I love it when meet ups and events are somewhere I have never been before with people I have never met before as it helps me to explore new places and meet new people, but the comfort of a meet up being close to home with people you have met before is so lovely, especially when you have been super busy and are very tired.  With all this in mind attending the Brum Blogger Meet was a delight.  Sara from Pretty in Pink, Hayley from Strangeness and Charm and Chloe from Unwritten Hollywood all did a fantastic job of organising a really fun day!

 We started the day in the usual meeting place, Starbucks where we all had a little catch up which was lovely as I dont see all the local based bloggers as much as I would like to.  After all meeting at Starbucks Charl from Ginger Girl Says, Amy from PYT and Charlotte from Lil Miss Chickas went a little wander to Greggs in the sunshine because we had all forgotten to eat in the morning and were really hungry.

Above left to right Laura from Lola and Behold, Laura from Laura Amy, Myself and Amy from PYT, Tasha from Wand Included, Clare from A bit of this and that, Sophie from Sophie's Beautique and Heidi from Heidi Likes

Elijah and Myself Throughout the day we were given little quiz sheets to fill in to be entered into a draw to win some amazing prizes and guess what.... I won the amazing ENRAPTURE JUMBO WAVER! Picture from Chloe at Unwritten Hollywood We all had a really good day, I love seeing all the bloggers based locally they are all such babes!  We were all treated to lovely jam packed goodie bags which I will be posting separately about due to the massive number of items inside! Lucky Ladies we are! Lots of Love Gem x

This mascara is most probably one of the most talked about in recent times, at first I was unsure if it would be the one for me, after reading so many mixed reviews but as soon as I got my hands on this cosmetic wonder I knew it was most definately 'The One'

Hey Hunni's!!

 

Boy what a treat have I got for you today!

 

 Myself, Clare and Sara are teaming up to give you the chance the win the last ever #birminghambloggermeetup goodie bag. If you missed out on attending the event, never fear as you could still get your beauty hungry mits on one of our coveted goodie bags! 

Our event was kindly sponsored by Macadamia Oil, Glamglow, Neal and Wolf, DHC, Premae Skincare, Blend Collective, Jamela 24k Gold Collagen Skincare, Outback Organics, Herbalife, Elemis, Skinetica, Paul Mitchell, Cosmetics By Candy, Revitalash and Xen Tan, with a value of well over £100!

All you have to do to win is enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. The more options you fill in, the more chances you have to win the prize!

This giveaway is UK only, due to the size, weight and value of the prize, sorry!
The giveaway will end on the 9th February, and the winner will be announced soon after.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

I had decided around December that I wanted to try and put something together for everyone attending the meet up.  I had attended the #bbloggersxmas event in London and was overwhelmed when we were all gifted the most amazing goodie bags ever, you can see what was in that here. It really was the icing on the cake to an already amazing day and  I wanted the bloggers attending this meet up to have a similar experience. 

 I had already contacted a number of PR's and companies directly when I recieved probably the best email ever, from Sara who writes Pretty In Pink.  This angel had started to gather goodies from a number of amazing brands and wanted to help me out.   This was all out of the goodness of her heart  avoiding completing her uni work, I really cannot thank Sara enough for the input into these goodie bags.

 

I  need to say a massive thank you to all the sponsers that provided products for the goodie bags and giveaway prizes, Im sure I can speak for all the attendees when I say we really appriciate every product and cannot wait to try them out!

 

Without any more rambling here is what we recieved!

 

Fine One One, Porefessional, They're Real

Twitter -  @Benefit_UK_IRE

Facebook - BenefitCosmeticsUK

 Website - benefitcosmetics.co.uk

Each Goodie Bag contained one of the full size Benefit product.  I nearly fell over when they arrived in the pretty boxes. I have been wanting to try They're Real for a while now but after hearing mixed reviews I was unsure it was the product for me, I cant wait to try it and decide if it suits me or not. When I seen the Fine One One I nearly fainted this product is not even released to he public until the end of the week, I cant wait until I try this baby out.  I ended up with one of each *very lucky and greatful* due to some bloggers not being able to attend.  I was worried this may offend or upset people, so I apologise if it does but they were spare and I can give them a loving home.  I do intend to fully review the Fine One One and the They're Real as I have already reviewed Porefessional recently, you can read that review here.

 

 Glam Glow Youth-Mud Tinglexfoliate Treatment, Glam Glow Super Mud Clearing Treatment

Twitter - @GLAMGLOW_UK

Facebook - GlamGlowMud

Website - glamglowmud.co.uk

It's official I am a Glam Glow addict! I first tried the Super Mud Clearing Treatment after receiveing it in my #bbloggersxmas goodie bag and I fell in love with it then.  Then I tried the Youth-Mud Tinglexfoliate treatment and oh my goodness this is amazing! I will have to review this in full to explain further so please look out for that review!

Xen Tan Dark Lotion

Twitter - @XenTan_UK

Facebook - XenTanUK

Website - xen-tan.co.uk

I have been a massive fan of Xen Tan ever since I first used it way back in 2008, I love the scent, the application, the results just everything about this and even after using lots of other tanning products this is the one I keep reccomending and find it hard to find better.

 Paul Mitchell Forever Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner

Twitter - @PaulMitchellUK

Facebook - PaulMitchellUK

Website - paul-mitchell.co.uk

Incase you hadn't noticed I have brown hair so I would not be able to test this shampoo and conditioner duo out fairly so I will be passing this onto someone with blonde hair so they can see the benefits.

 

 Outback Organics Bush Balm,

Twitter - @OutbackOrganics

Facebook - outbackorganics

Website - outbackorganics.co.uk

Ill be honest I had never heard of this brand before I recieved this sample, but after reading more about it I have high expectations.  This balm claims to reduce redness and calm the skin on delicate areas after hair removal so I will look forward to trying this out,  the whole post waxing range looks great if this works for me I may be investing.

 

 Collection of Blend Collective Hand Cream and Hand and Body Lotion

Twitter - @BLENDCollective

Facebook - blendcollective

Website - blendcollective.co.uk

This was another brand I had been missing out on until I recieved these perfect handbag sized samples.  At the moment I have a hand cream on the go so will be saving these for when that is finished.  The blend of essential oils in each little pot convinces me these are going to smell amazing.

 

 Premae Skincare Balance Rescue Face Tonique

Twitter -  @premaeskincare

Facebook - Premaeskincare

Website - premaeskincare.com/

I cannot wait to try this!  As soon as my current toner is finished this will be waiting for me to start experiencing the fantastic benefits.  This was also featured in this month Glossy Box so I am excited to read all the reviews that will be popping up everywhere.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

Twitter - @DHCUK_Skincare
Facebook - DHCSkincare

Website -  dhcuk.co.uk

If you had said to me this time last year I would interesting in using an oil based product on my delicate oily skin I would have told you to stop talking rubbish, but this is not last year.  I have seen so many reviews and reccomendations about other fellow oily skinned lovelies using this and having fantastic results and I am looking forward to seeing some results from using this hyped about product.

Pure 100% Argan Oil

Further Information - Email

This is my absolute miracle product of the last couple of years, this is completely pure argan oil straight from Morocco.  My mum is lucky enough to live in the beautiful country and as soon as she was aware of the meet up she wanted to help out, and she sent these little bottles of wonder oil for us all. I have been using this since June 2012 on my hair, my skin, in my bath.  My Auntie has struggled with psoriasis all her life and this is the only thing that has ever made any kind of improvement to her skin condition.  Most of the well known brands that use argan oil in their products only use a very small percentage of it and mix it with so many other products - this is the real deal completely pure and natural.

Skinetica Anti Blemish Lotion

Twitter - @Skinetica
Facebook - Skinetica-anti-blemish-skincare-solution

Website - skinetica.co.uk

This has been a regular part of my skincare routine for a while now and I have never used anything that shows such quick and impressive results.  This is the only product I have ever found that keeps my blemishes at bay.  I could not live without this.

Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt Mascara

Provided by Cosmetics By Candy

Twitter - @cosmeticbycandy

Facebook - Cosmetics-by-Candy

Website - cosmeticsbycandy.co.uk

I love mascara, if I could only have one beauty product for the rest of my life it would be mascara.  I have never tryed this one but Rimmel are a brand that is really growing on me at the moment with all their fabulous new product reviews they are definately ones to watch in 2013.  Cosmetics by Candy is an online store that stocks lots of well known and popular brands, for at least half price or more.

RevitaLash Volumizing Mascara

Twitter - @RevitalashUAE

Website - goshaytrading.com

As above I love a good mascara and this one is no different I am very excited to try this to see if the claims to give a truly eye popping knockout looks are true.  From what I have read this is everything I look for in a mascara.

 

Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment and Deep Repair Mask

Twitter - @macadamiaoil

Facebook - MacadamiaNaturalOil

Website - macadamiahair.co.uk

This is my holy grail hair product! I first used the Healing Oil Treatment only a month ago and have done so ever since. It has made massive improvements to the condition and look of my hair.  I use this alternatively with my argan oil and jsut adore the results.  I have yet to use the Deep Repair Mask as I am savign it for a day when I have time to leave it in for the reccomended 7 minutes.  I have read so many positive reviews on this mask I just know I will love it.

 

Herbalife Bath and Body Bar and Herbalife Strenghening Conditioner

Twitter  - @Herbalife

Facebook - Herbalife

Website - herbalife.co.uk

These amazing full size products from the new Herbal Aloe range from Herbalife are going to be great for my skin which is in dire need of a little bit of tlc.  Enriched with chamomoile extracts, olive oil and african shea butter these sound like a luxurious treat for my moisture deprived skin.  The key ingredient being aloe vera which is known for its soothing, hydrating, healing and refreshing purposes makes me excited to add these to my daily shower routine.  I am especially glad I recieved the conditioner as I always run out of conditioner before shampoo.

 

Jamela Skin Care 24k Gold Under Eye Masks

Twitter - @jamelaskincare

Facebook - JamelaSkinCare

Website - jamelaskincare.co.uk

These look so weird.  Weird in a good way I have gone mad on eye creams lately and this will be a great boost for that under eye area.  I can't wait to lie down relax and pop these on for that ultimate pamper day.  I hope these are as good as they look.

 

Elemis Revitalise Me Shower Gel

Twitter - @Elemis

Facebook - elemisltd

Website - elemis.com

I have been using a lot of elemis skincare in the last year and have loved every minute of it, this is no exception.  This is just pure luxury liquid in a bottle, I love everything about this product, the packaging the scent the bubbly lather you can acheive.  I will be using this for a while to come and my current shower gels will have to take a back seat.

 

 Neal and Wolf
Hold and Shine Spray, Volumising Lotion and Shine Spray
Twitter - @NealandWolf
Facebook - NealandWolf
Website - nealandwolf.com
This year in the life of Gemma Button haircare is a major renovation challenge.  I want to make big changes to the way I care for my hair and these products will be proudly up on the shelf next to all my other favourite haircare products.  Now these smell amazing, not just any old amazing but so amazing you could just spray this all over you.  It smells idential to Ange Ou Demon by Givenchy, my mum wore this perfume sometimes and when I spray this it reminds me of her and when she used to get all glammed up for work in the morning. I haven't used these a lot yet but I already love them because of the scent, I am most excited to try the Volumising lotion, who doesn't love big hair!

I was very impressed with this goodie bag if I don't say so myself, and from the reactions of everyone who recieved one, they were very happy too.

 

What product are you most excited to see my full review off?

 

Lots of Love

 

Gem

 

xxx

Happy Monday Everyone!

I am just the happiest girl in the world right now, this weekend has been so exciting all down to the Birmingham Blogger Meet Up.  Everything went exceptionally well and to plan, everyone had a great time and enjoyed themselves.  This proves Lipstick beats snow any day!

Myself and Charl beating the snow with our lipstick!

 

This day wouldn't have been possible without the two best sidekicks in the world Clare from A Bit of This and That and Sara from Pretty in Pink, I need to just say how amazing they were and im very proud at how well we worked as a team.

All the behind the scenes organising was done and we were on our way to Starbucks in New Street Station to meet all the lovely bloggers that had battled through the snow to be there, the nerves kicked in and I was worried not many people could make it.  You can imagine the relief and delight when we walked round the corner and there was everyone sitting sipping coffee!  I was amazed everyone had made such an effort to be there even as far as London and Cardiff! Thank you so much ladies you made the day everything it could have been, without you all it wouldn't have been half the day it was.

Sipping Coffees

 

Once we had introduced ourselves we split into groups to go shopping, we split into groups according to the coloured stars on our name badges which worked really well and allowed everyone to meet some bloggers they hadn't met before.  Clare made such an amazing job of the name badges I just loved them.

My group had the yellow stars and we decided to head to Boots and Selfridges, two of the most popular blogger destinations.  I found myself at the Mac counter trying out an amazing red lipstick 'brave red'.  I have always been a bit of a wimp when it comes to a statement lip but with gentle encouragement from Charl from Ginger Girl Says there I was sporting the most beautiful red lippy, and I loved it!

 Selfridges Beauty Hall

We then headed back to Starbucks to meet up with the other groups for the next part of our day, cocktails at Rodizio Rico.  Rodizio Rico is based at The Cube and is such a lovely setting for a trendy cocktail bar and restaurant with glass walls and views over the canal it is very picturesque.  The staff were very welcoming and helpful making sure we were all seated, with a cocktail in hand.  A very special mention to Jai as he was obviously very interested in the whole blogging concept and made the visit a treat.  We sipped on a mixture of delicious Caipirinha cocktails and mocktails. The caipirinha cocktail is unlike anything I had every tried before, very refreshing yet intoxicating.  I will be posting seperately about my experience at Rodizio Rico in more detail so please do look out for that.

Jai - The best bartender and myself

 

Feeling merry we made out way across to Red Pepper for our sit down meal.  This was my favourite part of the day as myself, Clare and Sara had made a special effort to make the table look unique with place cards and crystalised candles made by yours truly, table crystals to add a bit of sparkle and some very exciting filled white bags in the middle. 

We all sat down with more cocktails, laughter and some very delicious food.  As I was tucking in to my starter I looked up the table and seen everyone was smiling, laughing and chatting. This is what blogging is about, all of us getting to know each other and take the passion we share for blogging and turn it into friendships.  I genuinly really enjoyed speaking to everyone and getting to know them a little better and would even say these bloggers are not just bloggers they are friends.

 

We had a couple of tweet to win competitions running throughout the day to win some goodies.  There was a lovely goodie bag from Make Believe Beauty, A necklace from We Love Button Jewellery  and a goodie bag from KMS California.  Charlotte from Lil Miss Chickas was the lucky winner of the Make Believe goodies and the We Love Button Necklace,  Sophie from Sophie's Beautique won the KMS goodies.  A massive well done to both of these hunnis!

 

Just before everyone started to leave and make their way home we had one last surprise! 

A cake, but not just any cake the cutest, prettiest and most scrumptious cake I have ever seen and tasted.  The buttons just made it perfect.  This beautiful cake was made by Vicky from Victoria's Vintage. This lovely lady has just started her own business Victoria's Vintage Cakes and if you love the cake she made for the day you should see her other creations, just beautiful!

The whole day was just fantastic and Im really happy that everyone enjoyed it so much, every single blogger left with a jam packed goodie bag, so jam packed that I would like to give it a whole post of it's own, so do look out for that in the next couple of days.

I have only added a few of the pictures from the day on this post but should you wish to see them all you can find them HERE.  Everyone who attended is more than welcome to use these pictures as long as full credit is given.

 

I will be updating the Birmingham Meet Up page to include all of the twitter handles and blog links of everyone who attended too so you can all keep in touch.

 

Rebecca from Beca Boos Make Up also vlogged at the meet up and it is fantastic!  I didn't even realise she was filming throughout the day.

 

Lots of Love

 

Gem

 

xxx