Friday 22 April 2016

Glitz n' Pieces Launch Event

As some of you may know,  I recently got invited to my first ever event as a Blogger. Yes my FIRST and I was so excited but oh so nervous at the same time. ME at an event!! When I started blogging it was only ever meant to be a hobby and it still is, I never really expected to be taken seriously, not to mind being invited to an event. I was so grateful for the invite and of course I couldn't turn it down, I had to go and see all of the Glitzy accessories and meet the girls and other bloggers. So off I went to the Glitz n' Pieces Launch at SAM's bar on Dawson St in Dublin. I was well aware of the brand Glitz n Pieces and I had seen plenty of their products on Instagram, Facebook and even top Irish bloggers and celebs wearing their stock. but of course me being me I wanted to be prepared and I did a little research before hand.


Glitz n' Pieces was established in 2013, by 2 young 19 year old girls called Ellen and Grace. Stocking jewellery, clothing, bags and accessories. They were in their first year of college when they set up the business. Only a few years later with a lot of hard work they quickly saw their business grow from hundred to thousands. They have been featured on the likes of Stellar, Xpose and Ireland AM and have even had some of their pieces worn on shows like the Only way is Essex.They have also won numerous awards but most recently won best online store in the Frockadvisor Awards on Xpose. On meeting the 2 girls it is clear to see that they are both very ambitious and driven, they are outgoing and friendly and made sure that everyone was comfortable and made feel very welcome. I really couldn't say enough about how nice they were, so professional but really down to earth. I was really in awe of what they have achieved


The event itself was in the swanky and impressive SAM's bar, (function room upstairs). Of course I was early, one of the first there. When I entered the room I was welcomed by the girls and we chatted about the business and my blog. The room was gorgeous and set up perfectly with so much detail, personalised chocolate bars and cupcakes. A candy cart/bar that I didn't even get anything from because I was too busy looking at all of the products. They had small rails of clothing, some fab summer pieces, cute shorts and kaftan's. The most beautiful jewellery and sunglasses, I literally wanted it all, but settled for a necklace and earrings. There was plenty of other bloggers/businesses and models in attendance and the strangest thing for me was how nice everybody was. I don't know what I was expecting but everybody was chatting and willing to take photos. Plus there was a selfie Photo booth there which was so much fun. The girls looked stunning, both dressed in all white (they didn't plan that) and everybody seemed to be having a great night. I really enjoyed the night and I was so impressed by the girls, it was a great 1st experience. Did I mention that these 2 girls are now 21, have their own business and the best thing about it all is that they are best friends. Well done girls, it was lovely to meet such beautiful, friendly and intelligent young women xx I wish you every success in the future, congrats on your award and thank you so much for inviting me to the first ever blogger event xx

Find them on 
                                                               http://glitznpieces.com
                                                              Instagram and Facebook


Tuesday 12 April 2016

But where do I start?

A question that seems to pop up every now and again when I'm chatting to other girls about blogging is, "but where do I start". I have spoken to so many girls that say, they would love to have a blog or start up a Facebook page. My answer back is always, "but why don't you", for some its the element of fear, what will others think.... and I get this. I too had that fear for a very long time (2 years to be exact) but it definitely shouldn't stop you from doing something that you would love to do. Fear aside the next issue is always "but how to go about it". So I have decided to do up a little step by step on my experience, how I started and what has worked for me.


1. Choose a name - This is by far the most important thing that you will do, don't rush the decision. Say the name out loud, strange as that may seem, people will ask you what your blog name is, and you need to be comfortable and proud of that name when you answer. Write it down to see what it looks like on paper, this will be your future branding, logos etc. You will be asked by people why you choose that name, is there a background story? There doesn't have to be, but people do ask these questions in my experience, and I've been asked several times. For example, I choose my name because when I was a teenager I always signed off my name Luv Lisa xx (that might sound silly but its my little story) plus I like the double L and its easy to say when I am speaking to people about it.

2. Set up your accounts - Create a page on Facebook via your personal page, when I set up mine I was going to go Incognito, I was worried that people would know it was my page. However only you have visibility of who owns the page. if you didn't want people to know at initially. Setting one up via your personal page is so easy. Go into your newsfeed, scroll down to pages and click on add page, it will then bring you through it step by step. However you will have to log into your personal page to get to you blog page if you do this. If you want or need to keep these 2 separate you will need to create a new email (possibly with your page name in it) and then set up your page as a new user. With Facebook you can create content, images, links, post before your page goes live. Meaning you can work on your page and how it looks, profile pictures/cover photos etc and then when your happy with it you can go LIVE or PUBLIC. You also have Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, my advice would be to not overload yourself initially, start with Facebook and when you have the hang of it then start linking more to it, like Instagram for example. I rarely use my twitter and Pinterest, I just don't have the time and its hard to keep up with them all

 3. But how do I blog? - You need to create a website through a source such as blogspot or wordpress. There is so many different options for this (I read an article before hand on the pros and cons of these sites) I actually have a blogspot and a wordpress account but I find it hard to use wordpress, that's just my opinion and I know alot of bloggers that use wordpress and love it. Blogspot is with google and when your blog meets certain criteria you can actually make money from it (I'm not at this stage) It can be hard to set up the actual blog, colours, format, text but I used you tube videos to help me along


In my experience....

You need to be passionate about what your doing or it will soon become a task, I started off with so many ideas and I have hit so many walls along the way. You can become demotivated and that's not me being negative, so many girls I know have said the same, its tougher than it looks and more time consuming than you think

Its hard to be original, so many people blog nowadays, and it shouldn't stop you from doing it. You will need constant content (to keep people interested), sometimes you will put a lot of effort into a blog post only to see that someone else has written something very similar. Believe me it happens

Its hard to grow an "audience or following", just because you post something on your page doesn't mean that everyone will see it. You need people to engage, whether that is a like or comment, the more that do that the more that will see it. We have all seen a notification pop up on our newsfeed saying so and so has liked so and so's page or picture. That's how you gain new followers through engagement

Remember to invite your friends to like your page, and don't be afraid to ask them to invite their friends too. It doesn't hurt. 

People you won't expect will be your biggest supporters, believe it or not your biggest following will probably be from outside of where you live. Maybe it just me, but I have also had this discussion with other bloggers and they have said similar experiences. 

Write how you speak, when I started writing I was trying to use big words, no one cares, I am not a journalist, when you write how you speak people see a part of your personality. As long as people can understand it. My sister gives me loads of feedback and she once said to me that I don't use enough comma's, so when you read my posts the sentence's where too long. I now read all my posts out loud before I post them. I still make mistakes but I'd like to think that I'm getting a little better with time

Be yourself - I know that's so cliche but don't try to be something your not because you will never be able to maintain it. I don't do make up because I'm terrible at it, however I appreciate make up products. It will take you a while to get into your groove, if your anything like me you might tend to over think about everything you post. For example, I am very conscious that I will offend someone. Remember though that people are following you for you

These are just a few little tips. Remember that this is just my experience, every bodies is different and I am by no means an expert. My biggest advice would be, if you want to do this, just do it. Don't let anyone or anything stop you. You have nothing to lose. I was always worried that people might say "why is she a blogger" but who cares, why is anybody?. We all have an opinion and view on things and that's what a personal blog is, storytelling. So bite the bullet, whats the worst that could happen.


Best of Luck

Luv Lisa xx

If you have any questions on anything I haven't covered here please don't be afraid to ask



Sunday 10 April 2016

Its my Life (April 11th)

Hi  everyone, can you believe that its April already, it will be Summer before we know it. Bring on the sunshine (not that we get that much of it), I am so over this crazy weather. Last week went by so quick and it was a bit of a crazy one for me because so much happened, so let me explain.

On Thursday I popped into my local pharmacy to pick up some make up bits. I had previously purchased the Vichy Idealia serum and Night Cream there, after using them for about 2 weeks I posted a little review on my experience (which is what alot of bloggers do). In the review I not only spoke about the products but also about the amazing service that I had received. Because I work in retail I know that people can be very quick to give feedback on their negative experiences, very rarely will they shout about amazing ones. The pharmacy was so happy about the review that they had a gift ready for me when I called in. I was in complete shock, what a lovely thought, it was such a nice thing for them to do. I never expected anything in return, that was not my intention when writing it. They also had a gift for me to give away to my followers, so I am running a small competition over on my Facebook page until Thursday. Kindness really is a powerful thing because not only 2 weeks ago I was about to pack it all in, I had hit a wall and lost all confidence in my ability to keep it going. I had never received anything like this before, and I would never expect to. Its not why I started doing this, I started this blog for my sanity. Nobody owes me anything and I get overwhelmed sometimes by the amount of support I get from people, some who have never even met me. I feel extremely grateful and very blessed. 



On Wednesday I had a conversation with "a man about a dog" as they say in the country, regarding an idea for an event, a ladies night that I would host and organise. I am very excited about this whole concept and I think it's something that could be huge if I could pull it all off. The night itself would feature demos on tanning, nails, Brows, lashes, hair, fashion and styling etc. Mini masterclasses, slimming, fitness everything basically that us ladies thinking and talking about everyday, the possibilities are endless. The event would be free to attend and it would feature some of the up and coming, MUA's and bloggers etc. Its all still in the early days of organising but there is a very strong possibility it will be going ahead towards the end of May. I'll let you know more when I've confirmed if its going ahead and of course the details of the event itself.


This weekend we headed to Roscommon, a 2 and a half our drive for a house party.......we must be mad. It was a friends birthday and I hadn't seen her in a while so it was great to catch up. Safe to say I was a bit worse for wear. We started drinking at 6, prosecco and it was going down way too easy. The girls versus the boys on beer pong was so much crack and the girls lost, we were raging. Well I felt it the this morning, dying isn't even the word. I was in bits...and we had to be up and gone for 9:30am because we had to be home to attend a family dinner, fun times. At one stage I had a vodka and lucozade in one hand and a white Russian in the other. Why, oh why do we do it to ourselves seriously.


Well thats all for now, I'l love if you left me know your thoughts on the event, would you go and if so what you would love to see at it xx Have a great week everyone

Lots of Love Luv Lisa xx

Wednesday 6 April 2016

Denim Dress Fever

Hi everyone, I have decided to do more posts on fashion alongside my usual ramblings. While I don't claim to be any sort of fashionista, my wallet certainly wouldn't allow it. I do however have almost 9 years in the retail business, so I have decided to put that to good use. As we approach the Summer one item is a must have for any girls wardrobe and that is the reliable, and ever so versatile denim dress. I have chosen my top 5 picks from the highstreet at the moment, a style and price tag to suit every woman. You will literally get all of Spring/Summer out of one of these babies, and if you are heading to any festivals this year denim is a must have. Dress it up, dress it down, denim is everlasting and has and will never went  go out of fashion. So let me know which dress is a must for you and please don't forget to like and share as Facebook is limiting all posts at the moment. (they want you to pay for people to see them) Thanks for reading and please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or you need any help finding anything in particular

FB - Luv Lisa xx
Snapchat - luvlisaxx


http://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/v-by-very-denim-tencel-lace-up-dressnbsp/1600033609.prd

Skater style suits every body shape and is so feminine and girlie, style this with a wedge for that added girly touch

http://www.oasis-stores.com///oasis/fcp-product/5781423  

When denim meets the office, this tailored denim look would look amazing with  a dainty court heel and a blazer
http://www.newlook.com/eu/shop/womens/dresses/blue-button-front-denim-dress-_371003540?productFind=search

Button down is very on trend for the Summer

http://www.boohoo.com/boohoo-tall/tall-mira-dark-wash-denim-shift-dress/invt/tzz99941

Edge it up with a drake style, add the converse to keep it cool and casual


https://www.missguided.eu/clothing/category/denim/zipped-denim-dress-indigo-blue

Now this is how you wear denim, the rust colour makes it pop