My fashion posts are on the same level as my YouTube appearances – infrequent with an element of surprise (often I’m the one caught by surprise).
But this time I feel the need to self-indulge a little bit for last weekend was something extraordinary. I was a guest of my friend, Rhian (who’s behind the beauty blog Pretty Green Eyes) to a gala dinner and the requirement was “dress to impress”. So I did.
I found mine weeks ago from Vouchercode’s Blogger Swap Shop Party. It was a floor-length emerald green sequin dress from Debenhams. To go with the frock, I added some Kurt Geiger heels, chandelier earrings and a clutch bag. I just needed a hair style to go with the whole shebang.
After past mistakes I decided to leave my hair to a professional and as it was between cuts I opted for an up-do, which I am no good at doing. With days to go, I was looking for salons in the Mayfair area and hastily booked an appointment at Gielly Green’s Blow-Dry Lounge in Fenwick Bond Street. I think it came up in the top five blow-dry bars in London in my search and it was round the corner from the hotel we were staying at.
Well I was delighted with how efficient the online service was. I selected my preferred time and shortly after my appointment was confirmed by a text message.
Gielly Green’s Blow-Dry Lounge is tucked away at the side of one of the entrances to the store and it is small. Very small. The lack of floor space should not put you off the service though. I was seen to by a lovely girl who washed, dried and prepped my hair. My only instructions to her was to put my hair up in some kind of fancy, French twist.
Quietly she got to work and one hour later presented her work of art. And it was a work of art. Not a hair fell out of place during the night and I was sad to take it apart after the party was over.
The service cost me £45, which is close to what I had estimated it to come to. It’s in the heart of Mayfair and location wise was highly convenient. I wasn’t going to risk getting my hair done at a salon closer to home, then traipse into town on a busy Saturday at the hands of London Transport. I had peace of mind and was free to focus on my make-up, particularly when we only had an hour and half to get ready.
The night was so much fun. The dinner was held at Old Billingsgate with entertainment from three different acts including the best party band I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing – these guys:
I’m showing my age here but I recognise the guy in the mowhawk: it’s Matthew from Bad Boys Inc. Oh that takes me back to my teenage years, reading Smash Hits… ahem. Madhen were beyond brilliant – they belted out the finest selection of pop tunes and they even got me on the dance floor, which is something that takes some effort. Did you know they played at Zara Phillips’ wedding? I want this band to play for me!
So that’s my rare Saturday night out. With plenty of dad dancing thrown in too. Thank you, Rhian! I had an absolute blast.
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