Letting My True Fashion Colours Shine Courtesy Of Intu Metro Centre Fashion Live 15

Although I don't post that many outfit of the days or style posts anymore I still consider myself at least in part to be a fashion blogger. Although my blogs not as fashion focused as maybe it once was, I've been obsessed with clothing and accessories for as long as I can remember, and despite my unwillingness to share too many pictures of myself at the moment, nothing has really changed.

For someone who loves fashion and likes to write about it, one of the most exciting things that you can possibly do is to attend a fashion show. Like any true fashionista I would love to attend one of the big shows like Chanel in Paris, or Prada in Milan, even if I was at the very back, behind the cleaners! Dreams, dreams, dreams! we should all have them, but it's best to start small and this week I had my first, proper, fashion show experience, and even though I didn't have the opportunity to schmooze with Posh and Becks, and Kim and Kanye I still had a fabulous time.

On Wednesday night I attended an exclusive VIP Blogger Preview of Intu Metro Centre's Fashion Live Event 2015. The theme of this years event is colour - colouring yourself fabulous and finding ways to integrate more colour into your wardrobe is the way to go for Spring / Summer 2015.

With cocktails, wine, vodka shots and nibbles on hand, and selfies being taken, we really did feel like VIP's or should I say VIB's (Very Important Bloggers) as we were allowed past the cordons, and directed to take our seats on the fabulous, multi coloured FROW.

Yes I did say FROW, to be fair we all did get front row seats, but it still added a touch of excitement to the occasion and no doubt numerous tweets and instagram pics of us all shouting "I'm on FROW" I was so busy settling into my front row seat that I forget to take a picture of it so thanks to Intu Metro Centre for this Picture. ( you can find out more on  about what's on the seats later ;)

Once we were all seated we were introduced to out compere for the evening,  BBC Radio Newcastle presenter, and all round fashionista Anna Foster, who was bedecked in a new Spring Summer skirt courtesy of Top Shop and a cute biker jacket and top combo courtesy of House Of Fraser. After a short chat in which she praised the influence of blogging and You Tube, we had a general introduction to the event and found out a little bit more about the work of Centrepoint. 

Following on from the success of their empty shop campaign last year (read my post here) Intu Metro Centre have teamed up again with Centrepoint, which is the leading charity for homeless young people in the UK, for The Big Intu Clothes Drop Campaign. All you need to do is head down to Intu Metro Centre before 29th March and donate your own, pre loved items - a perfect opportunity to have a clear out and to help someone less fortunate at the same time x

Next on stage was Intu Metro Centre Stylist Michaela Dale. Michaela is one of the centres stylists and a member of their personal shopping  and style team. If your in a style rut, you want to integrate colour into your wardrobe or you're shopping for a special event or occasion then you can book either a one on one session with Michaela or one of the team for £15 an hour. or if there are several of you, you can sign up for a group session with champagne and nibbles. I think this a great idea, they are completely impartial and you have every single store in the centre at your disposal.

After a small interval for wine and macarons in my case, it was time for the main event, the fashion show, involving several of the centres most fashionable stores, showcasing some of their spring and summer collections. Both watching and photographing a live catwalk show is really new to me, but all I'll say is I have a renewed respect for professional photographers - this is not an easy task and I think it requires a bit of practise.

First to the catwalk was Superdry, Superdry took over the old Primark store, in Red Mall, and they are well known for their sporty, casual male and female fashions. As you would expect there was lots of bright colours and casual looks, but I have to admit I was surprised by the pretty, Lace Meadow Skirt that you can see on the model on the right. Very girly, and perfect for summer and smarter occasions but styled here in quite a casual way, that would be perfect for a festival .

Next up was Top Shop and Top Man, this is probably the worst picture in this post but I couldn't not include it. Despite the colour theme of the event, they show cased a lot of mono chromes and muted tones. The models outfit on the far left was probably one of my favourites of the night, The cropped top, jacket, and heels were in such a contrast to the almost utilitarian khaki joggers. Although I can't get into a Top Shop, size 16 at the moment I'm very, very tempted to buy these and try to slim into them!

French Connection were the next store to showcase, and although I know longer fall into their size range I love browsing in their concessions and in their Red Mall store. This was probably my favourite presentation of the night. Patterned trousers again are a big look and I loved the pleats, and the vibrant turquoise shades, perfect for when you have a tan. It was a hard choice but the Isla Rippled Flare Dress below was probably my favourite item, and I love how is was styled and how it looked on the model.

One of the biggest department stores in Intu Metro Centre is House Of Fraser. With lots of different brands to choose from and concessions under the one roof, it must have been hard to choose just four outfits to showcase the entire stores Spring / Summer offerings but I think they managed it. The coloured shirt trend is here to stay and bright colours, and clashing prints are as strong as ever in 2015. My highlight though had to be the black, v back embellished BIBA dress. This looked even more stunning in real life, and it goes up to a size 20, if only I had an occasion to wear it and a spare £135.

Another one of the Metro Centre's more designer lead stores is Tessuti, selling brands ranging from Ted Baker, to Michael Kors, Vivienne Westwood and Armani. They showcased a range of smart casual menswear, and some show stopping dress including animal and floral prints, and tassel's

From designer to high street and the next presentation was courtesy of Warehouse. Black never goes away and nowadays its perfectly acceptable to wear black in the summer. The split leg and side jumpsuit was fabulous, and again I love the bright colours and pleats but my highlight was the floral jacquard dress that you can see below. Perfect for a wedding or any special occasion this is another dress that looks better in the flesh.

The final presentation of the night came from high street favourite, River Island. Colour was largely absent again as monochromes and khakis dominated. My highlight here was definitely the khaki jumpsuit,  and the jumpsuit is one trend that I intend to embrace this year

After a model finale, some competition winners and a few rounds of applause it was all over, and it was time, to pick up our goodie bags and head on our way. On our seats like in all good fashion shows was a goodie bag full of fabulous samples, courtesy of House Of Fraser, including some Clinique and Decleor items that I will be reviewing for you as well as some Dior, Molton Brown, and Guerlain.

Also on our seats was a lovely, specially commissioned notebook, and a pencil courtesy of notepds, which featured the bloggers mantra "Eat Shop Blog"

As well as these lovely goodies we also received another canvas goodie bag from Intu Metro Centre and some of the other event sponsors including Hello Fashion.

This lovely bag contained some more lovely samples, and lots of promotional material, pens, a nail polish and nail files, as well as the latest issue of Hello Fashion.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in the event for the invitation, I had a really fun evening and it was nice to feel a bit like a VIP or VIB. If you're in the Metro Centre this weekend, Intu Metro Centre Fashion Live 15 runs until Sunday 29th March, so head to towns square, to take some selfies for a chance with a £500 prize (see my grumpy attempt above) , to donate to Centrepoint  and of course to have your own FROW experience and see how you can let your true colours shine by visiting one of the 4 fashions shows on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. 

My one regret was that the catwalk show didn't include any plus size models or anyone as chubby as me but never mind after my fashion overload I'm certainly feeling a little bit more inspired so who knows maybe some more fashion posts and some OOTD's will be in the offing soon x  Are you a fashion fiend? Have you been inspired to wear more colour this season? Leave me a comment and let me know x 

Trimming My Stash - March 2014 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

I've had one of those months where illness has affected everything that done, from what I've eaten, to where I've been, and strangely enough it's also affected my monthly empties.

FCUK Signature Body Spray - 150 ml

Botanical Choice Exfoliating Foot Mask - 1 Pair

Treacle Moon The Candy Jar Sweet Lime Sherbet Bath And Shower Gel - 500 ml

Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes

Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes

Lush Angels On Bare Skin Fresh Facial Cleanser

Total - 6 Items 

Yes, I finished just 6 products in March :( I said confidently in February's post that next month would be better but it wasn't. Quite simply for the majority of the month I stuck the most basic of routines and I barely wore any make up for the entire month - better for my skin maybe but not for my Trimming My Stash challenge. What can I say these things can't be helped, and I'm sure I'll finish a lot more in April - in fact I've already finished two items and we're only 7 days in - go me :)

So what about the measly 6 items that I did finish, well most of them I've talked about before so here are some very truncated mini reviews x

1. FCUK Signature Body Spray - 150ml

Cries - I finished another FCUK Signature item and probably my favourite of the lot, the body spray. As I said in my previous empties post I love the oriental, sweet floral notes of this range and I adore the body spray, in fact I've even been known to forgo perfume when I've worn this. Thankfully I still have a few of these left but I'm going to start using it sparingly to make it last.

2. Botanical Choice Exfoliating Foot Mask - 1 Pair

I first talked about these way back in September last year. Basically what they are is a foot peel, plastic socks, with a fibre lining soaked in a mixture of fruit acids, you wear them for about an hour to an hour and a half then rinse your feet. Over the next 3-4 weeks the dry skin will gradually peel of your feet leaving super soft skin with no dry, crusty heels. I did mine about two weeks ago now so I'm still in the middle of the peeling stage, they sound and look completely gross but they make a real difference to the softness of your feet. I bought these in Primark - I don't know if they're still available but I will definitely try and get some more or something similar to use in about 6 months time x 

3. Treacle Moon The Candy Jar Sweet Lime Sherbet Bath And Shower Gel - 500ml

Ah I loved this, you can use it in the bath or the shower and it smells almost like chocolate limes x You can read a full review of it here x 

4. Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes

5. Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes

Not feeling well means a super pared back skincare routine x I have done a lot of swatch pictures which required some clean up but at least a full of packet of these was probably used for morning and occasionally evening cleansing - please forgive me ;)

6. Lush Angels On Bare Skin Fresh Facial Cleanser

I have to be honest and say that I lost this x My mum tidied the bathroom and lots of my things "disappeared" Last month though I managed to find some of the missing items, including this. I made this at a Lush bloggers event and when I felt okay I finished this off by using it as a nighttime cleanser, and I really felt it made a difference with the radiance of my skin. You can read a full review of this here x 

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So they were my March empties, I'm really hoping I do better this month, I still have way too many beauty products :) Are you doing something similar ? leave me your links to your empties posts and vids x Thanks for reading xx

Trimming My Stash - February 2014 Edition - Empties, Mini Reviews And A Sort Of Giveaway - Closed

Another overdue post for you, this time it's all about about empties. February's total was a little bit disappointing if I'm honest, I only managed to finish 6 items :(

Soap & Glory Flake Away - 50ml
Yonka Pamplemousse Normal To Oily Skin Protective And Vitalizing Cream With Botanical Essential Oils - 50ml
Avon Solutions Body Cellu-Sculpt Massaging Anti Cellulite Treatment - 200ml
Baylis & Harding Sweet Mandarin And Grapefruit Balancing Body Wash - 750ml
FCUK Signature Bodywash - 300ml
Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes
Total - 6 Items 

Okay there were a few bits that I've been using forever and I thought would never end but I'm still a little bit mehhh that I couldn't manage to finish at least a couple of more products. Never mind some of the things that I thought I would finish in February are very nearly done so March should be a better month.

1. Soap & Glory Flake Away - 50ml

A mini to start off with -This scrub came in my Boots Beauty Advent Calendar. I love all of the Soap & Glory body scrubs and this one was no exception. This is the original, with the famous Soap & Glory fragrance. It's nice and scrubby but it feels moisturising at the same time. I will definitely consider repurchasing all the scrubs I've tried from this range.

2. Yonka Pamplemousse Normal To Oily Skin Protective And Vitalizing Cream With Botanical Essential Oils - 50ml 

This was an item that came in a beauty box, and at first I loved it, I must have done I bought another one!, but whether it's down to a change in my skin (ageing!) or the change in the weather but by the end of the tube I hated it. This facial moisturiser from Yonka Paris is for normal to oily skin and contains essential oils such as Grapefruit, Lime, and Lemon. It's designed to revitalise and brighten the skin and tighten the pores. It's not a bad moisturiser by any means but I think my skin at the moment just isn't oily enough for it and is just a tad too sensitive.

The sad thing is I actually have a new and sealed tube of this moisturiser in my skincare drawer, it's unboxed and in the old style packaging (same as my empty) but the foil seal is still intact. A new tube would retail at a scary £36 but one of you can have this one for free.

If you have oily skin and want to try this out and your in the UK leave a comment on this post telling me that you want to try it and leave a contact email and I'll pick a name out at random next Sunday. It seems a shame to waste it when somebody else might see more benefit from it than I would. You can find out more about it here x

3. Avon Solutions Body Cellu-Sculpt Massaging Anti Cellulite Treatment - 200ml

Anti-cellulite products - I've used lots of them over the years and to be honest 90% of them have done naff all and this was another one. This was just a basic firming cream which came in a tube with a dimpled massaging head on the end. It left the skin feeling a bit softer but it didn't really do much with regards to the dimply bits. It's no longer in the Avon catalogue which I guess tell you everything you need to know.

4. Baylis & Harding Sweet Mandarin And Grapefruit Balancing Body Wash - 750ml

This is another one of those products that seemed to go on for ever - no matter how much I used the bottle never seemed to go down. You can get Baylis & Harding everywhere especially at this time of year (Mothers Day) and for the price I really like the range and their products make great gifts. I thought that this would smell like the handwash that I reviewed here but the smell wasn't quite as strong. It was nice but it just wasn't quite as zesty as I'd hoped.

5. FCUK Signature Bodywash - 300ml

One of my biggest beauty disappointments of 2013 came in the Boots Christmas Gift Guide when to my horror I couldn't find the usual FCUK French Connection Signature gift set - they'd changed the fragrance :( I first got a gift set several Christmas' ago in a gorgeous patent weekend bag and I fell in love with the smell. It's hard to describe but I think it's classed as an oriental floral. I stocked up in the 2012 / 2013 sales so I still have quite a few bits to use up but every time I use up something from the range now I'm going to be disappointed that I can't get any more :(

6. Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes

I've just had a look through my blog because I thought I'd done a full review of these but it doesn't look like I have. The probably isn't a need to do one now though because I've talked about these that often both on here and on my You Tube channel. Basically you get two packs of 25 wipes for just £1. Designed for normal to oily skin then contain the real I am when it comes to Tea Tree, Melaleuca Alternifolia, as well as Witch Hazel, and Aloe Vera. I'm not huge on using wipes on my face but these babies do the job and remove make up without any problem, when I'm having an sick or a lazy day. I predominantly use them for freshening up, and for clearing up swatches but they are a really good bargain basement buy. They probably are the biggest or thickest wipes but for the price I'm not going to argue.

So they were my February empties, as I say not the most impressive tally of empties I've ever achieved but it was better than nothing and hopefully March will be better x Don't forget to comment if you'd like my unopened Yonka moisturiser and I'll let you know who gets it next Sunday xx Thanks for reading xx