Norwich Blogger Event - The Mash Tun

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a Norwich Blogger Event so when I got an email a few months ago saying there was an event happening in July I couldn’t wait to go. This time I didn’t have to go alone and invited along fellow blogger Kim. We paid a small fee for our tickets and eagerly awaited the day to arrive. 

We turned up just before 2 and already it was very busy in The Mash Tun where the event took place. The first thing I saw when I walked in were some delicious looking cupcakes from Milk & Moss Coffee which is on St Benedicts Street in Norwich. They had been topped with the Norwich Bloggers logo and an edible flower and we could choose between Double Vanilla or Salted Caramel. All of the cupcakes were vegan and gluten free and absolutely delicious. I went for the Salted Caramel. I did find it difficult to eat without making a mess as it was such a big cake, then I noticed there were actually spoons on display that we could have used – oops! I will definitely be heading to Milk & Moss to see if I can get some cakes to take away, it’s great that they can cater for those with allergies.

I then headed over to the Lisa Angel stall as I absolutely love Lisa Angel products. They were very kindly giving each blogger a piece of jewellery! I chose a gorgeous dainty necklace as I loved the marble accent on the little triangle. They had some lovely necklaces, bracelets and earrings up for grabs and it was really generous of them to let us take home a lovely piece of jewellery. I also have a 10% discount code for you guys so if you’d like some discount, head over to Lisa Angel and use code LANWCH15 for 10% off (expires 10/09/16).

I also loved the little quirky stall, White Rabbit Gifts. I thought the pieces were adorable. I am really regretting not buying some Beanies coffee. They had a lovely selection of gifts, I wish I had brought more money with me!

I then headed for the next stall which was the Exposed stall run by the lovely ladies from Just Essentials. They kindly gave us a goodie bag which contained some goodies including false eyelashes, glue, a makeup brush and some nail varnish which I will most definitely get some use out of! I am often popping into Just Essentials for their temporary hair dye and I will be checking out the Exposed range next time too. FYFO were also displaying some of the shoes they have for sale. We also received some frizz serum from The Curl Company.

We also met the lovely Holly from Benefit in House of Fraser who gave us a gorgeous Benefit Passport Cover and Benefit Sample. The passport cover had the Golden Gate Bridge depicted on it which was ironically the last holiday I went on. I can’t wait to use this for future trips. I also spoke to a couple of lovely ladies from Jarrolds who took my details. They want to get more involved with bloggers which is great news and I’d love to be included in any future events. Kate from Arbonne was also at the event showcasing some of the items available. Kim had a massage from Neals Yard Remedies and was also lucky enough to win a lovely hamper filled with goodies!

It was lovely to speak to fellow bloggers Laura, Claire (thank you for picking up my business cards when I decided to drop them on the floor!), Kaycee, Laura, Hannah, Emma and Lucinda.  Thank you to the Norwich Bloggers , Hannah, Justine and Courteney who kindly organised this event. I really enjoyed meeting new bloggers and networking with brands.

Have you been to a blogger event lately?

Benefit Eyebrow Review

So me and my friend Kelly went and got our eyebrows done at a benefit eyebrow counter recently and both came away unimpressed.

I had heard really good things about benefit brows, and have seen my friend Kim have hers done and they looked really good.

I was advised (and saw in person when my other friend got them done) that the consultant maps your eyebrows out, tells you where to grow them, where to avoid plucking and marks them out to perfectly match your face. None of this happened.

She also seemed to wipe off half of my eye make-up and eyeliner in the process and left me with smudged patchy makeup which I didn't think was very professional.

The lady also commented on our upper lip hair (which I didn’t even think was present) and then both made us feel very self conscious and my friend was then pressured to have that waxed too even though she didn’t need it.

After the whole process of tinting and waxing our eyebrows, we both agreed that they didn’t look any different. We also usually fill them in with HD Brow kit, but the lady didn’t fill ours in so I personally felt like they looked bare and patchy. I have seen other people get theirs filled in with the brow zings, but she didn’t even mention this to either of us.

At the end of both of our sessions, she also went to book in the next appointment, booked Kelly in but completely ignored me and sent us on our way.

At £18, I feel that it wasn’t really worth it. My eyebrows were already a good shape so I don’t think I fully ‘benefited’ from the experience. Now they are neat at least I can go home, fill them in and keep up with the upkeep myself at home. I don’t think I will be going back. They now seem to be thinner than before when I had spent ages trying to grow them thicker.

Before (top) and after (bottom)

How Much is My Face Worth?

I recently saw this post on Nelipott’s blog and thought it was an interesting one to do. It also made me realise I spend way too much money on make-up and will definitely be looking for alternatives. I use different make-up every day, but here is a standard days worth. And yes, I do wear a LOT!

Liz Earle Moisturiser £16.25 // Porefessional by Benefit £23.50 // Maybelline BB Cream £6 // Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation £21 // Mac Studio Fix Conceiler £14 // Bare Minerals Face Powder £16 // Stay Matte Face Powder £4 // Sleek Contour Kit £6.50 // Mac blusher in Melba £13.50 // HD Brow Kit £25 // Urban Decay eye Primer £14.50 // Mac Wedge Eyeshadow £12 // Mac Brun Eyeshadow £12 // Soap and Glory Eyeliner £6 // White pencil Eyeliner (Generic) - £1.00 // Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Mascara £8.45 // Glossybox Lipstick £7.00 // Lipcote £3.60

Applied With:
Real Techniques Buffing Brush
Real Techniques Contour Brush
Real Techniques Small Brush  - Core collection £21.99
Eco Tools Big Powder Brush £10
Models Own Powder Brush £10
Revlon Eyebrow Brush £3.99
Mac 217 £17
Elf eye Definer Brush £1.50

Total:  £274.78

Oh dear. How much is your face worth?