Blog Events | a storm in a teacup

Nov
20
2011

QVC Press Day SS12

Posted by Lil In Beauty, Blog Events, Fashion, High Street, Lifestyle, Make-Up, Skincare | 8 Comments »

QVC Press Day SS12

QVC Press Day SS11

QVC Press Day SS12

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited down to QVC's SS12 Press Day at the Oui Oui rooms just off Oxford Street. The space was absolutely beautiful, light and airy with three seperate sections - one for fashion and accessories, one for homeware and one for beauty and skincare.

As Rachel, Sherin and I made our way around the displays, I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised to see the range of items/brands that QVC stock. Having been to their designer collaborations and Diamonique events, I knew that jewellery was a strong point. The gold and coral pink statement necklaces you can see in the photos were absolutely beautiful, and definitely my favourite pieces from any of the fashion, jewellery and accessories on show. I also absolutely loved the Lulu Guinness camera bags, hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on one of those in the new season.

The range of make-up and beauty products on show was much bigger than I'd expected and I was surprised to find out that QVC stock such a variety of brands like L'Occtaine, Jemma Kidd and Liz Earle. They also stock Nails Inc, Leighton Denny and Ciate nail products.

I'm really grateful that I got to look around and see what's available from QVC. They were lucky enough to give us some samples (lots of samples!) to take home to try, so you will hopefully see some reviews coming up as I'm pretty obsessed with some of the products already!

Check out more photos at my Flickr set of the event.

Did you know QVC stocked all these brands? What are your favourite bits from the photos?

Motel Rocks Blogger Event

Posted by Lil In Blog Events, Fashion, High Street, Lifestyle | 3 Comments »

Motel Event

Motel Events

Motel Event

More photos at my Flickr set

Chances are you've seen a fair few of these posts already. It felt like everyone and their mum was at the Motel event last week. The room was so full when we arrived that Lucy and I weren't quite sure how to go about navigating ourselves across the room to put our coats down. In the full to bursting show room were rails of items from Motel's Winter collection. I've grown up with Motel, the label being from my hometown and all, but I can't say I wear it much anymore. I started thinking of it as a bit teenage, limited to skimpy going out dresses and pretty prints. Both of those elements are still there, but with a bit more alongside them.

Over a few hours and whilst sipping on Diet Coke and chomping on candyfloss I made my way around the room photographing the clothes and trying to decide on the one piece I would take home (we could choose anything - how generous!). The best part about the event though, of course, was getting to hang out with a few blogger pals and see some lovely faces, both familiar and new. Thanks to Tabitha (aka Lorna, we had a very interesting conversation about fake names) for letting me photograph her while we battled the crowds to get to the rails, fuelled by popcorn.

I won't tell you which item I picked just yet... I'll wait for it to arrive.

Very Important Party at Joy, The Light

Posted by Lil In Blog Events, Fashion, High Street, Lifestyle | 8 Comments »

The week before last I was lucky enough to be invited down to my local Joy store in The Light, Leeds for a "Very Important Party". Accompanied by the very lovely Elly & Lauren who seem to have become my gurus on all things Leeds since I moved up, we hit the store last friday evening (the 4th) for an evening of live mannequins, live bands and a free buffet. Sound good? It did to me too. So off I went!

I only really shop in Joy for gifts or homeware. I'm not sure why really. Lauren and I had a lengthy discussion about how for some reason we put the price point at much higher than it actually is and we agreed that it was probably because of the "boutique" type feel.

There were some gorgeous offerings from the A/W collection which wasn't a surprise to me as I've long admired the beautifully dressed mannequins in the Joy windows, I'd just never actually ventured to look at the price tags before. In reality the average price is no higher than say Topshop or Oasis. Gorgeous printed blouses (I've got my eye on that top hat one for payday) were around the £30 mark, with dresses for £40-50. As far as I know, the main label Joy stock Louche, isn't on the market anywhere else on the highstreet. There's something distinctly feminine about the pieces from Louche, and there's an air of some kind of British seaside-high-tea-chic about the whole thing.

I also have to say that my shopping experience in Joy was far superior to your average highstreet store. It feels more serene, more indulgent and it's just lovely to be surrounded by such delicate, pretty pieces. Being in The Light, I guess some could argue it's slightly off the beaten track (Briggate) and therefore more of a destination store as opposed to a drop-in for a browse. In my opinion though, it's definitely worth the trip. A gorgeous boutique feel but without the high price-tags and a lovely, unique collection of clothes with a girly, classic feel. Something can definitely be said for homewares and gifts too, lots of cute, interesting and funny.

More photos of the event to see over in the Flickr set.

Have you ever shopped in Joy?