Oh Vivienne How I Love Thee!

After the Japonesque consult and the St David's Xmas Shopping Event last week I was invited to the Vivienne Westwood new collection showcase. Ah you know how much I love me a bit of Westwood! 

Her new collection is a collaboration with a number of other top british designers.

The jumpers and jacket didn't really win me over but I am a little in love with the 70's style felt brimmed hats (maroon one in hat box above with blue ribbon, navy one in hat box bellow with black ribbon) they were made in collaboration with Lock & Co. Sadly they are £250!

And how amazing are her vintage style suitcases! Made in collaboration with Globe-Trotter they range from £400 for the mini (on shelf below) to £1285 for the larger one (cream one above)

 Then of course I had a good nose around the rest of the shop, it would have been rude not to!

 Loving the heeled bondage boot above! £375

 Oh how I love her bags!!

 I think the above colour collection is my favourite the black has a grey blue pattern to it, that is really beautiful!

And this dress below is my favourite item from the whole store, the whole season in fact. It is just too perfect! At £520 though it is a little more than I can ever afford!

X-rated images below! Please if you are easily offended do not read any further, but if you love a bit of Vivienne's humour and phallic imagery, look away and enjoy!!

Viv we salute you for your genius! 
Fingers crossed one day I will actually manage to afford something of hers. 

Event - Japonesque Make-up Consult

So last week I got to have my first ever make-up consult, yes first ever! I may be 26, but makeup, as you know, has never been my strong point! So when I was invited to visit the new Japonesque counter in John Lewis to have an entire make over and consult with a makeup artist, I thought I might as well go for it. I had never heard of Japonesque so had no idea what to expect from their products, but I figured it could be a bit of fun.

So introducing the amazing makeup guy, Paul! I was lucky enough to have my consult together with Leanne from A Slice of my Life and Joanna from Just Joanna

 Me getting my makeup done by Paul, he said I have brilliant skin so didn't really need to use foundation, so only spotted it under my eyes and sides of my nose to even my skin tone out. He was really helpful and knowledgable to, so was giving me lots of info and helpful tips on my skin and makeup needs.

 This is the before and after, I was pretty pleased, they only thing he didn't do was my mascara as I already had my benefit one on. I loved the lip colour he used, originally it was a pinky one, but I asked if I could have a darker one instead, and he agreed I could take a bolder look!

So here are the girls getting their consults too!

 Jo's finished look, a bit bolder than mine as she is used to wearing makeup (unlike me)

 And Leanne's finished look with a bright red lip to match her dress!

 The counter looks amazing with all the pretty packaging! (photo borrowed from Leanne!)

 And we were all incredibly lucky to get a goodie bag at the end containing 2 full sized products. We each got the Velvet Touch Finishing Powder Palette which retails at £20. 

 What is cool about all their colour cosmetics range is the packaging is all unique. The place a gel on the surface and drop ink dye on it, then bake it. So every package has a slightly different pattern. They are really beautiful!

Then we each got a separate item - I was lucky enough to get this beautiful Pro Lip Lacquer which retails at £15. In a rich sparkly red colour you can see below! 

Have you heard of Japonesque before? Do you use it? Opinions please ladies!

Events - John Lewis Christmas PR Event

Last week was the annual John Lewis Christmas PR Event - I must be honest, it is possibly the best PR event of the year in South Wales for the local bloggers. It is always a great, fun event, lots of nice drinks, tasty food and some great products and demonstrations!! This year it was held in the Park Plaza's Koko Club, it's a really cool wine bar in the centre of Cardiff.

The venue was amazingly decorated and laid out with all the top new products and christmassy items. There were a great mixture of people there from local bloggers, PR people, brand reps, local press, local stylists and other fab people. Here is how it all looked. Downstairs were the decorations, foods, technology, hair and fashion items.

 Some of the great food samples laid out in the centre of the room. I had a try of the crackers, biscuits, jams, pate and a few other nibbles. Plus some champaign and marmalade vodka - Champaign=good Marmalade Vodka=not so great!

These cheesy xmas tree crackers were really tasty though!

 The christmas tree and decoration displays were beautiful. I'm still loving the glass reindeer below, they had these last year and I just love how delicate they are, so pretty!

 Gift tree, covered in Jelly Belly Beans in cones. They were yummy! As usual there were lots of little treats we could pick up to bring home, mostly food based but also some cute little tea candles and xmas decoration things.

Next I checked out the new technology items.

 The orange case is an iPad waterproof case, that is half submerged in water!! The other i... items are all for budding musicians.

I'm a little in love with these awesome phones! The purple one is so cool! There were also funky radios you can just see on the side of the picture.
I also had my hair curled by the Kamigata team using the new Babyliss Pro Perfect Curler, which is amazing, but sadly my hair just doesnt hold curls, you will see it in my outfit post tomorrow! 
Upstairs was a beauty bloggers paradise with Liz Earle, Laura Mercier and Nars -

 A little in love with that Laura Mercier eyeshadow trio! Beautiful colours!

 Steph from Cowbiscuits getting herself a Liz Earle hand treatment, I also had one and it was lovely and relaxing!

 And lastly the haberdashery department, where you could try your hand at making your very own Christmas card.

 Ella from Hello Ella had a go, and she wont mind me for saying this but she is a bit artistically challenged! Hehe! After getting tangled a few times she managed to create this cute simple Owl card!

So that was the event, there were lots of other great bloggers there and a fun time was had by all. Almost getting into a Christmassy mood thanks to John Lewis, and I am never christmassy until at least December! Thank you John Lewis for all the lovely items in the gift bag, and the samples I got to try whilst there.

Anyone else been to a fun xmas event yet?

Event - Radisson Blu Cocktail Mixology Course

I was lucky enough to be invited to a mixology course in Cardiff's Radisson Blu last week, along with a few other VIP bloggers. Having worked in a bar for so long, being behind one again just feels like home, sadly! lol! But I was happy to attend, with the hubby, as I figured it would be fun and a bit different for a Thursday evening! 

Radisson Blu are launching their mixology courses as a fun event for hen/stag parties, birthdays or any other occasion, so they invited along a few bloggers to try out their new service and let them know what we though. The courses can be booked for between 4-12 people, cost £25 each and last 1-2 hours. During our course we got taught how to make 6 cocktails of varying complexity, and had the chance to try create our own as a team. Here are the highlights!

 This is Kitty, the rep from the Radisson

 Our Belini's! Just champagne and peach puree, tasty!

 The barman's own creation Rum Cobbler

 Jon making up a traditional cosmo, with flaming orange peel! It was a bit of a knockout!

 Helen made a rather yummy Mojito!

Sarah and I mixed up some mean Ameretto Sours!

 Turns out a dry martini actually has bugger all martini in it! It's all rum and, no offence, is gross!

 Colette made a fresh Margarita! 

And lastly Maria concocted our teams own cocktail, which we named the Clockwork Orange! It wasn't half bad!!

And here is the lovely group of bloggers and their plus 1's I got the pleasure of spending the evening with!

And this was Jamie! Our lovely mixologist for the evening!

I really enjoyed my evening at the Radisson Blu, and think the course would be perfect for a fun night out or a great hen party. Having attended a cocktail making class as part of a hen party before, but in a local night club I can honestly say the Radisson one is slightly classier and less messy, so is great if you want a hen party that is a bit quieter or want to a more stylish party or event. Plus at £25 for the amount of drinks we got to make and try is great value for money.