Bloggers London Fashion Week #BLFW // My first ever event!!

Afternoon :) 

So on Monday (just gone) I traveled from the Shire to London taaaaawn to attend my first ever blogger's event. 

It was held at the Oxo Tower (2nd floor) right next to the River Thames, hosted by The Bloggers Hangout. 

It took me a good few hours to get down there and MAN weren't there a lot of A-hole drivers on the motorway. At one point I didn't think I was going to make it, it was THAT BAD!!! 

Yeah, so, the dress code was to be all in black, which is pretty easy for me as 90% of my wardrobe is black. :D I was booked as a photographer for the event which I was extremely grateful for, so I was all equipped with my IPhone and my DSLR. I tend to wear my hair in a side plait most of the time until it grows to the length I am happy with. This time though I wanted to change the style up a bit so I started with a french plait and then proceeded onto a 'pull-through' braid. (I will insert a picture below). I kept to my usual day look of a smokey eye and I was practically done :) 

Typically, my name wasn't on the list as 'LEYA', so the security guard at the event couldn't find me. There was however a 'Leah' which I gathered was me. It was 12 pm when we were all allowed in and I was SO tired as I had been up at 5.30 am. Zonked. 

The room was mainly white and it was filled with lots of different brands and companies eager to show everyone their products and to inform us about their companies. It had a chilled and relaxed atmosphere which was nice because I was pretty anxious. I talked to A LOT of people that day and everyone was lovely. There was music playing by a live DJ and drinks were being served. It was very classy and Instagramable. <- I know that isn't a word. :D 

I didn't realise there was a 'gifting' room where brands gift you their products to try out and possibly review so I hit that room last. It was nice finding out about companies that I haven't heard of before and to try their products out. 

My favourite brand by far was 'With Love Lilly' and they are a mother & daughter owned company who create and make to fit, lingerie. The pieces that they make are adorable, unique and so feminine. They are so unique and beautiful, as soon as I saw the rail with them all on I shot straight over to them. They weren't gifting that day as their products are made to fit but a few minutes after I had left, the mum came over and gave me one of the bra's I loved as a gift from herself and her daughter. I was so shocked as I wasn't expecting that at all and I was so thankful. I liked a lot of their products so I didn't know until I got home on which one I was gifted. 

This one is out in October and I am in LOVE with it.  

How beautiful is this bra. Sorry for the revealing picture but it was too cute not to show!!

The event had some great beauty brands there, I love nail polish and there were two brands there that I hadn't heard of that I really liked and then there was good old Barry M. 

The two brands are 'Little Ondine' and 'True Brit'. Little Ondine pride themselves on the fact that their polishes are "composed of natural resin, organic colourants and water". That means no nasty polish smell!! I really liked this idea as it is nicer for your nail and not so harsh. And apparently their polish just peels off. I am yet to try the product but it sounds really good. 

True Brit have a similar stance on what the polish components consist of. Their product is "exclusively blended with Natural Flower Oils, Vitamin E, Elderflower and Rose. It sounds so luxurious".

Two really nice brands. I cannot wait to try the products I was given. 

As far as skin care goes, there were a couple of brands that gifted me and those were 'Kleem Organics' and 'Heaven by Deborah Mitchell' 

Kleem Organics gave me a Vitamin C Serum that is an all-in-one anti-aging product that smells of oranges. It reminded me of the Vitamin C range in The Body Shop. The texture of the serum is so soft and doesn't leave a sticky residue. The product is also cruelty free and not tested on animals which is AMAZING, as everyone knows I am against testing on animals. I can't wait to use this product properly. 

Heaven by Deborah Mitchell is a brand that is currently being used by the Royal Family, Camilla in particular. I have never heard of this brand before but it seems like a luxury brand one of which I can imagine being quite pricey. I haven't got any leaflets about the product but they are cute.

A brand called Miglio Designer Jewellery had some beautiful pieces on show too, I especially loved the rose gold finish products. 

Oooohhh another brand I like is Berrywhite Organic drinks. Their product contains organic fruits with white tea and herbal extracts. They are sugar free too. I dislike sugar free drinks as they have that nasty aftertaste but these drinks don't. I had a taste of the blueberry and pomegranate sparkling drink and I really liked it. They also gave me some products to take home and try. 

Pudology were also there and I used to deal with the company at my old place of work. They started following me on Twitter, where I realised that their products are gluten and dairy free which I was really happy about. Lucy Wager who is the director had a lovely chat with me about the company when I asked her some questions. I tried the Millionaire pudding and it was awesome. I expected it to taste horrible because it was 'free' from a lot of things but it just tasted like a normal pudding but without all of the crap. I need to buy this product!!!

Other brands that were there included: 

Halo hair extensions

Fleur of England - A lingerie brand

Motel Rocks

Pixi

Paul & Joe 

Magnitone

Barry M 

Maison Ves- Candle Company

The rest of the day

My gifts

I got gifted so much <3

I missed the fashion catwalk as I had to leave early due to the fact I had a hospital appointment for a scan early the next morning and papa Hutt was driving. I would like to say a massive thank you to The Bloggers Hangout for booking me as a photographer for the event and for the goody bag at the end too. They organised and put on a cracking event and I loved every minute of it. 

Also a massive thank you to the Oxo Tower for letting all us bloggers into your venue for the day and a HUGE thank you to all the brands that gifted me and who I spoke to. 

I hope you like this post and I can't wait for the next event.

L <3 

Girl Talk // Periods, Smear Tests and Ovarian Cysts // A Personal Account.

Afternoooooon!!!

It is September... Which means we are heading into autumn and I am SO excited about it. It's my favourite time of year and this only means the countdown to Christmas can now begin!!!

I have decided to do a more of a chatty and informative post today for all the girlies out there. As you would of guessed from the title of this post I want to talk bout all things 'woman' which means, all the not-so-nice things that come along with being a lady. I want to chat about things that have happened to me personally and touch on subjects that don't always get discussed by us gals. 

Periods, smear tests and ovarian cysts are some of the things that us as women have to contend with but can freak some people out, especially the mention of the dreaded "smear test". If you are a guy reading this, I suggest you sign off now before you are grossed out! Ha. :) 

Okay, so I have never been pregnant so I cannot add this to the list of things that we have to deal with. But the things I have had to deal with I wanted to share with you to ease your minds slightly if you are worried about the above. 

" I love my period" says no one ever!!

Periods, I have THE WORST in the world I swear. I am on the pill and have been since I think I was sixteen years old. I got put on them originally because I was having really painful monthlies. Now I double up on my pill to try and settle them some more because as I have got older the pain has returned. So, I will have my period, then I will take my one pack and then once that has finished I will then move straight onto the second pack. That way I have 6 periods a year instead of 12. Don't worry the doctor told me it's fine to do that.   

That aside jeeze they are vile little things. The pain I get is horrendous and on the second day I usually feel so ill, I get a headache, cramps, almost pass out and feel very sick. I think a lot of it is to do with the pain and to make matters worse I seem to have occurred what me and my friends call "the bum pain". I won't go into it but if you know what I mean, you will know how excruciating that is. In short, I suffer big time. 

I end up looking even more like Casper than I do now with dark rings around my eyes. I look disgusting. These are the times I thank the lord that I am single. :D

I end up looking like something from the walking dead!!!

Does anyone else have this problem? Mine aren't particularly heavy, just normal but the pain is the big issue. Most of the time I cannot move out of my bed, let alone function. It's a pain in the ass when I am working too. 

I also cannot use Tampax due to the fact I had a reaction to them back in the day so now I have to use the frickin towels which, lets face it aren't the most attractive of things to use. The night ones are like a frickin nappy and they are uncomfortable and I just feel very vulnerable. 

I would like to know if anyone else has had the whole 'reaction' thing like me? 

I don't think it is 'normal' to be in this much pain when I have a period because it has progressively got worse and as most people know, doctors just seem to fob you off. The amount of times I have heard "you just have bad periods" is stupid. If that is the case, I don't know how I am meant to put up with the feeling like I am giving birth each time I have one. (I wouldn't know what it is like to give birth but surely it's about on the same wavelength?)

I NEVER take painkillers. Call me The Hulk.

Onto the those two words that will fill most women with dread and anxiety when they hear them... SMEAR TEST.

Honestly guys, it really isn't as bad as most people make out. Okay I have a pretty good pain tolerance, which is apt especially as 6 times in the year I have to be like The Hulk. So PLEASE don't listen to anyone that says any different. If any of you guys reading this haven't had a smear test yet but are maybe due one this could be of interest to you, especially if you're anxious. 

I cannot stress anymore on how important it is for you to go to your smear test appointment. It can save your life, literally. 

The first time I had mine was when I was 25 and I was really nervous as I didn't know what to expect. Literally it takes seconds and it is done. Obviously, have a lady doctor do it as you will feel more comfortable and will relax you more. She will then use this plastic like duck beak (ha ha) kind of instrument so she can access what ever she needs to access down there. That for me was a little uncomfortable but as soon as that was done she took a swab and that was that. Done. You will feel a little scratch possibly when the doctor takes the sample but that is it. No pain, no torture chamber just a normal procedure.   

For me, the results bothered me more. Unfortunately for me when they did come through they came back as abnormal with mild dyskaryosis. The first thing that ran through my mind was "oh my goodness, do I have cancer?" That is and was not the case. Even so it still put the fear of god into me. It is not something every 25 year old wants to hear *covers eyes*. What my results meant was that I have some small changes to my cells in my cervix which needed to be investigated, just to be on the safe side. 

I freaked out. Not going to lie. I was in tears a lot of the time. I had to go for an appointment at the hospital where I would need to have a colposcopy done. I had to have a sample taken away from my cervix/womb to be tested for any abnormal cells that could develop into something more serious. Again that procedure wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst either.

That wait was horrible, I just wanted it to be okay. And it was!! :) 

My test came back with the results lower than CIN 1 and the abnormal smear test came from some 'acute inflammation' which could be down to anything like irritation from soap. 

I had my other one the other week (as I went back to normal 3 year screening) and it came back normal!!! Yay! I was DREADING those results understandably. Ha. 

The importance of my personal account is ten fold, because what if I hadn't of gone for that test. That COULD OF been something sinister and this story might of  not had a happy ending. 

Ladies. YOU MUST go for you smear tests. Yes it is nerve-wracking but think about the satisfaction that you are gaining just knowing you have done something that could potentially save your life. Not everyone is as lucky as I have been but 9/10 your result will be normal. :)

My hot water bottle is my best friend." A friend in need is a friend indeed". 

Ovarian cysts. They are the devil incarnate let me tell you. I have never ever had one up until recently and by golly I wish I had never encountered one!!! This is saying something. The pain is WORSE than my period pains, I have never felt pain like it. Since having one and talking to people about it a lot of women have said having one of those rupture is worse than labour pain. Well I had one and mine ruptured. It was no fun and games, I was admitted into hospital with mine. And oh, guess what. I am experiencing another one as I type. 

Apparently, they can "just appear" It is nothing you have done and you cannot do anything to stop them occurring. :( 

The first time I had one I came home from work and felt really odd. Ill. This pain in my lower left abdomen started and it would not go. I could not sleep, I couldn't move. There was no relief. 

I almost called in sick at work the next day but I went in thinking it would pass. It didn't, the pain then became excruciating and was coming in waves of like 5 seconds. I almost had to call the ambulance out to me. I didn't know what was going on. The only way I could describe the pain was like a stitch sensation that turned into major stinging and then when it reared up, it felt like I was being stabbed. It is hard to describe pain.

I went to the doctors and he had a feel and he then kindly informed me that he thinks it is definitely an ovarian cyst. I was shocked. What the hell? 

I spent the rest of day in bed at home and I ended up ringing the doctor back saying it was getting unbearable and he ended up sending me to hospital where I was admitted overnight into the gynecology ward. It was horrible. I had to undergo various invasive tests and yes those hurt. And my cyst had ruptured hence the pain. They couldn't see my ovary fully on the scan as an organ got in the way, so they couldn't check if there were others on there. I was also nil by mouth too and I was really hungry. All I kept thinking  about was  my mums brownies!!!

The cravings. Junk. Standard. 

Well obviously there was other cysts because I now have had another rupture. In the same place as before. On top of my period too, so lets just say I have been really ill this week. 

 I am waiting for a scan date to come through as my doctor wants to know what is going on. He mentioned me going to hospital gain but I really didn't want that. All I can say is I DO NOT want another one. I would also like to add, I never take tablets (painkillers) and when I do take any that means I am in a lot of pain. How I didn't take any with the first cyst is beyond me. I did take some this time though. It was BAD.  

This has been a wordy post but I thought it would be something informative to read, you may be going through the same things or you are interested to know about the things I have mentioned? These topics have all included my person accounts and I hope it may help some of you if you are experiencing anything similar. I would love to hear your thoughts and stories. It's nice to know you're not on your own!!! 

L xx