I must be completely honest... Last year, I didn't enjoy the Clothes Show Live all that much at all, purely because I found it too chaotic, full of brands I rarely purchase from and just very overwhelming. The fashion show itself was the main redeeming feature with a department store theme. This year I found the overall feel of The Clothes Show to be slightly different. The brands in the beauty section were better (in that they had more products on offer and seemed far from selling out), the deals seemed to be more cost effective and the general atmosphere felts a lot more relaxed than last year. The fashion show on the other hand was really quite average by comparison with that of 2011... Here is my Clothes Show Live 2012 story...
Once I arrived, I realized I'd managed to leave my money in my boyfriend's car, so begrudgingly got into the twenty minute line for the cash point which then charged me £1.99 to withdraw £50. Needless to say, this was not the fantastic start to the day which I had wished for. At least I had a plan, get into the beauty hall, buy up some goodies, wander around the clothes area to see if anything might take my fancy and watch the fashion show before heading home. I headed over to the Press Office to grab my pass (brilliant for flashing at self-righteous security guards to pounce as soon as you take your camera out of your bag) and worked out what time the fashion show would be. Then that was it, I was off.
I headed over to the Barry M stall, which ended up being very frustrating. There were quite a few deals on although none of them were particularly generous apart from the £10 goodie bag. Nonetheless, I decided to collect up about nine Dazzle Dusts and five lipsticks under the impression that I might be able to haggle myself a better deal when the assistants saw how much I was going to buy. As I headed over to the lady at the till, I saw her swapping a couple of the Dazzle Dusts which a customer had received in her goodie bag (I guess she wasn't happy with the colours or something) so I thought, "Fab, I'll do the same." I purchased the goodie bag first and asked if I could switch some of the colours out... "No." Was the answer that came. Fantastic. So now I was lumped with a goodie bag (which really wasn't that bad at all, but still...) I handed over my basket of products to buy and asked if there was a further deal which could be offered to me. "No," again. Whatever, I left the products and stalked off. I must admit, aside from the fact that they were unable to offer any further deals, the assistant was also very rude as was the manager of the stall who doubled as the-annoying-lying-lady-on-the-microphone. "Only five goodie bags left guys, get them while you can!" she was screaming... before screaming the same thing five minutes later after the original five goodie bags were sold. I really wasn't very impressed.
*The Barry M stall that RUINED MY LIFE. Melodramatic*
*All of my Barry M goodies. Whoop-dee-doo*
I didn't want my Barry M Disaster to ruin my day, so onwards and upwards I thought and headed to Models Own, who had a fab goodie bag deal on. You could choose any two nail colours and get a goodie bag included for just £10. Barry M should maybe take a leaf out of Models Own's book and allow customers to choose their Dazzle Dusts. I was really pleased with the service at Models Own and the products I got will be used without a doubt!
*Models Own rocked my world at the Clothes Show...*
*...SEE!*
After my Models Own triumph, I wandered over to Bourjois, a company which I have never purchased from before but have always been curious to try. Once again, they had a brilliant deal on their products where you could grab any 3 for £12. Then, if you spent over £20 you could get a goodie bag full of items to the value of £15. I snapped up a few bits including the bloggers holy grail in nail varnish remover and the Flower Perfection primer. The goodie bag had a few gems inside, but there were also some bits which I just know I will never use. Having said that, the sales assistants were really lovely and helpful in terms of matching my foundation shades, so I really can't fault Bourjois.
*Bourjois came out a winner with these deals*
*Look what I got!*
*And this was the contents of the goodie bag... the mascara, eye liner and mini blush will definitely be used*
All of the Barry M, Models Own and Bourjois products will be reviewed soon, promise!
There were some other great deals, especially on haircare. However, I was trying to be good and keep my money in my purse! Cosmopolitan, Company magazine and others were selling their own goodie bags for just £3 which included copies of the magazine, bottles of coconut water, chocolate bars and in one such bag, a bottle of OPI Crackle nail polish. I didn't bother purchasing any of them though, because I don't really like the crackle nail effect, plus I was saving my last few pennies for a delicious snack...
*Chocolate fountain... I want to lie underneath one of these*
*Cinder Toffee flavoured ice cream... NOM*
As I strolled over to the main arena for the catwalk, I spotted a few cool brands and snapped the following photos...
*Miss Selfridge competition... give me a £500 shopping spree please!*
*I just love David and Goliath's image! So bright and fun!*
*How adorable are these Nancy Smith headdresses? Wish I'd bought one now*
*Not ALL of these things were in every goodie bag. If they had been, I might have invested!*
*How awesome is this Photobooth cab???*
The theme of the fashion show this year was the production of a top fashion magazine. It was full of a variety of scenes including Showrooms in Shoreditch, Model Casting and After Party. The class of Grace Woodward, Henry Holland and a fake Anna Wintour clashes dramatically with the frequently seen tackily over-exposed men, chavvy music and poor scenery. Regardless, I did enjoy the show and there were many looks which I would love to be able to afford featured! In spite of the total disorganization of the whole press department, we managed to get great seats on the front row. Here are some of my favorite shots...
*Grace and Henry... yup, first name terms*
*Check out the busy arena*
*Times Red from The X Factor performed and were great. They are ever so handsome*
*'Anna Wintour'... NOT!*
*I'm not a lesbian, but... BLEAUGH. These half-dressed guys just cheapened the whole thing*
*Adorable dress*
*I thought the dancer in the middle looked SO MUCH like Caroline Flack... anyone else seeing that?*
*Weird hat but awesome colours*
*Check out this weird, Lady Gaga-esque bodysuit. Very odd*
*Gorgeous yellow swimming costume*
*I LOVE this bra and knicker set on the right... very BDSM*
*Sticking wings on your models doesn't make the show as classy as Victoria's Secret's, Clothes Show. Trust me*
*Some weird Nicki Minaj look-a-like*
*I adore a short-suit!*
*Posh dancing*
*There was a lot of focus on black and white block colours for occasion-wear... beautiful*
*Very cute mini-dress*
*This is the awkward moment when the models confuse themselves with the dancers... embarassing*
*'Anna Wintour' is happy. Someone, stop the presses*
I had a good day out at the Clothes Show Live 2012. I met the lovely Clara from Countess Du Blush so we hung out together for quite some time and that was a definite highlight of the day. The lowlights include being shepharded around like an animal, seeing chavvy girls all over the place and being spoken down to by sales assistants. Nevertheless, I had good day and would love to go again next year as the beauty buys are THE BOMB.
*Look at all of the humans slobbed out on the floor*
*Me and Clara!*
Have you ever been to the Clothes Show? Do you find the half-naked men detract from the overall experience? Would you have rowed epically with the Barry M sales assistant? I wish I had done now...
Love and snuggles
GabriellaSofia
x
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