Hi lovelies!
On Saturday I went to London to attend an event hosted by Curvissa. The email invite sounded wonderful so I was really excited.
The event was a chance to try out
Curvissa's new spring lines and take a modelling workshop held by Curve Project London. This is a long post so grab yourself a cuppa!
Mookie (Anne-Lise) kindly met me from the tube at Parsons Green where the event was held. We were the first to arrive and were greeted by the lovely Sarah from Curvissa who handed us a purple flower garland and a name badge, and gave us a drink in a cute pink glass. After everyone arrived the Curvissa girls gave a quick speech about the day ahead and then the beautiful Saffi from London Curve Project took over and gave us the rundown and then got the rest of her team to introduce themselves to us. It quickly became apparent to me that we were going to spend the day with a group of warm, happy, smiley and professional people and that feeling only increased as the day went on. In fact I have the kind of feel-good vibes you normally have about a wedding or another huge event of that kind. Forgive me if I get a bit 'evangelical' but it really was the best day.
We were soon split into two groups - one to begin catwalk training immediately, and the other to pick outfits and go into hair and make up. Myself, Mookie, Becky and two lovely competition winners were in the group to start training, so we met Les Child, who is a renowned choreographer and a total hoot. My first attempts at walking catwalk-style were very comical and resulted in Les shrieking 'Eyes up! Eyes up!' as I walked around looking at the floor. Les is a tough love mentor (yet hilarious at the same time) and wasn't shy about pointing us in the right direction. When you have a limited time to instil excellence you need short, sharp pointers. We laughed our way right round to lunch time as we practised our sassy walks. We had lunch in the courtyard outside eating finger nibbles, sushi and fruit. We were catered for INCREDIBLY all day. It was a very hot day and we were kept topped up with lots of water and juice, and after lunch when we were feeling the strain from the catwalking there was a cheeky prosecco and some Coke for a caffeine injection.
After lunch it was our turn to pick clothes and go for hair and make up. Becky actually found me the dress I wore, which was from Lovedrobe (via Curvissa.) It looked so nice on me I'll be buying it later on. It was really good to see and feel the clothes and shoes, and I'll be doing a wishlist post in a day or two to show you some of the lovely new items they've brought out. There are some lovely fresh cheery spring lines.
I was really laid back about what I had done with my hair and make up, leaving myself totally in the hands of the professionals. A lovely chap did my make up and he did a really good job. I looked like me, but better. He used the lightest of touches and it reminded me less is more. When it came to my hair I had the benefit of two lovely ladies, one who prepared and curled my hair, and one who finessed it and gave me a lovely 50s style 'doughnut' bun on top of my head and a curled under fringe. I felt like a million dollars! There was such a feeling of support from everyone all day - from the Curvissa ladies who were excited to show us their lovely new ranges, the Curve Project team who were all so enthusiastic about their work, and there were also a lot of compliments shared among us lucky ladies who were being pampered. We were telling each other we looked fab in our outfits, hair and make up. It was so lovely to be surrounded by such genuinely nice people, and it gave me a buzz which still hasn't worn off yet. Every person there was a people person through and through. You can tell when someone likes people and when they're faking it, and everyone was fantastic. It's the kind of environment you can
grow in.
You might think learning to walk a catwalk and being watched by a room full of people would be daunting, but it wasn't, not after the first couple of minutes. I knew everybody there wanted good things for us and that made it easy. Before long I was walking with my head held high, holding the gaze of anyone looking at me as I did so. Once we'd all had hair and make up and had chosen an outfit to wear from all the lovely things Curvissa had brought for us we went for photography, both singly and in groups. It was a bit scary at first standing in front of a man with an impressive piece of kit hooked up to a laptop and studio lighting. It was very different to posing in front of my camera on a tripod pulling funny faces and grabbing my boobs, as I usually do! I think I ran the gamut of my usual poses and probably forgot a few more with nerves, but I hope the photos will be OK. They'll be back in a couple of weeks and I will share them EVERYWHERE when I get them - just you try to stop me!
Here are some photos from the day from my Instagram and from Curvissa's account, London Curve Project's and Hollie's IG.
We'd been told not to arrive wearing make up to make things easier for the make up artists, and here's my nervous no make up selfie just after I arrived!
The building where the event was hosted, The Worx is lovely and light and airy. This is the foyer.
Les teaching one of the ladies to sashay.
A few shots after hair and make up, and in my dress.
How good does my hair look with my new glasses?! 50s ahoy!
After the photography we all walked the catwalk and it was filmed, in fact there were cameras on us all day, not just when we were posing for the photographer. It's something I got used to very quickly as we were all having so much fun. It was lovely to meet bloggers I've met before - Hollie, Becky and Mookie - and it was great to meet Beka, Sally, Gemma, Charley and Nat.
When the event was coming to a close I wanted to go and say thank you and goodbye to everyone, so Mookie and I went to say our farewells. I felt quite sad at this point as I didn't want it to end! We were sent on our way with a lovely goodie bag, some organic juices and a day full of memories.
Thanks to the Curvissa team for the invite and for being so lovely to talk to. Thanks to Saffi and the Curve Project London team for giving me the chance to feel catwalk fabulous. I'll finish with something choreographer Les said. "Life's a catwalk. You've got to razzle dazzle them!"
So, to clarify the images will be coming back in about 2 weeks and I will post them as soon as I get them. I'll be doing a post about the lovely Curvissa goodies within the next couple of days.
Thanks for reading. Have you ever had your hair and make up done professionally? I think I've acquired a taste for it!
