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!

St. David's Cardiff Ladies Night

This Thursday sees St. David's Cardiff shopping centre holding its first ever 'Ladies Night'. Over 80 of the centre's store, from Reiss to Warehouse, will be offering discounts of up to 20%. There will also be entertainment and nibbles, to add to your shopping experience.

Here are just some of the discounts on offer:

Warehouse - 20%

Gap - 15%

Monsoon - 10%

H & M - 10%

Reiss - 10%

L. K. Bennett - 20%

Dune - 20%

In addition to the discounts on offer, you will also get the opportunity to be pampered by the hair and beauty experts from Kamigata Aveda Salon & Spa at their pamper station. You should also keep a look out for the Big Red Beauty Bus on The Hayes (sounds like my kind of public transport!), which will be offering makeovers.

If you are stuck for Spring/Summer styling ideas, then why not check out the John Lewis Fashion Showcases, taking place at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm.

As part of the event, John Lewis will also be holding their seasonal Beauty Event, but this time until 10pm, giving you an extra 2 hours of beauty loveliness. I really enjoy these events, as they are a great opportunity to ask the advice of a number of beauty experts, all whilst sipping on champagne and nibbling on canapes! I always find the staff are really helpful, but never give you the hard sell. This time around, the store will also be turning its Espresso Bar into a Cocktail Bar. I wonder if Espresso Martinis are on the menu?

If you work up an appetite shopping, then you can pay a visit to one of the restaurants in the 'Eastside' restaurant quarter. e.g. Pizza Express are offering 20% off, and Yo Sushi! are offering a 40% discount.

You can find further details on the St. David's Cardiff website or Facebook page

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!

REISS A/W 11 - More Bianca Jagger than Kate Middleton

Ever since Kate Middleton wore a REISS dress in her engagement photographs (taken by Mario Testino, as you do!), the brand has been pushed to the forefront of the British retail scene. However, what a lot of people might not realise is that REISS has actually been around for 40 years. At the recent South Wales Blogger Meetup, John from the Cardiff REISS store in St David's Cardiff gave us an overview of what the brand is about, and a flavour of the influences on this season's collection. This season REISS channeled a 1970s luxe Gucci and Halston vibe, with more than a hint of Bianca Jagger and Annie Hall. There was a rich palette consisting of strong jewel colours. 

I loved all of the pieces at the preview, but some of the standout pieces for me were the 59th Street mini bag and the Iva kingfisher relaxed pocket blazer. The bag showed definite Gucci influences with the metal detailing on the bag. The tassels also reminded me of the Loewe Flamenco bag. I want these pieces in my closet now! If this collection sounds like your kind of thing then check out the REISS sale, with up to 40% off items.

59th Street Mini Bag

Iva Relaxed Pocket Blazer

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!