#BloggersXmas 2016 | London

Last weekend, I headed up to London for the long awaited #BloggersXmas 2016! The event was held in Finch's Pub in Moorgate, which is a chic, airy pub in Finsbury Square. The event was hosted by my friend Jasmine, and her sister Kirsty - both from Soeursdeluxe. I wasn't able to go last year, so I absolutely couldn't wait this time around! I'd seen so many positive comments about last years Bloggers Xmas, so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed!

After getting stupidly lost, all thanks to Google Maps (..I swear that thing never wants me to get anywhere) I eventually arrived at the venue and it was absolutely heaving! There were so many bloggers and glitzy stands, I couldn't wait to get stuck in. After a quick catch up with Jasmine,  I tucked into the pick 'n' mix sweets on offer and despite feeling slightly worse for wear from the night before, I couldn't resist the Hot Apple Rum punch!

After indulging in some amazing food aka. Pizza, the most giant chips you've ever seen and some cheesy pastry things, I went to mingle with the brands. The first stand I went to was Aromand, a luxury handmade candle brand. It is run by the lovely Sue, who creates and sells all the candles herself (with a little inspiration from her husband who's a chef) to create those perfect foodie scents.

They are made with high-end ingredients and have beautiful packaging, all without a steep price tag. It's not just candles, there are also a range of bath salts, diffusers, sprays and mists. I can honestly say that there wasn't a single product I didn't like the smell of.  My favourite was definitely the Citrus Cinnamon Spice* scent, as it makes the perfect festive-smelling blend!

Next, were the brand (wait for it..) Sweet Cheesus! Hurhurhur. The punniness pleased me so greatly before I had even started to try the samples! Sweet Cheesus are London based company run by Matt & Martin, who turned their passion for cheesecake into their very own business venture.

They are not just any normal cheesecakes, they are handmade and come in a compact style pot. You can eat these on the go, or take them home to have for dessert or those niggling sweet fixes! The flavours on offer for us to try were Gluten Free Salted Caramel Cheesecake, Strawberry & Elderflower, Apple Crumble and Salted Caramel and Pecan. I can confirm they all tasted divine and everyone needs to try them out immediately!

After a little browse and scoffing all of the samples, I bumped into Rosie and Sophie, which was such a nice surprise! It was only right that we took to the photo section and put on some Christmas accessories before enjoying the rest of the afternoon! 

Now, I think the prettiest stand of the day award went to JewelleryBox! This stand gave me serious Christmas feels and so much inspiration for blog photos. I think everyone was thinking along the same lines because it was such a busy stand! Jewellerybox are a seriously affordable online jewellery retailer (obvs) who are based in South London. I couldn't fault a single thing on the stand, they were all so pretty. Obviously, the rose gold bits were my favourite!

Every blogger each got a chance to spin the wheel with PNY, the leading manfacturer for all things chargers and memory cards, to selfie sticks. Speaking of selfie sticks, I actually managed to win one from my spin! I can't wait to start using it.

Another brand who were in the back corner were Blogosphere Magazine. A magazine run by bloggers, for bloggers. I picked up a copy from the event and so far, I'm loving it! I mean, look at how stunning Inthefrow is?! Although I got this as a one off purchase, I already know I'll be subscribing to this in the near future!

There were also plenty of other brands at the event, including the fashion focused: Joe Browns, Sheena Bulsara, Gia London, La Miela & Katherine Elizabeth. Also some PR teams who match blogger to brands like Type The Hype &  JournoLink. I also really loved My Beauty Matches who have a quick and easy website to find you products and unbiased reviews on the best products to suit you. So cool! If I've missed any, you can find the full list of brands here. 

There were 3 competitions running during the event with some incredibly generous prizes/hampers donated from Red Letter Days, Freeman Beauty and My Beauty Matches.

At the end of the afternoon, the winners were announced and guess what.. I only went and bloody won the Red Letter Days competition, didn't I?!

LOL. 

To enter, you had to write on a gift tag who spend your special day with and why. I chose my mum, as I think she's always done so much and she's just generally amazing. It was such a shock because I literally never win anything, and I ended up with a £100 voucher to spend on an experience day from the website! Thank you SO much Red Letter Days! Can't wait to pick something out! :)

We were also given some amazingly generous goody bags with brands such as Yankee Candle, I Heart Makeup, Skinfix, PNY, T Plus, Popband, Jewellerybox and many more!

All in all, I had a fab time at #BloggersXmas seeing some familiar faces and meeting tonnes of new brands! A big thanks to Jasmine & Kirsty for putting on such a fab event too! I can't wait for next year!

Did you go to #BloggersXmas? If not, what events have you been to lately? :)