Glitzy and star filled #PANDORAwishes VIP event in Leeds

The exteremly popular jewellery store Pandora (so popular that people queue to get in there on a normal Saturday) had organised a VIP event for local bloggers and press last week on Briggate in Leeds, and I was lucky enough to get invited.

The event was called #PANDORAwishes, and highlighted the fact that you can create your own wishlist on Pandora's website to share with your friends and family. Great for Christmas which is just around the corner! Cause how annoying is it when that ring you wanted shows up in the wrong size, or the wrong colour, and you have to go and get it changed?! Thanks to Pandora's wishlist you can make sure that people who are buying presents for you get it right the first time around.

 I really wouldn't mind these rings as a Christmas present for example *hint hint*

 I absolutely love Pandora's rings, especially as you can wear them on their own, or as stacking rings in different combinations. Some of these have definitely been added to my wishlist!

But what was really the fuzz about this #PANDORAwishes event? Cause surely a simple wishlist wouldn't get that much attention...?

Will you look at that! A celebrity entrance! Pandora has teamed up with singer Louise Redknapp, and her famous ex footballer husband Jamie Redknapp to be their brand ambassadors.

I of course took the chance to get photographed with Jamie Redknapp - it's not every day that you meet a celebrity! ;) (even though I don't like football one bit)

Pandora spoiled us with really fancy canapés and a choice of prosecco or non alcoholic refreshments. The dessert canapés were especially impressive.

Just ask my partner in crime blogger Kristina from Mode of Style - she scoffed hers down in a second ;)

The dark chololate and gold star lollies were delicious.

The presenter, and later DJ of the night, was TV personality Sarah-Jane Crawford. Absolutely stunning, isn't she?! Girl crush, big time!

Overall, it was a great night, and having seen a bit more of Pandora's jewellery I'm very impressed. Kristina and I also took the chance to take some silly photos in the photobooth they had set up. Why not, hey? ;)

Thank you so much to Pandora for inviting me to this fab event!

Because Winter is not here quite yet...

I'm cosying up with a fur collar this Autumn. Faux fur really is the big trend for this season!

The lovely fluffy faux fur sits on my new bohemian looking "coatigan" - a mix between a coat and a cardigan - from Joe Browns. Clever, isn't it? It's perfect for those days when it's not too cold, and you don't really fancy wearing a big and heavy coat. It's also really great for indoor shopping this upcoming winter - and by that I mean shopping centres and other big department stores, where you don't spend too much of your shopping spree outdoors.

So what am I wearing underneath this so called coatigan on this particular day?

Let's strip off and see... ;)

It's a cream coloured slouchy off-the-shoulder t-shirt dress with batwing sleeves, which is tight around the hips. It's from WearAll, and I absolutely love this kind of style as it's a bit alternative but still versatile.

You can either wear it as a short dress with thick tights underneath - I've gone for dark brown ones - or as a long t-shirt paired with skinny jeans.

The print is a bit cheeky though; 'Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful'. But oh well... I feel confident enough wearing it ;)

I've gone for very simple accessories for this outfit - just a stylish silver ring with a lime green marble stone that I once bought in Scotland. Apparently this type of marble can be found on their cold and stony beaches up there.

To top it all off (or bottom it off in this case?) I've gone for my trusted black lace-up boots from Anna Field at Zalando. They've got that kind of rocky edge to them, and work with almost anything.

Dressing up as Bond girls for a casino night in Leeds

Last week, Kristina and I got to dress up in proper James Bond style in our little black dresses and red lips, for a casino event at White Cloth Gallery in Leeds.

The event was organised by bgo casino, and at arrival we were greeted with £50 worth of pretend money, and a few poker chips which we could swap for drinks at the bar. Very clever!

I've never been to Las Vegas, but this event had everything I imagine they have over there, but on a smaller scale - stylish girls (all us Leeds bloggers, of course ;) ), free alcohol, great music, competitions, and of course a lot of gambling in the form of Roulette and Black Jack.

For this special occasion I had painted my nails in a casino themed nail art. This was extremely popular and appreciated by everyone, and lots of bloggers and even the organisers came up to me and wanted to photograph them. My casino nails even won me a prize for best Instagram of the evening using the #bgomeetup hashtag. 

AND... my claws also got featured over on bgo's blog.

We had a great night, and after having a professional croupier teaching us how to play Black Jack properly, we spent a couple of hours trying to win some more chips. I'm clueless about Roulette so I stayed away from that table, but at the end of the night I had doubled my pretend money and ended up at £100 - which won me another prize for being the blogger with the third most chips.

The biggest winner was Jess from Glitterbat. It was great seeing her again after the Paul Mitchell blogger event the week before. 

Thanks to bgo and Joe Blogs blogger network for a fun and unusual blogger event! It was great getting the opportunity to dress up like a Bond girl.

Paul Mitchell blogger event in Leeds

Last thursday, I was lucky enough to be one of the few bloggers invited to an exclusive blogger event for well-known hair styling brand Paul Mitchell. The event was held in one of the luxury suites at the beautiful Quebec hotel in central Leeds, and we were greeted with prosecco and canapes on arrival.

It was a very friendly and quite casual event where the purpose simply was to mingle with fellow bloggers, and trial some of the products that were showcased. As well as some gorgeous looking sets from Paul Mitchell that would be perfect as Christmas presents, there was also makeup from the brand New Cid Cosmetics to try. I was really impressed with the iGloss, which is a coloured lipgloss with a built in light and mirror - perfect for when you're on the go!

But that's not all! On top of the delicious drinks and foody nibbles we were treated to a hair styling session by two hair stylists from Padd Hair Studio in north Leeds.

It was everything from Hollywood volume to complex braids, and when I was asked what I wanted I gave them free hands. A stylist knows best, right?

After having curled my hair into cork screws with the help of a rounded barrel straightener, the stylist magically transformed my hair into a bridal inspired curly side bun - with the help of 22 hair pins that I was wrestling with to get out later that night (totally worth it though!) and Paul Mitchell's absolutely fantastic Freeze & Shine hairspray. The spray was so good that my hair was still bouncy and curly the next morning when I woke up!

I had such a good time at Paul Mitchell's 'Gift of Style' event in Leeds, and I met a bunch of new friends and fellow bloggers including Jess from Glitterbat, Phoebe from North of London, Jaye from Jaye's Journal, and Claire from xClaireabella. And not to forget my Swedish partner in crime Kristina from Mode of Style.

I must say Paul Mitchell were extremely generous with their goodybags - this is the best goodybag I've ever received at an event! It consisted of a full size shampoo and conditioner from their Tea Tree range, an Extra Body daily boost, a lovely lemon scented candle, and - to my delight - the iGloss that I was so impressed by at the event, in a gorgeous brownish pink hue with a golden glitter effect.

Thank you so much to the lovely people at Paul Mitchell for inviting me to this fab event!

A leather dress for my heavy metal heart

As many of you know I'm a bit of a rock chick, and into my hard rock and metal. So when I came across this black leather look bodycon midi dress from WearAll I was over the moon.

It's absolutely perfect for a night out in town, whether you're going to a concert or a night out with friends, and want to look a bit more hardcore.

It's tight as a second skin, so when wearing it you really need to think about what underwear to choose, as you want to avoid any visible lines. A smooth silhouette is definitely the look to aim for. Although, the dress tend to ruffle a bit around the waist, but that's probably a good thing.

Since I went back to blonde hair I don't feel very tough and rocky anymore, so when I want to look the part I go for a lot of black makeup.

The smoky eye is my absolute favourite, and it goes perfectly with this leather look dress. When putting so much focus on your eyes, it's best to go for quite pale and neutral lips.

You may remember earlier this year that I featured this 3D look clutch bag from Today I'm Me. I had this blue and yellow one, as well as an orange one, and I gave away one in a giveaway. I was left with this one as the winner chose the orange one, but I'm quite happy with it as it's the colours of my home country Sweden :)

I've featured my beloved leather and stud platform shoes from Jeffrey Campbell quite a few times. If they don't scream heavy metal, then I don't know what does! A perfect match to my new leather look dress, I'd say.

A guide to the regifting etiquette

The C-word has started being used a lot more recently, and I can’t say that I like it…
I’m talking about that festive holiday in December, of course. I just can’t bring myself to say the word yet!
I personally think it’s way too early to be talking about and planning for this holiday already. For God’s sake, we only just entered November!
The fact that they started promoting the C-word chocolates and wrapping paper in the supermarkets in September already is wrong, oh so wrong!
Do you agree?

But since it’s now out in the open, I thought I’d sneak in a post related to this festive season, which shouldn’t yet be mentioned. Although, my excuse is that this is relevant to any gift giving, such as birthdays and other occasions as well. Let’s talk about regifting!

Regifting is simply gifting something to someone, that you once got as a gift from someone else. A bit cheeky yes. Can you admit you’ve ever done it? I think we all have at some point!

Although regifting is a thrifty way of getting through those expensive holidays where gift swapping is expected, it’s a very sensitive subject, and if you’re going to do it there are certain regifting etiquettes you have to follow.

For example – keep track of who your original gift came from, and make sure that you regift it to someone who doesn’t know that person. I mean, you don’t want to get caught…

Another important thing to think about is that you never ever regift something from your partner or close friends – they might ask why you’re not wearing/using the gift a few months down the line, and what will be your excuse then? Hopefully, you feel confident enough in these relationships that you can simply ask to swap a gift if you don’t like it.

For more tips and tricks on regifting, have a look at the infographic below.

Good luck not getting caught! ;)

Top 5 rules of Regifting is an infographic that was produced by Gumtree