a hand cream of our choice. Crabtree & Evelyn is such a beautiful shop, which I'd never really ventured into before. After seeing what they had to offer, I certainly won't be wondering past without a second glance again!

We then had a little time to kill before our next outing, so we went to Costa to refuel and have a good chinwag. I started slurping my delicious mocha, and my wish list proceeded to expand along with my waistline. It was here that mine and Katy's mutual love for Jo Malone caused quite a stir, and I added a glossy little Maybelline number to my growing shopping list - thanks Tami.

Our final destination was Lush, where we were treated to a Rose themed evening, complete with rose lemonade and delectable cupcakes. The Lush ladies talked about their new Rose Bubble Bar, as well as showing us their make up collection, which was a welcome surprise for me! Who knew Lush did make up, eh? As we all ambled around the store, getting skin consultations and colour readings, nattering about all our must haves and new discoveries, I felt so content to be part of the beauty blogging community. It's when you meet people like this that you realise what wonderful opportunities can come out of a hobby - something that began with you sitting in front of your computer, scribbling  down random thoughts about your passions. 

Of course this post wouldn't be complete without an ode to the gift bag - oh, the gift bag. Filled with products from Caudalie, Hotel Chocolat, The White Company, Wilkinson Sword, and Eye of Horus to name just a few, as well as the month's Glossybox and Birchbox offerings, I know I'll still be playing with all my new goodies for months to come! Sadly, due to the shambles that is the British postal system, we didn't get the wonderful bags from The Blogger Programme on the day, but I was so pleased when mine came in the post. It's such a perfect memento for the occasion, and mine's already hung up on the back of my door, storing all the lovely products I've saved for future blog posts. Thank you so much to all the generous PRs for providing such an astounding array of treats for us all. Know how hugely appreciated it was.

And that's all folks! I had the most amazing time, and will be eternally grateful to Adrienne for putting so much time and effort into the whole thing. 

Lots of Love,

S.

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March Favourites

Another month has been and gone in the blink of an eye, and with it, another collection of products that I've been coveting. I find it hard to believe that we're already in the fourth month of the year, but with the clocks going forward, and sunnier evenings back in my life, I'm getting more and more excited for summer. And I think it's safe to say that this months product picks reflect my sunny mood. So, without further ado, here are my March Favourites.

NARS Duo Eyeshadow//Isolde

This has been in my collection for about a year now, and is one of my favourite eyeshadow duos of all time. I pushed it aside over the winter, favouring more autumnal, less metallic shades, but March saw me fall back in love with it, and I pretty much wore it everyday. A lighter antique gold, and a chocolatey bronze, these two shades pair together for the perfect spring/summer look. I usually use both together, sweeping the lighter of the two all over the lid and blending the bronze through the crease. However, for a sultry night out look, I go all out, using the bronze as a darker, more intense wash of colour which I adore! And these colour make my eyes look so blue! Never do I get as many compliments as I do when I'm wearing this delicious duo. It's a wonder I ever take it off at all!

Stila Stay All Day Eyeliner//Dark Brown

Another product I've had for a while, it never really fell out of favour with me. I just went through a bit of a phase of using a more intense black to line my peepers. However, old habits die hard, and gone back to using a softer, more subtle brown for a slightly more natural effect. This product  is, hands down, my favourite brown eyeliner. Perfectly pigmented, and super easy to use, the ultra fine felt nib gives me precision and control, and is great for those mornings when you need to do your make up in a hurry (every morning in my case - damn snooze button), and just don't have the time to faf about. It's like eyeliner for dummies really, and I love it so.

Sleek Blush by 3//Lace

I've never been one for powder blush, always picking creamier alternatives. I just think they give a more natural finish, and, contrary to popular opinion, I find them easier to work with. But in Superdrug a few months back, a friend of mine recommended Sleek blushes, and at £9.99 for three generously sized pans, I had nothing to lose. Admittedly, it has taken me a few months to end my exclusive relationship with cream blushes, but needless to say, I have now embarked on a glorious love affair with powders. All three products in this palette are beautifully pigmented and blend to perfection. Although my picture seems to portray a slightly pinky hue, the blushes are all in the orange family, my favourite of all the makeup colour families. I'm particularly enjoying Guipure, the middle shade of the trio which, when I bought it, I thought would be the dud of the collection that I never got any use out of. Boy oh boy, how wrong I was! A warm golden orange, shot through with flecks of rosy shimmer, I think it adds the perfect amount of glow to a flushed and dewy cheek. 

Benefit Gimme Brow//Light/Medium

Before I begin, I feel I should tell you that Brooke Shields is my brow idol. Like her, my brows have never been particularly arched, and, unlike her, they have never been all that thick either. I mean, they're not sparse, but I love the look of fuller brows, and I'm constantly searching for products that will help me on my way to Delevingne-dom. In March, I finally found it - my new holy grail eyebrow product. Benefit's Gimme Brow. I went for the shade light/medium, as that's what the woman at the Benefit counter recommended. Annoyingly, it's a little too light to wear over MACs Charcoal Brown, my everyday brow boost, with copious blending needed for a natural look. However, it's the perfect colour for those days when I can't really be bothered, or, more realistically, I'm running late, and I just comb it through solo for some extra eyebrow volume. It's amazing, I now have the brows of Lily Collins, and I'm never looking back.

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm//Audacious

Everyone and their gran seems to have this product, in this colour, and for good reason! I love matte lips, but struggle to find the products that don't make my own pout look dry and flaky. The Revlon products, although not particularly moisturising, don't flake at all on me, which is a huge selling point! The tangerine hued Audacious looks almost neon on my pale complexion, and, for me, it's  perfect for rocking the orange lip trend.

Bumble and bumble.//semisumo

Since cutting my hair shorter, I've really been loving wearing it curly. The curls hold for longer without the extra weight, and it just looks so bouncy, voluminous and healthy. What I'm not loving, however, is the fluff and frizz that appear after drying. To combat this, I've discovered semisumo - a product that I've had knocking around for a while, but not really had a clue how to use. Now, I just rub a little bit of the pomade onto my fingers, and run it through my curls. The result is tamed flyways and a huge boost of shine. I'm so pleased this product finally got to see the light of day in March, because it really is a gem!

Lush//Cosmetic Lad

This nifty little moisturiser is actually designed to calm shaving burn, but I've now adopted it as my daily facial moisturiser. After having a skin consultation at Lush Oxford, the lovely Kym assured me that it's not just for boys, and I went home with a sample of it. Let me just say it. Life. Changed. I've recently had a bit of a lifestyle upheaval, commuting to London daily, and my skin type has really shifted. My previously dry visage has become a little too combination for any of the products I have in my arsenal; my newly irritating oily T-zone is a particular pain. But this product fully balances out the oils in my skin, and even after using a little sample, I've noticed a huge reduction in redness to the point where I barely need foundation any more. As well as all this wonderment, it smells so good I want to grab a spoon. Needless to say, I'll be shooting in to the next Lush store I pass to pick up a full sized pot of this magic cream! 

So there you have it. Another month, another product round up. Have you tried any of the products I've been loving? What are your March favourites? Let me know!

S.

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