Saturday 11th July was a very exciting day for me. Not only was I having my hair cut (It had only been nine months since my last appointment... hmmm), but it was the day of The City Girls event! I came across The City Girls from fellow bloggers who had attended their launch event in Sheffield, and quickly followed them in the hope that they'd make it to Leeds. Imagine my joy a few weeks later when they announced that Leeds was due to be their next destination - I couldn't sign myself up quick enough! Now, I've been to a few of these type of events before, so roughly know what to expect. This one was not too much different to the rest, but very well organised (A few in the past have been quite disjointed), and there was plenty to do (There's nothing worse than standing around)! This blog post is going to be all about the event, and you have been warned - it's quite picture and word heavy, so let's get on with it, shall we?





The event was held in The Liquorist, which used to be known as The Living Room a few months ago - it was where the Oriflame event I went to was held last year. Even though that was held on the floor above, the difference is quite staggering - I didn't recognise the place at all! The decor is absolutely beautiful - dark wood, exposed brick and extremely fancy furniture; check out that lion's head door knocker on the back of one of the chairs! Once I'd caught up with some familiar faces (as well as being introduced to some new ones), I got myself to the bar sharpish to give one of their fancy cocktails a try. I astounded myself by choosing the Virgin Apple Mojito; mint, lime, apple juice and ginger ale - that's right, no booze! It was a warm, humid day, and it sounded so refreshing that I couldn't resist it. That, and I hadn't had much to eat (I'd grabbed a frappe and granola yoghurt with Rachel in Starbucks between having my hair cut and going to event, seeing as I'd skipped breakfast) so I didn't want to get trollied!




We were all grouped downstairs whilst Holly-Lucy and Lorna were setting up, so when they were done we were called upstairs for the event. It was a gorgeous space for the event to be set up in, but once all the bloggers had got inside with their drinks and cameras, it did feel a bit cramped! However, I've not been to an event like this where it hasn't been; put a bunch of excitable girls into a bar and it's going to be busy! Holly-Lucy and Lorna started things off by introducing themselves and explaining what the event was all about, and what the plans were for the afternoon. We also had a lady called Suzie from Leeds Women's Aid talk to us about her charity, and why it is so important. Leeds Women's Aid is a charity that helps victims of domestic abuse and violence. They do this by offering temporary supported housing, outreach support and phone support, and Suzie really opened our eyes to how horrific domestic abuse can be. It can take so many different forms, some that you might not even think of and the work they're doing to support women and children in need is awe inspiring. As a collective group of bloggers, we were hoping to raise some money for this fantastic charity via a raffle, and by the end of the event, I think I can say that we exceeded our expectations. I'll tell you how much we all raised at the end of this post!




After Suzie had finished talking with us, we were let loose into the next room, where there was all sorts waiting for us! How Holly-Lucy and Lorna had set it up was by giving featured brands their own area, and allow us bloggers to float between each one and have a chat with the people behind them. I really liked this idea, as it meant that we weren't stood there for ages listening to people talk about brands that we weren't interested in, but could pick and choose as we pleased. I, along with many others made a point of chatting to everyone there, as you never know what they may be offering for your blog. A lot of items were left out for us to pick up, which was brilliant at first but I was soon weighed down with products, and struggling to move about with them all. That was something that Holly-Lucy and Lorna picked up on - no one had thought to bring any extra bags with them, and as such there was stuff piled everywhere! For their next events, I think they will either provide bags or encourage you to bring your own to cart all of the products home in! I know that I have loads of tote bags at home that I could have put to good use. One of the first items I picked up was a VOSS Water, and I have already been putting this to good use as it now lives on my bedside! It's great for reminding me to keep hydrated - something that I'm always struggling with. I also had a chat with the guy from Manuka Doctor, who told me about a great offer they're doing; hit this link and buy their ApiRefine Lip Enhancer for just 99p instead of £14.99!




Next up was DermaV10, a brand that I'm familiar with thanks to previous blogger events. I like how they always get behind events like these and provide items to try, something that more companies should do! This time around, things were a bit different as the products were provided in a special box, all packed up and ready to go; it did make it a bit difficult to carry around mind you! In this box were the Multi Radiance Cream, Day Cream, Rescue Oil and Cocoa Body Butter. I have tried the Day Cream and Cocoa Body Butter before (I reviewed them in this post back in 2013!), but the other two products are new to me. I've started using the Day Cream again, actually as a day cream this time instead of at night and it's not as thick or as heavily scented as I remember. The Multi Radiance Cream has made its way into my skincare regime too, when I'm looking for something a bit more heavy duty and I can see it becoming a firm favourite. Also available to chat to at the event was a lady from Kendelle, who gave me a discount to use on their website. As lovely as the clothing was, it isn't really my style and they don't sell anything in my size, which is a shame. The lady gave me a discount for me to use, but I will pass on the discount for you guys to use instead: visit their website and use the code IAMACITYGIRL for 20% off your order.




Pretty much as soon as we entered the room, these books from Michael O'Mara caught my eye. The covers were so bright and colourful that it would have been hard to miss them! They're actually colouring books for adults, and are intended to be used as a method to relax and give your mind a break. A girl that I work with has waxed lyrical about the wonders of colouring in, so I'm excited to have my own book so I can have a go myself! I either need to go into the attic to bring down my box of colouring pencils, or go buy some more. There are some beautiful patterns and drawings inside, in a whole mixture of different styles; some of them I would be happy to have printed and put up as wallpaper, they're that beautiful! When I do start using it, I'm sure that it will keep me occupied for many months. On the next table were some products from Together Health, and if I'm quite honest with you I don't really understand what they are for. I am assuming that they are supplements of some kind, but the packaging wasn't overly clear - or at least I didn't think it was. Maybe I was being a bit dim! I passed on picking one of these up for myself, figuring that they might as well go to someone who would actually use them and see the benefits.




If you put candles in a room full of bloggers, chances are they're going to be popular and disappear pretty sharpish! These adorable miniature candles from Twig + Dot were available for us to take home, and I had a hard time choosing between the two scents. In the end I chose "Bahama Bay", which is scented with coconut and lime which I thought would make it a lovely candle to burn throughout what's left of summer. The other scent was "Carousel", a blend of marshmallow, vanilla and cream which sounds good enough to eat! Having had a good look through their website they have some incredible sounding scents - I've got my eye on "Cinder + Smoke" and "Gypsy Royale", although in truth they all sound fantastic. Like I need any more candles! I'm actually burning my little candle as I type this post, and I absolutely love it. Also up for grabs were more food and drink items, in the form of Virtue Ice Tea and City Girls cupcakes, which as you can imagine didn't last very long. I photographed the Strawberry & Peach tea but I actually picked up a lemon one, so that Martin could give it a try. I did have a bit (I'm still coming around to the idea of drinking tea) and it was delicious; really refreshing and uplifting. I might be tempted to try some more in the future, if they all taste that good! I'm not sure who made the cupcakes, but they were soft, fluffy and with a generous topping of icing - you can't ask for any more than that.




More beauty items were next in line, and I was really pleased to see that The Body Shop were there to have a chat with everyone. Tahira and Leah, who work at the Leeds store, told me all about their newest products, including the Italian Summer Fig fragrance, which at the time had yet to be released. I'd like to think that I know my way around perfumes and have smelled a lot in my time, but this was unlike anything else that I had encountered. It was so unusual because it smelt so natural, and this is what The Body Shop do so well; the scents that they create, whether it be going in shower gels or fragrance, do not smell synthetic at all. This fragrance has an obvious top note of fig, but had a woody, green undertone that works beautifully with the sweetness of the fruit. It smells much more expensive than it actually is, and I think if you were to slap a designer label onto the front of the bottle, people would be willing to pay more than the £18 it is retailing for! I will definitely be checking it out again in store in the near future. Tahira and Leah also showed me some products from the Nutriganics range, and gave me a couple of samples to take away. Later in the afternoon I also managed to stop by the Benefit Cosmetics corner, where Melissa was demonstrating the brand's latest products. I wanted to see if I could actually pull off gel eyeliner, as I've never worn it before, so I patiently waited my turn! Melissa applied the They're Real Push Up Liner in Beyond Brown to my eyes, as well as a touch of the They're Real Mascara in Beyond Blue to the tips of my lashes. I was pleasantly surprised by the results, and liked how the products looked. It's a shame that I have neither the talent nor the patience to recreate the eyeliner myself!




Last but by no means least, was a table that was surrounded by bloggers for the entire duration of the event. Even getting a picture proved difficult! This table was taken over by Nails By Ivy, which as you can probably guess is a lady called Ivy who does nails - who would've thought it, eh? However, Ivy is a genius - and the queue of excitable girls waiting to have their nails done spoke for itself. I managed to get a spot in the queue, which was lost not long after, so I'm pretty gutted to say that I didn't manage to get my nails done at this event. I even had bare nails that really needed some loving! Some of the designs that Ivy had on display to create on the day were astounding - if you click on the link above, you will be able to check out some of her work. One of the girls had an awesome design that included The City Girls on one nail, which I thought was pretty awesome! I have serious envy over anyone who can paint nails with skill, but creating designs like she does is in another league altogether. She is one incredibly talented woman, and I really hope that if our paths ever cross again that I can have my nails done by her one day!




A couple of hours into the event, Holly-Lucy and Lorna decided to get the raffle going. There was some fantastic prizes available, from hairbrushes to handbags, and even some tickets to Lightwater Valley theme park! This was all in the hope of raising some money for Leeds Women's Aid, so the money spent on the tickets was, as I mentioned, going to an extremely worthwhile cause. I bought a strip of tickets, but sadly didn't win anything on this occasion - I have the worst luck when it comes to raffles! However, it was not all doom and gloom, as at the end of the raffle it was announced that we had raised £240 for Leeds Women's Aid; this was also going to be matched by Aviva, bringing the total to £480 which is pretty incredible! I'm really proud that we were all able to raise so much for the charity, and I'm sure it will be very much appreciated and put to good use. I'm all for supporting charities that are part of blogger events, as it is a win-win situation; some lucky bloggers get to go home with some awesome prizes, and the charity in question receives a substantial donation that will go towards making people's lives better.



Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and it was time to go home laden down with our products. Not only were there the items I've mentioned that we picked up from around the room, but we were sent away with a jam packed goody bag too! As you can see, there are so many items in there that it's difficult to know where to begin, and it is a brilliant selection too. I've already started to use some of the products that I received on the day, and if any stand out to me, they will be mentioned on the blog in the future!

A big thank you needs to go out to Holly-Lucy and Lorna for organising such a fantastic event - they really did themselves proud and exceeded my expectations. I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time! They will be making their way to cities across the country over the coming months, so if you want to know when they're coming to a city near you, give them a follow on Twitter. Also, be sure to check out #The CityGirls on Twitter and Instagram for my fellow bloggers' reviews and pictures from the day!