Afro Hair & Beauty Live 2013

On May Bank Holiday weekend last week,  Sunday 26th marked the arrival of this years , Afro Hair and Beauty Live. I couldn't have been anymore excited as we got presented with complimentary VIP tickets to be VIP bloggers for our favourite haircare brand ORS (formally known as Organic Root Stimulator). 

For those who've never attended, We thought we would provide you with a brief description of the event that has been in continuation for 31 years.

1. Incredible natural hairstyle inspiration from exhibitors and visitors.
2. Discovery of emerging talent from fashion, beauty, skincare and more
3. Impeccable fashion show showcasing an mixture of fashion designers
4. Workshops , seminars and demonstrations from experts and haircare giants explaining use of products correctly and how to care for your hair
5. Freebies, so many exhibitors hand out freebie samples to trial and if you purchase then you get even more
6. Discounted products compared to high street prices.

When we arrived, we decided to check out the ORS VIP Bloggers lounge, where we met Stacey who briefed us on the re-branding of ORS and their new future blogger programme which uses bloggers to help introduce and promote the ORS brand to the public.

 
The Bloggers lounge was cute, although it was not as exclusive as we wanted, but Stacey informed us that they did try, and hope that next year it will be bigger , better and more exclusive for the bloggers *I guess that's an incentive to return next year*. We also got given a goody bag with free samples and other trinkets.

Of course the first stand we decided to check out was ORS *which seemed to have downsized this year. We didn't buy as much as usual as we still have a lot of products from last years AHBL haul, so this year was more of a top up on our products.

Unfortunately, because we arrived later than we originally planned, we did not get to see the shows or attend any of the masterclasses. Although we did watch the Barbers competition, as they all competed to create intricate designs in approximately 30 mins.

We also saw some great upcoming talented fashion designers, combining the beautifully vibrant African print fabric with Western fashion designs. I was fascinated by the huge selection of clothing, African prints, accessories and jewellery from Online retailer Sapelle and Tore Collections.

All in all the Afro Hair and Beauty Show 2013 was good, however compared to last year the focus did seem to be more on curl defining products rather than natural organic products. After a long day of admiring the new products we went out to eat at our favourite Chinese buffet, which seems to be our annual tradition now.

What did you think of the Afro Hair and Beauty Show 2013?

Hugs and Kisses

My favourites from Primark's latest

Favourites from the latest in Primark by kamarla featuring summer sandals

Top Row: Black and White cutout skater dress - £13
Royal blue laser cut bodycon dress - £10
Denim and printed tie blouse - £7
Leather collared green blouse- £10
Mint collar top - £10
White bodycon dress - £13

Middle Row: Aztec print skater dress - £10
Mexican feather necklace - £8
Printed vest - £12
Denim pinafore dress - £12
Twist lock cream clutch - £6
Jewelled collar blouse - £10

Bottom Row: Aztec print maxi dress - £10
Red off the shoulder peplum top - £6
Blue floral print jeans - £13
Denim shorts - £10
Laser cut clutch - £6

Hugs and Kisses

Bakerdays - Postbox Cake *

Baker Days kindly sent me my own personalised La Belle Aventure letterbox cake. I had previously heard of Baker Days from another blog and was excited to be presented with my own cake.

Credit : Baker Days.com

Who are Baker Days?

Baker Days is a relatively new online service for creating personalised cakes for all occasions, throughout the UK; based in Nottingham and founded by Andrea Guzyova and Alan Hawkes.

They create a range of  design cakes with names, messages or images of our own choice and can upload it on  their unique letterbox cake, celebration cakes, photo designed cakes or cupcakes.

Cakes can either be the usual vanilla sponge cakes but they offer other alternatives for an extra fee such as Carrot cake, Fruit cake, Double Chocolate chip, Gluten and Wheat Free cakes.

All Bakerdays cakes are handmade with good quality ingredients and contain no preservatives.

They can deliver fresh cakes, the next working day if ordered before 2pm and every cake is presented with candles, mini card and balloons.

Not knowing what design I wanted, I sent Baker Days a selection of images associated with the blog. When their in-house designer created it, they sent me a preview to see if I liked the design. I was so glad with the final creation because it was an exact replica of our blog image.

However, if you do not want to upload your own design via their easy to use website then they have over 400  design templates to choose from which can suit your needs.

They arranged to send me the cake on a date I specified, due to moving out of my uni accommodation. So when I finished moving back home on Saturday, I found the cake sitting by the letterbox.

The presentation of the actual cake was amazing. The cake comes in a cute little round gift tin embossed with 'Just For You' which gives it a really personal touch, a mini floral card to write a message and a mini packet of love hearts.

When I opened the tin, the cake was packaged in plastic with instructions of how to safely remove it from the tin.

 Once I removed the plastic wrapper, I was surprised how clear and detailed the design came out! The actual design is printed directly onto the icing and is stretched all around the sides including the cake board.

Although I forgot to mention when ordering what type of cake I wanted, I was luckily presented with a cake that I liked which was 'Carrot Cake'. The carrot cake was nicely flavoured with spices and the texture was very moist, I enjoyed it a lot.

Personally, I think Baker Days has created a perfect sized cake for those celebrations which require only a small cake as a thoughtful gift, whether it be for 'Passing driving test' or  a 'New job'. I would even purchase these cakes for friends who are away at university and unable to celebrate birthdays with everyone as they are only 5 inches in size and provide 3-4 portions.

You can buy a letterbox cake for £14.99 inc. delivery here.

If you are looking for a larger sized cake then you can choose from the other 3 options available at Bakerdays such as:

Small Party cakes 7 inch (8-10 portions)
Medium Party cakes 9 inch (29-30 portions)
 Large Party cake 9.5 inches (45-55 portions)

Like Bakerdays on Facebook and follow Bakerdays on Twitter

What do you think about the letterbox cake?

Love , Peace & Besos

*Bakers days gifted me with the letterbox cake to review

My 21st Birthday Haul

As I mentioned in my previous Birthday post, I wanted to show you the gifts I received from my 21st last week.

Personally, I am a big fan of haul posts and love to see what people purchase or receive. I have tried to condense what I got,  but I got quite a bit so it will be a picture heavy post. I got most items either exactly or similarly from my Wishlist post.

So without, further ado, this is what I received for my Birthday.

Swarovski Gold Angelic Ring

21 Wine Glass

Jules & James Gold/Silver Watch & Bracelet

Breda Rose Gold Watch

One4all voucher

Pearl Bracelet

Miso Statement Necklace

Mikey London Heart & Key Necklace

Swarovski Crystal Gold Leaf Bracelet

Britney Spears Fantasy EDP

Sugar Flower Tutorial Book

Thortons Classic Chocolate selection

21 Silver Photoframe and Key

House of Dereon Aztec Dress

H&M Blazer

Jane Shilton Cream Tote Bag

Pastel Multicoloured Polka dot Satchel

ZARA Office Bag

Gold Detail Bowler bag

Gold Diamond Nose Stud

Selfridges gift card

I am so unbelievably grateful and shocked at all the gifts I received. I know I won't need to shop for a while now, as I have everything I need so I can save money before I relocate for my upcoming Finance placement in July.

Peace, Love & Besos

Pop Bands *

Want in on the latest No Rip, No Slip Headband or Arm Candy?

Then let me introduced to you, the latest craze Popbands!

What are Popbands?

They are a selection of hair and wrist accessories from Molly Mabel range that are soft, sparkly & stretchy. It was masterminded by two creative shoppaholics  Keli Craig & Lou Booth.

The unique selling point about Popbands, is they do not dent your hair or mark your wrists , no matter how tight they are adjusted, leaving you kink-free and dent-free.

I was lucky enough to be sent three collections from the Popband range to review.

Individual Purple jewelled bead wristband

Grey twinpack with a small jewelled bead attached wristband & Plain headband

Individual Plain Pink Wristband

I've been wearing the purple wristband alot because it is one of my favourite colours, it is so comfortable, cute and a subtle piece of arm candy.

They come in an array of colours and prints to match your outfits . Perfect for festivals or everyday. I will definitely be wearing mine to Wireless Festival , as they are not prone to breakage and they have the glitz element.

One thing I love about the Popband range is that some of the proceeds from each sale goes to charities across the world, which is amazing!

The individual collection popbands (Plain, Patterned or jewelled) cost £5 each;  The Twinpack collection which consist of a headband and matching hairband costs £6 , but if you want a Multipack collection consisting of 5 pack coloured popbands this costs £6 .

They also offer free postage on all UK orders.

Check out the Popband website & follow them on : Twitter and Facebook

What do you think about Popbands?

Love, Peace & Besos