How I get involved with Blogger events

I have been a bit AWOL recently on the blogging scene, mainly due to being a little busy finishing my degree and the craziness that goes with that such as the mad panic to throw yourself into the "real world" as soon as possible - but more of that on another post. 
However, in amongst it all, I have managed to squeeze in a few blogging/ fashion related events and have had a few of you message me about how I go about getting invited to these or hearing about them. I'll be honest a lot of it is luck, as I don't have a very big following so am always SO grateful when a brand wants to invite me to one of these and be part of an exciting event, but I do have a few tips and tricks that I can share with you so I thought I would pop it all in a blog post along with a few photos of the recent events that I have been lucky enough to have been invited to. 

Skinnydip x Foamburst event

So the first way that I get involved in these events is through an app called @theinfluencersdiary run by @rosalindshimmen which you apply to be part of as a blogger and then weekly there are brand events posted on the app which you leave you handle on and apply your interest and via the app and then they will email you if you have been chosen. This is how I got invited to the Skinny Dip x Foamburst event which was a lovely event including a whole range of free candy cocktails, Mac and cheese, a dj for the whole night, plenty of photo ops and candy floss machines.

Boux Avenue Graduation event

The next event that I ABSOLUTELY made time for was of course the Boux Avenue graduation event in which my year as a Boux Ambassador drew to a close. It was such a beautiful event at The Ivy Chelsea Garden in their private room in which we had a free cocktail menu (which I took FULL advantage of if anyone knows the Ivy's cocktail prices usually!), SO many canapés, a mini awards ceremony - in which my hairdresser will be very proud to hear that I won #hairgoals queen, and finished the night off with presenting us with our own personalised satin dressing gowns to send us all off. Boux always have the most wonderful events for heir student ambassadors and I would highly recommend applying it if you are a student. They will shortly be announcing the new year of applications to be open so keep an eye out on their social media channels on how to do this!

21 buttons x The influencer diary event

 Another lovely event through The Influencers Diary but this one actually thrown by Rosalind herself, which took shape as a mystical forest in The Cuckoo Club with girls dressed as butterflies on stilts, ballet dancers, pink cocktails, candy icecream, light up candy floss (can you tell that the food is a vital part of an event for me!) and a pink flower Photo Booth.

Unrelated to recent events for me but another way that I hear about events and collabs is through a lovely Facebook group called Creative Girl Gang (CGG) run by @kelseyinlondon which is a great little tip I can share with you guys and also The Blogger Programme (@tbp_social) which is great for bloggers with a few more followers than me, as most of the events and opportunities start at 5k but I always keep an eye open for them!

 I will say that blogging events are a bit like marmite, you either love or hate them. There are so many 'Pro's' that get plastered all over social media such as the outfit photos at gorgeously decorated venues, goody bag unwrapping stories or glamorous boomerangs of clinking cocktail glasses, but it is rarely mentioned that often these are only the best bits like the trailer for a movie. What fills in the in-between is very often a lot of awkward standing next to someone, knowing that you both follow each other and like each others photos but not knowing how to introduce yourself without either a) looking like an idiot fangirl when you assume that they recognise you too and they have no idea or b) looking like you are ignorant when you try and play it cool and don't say an enthusiastic hello first. As someone who is a mixture of quite shy when you first get to know me, slightly socially awkward including lots of nervous giggling, and also have to WORST resting bitch face in the world when I'm not wearing my glasses, as you can imagine these things are sometimes a nightmare for me. If I have any shred of useful knowledge to pass on it would be, find a group of girls who share your interest for blogging and fashion that will also be invited to these things but that you also feel very comfortable around. I have been very lucky in that I have met some of the most lovely and down to earth girls through blogging, two of which being @robynnelouisex and @evieroselane - who I always know that I could ask to come to one of these things with and I would never be bored or run out of things to chat to them about, and it makes you so much more comfortable. When you go to these things,  in amongst the Clichy circles and resting bitch faces, there will be one smiley face or someone who looks just as uncomfortable as you do and you will gravitate towards them and the event will be all the more enjoyable for it.

Hope this has been half helpful for some of you or at least an interesting read on this rainy Sunday evening!

Tara-Jade x