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Tuesday, 30 August 2016

Bloggers United AU Melbourne Event 2016


Bloggers United AU as you would know is Jasmine from Sweetaholic Beauty and my baby. It's something unimaginable to our minds that has grown so rapidly that we never would have imagined to be in the position we are in now until around 5 years after launch time, but in saying that we are beyond appreciative and are excited for the adventures of where Bloggers United AU will head too.


Jas and I brought our baby back to Melbourne for its second event. Melbourne is a special one for us being it's our hometown and boy did we feel some real hard love from Melbourne this time around. We sold out within AN HOUR! And had a wait list that warranted us to do another event all over again, with over 40 more bloggers wanting to come along.


Located at the STUNNING five star luxurious venue of The Royce Hotel on St Kilda Rd just on the outskirts of main CBD area of Melbourne.
The hotel boasts of many function rooms to use and as well as having many gorgeous accommodation stay rooms. I was actually planning on staying at The Royce Hotel a few weekends before our event for my anniversary with Dan but we failed to prepare accordingly and missed out on the room we wanted. I will however tick off the stay at The Royce Hotel hopefully shortly and report back with a full review on the accommodation aspect of the venue.


The Royce Hotel has this stellar function room: 'Royce Ballroom' in which we used for our event day.
A super spacious function room that allowed us to really show Melbourne how far we have come with our events. Partitions in the middle of the room gave us the functionality of being able to create both our marketplace and our theatre style setup for presentations that go along with our events.
Located at the back of the room we had the partition closing off for our presentations throughout the day.


If you are ever thinking of where to hold an event The Royce should definitely be high up on that list. I can't commend the function staff we had on hand enough, they were absolutely phenomenal and go that extra mile to ensure we had our event run exactly the way we wanted it to.


Cherie from Cherie Bobbins / Stay At Home Mum got up and did her thang; once again for us and talked about Media Kits, Working with Brands and Analytics. Cherie presented at our very first ever event back in Melbourne 2015 where all blogger attendees were left wanting more so we couldn't disappoint now without having Cherie get up their and gave us that motivational pushing presentation speech to us, to do more with our blogs and allow ourselves more opportunities through our values as bloggers.


Bron from Flat Bum Mum gave us a presentation about How to increase your following, Power of hashtags and How to create a community from the use of hashtags. Bron has an amazing community through her hashtag #RealMumStyle in which has brought about much traffic both social media and blog wise. Bron gave us fabulous tips to be able to implement and think hard as to how we can take her tips and personalise them for use within our blogs to create more traffic.


Sammy, Social Media Manager/PR from Vanilla Sugar presented to us on Brands working with Bloggers. Sammy is a woman of many incredible talents who both runs her own blog and is a PR guru so it was great to get insight from a person who knows both sides of the fence.
Sammy brought about what brands will look for when working with bloggers, how to approach brands and what you should be providing to brands when you want to work with them.


Melbourne saw us introduce our Bloggers United AU Panel which featured Cherie from Cherie Bobbins / Stay At Home Mum, Bron from Flat Bum Mum, Sammy from Vanilla Sugar and Lauren from Ego Skincare. A very strong and perfect panel team who allowed an open session to questions and queries within the attendees and a bit of chatter amongst themselves that would provide really useful insight in a non-formal environment. Many valid and very strong questions were answered and discussed that provided a really good outcome of thought to take away.


As always our events couldn't run without the amazing support we have been given time and time again... Our marketplace brands in attendence on the day: Dr. Hauschka, Enbacci, Good Green Box, Sunsense, Boe Professional, The Healthy Mummy, V10 Plus and Weleda.

And to the many contributing brands who supported us through contribution for the attendees to take home with them: Vani – T, Artiste, Anathoth Farm, The Organic Trainer, White Glo, Dove, TBX – The Beauty Exchange, Glam by manicare, Cetaphil, Rosehip PLUS, Luv Ur Body / Luv Ur Skin , Avon / Avon LUXE, Shanghai Suzy, Moogoo, Furless Cosmetics, LUSH, Slim Secrets, John Frieda, MUD, Ulta3, Thankyou, Go Natural and L'Oreal Professional.
Thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts, you've support means more than you will know. 


AND the biggest THANK YOU goes out to each and every attendee that come along - without the drive from you guys we wouldn't be in the position we are in today. Thank you, you inspire Bloggers United AU to do great things each time for you all. 

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

Bellabox July 2016 REVIEW


Subscription boxes are a handy way to get to know possible new products, revisit some old favs or beloved products. It's a great way to also try before you buy as many subscription boxes contain samples of products.

Bellabox has been a longstanding subscription box and I'm pretty sure the first one that I had heard off when the subscription boxes started becoming a hit.

Bellabox are a monthly subscription box that charges you $15 a month and will send 5+ samples straight to your door (postage and handling an extra $2.95 monthly). Brands will vary each month and they will have a theme to the box. I was gifted the July Bellabox which was 'Back to Basics'.



Physiogel Calming Relief Cream 

For someone like myself with dermatitis this was a product I was keen to try out after opening my Bellabox. I have never tried this brand so I am eager to trial this cream long term and see if it works for me. The cream itself is really light and easily soaked up by the skin through rubbing, no fragranced scent comes through although it is a touch on the greasy side. 


Revo Lip Balm - Watermelon

Revo Lip Balm's aren't something new to me. Little Miss Niah and myself have every single flavour/scent they have in their range. They are the perfect little lip balms to drop into the handbag. Watermelon is definitely our favourite from the range so we were glad to have gotten this one in the Bellabox. 


GOSH Eye Shadow - 016 Aubergine

I love a good dark coloured eye shadow as its great for smoky eyes. The maroon dark shade of 016 Aubergine is a gorgeous pigment. I'm not a fan of the packaging case I must say though as it's not acrylic nail friendly at all.


Nailmedic 3 phase nail & cuticle treatment

A 3 pack nail treatment for anti-aging of the nails. The treatments are infused with cranberry extract, shea butter and keratin protein. Inclusive of a nail & cuticle intensive moisturiser, nail hardener & protectant and nail cleanser & primer. This treatment set is to help promote nail growth and nail health. 


Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Facial Cleansing Oil
Bambini Hydrating Face & Eye Serum

Palmers Facial Cleansing Oil - I'm a huge face of using oils on my face. Funnily enough as it sounds using oil on oily skin seems to really aid my face, although the oils I use stay on my face and are not rinsed off like the Palmers one. We all know Palmers smells amazing and does not disappoint scent wise. The facial cleansing oil helps to cleanse your skin of makeup, dirt and grime from the day and leaves it feeling hydrated afterwards. 

Bambini Hydrating Face & Eye Serum - A sweet yet light fruity scent comes from this serum that helps to hydrate, rejuvenate and control excess skin oil. Containing Hyaluronic Acid which does all the stuff you need within your skincare to help even the skin tone and leave it feeling smooth and soft. I actually wouldn't mind trying out more of this brand as the controls for what the products are meant for are fantastic but being such a small sample I can't confirm whether this works for myself and I or not. 



Disclosure: This post has been made in collaboration with Bellabox.  I received the above pictured July Bellabox as above mentioned in exchange for its promotion here. I received no payment for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Friday, 5 August 2016

Sesame Street Presents Elmo's Super Fun Hero Show + Win a Family Pass valued at $200!


Sesame Street was a huge part of my childhood and having such shows stick around for my child to enjoy just gives me a sense of joy. I am able to share something with my little Niah that I used to watch as a kid and still do enjoy with her.

I remember my first ever show I attended was exactly this one with the Sesame Street crew. I would have been in the single digits age wise back then and my Mum took some of my siblings and I to see Sesame Street in Geelong. I was super duper Big Bird crazy then and I believe I even had a shirt of him on for the show, I remember being so mesmerised but seeing my favourite TV show characters in reality. The surreal feeling we all know when you meet some who you admire from the TV screens is right in front of your eyes in person.


In Sesame Street Presents Elmo’s Super Fun Hero Show, Elmo and the Sesame Street gang are on a mission. Super Sparkleheart, a cheerful caped visitor, takes the friends on a joyful musical journey to discover the mysterious inner super power that will make every one of them an everyday super hero. Cookie practises sharing, Elmo cheers up The Count, Abby Cadabby and Zoe bandage Big Bird's bumps and boo-boos while Super Grover thinks all super heroes should learn to fly!

Jam-packed with super Sesame Street songs including Belly Breathe, Elmo’s Ducks, Don’t Give Up, Grover Can Do It and the Everyday Hero Club Song, this is a show for little people and their grown-ups to sing, dance and join in with while touching on the life-lessons of cooperation, sharing and tolerance that Sesame Street has brought to three generations for more than forty years.


Tour Dates:
Melbourne - Arts Centre - 29th Oct to 4th November
Sydney - Concourse Theatre - 8th and 9th November
Newcastle - Civic Theatre - 11th November
Gold Coast - Arts Centre - 13th November
Brisbane - 15th and 16th November 
Canberra - Canberra Theatre Centre - 22nd November
Adelaide - Dustan Playhouse - 25th and 26th November
Mandurah - Performing Arts Centre - 30th November
Perth - Heath Ledger Theatre - 2nd and 3rd December

I am over the moon with joy to be able to still have the longstanding and well loved Sesame Street around for shows to be able to head out to with Niah AND thanks to Life Like Touring we have a set of family tickets to giveaway for a reader!


Get excited! Sesame Street is back in Australia in a brand NEW live-on-stage adventure, Sesame Street presents Elmo’s Super Fun Hero Show, and to celebrate we’re giving away tickets to ONE very lucky family (valued at $200) to see the show! Want a chance to win these tickets? All you have to do is enter via the gleam form below.
Winners will be able to select tickets to any show in Australia. You will be required to enter your postcode into gleam before being able to enter the extra fields for entry points.



Giveaway ends: Monday 15th August at midnight.
Winners will be drawn: 16th August, 2016.
Winner will have 24hrs to contact back otherwise redraw will occur.
*Tickets are subject to availability of session times selected.
By entering this giveaway you are agreeing to your email addresses to be provided to Life Like Touring whom will be subscribing you to their email list so you will never miss a show.



www.sesamestreetpresents.com
#SesameStreetPresents 

 Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Sesame Street Presents Elmo's Super Fun Hero Show and Life Like Touring. I will be receiving tickets myself to a show as media in exchange for its promotion here. I received no payment for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Wednesday, 13 July 2016

Vividwireless - Wireless Internet REVIEW



Technology these days is relied on so much that I ask you this question… ‘If the internet was to stop tonight as you go to sleep and you wake up tomorrow with no connection to the social media world, no more online phone directories from a search, no more sending e-mails back and too for business purposes, how would you cope?’ or better still ‘would you cope?’

Most of us would have an internet line at home that allows us to run off wifi and it can become a busy little hotline working overtime when everyone gets home and is doing their daily social media scrolls, video watching, online gaming, blogging to name only just a handful of things.
In my household there are 4 adults and a child. All adults are in there 20’s so we are in the prime of using social media.
At any given day this is what usually happens over our internet connection:
  • Adult 1 – Computer; online games, video watching, downloading and social media as well as having a phone using social media.
  • Adult 2 – Laptop; blogging – uploading, social media as well as a phone using social media.
  • Adult 3 – TV; internet streaming through Netflix as well as a phone for social media.
  • Adult 4 – Xbox; online gaming, Netflix streaming and a phone for social media, video watching and live radio.
  • Child – iPad; video watching.
As you will have gathered, we are internet hungry. Without having a plan that allows us to have something unlimited we would be forever in debt of going over and having to buy extra data because I know the household depends on the internet that much that we couldn’t live a day without it.

What annoys me the most is the constant running of Ethernet cords through the house connecting to each of the adults who game online. Sometimes it feels like we have that many users connected to the internet that it just can’t handle us.


Vividwireless have changed the game when it comes to internet and those cords everywhere. Vividwireless require no phone line connection AT ALL, they provide you with up to 10 mbps download and 1 mbps uploading!
So… if there is no cord’s then how does it work? Well, you will be getting 4G LTE internet access with a wifi connection.

For our household the plans that come with an internet provider need to have the option of unlimited otherwise the heavy duty use of internet we require will just not cut it.  Vividwireless have a range of plans starting from $29 a month up to $89 a month for unlimited.

Who even needs to pay for a phone line now to be connected up just to get internet? Not Vividwireless that’s for sure.  
No need to wait either for ages to have a tech come around to install it all.. the setup process of Vividwireless is so super easy that I could direct my little Niah to get it all turned on for me. Simply plug the Vividwireless modem into power and wait till all those pretty bright lights come on and then you are roaring to go, ready to go within minutes to start browsing the web.
I’m not much of a tech savvy person so for me this was a really big plus to not have to read a million directions of instructions, call a technician to guide me or wait for a technician to come and install.
I have very little patience when it comes to those sorts of pesky things so I can really tell you now that it was a pure moment of #winning.
The only thing you will be required to do though is self-active the modem. 


The modem itself is a stylish little thing. Nothing massive and un-pretty that doesn’t go with the home décor being that it is white – it is a timeless easily hid or put out modem.
Should you wish to use cords you can connect four (4) ethernet cords into the back of the modem for that extra direct usage hit.

You can take the modem anywhere with you, so long as the address is within Vividwireless' coverage area being that it is portable you can take it with you where ever you go… on holidays, to work, the gym.. where ever you like as that’s the simplicity of the modem. No cords, no fuss - simply plug in and play. It’s almost like having a running mobile data hotspot connection as it can literally come anywhere with you until charging is needed.


How do you feel about Vividwireless now that I have told you all their stellar features? Keen to try the Vividwireless out for yourself?
You can purchase these directly from Vividwireless on the call centre: 1300 327 837, visit their website or pick a modem up from Harvey Norman and The Good Guys. The modem costs $199 if you are on a no-lock in contract, $0 upfront payment if you take on a 24 month contract.
Ensure you visit here to check that connection is available at your primary place of living.



www.vividwireless.com.au

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Vividwireless and Kids Business. I was supplied a free month trial of the Vividwireless internet as media in exchange for its promotion here. I received monetary payment for this review/feature and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. 

Sunday, 3 July 2016

Sovereign Hill - Christmas in July Winter Wonderlights


Sovereign Hill, the living muesum in which transports you back to experiencing a life of the 1800s; has always been a much loved place of mine and to experience Christmas in July at one of my favourite tourism places has just topped the cake of it all.

Each June/July school holidays Sovereign Hill has been taking part in festivity activities to help celebrate a Christmas in July this year there was something extraordinary added to the festivities which is now presented as Winter Wonderlights; running from June 25th until July 24th.
There is no exact words that could ever describe to you how amazing the experience was of being in an atmosphere where life and time almost stops in front of you.


You are there with hundreds of other people, families of young and old come together, friends or partners who are all just tranced in this magical time when the make-believe snow goes off four times daily at 11:45am, 1:40pm, 3:45pm and 6pm on Main Street of Sovereign Hill.


I took a step back whilst holding my Niah in my arms and watched her as she had the most gorgeous smile on her face and eyes full of enjoyment as she was putting her hands into the arm to feel the snow the palms of her hands. I then looked around at every other person surrounding me to see the expressions of joy. I sound so cliché like but you could see pure happiness on everyones face, nothing else in the world was on my mind except for how I was just in love with where I was and to be enjoying the moment with my loved ones. Once we had come back to reality, we spotted St. Nicholas (Santa) wondering around with Mrs. Claus.


The main attraction falls when the daylight stops and when darkness falls at approx. 5:45pm, this is where you will see Winter Wonderlights appear. Main Street of Sovereign Hill will be lit up like Melbourne on White Night. The buildings will illuminate with bold colour, projecting the true self of the buildings facades but will also show phenomenal displays of festive decor that moves along on the buildings all happening whilst Christmas Carols or beautiful soft festive music is sounding in the background. Speedwell Street and Golden Point Road are covered in 'Santa lights or Fairy lights' whichever you may call them, outlining the schools and cottages.

 

We almost weren't going to stay for the Winter Wonderlights as I thought to myself being that Niah is only 2.5years old and it would fall into a period of where I would normally be getting her having dinner and then heading to bed soon after but I am sooooo glad we stayed. I had the most incredible time and only wish that I could have been able to take advantage of the two days for one offer they have where you can come back the next day for free as experiencing once hasn't got me content, I think I'll just move into one of the cottages there so I can experience it every night.


Other activities of the normal for Sovereign Hill run throughout the day where you can pan for gold, go on an underground mine tour, watch the handmade hard boiled lollies being made, see gold being poured which will make a $175,000 bar of gold, eat traditional made baked goods, try bowling the original way, make your own special candle via the candle dipping, watch soldiers fire off their muskets, take a wander through the cottages and schools set up as if you were back from the 1800s and many more things to enjoy. Read more about Sovereign Hill at my previous visit here.


Sovereign Hill's Christmas in July Winter Wonderlights is very much worth the drive out to Ballarat. A family pass will cost you $139 which caters for 2 adults and up to 4 children. With experiences and a list of things to do that are endless you can easily spend a good day out during these school holidays here.




Disclosure: This post has been made in collaboration with Sovereign Hill media agency. I received complimentary entry passes to Sovereign Hill in exchange for its promotion here. I received no payment for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
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