£20 for a £40 Shoeaholics by Kurt Geiger voucher

Just a quick post to let you know about a great deal currently available on Living Social. For £20 you can purchase a voucher worth £40 to spend on the Shoeaholics site. For those of you who don't know, Shoeaholics is Kurt Geiger's clearance outlet site and offers a wide range of shoes and accessories at much discounted prices. In addition to stocking all of the Kurt Geiger related brands (Kurt Geiger London, Carvela etc), the site also offers brands such as Acne, Sam Edelman and Vivienne Westwood for Melissa. I have picked up some great bargains from the site in the past, from statement jewellery pieces to fabulous heels. All at much reduced prices! I think that this a fantastic deal, so get in quick before it ends on the 6th September.

St David's Cardiff Ladies' Night

If you are looking for something to distract you from the awful weather, then St David's Cardiff Ladies' Night might be just the retail therapy you are looking for. 

From 6.30pm until 9pm this Thursday, St David’s is inviting shoppers to step into a world of fashion and beauty treats, and is offering up to 20% off throughout the centre!

Over 60 of the centre’s shops, from the flagship stores of Debenhams and John Lewis, to brands like Kurt Geiger, Reiss, Oasis, Warehouse and New Look will be offering discounts and freebies on the night. Many stores will also be offering extra treats such as style advice, in-store entertainment and giveaways. You can find a full list of the discounts here.

And if you work up an appetite while you are shopping, you can take advantage of a range of discounts in the Eastside food quarter, e.g 40% off at Yo! Sushi.

Here are just some of the events running on the night:

The Hayes Big Red Beauty Bus (6.30pm – 9pm)

On The Hayes, the Big Red Beauty Bus will be offering makeovers.

Debenhams Talk Beauty Event (6.30 - 9pm)

10% off all of the beauty brands in store and lots of treats and makeovers for shoppers too.

Kamigata Beauty Pod (6.30pm – 9pm)

Kamigata will be on hand all evening offering relaxing hand and arm massages, head massages, hairstyling, mini manicures, stress fix rituals and goody bags.

John Lewis Holiday Glamour Beauty Event (6pm - 10pm)

Visit the Beauty Hall on the ground floor for a makeover, gift bag and refreshments. Tickets cost £5 (redeemable on the night against any beauty purchase). To purchase tickets visit the beauty department or call 02920 536000.

To take advantage of the offers on the night, you can pre-register here, or you can visit one of the VIP Registration Desks on the evening. Happy shopping!

I'm dreaming of a John Lewis Christmas

A whole Winter wonderland wardrobe; tables festooned with Christmas decorations; apple crumble cocktails served in vintage-look jam jars, and lots of gorgeous beauty exclusives from Nars and Origins. What a lovely way to spend a Wednesday night.

On Wednesday I was invited to the John Lewis Cardiff Press Event which was held in 'Peppermint', just down the road from the store. The team from John Lewis had transformed the upstairs of the venue into my idea of a perfect Christmas: lots of stylish party looks; fabulous accessories; quirky Christmas decorations, and oodles of beauty loveliness. Oh, and not to mention the 'Pick and Mix your own Christmas' stand, where we were invited to choose whatever we wanted: a selection of Christmas decorations; chocolates; candy canes, and candles, to name just a few of the items.

The womenswear team had chosen a great selection of pieces from a range of the brands stocked instore, including Kurt Geiger; Warehouse; Bertie and REISS. I was particularly drawn to this gorgeous pair of shoes from Kurt Geiger, and these jumpers from Warehouse, which are perhaps a more stylish alternative to the usual 'Christmas Jumper' concept.

When it comes to Christmas decorations, John Lewis are offering three looks: 'Jazz' ("vibrant brights and lights"); 'Pearl White' ("winter white with sparkling frost"), and 'Established' ("a traditional Christmas"). My favourite was the 'Jazz' collection, which was really colourful and had a retro feel to it. Anyone for a cocktail?

On the beauty front, Jodie from Origins and Guy from Nars were there to show what their brands are offering this season. My particular favourites were the limited edition 'Famous Favourites' set from Origins; the Nars 'Arabian Nights' trio eye-shadow, and the Nars Votive Set.

My eye was also caught by a giant bottle of Guerlain's new release, Shalimar Parfum Initial. I have been wanting to try this ever since I watched BBC4's 'Perfume' documentary. Apparently I'm not the only person who is enthusiastic about this new release, as at the moment it's the store's sixth biggest selling fragrance. I'll write another post about it to let you know more of my thoughts about the fragrance.

I really enjoyed the event, and it has firmly put me in the Christmas (and wishlist-compiling!) frame of mind:

• Origins 'Famous Favourites' Limited Edition set
• Nars 'Arabian Nights' Limited Edition Trio Eyeshadow
• Nars Votive Set
• Warehouse 'Christmas Jumper'
• Origins 'Incredible Spreadable' Ginger Body Smoother

......... and that's just for starters!

St David's South Wales Bloggers Event

Last Wednesday I was lucky enough to attend the first St David's South Wales Blogger Event. The event was part of their Autumn Winter Fashion Tour (in conjunction with the British Fashion Council) which has seen fashion shows throughout the shopping centre and 'Pamper Pods' dotted throughout the centre.

Before the main event, a number of the bloggers met up to get to know each other over a drink and a muffin in BB's in the centre. We also managed to fit in a bit of browsing and shopping in Urban Outfitters and Seren, in the Morgan Arcade.

Sarah from 'Falling Forward' and Eric The Panda accessorising

The main event took place in the management suite of the shopping centre. Hosting the event were the lovely Laura and Sarah from Golley Slater. There were also representatives from a number of the stores within the centre, from Reiss to G-Star to La Senza. They gave us an insight into their latest collections and highlighted some of their key pieces for this season.

John from Reiss explaining the influences behind this season's collection,

Emma from La Senza

We were also given a vintage-look hair demonstration by the staff from Kamigata, which is an Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa based in the centre.

After the presentations we were given the opportunity to browse the selection of clothes and accessories from a number of the stores in the centre, from Kurt Geiger to New Look. This was the fun part, where we could get our hands on the clothes and also get to chat to the other bloggers, including Emily from Sugar and Spice and Cami from 'Room on the Third Floor' . It was good to meet people that I'd previously only known from Twitter.

These Miu Miu-esque glittery shoes are from KG by Kurt Geiger

Clutch from Oasis

This being the party season, there were a lot of glamorous pieces on show, with plenty of sparkly and shiny pieces to see you through until the New Year. We were also treated to some Krispy Kreme doughnuts (my first ever!), which necessitated some careful handling of the clothes!

Love the cut and colour of this Reiss jacket

Love this Monsoon dress. It's definitely on my 'to-buy' list

There were some great pieces on show, including some gorgeous pieces from Reiss and Kurt Geiger. I'll be posting about the different brands in more detail over the next week or so.

A big thanks to Gemma and Chantelle who organised the event together with Golley Slater. I would also like to thank the lovely Liz from Cardiff Blogs, who kindly stepped in to take photos for me when my camera battery died. In case you're wondering, she is the one holding the Mango red dress in the picture above. If she isn't the owner of that dress by the end of the year she will not be happy!