My first ever blogging event! When Abbigayle Warner tweeted me and asked if I was interested to go to the L’Occitane store in Grand Central, Birmingham for a blogger event, I was weary. Stood in a room full of people I don’t know? It’s my worst nightmare but my anxiety is something that I have to conquer if I want to be a journalist. So I said yes.

 

Saying ‘yes’ meant that I had to drive from my university on the Wednesday morning all the way back to my hometown near Birmingham and then catch the train later on in the day. I know Birmingham like the back of my hand so proving to find the store wasn’t difficult.

I hate being late. I hate it. So I arrived at the store thirty minutes early (better to be early than later). I had a quick mooch around the shops and by the time it hit five to seven, I walked through the doors into heaven.

 

 

As soon as you walk into L’Occitane, you’re hit with a sweet-smelling odour that is divine. Some of the other bloggers were already there; I was excited and horribly nervous so I introduced myself and told the others what kind of blog I run. I automatically felt like the odd-one-out. All of the other girls ran beauty/fashion/lifestyle blogs and there I was, with film, tv and music. But I said to myself ‘you know what? You should be proud of the work that you have done and you deserve to be here’. And that’s what got me through my anxiety for the night. Well, that and the champagne that we got given.

The staff at the store were so friendly and welcoming. They made you feel at ease and I spoke to one of the guys who worked at the store about video games and Marvel films and TV shows for about ten minutes which was nice. It was nice to talk to someone there who knew what I wrote about and who expressed a genuine interest.

 

 

The first game that we had was an icebreaker and we all had to introduce ourselves and answer a question. My question was ‘what is the one beauty regime that you forget to do sometimes?’ I stood there for a bit and was trying to think. I always apply primer before foundation, I always take my make up off before bed… So I said moisturising after I come out of the shower. It was the best I could think of as I always try and stick to my beauty regime as much as I can.

After the first game was over, I realised that all of the bloggers there were lovely. They were so down to Earth and friendly; they always had big smiles on their faces and it was so nice to get some of the local bloggers in a room together. I felt appreciated.

Our second task was to finish off the sentence ‘Merry Christmas &…’ and the best sentence would win a prize at the end. Now, I was absolutely starving. So while I could have written something to do with having a good new year, I just wrote ‘& STUFF YOUR STOMACH!’ Yes, my brain was thinking of food too much. Oh well. No surprise that I lost that one. I should have written a cheesy, blogger take on ‘happy new year’.

 

 

We were then asked to pick our favourite three items out of the store and take a picture of them and say why we they were our favourites. I picked sweet smelling ones because they reminded me of spring/summer and they’re my favourite seasons. I picked the Pivoine Flora Shower Gel, the Candid Fruits Home Perfume (like a diffuser) and then the Verbena Body Lotion.

The next activity meant that we had to be split into groups and we had to match the product to the celebrity who we thought might use it. My group failed completely, only getting one right. How am I supposed to know what Halle Berry or Cat Deeley use? It was fun, a lot of fun. It was hilarious just trying to come up with reasons as to why the celebrities would use certain products.

 

After that, we were then given time to have a look around the store and I had the chance to get an AMAZING hand massage. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE being pampered. Whether it’s a back massage, messing with my hair or a foot massage; anything that relaxes me, I will enjoy thoroughly. And this hand massage was fantastic. First, the Brightening Instant Exfoliator was used to get rid of any dead skin cells that were on my hand and then the Shea Bitter Ultra Rich Cream was used and my hands felt so soft (I’m constantly washing up at university and my hands needed a good massage and a good looking after). Finally, the Shea Nail and Cuticle Nourishing Oil was used to add some moisture to my cuticles and to make them feel and look healthy and not dry.

The bloggers were then given the opportunity to browse the store so we could buy things that took our fancy. I will say this: L’Occitane is not cheap. Especially if you’re a student who is on a budget. I have no money at the moment so all I could afford to buy without killing my bank account was the Shea Butter Hand Cream. It was so sad. Everyone else was spending a fortune on the products and I could only afford £8. I felt so poor.

 

 

I had an absolutely amazing time meeting all of the different bloggers and I met some truly wonderful amazing people. I had so much fun playing the different games and getting to know the different products in the store. I want to say a massive massive thank you to Abbigayle who gave the opportunity to be a part of that amazing night and I cannot wait until I can go to my next blogger event!