Showing posts with label theo paphitis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theo paphitis. Show all posts

Sunday, 3 June 2012

Boux Avenue Grand Opening at the Birmingham Bullring

I have been such a naughty little blogger! Since deciding to take my horrible blog-break for about three months from February to May I had planned to avoid everything blog-worthy purely because I KNEW I would want to write about it, but also knew I just didn't have the time. So when I received an email from Laura Gallagher at Flourescent PR a few months back inviting me to the grand opening of Theo Paphitis's brand new lingerie shop, Boux Avenue, I had to decline as hard as it was.


Then one day after heading into Birmingham to return some books to my university library, I found myself having a quick mooch around the Bullring. As I came down on the escalator to the second level, I glanced to my right and there it was, Boux Avenue's shop window complete with multi-coloured balloons and a huge sign outside saying, 'Theo Paphitis will be officially opening our stunning new store'. When I saw the line, 'Temptation awaits...' I could hardly turn around and leave could I??? So I moseyed on in and luxury lingerie at reasonable prices confronted me immediately... I was in heaven!


*Sexy lace thongs with cute bow details*


*Crisp white bras with pretty ruched cups*


*Cute little petticoats with ballet slippers*


*Comfy-looking cotton hipster booty shorts with lace trim*


*This is my favorite bra in the whole shop. A powder blue-and-white-stripe balcony bra, so adorable!*

The lovely Boux Avenue staff came over to see if I wanted any help which I thought was brilliant in terms of customer service, particularly as in a lingerie shop I know some ladies can feel a little intimidated or too shy to ask for assistance. I was told about their free bra-fitting service which I could inquire about in the dressing room, and the sizing system was explained to me. If you've ever been to a Victoria's Secret lingerie shop then you'll be familiar with the system, but basically if you don't see your size hanging up, then you can pull out one of the drawers below and find a carefully-laid out stock of each style and size in stock. That way, if you ARE too shy to ask for help then you don't REALLY have to. Love it. 

The highlight of the event was meeting Theo Paphitis who was absolutely lovely. He set aside enough time for me and a few other bloggers to have a photograph and a quick chat. He seemed very happy that I'd called Boux Avenue 'Victoria's Secret but better'. Also, when I said to him, 'Good luck with this whole thing!' he smiled and said that people don't often wish him luck any more because he's already been so successful. Then he said it was nice of me to say it! I literally want him to be my best friend. Such a genuine guy.

 

The ONLY thing that I would have done to improve the event would be to not to have models giving away candy in lingerie. Only because, I thought they looked a bit cheap which isn't a very true representation of the company as although the prices are reasonable, the image is expensive and that's why Boux Avenue is a winner in my opinion.


Flourescent PR and Boux Avenue also threw together a lovely goodie bag for all of us bloggers which allowed us to try out a mix of the beauty and lingerie items also, and I've been immensely impressed with each of the things I've tried so far.





*Look how lovely all of the packaging was! I felt a bit like it was my birthday or something, which is exactly how you should feel when buying lingerie in my opinion.*


*Although I've found the flavour of this rose-petal lip balm quite off putting, the formula is lovely and its one of the most moisturizing and hydrating lip balms I've tried so far. Also, the pot is huge and a little goes a long way so I'm sure this will last me for ages.* 


*Boux Avenue's White Chiffon hand cream is lovely to apply just before bed because it has such a 'comfy' scent. Does that make any sense? Like, it reminds me of the smell of clean sheets. And again, its really softening which is lovely for me especially because I get stress-related eczema which can be quite sore, dry and itchy, so giving myself a little hand massage before bed with this stuff is perfect. I even use it on my feet before bed too, just to keep them nice and soft.*


*What could be inside...*



*Leopard print pink-lace trimmed panties of course! These were in a size 10 which LUCKILY fit me (I say luckily because I think 10's were the only size handed out, so, winner!) These have a really cute shape, like French panties. Super-duper flattering and easy to be matched with if you don't have the exact pattern bra as virtually any white, brown, black or pale pink one will work. 

Boux Avenue also very kindly gave me a USB stick (random) and a £20 gift voucher, presumably so I can purchase a beautiful bra to match the above panties. I haven't spent this yet, but I'm very much looking forward to doing so because I'm in desperate need of some new boulder-holders and can't wait to try out Boux's bra-fitting service.

So thank you once again to Theo Paphitis, Boux Avenue and Flourescent PR for organizing a fantastic event and generously gifting this lovely goodie bag.

Have you been to a Boux Avenue shop yet? How do you feel about their prioritizing customer service? Would you ever wear a plain black bra with these leopard print panties or am I just a weirdo for thinking I could get away with that?

Love and snuggles
gabriellasofia
x

Sunday, 20 May 2012

So, where the devil have I been, eh?

On the 16th of February this year I decided to take a nastily long blog-break in order to finish my degree. However, enough of that sadness, because today, three months and four days later, I am back and am absolutely ecstatic :) Before I get stuck back into reviews, hauls, event write-ups etc, I decided to ease myself back into the blogging scene with an update on what I've been up to over the past three months... I'll give you the highlights shall I?

1) My 21st Birthday!

 
 

My 21st was a fab day. My best pal Vikki from Victoria's Vintage came to visit me at home in Stoke-On-Trent from Milton Keynes which was lovely. We went shopping, ate at my favourite Chinese restaurant with my family, went clubbing with my little sister (who is in the first picture... I know she looks WAY older than me when she's actually only 16!!! FML). I got some great presents including the outfit I'm wearing in the photograph, a Bobbi Brown make-up book and a Thomas Sabbo bracelet. My white chocolate and raspberry birthday cake was lush! 

2) The Hippy Hippy Shake Company presents HippyHaze 2012

 




I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my dad lost his mind about four years ago and left his job as a Sales Executive so he could open a milkshake chain, named The Hippy Hippy Shake Company. I know, crazy right? But since my mother promised to love him in sickness and in health, she left her job with the NHS and jumped aboard the crazy train. During Easter weekend, the crazy train pulled in at Foxfields Railway Station which my dad decided was a fantastic location to start his own local music festival named HippyHaze. Before we knew it, he'd thrown together an awesome weekend which everyone who's anyone in the local area showed up to and thoroughly enjoyed. The weekend could not possibly have gone any better and in spite of the insanity, I've never been prouder of my adorable father. 

3) Study, study, study!!!


Of course, I studied like a nerd on crack. I had to! I had a 10,000 word dissertation to write on the relationships between adults and children as presented by popular twentieth century children's literature. Thrilling right? At least I got to read Matilda, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Mary Poppins, The Lion, The Witch and The Warbrobe, The Secret Garden and The Little Princess for my degree *Ican'ttellyouhowpainfulitwasformetolistthosebookswithoutcomplyingwiththeharvardreferencingsystem*. I also had a 2000 word language assignment on the narrative features of film. Then I had two exams, one on Shakespeare plays which lasted for two hours. Then the other was three hours on fantasy literature titles such as Lord of the Rings, Beowulf, Lud-in-the-Mist, The King of Elfland's Daughter and many more. There was a LOT of reading to be done in time for both of my exams and I had to work really hard to prepare. I definitely did my best. In the above picture you'll see my colour-coded Shakespeare notes. Impressive, methinks.

4) Boux Avenue opening...





If you haven't already heard of Boux Avenue, then I'm about to let you in on the sexiest secret since Victoria's. So we all know the business brain-box Theo Paphitis from The Dragon's Den UK show. Furthermore, ladies nationwide know him as the man behind La Senza for a certain amount of time (before it went a tad tacky with desperate signs splattered all over the place with 'TWO BRA'S FOR £20' written on them. Not that I have anything against getting two bra's for a tenner, but when the sizes are as screwy as I often find they are at La Senza, I could be getting ten bra's for £20 and I'd still be £20 poorer without a single useful bra... *RantOver*) However, Theo has a new exciting project and its called Boux Avenue. I will do a full write up of the event that I attended in Birmingham with more pictures, but for now all you need to do is prepare yourself for a luxury lingerie experience like no other at exceptionally reasonable prices.


5) Bedroom Organization...



Not sure about you guys, but when I'm going crazy with studying I'm constantly trying to find a new way to procrastinate. The dishes in my house have never been so clean as during exam time. My family has never eaten such elaborate and time-consuming-to-cook delicacies. And my bedroom has never been so tidy! I've only put the one picture here as I'm planning on doing a full Youtube room tour soon, so keep and eye out for that...

6) Holiday? BOOKED.




Last summer I worked at Disney World in Orlando with my pal and fellow blogger Victoria's Vintage. If you want to know more about my Disney experience, please click here for my Disney International College Program Youtube Channel. Anyway, I've always been mad for the United States and had planned to travel the country after finishing my College Program. Unfortunately, I broke my finger whilst working on one of the rides and after putting up with agony and pain-killer-caused exhaustion for a couple of weeks, I decided to come home a week early and skip my travelling. Luckily, I was feeling spontaneous early on this year and decided to book a five week coast-to-coast tour from San Francisco to New York city for this summer. I'm going all alone and I leave in just over a month! Wish me luck...

So I think that's everything IMPORTANT that I've been up to over the past three months. Exciting, right? Haha. Anyways, now we're all up-to-date with me, I want to get up-to-date with the blogging community! What have I missed? Any great events coming up which I must attend? Have you tried and reviewed any fantastic products recently? Have any of you decided to spend a bomb on an insane travel sesh? Catch me up!

Anyway, keep an eye out for any upcoming blog-posts as I have loads planned :)
Love and snuggles
gabriellasofia
x