#nyLDNmeet

Last Saturday, I made my way to a blogger event in London, otherwise known as #nyLDNmeet . As the event was due to begin at 1pm and I live some distance away, I was up bright and early, and got myself onto the first train so that I'd arrive in the capital with plenty of time to spare. Whenever I go to London, I always like to have a bit of a browse in the shops, and on this occasion, it seemed to be inkeeping with the theme of the day.

While some people hate travelling by train, I personally quite enjoy it, as it means that I get a bit of me-time in which to read, listen to music and just generally chill out. Thankfully, the other passengers were all fairly considerate on the journey up, so I was quite happy to sit back and watch the world go by. There was Twitter talk of snow in London, so when I passed through Reading and caught site of a covering of white, I began to worry somewhat about my choice of high-heeled footwear.

The train arrived in London at around 11.30am, and top of my agenda was a quick trip to Liberty. I took the tube as far as Oxford Circus, and from there it was simply a case of popping across the road. I had a few items on my mental shopping list, but wasn't intending to buy much as I'm currently doing my best to save the pennies, so when I approached the Nars counter and they didn't have the palette I'd had my eye on, I was - in some ways - a little relieved. I'd also been intending to pick up the Creamy Concealer, but as my shade was out of stock, I gave it a miss, deciding instead to replenish my stock of the infamous Eye Primer.

After a quick scan for the Charlotte Tilbury counter, I was told that I'd need to go to Selfridges, so I picked up a bottle of Pixi Glow Tonic, before heading out and back up Oxford Street in search of the department store.

Although it wasn't snowing, the weather definitely wasn't on my side, as it was raining heavily all the way. For a moment, I was relieved to have brought my umbrella, but it wasn't long before I realised it was actually broken. I did my best to keep under the shelter as I hurried along, and managed to get away virtually unscathed before taking shelter inside Selfridges.

It was with more of a browse in mind that I headed for the Charlotte Tilbury counter, but when I asked if I could try out one of the eyeshadow quads, I found myself being swept into a chair for a full-on makeover. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy about this, as it meant that I got to try out a full face of Charlotte Tilbury makeup from start to finish, but I was a little bit pressed for time so had my fingers crossed that it wouldn't take too long. Luckily, it didn't, but seeing all of the products in action had me hankering to whip out my bank card and pick up a few pieces, so I ended up treating myself to the Golden Goddess Luxury Palette, Filmstar Killer Cheekbones and the Rock 'n' Roll Barbarella Brown Iconic Liquid Eye Pencil. Oops.

After my makeover, I rushed to the event, Citymapper acting as my guide the whole way. It wasn't far, but unfortunately for me, the rain was now even heavier, and by the time I arrived I was soaked through, boots included. Feeling a little bit flustered and desperate to get to the bathroom and sort out my hair, I made my way into the venue - a little Soho cocktail bar called Bittersweet. The event was already packed, and I got talking to a few bloggers I hadn't met before on my way in.

There were lots of activities already underway, with the lovely Henna (by name and profession) doing some amazing henna designs and the guys from Fordham Soho on hand to sort out everyone's hair. Moo Goo, an Australian skincare brand that provides natural and safe products for people with skin and scalp problems, were also around, introducing everyone to their range and to their brand new Dusty Girls mineral makeup line. Personally, I'm a huge fan of natural and organic skincare and do my best to avoid unnecessary additives wherever possible, so I'm really looking forward to trying out the samples I received - I will, of course, update you on how I get on.

Another highlight of the event was the cocktail making, and after missing the announcement for our slot, Laura and I found ourselves waiting at the bar, eager to get in on the action. It was the first time we had met, though we had been chatting on Twitter prior to the event, and were pleased to find that we were both equally as short as each other. Why? Because it's not often you come across someone else who just about makes 5ft, and while at my age I'm no longer bothered by my inheritance of the short gene, it was great to meet someone who shares the same shopping and photo dilemmas!

After chatting over some cocktails at the bar, we finally got the chance to make our own, so we snapped and laughed our way through a recipe that consisted of gin, cucumber, sugar syrup and prosecco. At some point, Philippa came to the bar to buy a drink, and though we had never met she was happy to play paparazzi as we brandished our cocktail shakers and pretended we knew exactly what we were doing. I didn't catch her name, but the lovely lady who gave us our lesson was brilliantly patient and accommodating, so a big thanks goes to her and all at Bittersweet.

Another highlight of the event was finally getting to catch up with Lola and Behold's Laura, who I have known via Twitter for the past few years but have never quite had the chance to meet in person. I had never realised that Laura was just as small as we were, so once again, we pleased to be able to exchange notes on living the short life!

Towards the end of the event, Lauren, Tamsyn and Amy held a charity raffle, in which a number of generous prizes were given out, although sadly, I wasn't one of the winners! By that time, it was gone 4pm and the end of the event was upon us, so we headed across the road to Byron for some gourmet burgers. Though there were over sixty bloggers at the event, many had to leave to begin the journey home, but there were around ten of us at the restaurant where we enjoyed a much needed meal after the cocktails that had been sunk earlier in the day. I had a chilli burger and courgette fries, which were a great novelty - I have long been replacing chips with the likes of sweet potato, so this is another lighter alternative I'll be trying at home.

After the meal, we took a few photos and caught up with some of the other bloggers we hadn't managed to speak to, and then the two Lauras and I had a wander round the Oxford Street shops again before it was time for all of us to say our goodbyes and head home.

I'd like to say a huge thanks to Lauren, Tamsyn and Amy for organising the event and for all of the hard work that went into it. I know they were feeling a little bit flustered on the day due to one or two things not going according to plan, but I want them to know that nobody noticed a thing and that we all had a fabulous time. Thanks girls - very much looking forward to the next event.

Also, a great big thank you goes out to all of the brands involved, and for their generosity in contributing to the raffle prizes and the amazing goodie bags we were each lucky enough to walk away with. Keep an eye out for some product reviews, coming very soon!

If you didn't make the event this time around then make sure that you're following @LDNmeet on Twitter - there are more meets in the pipeline, so I'm told, so stay updated - I'd love to meet some more of you next time.

Lauren - Blonde Vision
Tamsyn - Peach Pow
Amy - Beauty Glamorous

Laura - Loved by Laura
Laura - Lola and Behold
Philippa - It's just Philippa

xx