Northern Bloggers Meet Up - 30th August

Saturday... the day I'd been waiting for for ... agesssss finally came round.  A double celebration, the first Saturday in years where hubby was at home for the kids and I could abandon them and go to meet some fellow bloggers....oh and I got my hair cut for the occasion too
.

The morning didn't go too smoothly and I ended up 45 minutes late for the #northerbloggersmeetup meaning I'd missed all the introductions and people were already deep in conversation.  Thankfully I found a lovey comfy armchair and was instantly welcomed to a smaller group.  It was lovely to get a chance to talk to Jaye from Liberty Belle properly as she was rather busy the last time I saw her.

(thanks for letting me
borrow the pic Jaye

The event was held at Eten a lovely cafe near the cathedral in Sheffield city centre.  I was dubious how lots of bloggers were going to fit into what from the outside looks a very small space but it goes to show you can never judge a book by its cover .... it goes back miles and we had our own private party space with bar and servers who ensured we were fed and watered from their extensive menu.  While most bloggers opted for skinny fries which looked lovely I went on a hunt for cake....as for me a cafe is judged  on its cakes .... I was not disappointed when I came across these rustic looking

scones. Served with Tiptree (ahhh back to my Essex roots) jam and butter they were every bit as tasty as they looked... and a steal at less then £2.  I came across a minor problem tho when trying to butter them as the butter was stored in the fridge and like a rock... completely unspreadable causing me to delicately eat a messy crumbly scone.  whilst I stuck to coke for my drink of choice those around me were enjoying the wine menu or one of the 19 different teas there were on offer.

    

We were soon greeted with the sweetest aroma that can only mean one thing - Lush had arrived.  After an energetic and clearly passionate talk about their history and how Lush's products are all Fairtrade and ethical, handmade and use the freshest widely sourced ingredients we got to play with some bath bombs and fill the cafe with the amazing smells you would get at home.  We were told about the new range of Lush Spa's that are opening up and were encouraged to get to one and try Synaesthesia for ourselves but at £125 that may be a little out of my price range in the immediate future.

  

 As a parting gift we were given our own little bit of luxury, my bag contained some 'I Love Juicy' shampoo and 'Rub Rub Rub' shower scrub along with a 'sex bomb' bath bomb.  As so often my bath products get stolen by the kids the girls at my table kindly said I could take the spare 'Blackberry' for them... they sent a big THANK YOU when they saw it.

I got to try out some of these products last night so watch this space for my thoughts.

After Lush had done their thing we mingled for a bit longer, ate and drank some more and pulled the raffle winners.  I got a Yardley Invigorating Blue Orchid Hydrating & Enriching Body Lotion which smells lovely and left my skin really smooth when I tried it last night.

Next to talk to us were Kitty (Accounts manager) and Jamie (South Yorkshire area manager) for Benefit who were every bit as proud to be Benebabes as Lush were.  Being the only blogger in the room never to have tried a Benefit product (sorry, No7 trained and rarely stray) I felt a bit of a fraud,  but as the girls talked to us about the history (did you know Benetint was originally, unknowingly, used as nipple rouge for exotic dancers?) it was time to see just what a Benefit makeover consisted of.

  Kitty expertly showed us how to do our faces with their lovely products and passed them around for us to see, touch and smell.  We were also lucky enough to come away with their fantastic new range of They're Real eyeliner and mascara. I cannot wait to try these out (and will of course let you know the result) but I need to buy myself some waterproof make up remover first.

    

   

(thanks for letting me
borrow the pic Jaye)

  I was very excited by the brow mapping tutorial, it's really simple to do and as a self confessed brow neglector I will certainly be giving it a go, especially as I've been invited to go along to one of their brow bars and experience their services.

Sadly like all good things this had to come to an end, but not before we got out goodybags.  I cannot possibly begin to list all the wonderful companies who contributed to our goodybags in this post but watch out for many updates to come in the next few weeks, you may have already seen how much fun we have had with the Bananagrams.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much to Catherine (Counter Pretty), Tori (Dolly Birds and Bows) Kat (The Kats Paws) and Kirstie (Short Lashes) for all your hard work, cannot wait to meet you all again at the next one.