Early March means only one thing – time for the annual Glamour Beauty Festival, held at Saatchi Gallery, London!  What could be better than spending the day with a girlfriend, getting pampered and drinking fizz?!

I like to get glammed up for the festival and the day prior, I had eyelash extensions applied for the first time.  I was really pleased with the result but sadly they didn’t last long.  I did my hair in a sixties style pony tail with the help of an accessory bought from Pretty Kitty Fashion.  I wore a Biba sweatshirt with a black mini skirt from H&M and a red trench coat from M&S.  The classic trench is seeing a revival this season, freshened up with pops of colour and statement details.  I accessorised with a black cross body bag from Oasis and black patent shoes from Faith at Debenhams.  Those of you who are around my age will remember Faith stores, everyone had their shoes from there at one stage and the obligatory orange drawstring carrier bag with Rin,Tin,Tin on it.  I always had heels that were more than twice that permitted by the school rules!

This year’s festival was sponsored by Philips.  Unfortunately I felt it wasn’t quite as good as last year due to the amount of people it now attracts.  Most queues for treatments were quite lengthy which meant that with a morning only ticket, what you could do was limited.  I might have to consider an all day ticket next year.

We started with hair.  My friend queued up at the OGX braid bar but was less than impressed with the finished halo or crown braid which she thought made her resemble Friar Tuck!  I enjoyed watching how to do a dutch braid while I waited, which is when it looks as though the plait sits on the top and is achieved by doing a similar method to the french plait, except that when you take a piece of hair you add it under, rather than over.  Other treatments included having your hair straightened with GHDs as straight hair is back in this season or having a temporary colour put in with Schwarzkopf Live colour spray.

Next we moved on to the nail zone where we enjoyed a manicure with Orly.  This is not a brand I had previously heard of but one I now highly recommend.  Nail varnish rarely lasts five minutes on me before it chips but this lasted almost a week!  There are 36 shades to choose from and I went with rose gold.

Also on this level there was an option to have a collagen density test.  While this appealed, the queue was too long and I realised I might not get the answer I wanted.  Who wants to know that their skin is ageing faster than they should be?  That was bound to be the result, given they were demonstrating Pure Gold Collagen, a 30 day programme of drinks to plump your skin and improve hydration.  I didn’t fancy a taster of the drink but my friend’s face when she tried it said it all!

All that queuing had caused us to work up a thirst, so we headed to the champagne bar.  This was surprisingly reasonably priced and they would hold on to the bottle to save you carrying it and you could just go back for top ups.

Something a bit different this year was an Alcatel instagram zone where you could perfect your instagram photography skills with various products and props.

I was desperate to have my eyeliner done by Kat von D; either graphic liner or a feline flick but having queued for an hour and being about five from the from the front, I had to abandon it as it was time for our booked talk in the Glamour theatre with Wendy Rowe.  Other more well known speakers were Katie Piper, Trinny Woodall and Pixie Lott, however they were either in the afternoon session or fully booked.

Wendy Rowe is a renowned make up artist who has worked with the likes of Cara Delevigne.  She has worked with Burberry on their runway shows for over 15 years and is artistic consultant for their cosmetic range.

The best part of the day in my opinion and what makes the tickets great value for money is the goodie bag, containing products worth over £180.  This year’s bag was a trendy rose gold and some of the best freebies inside included a Fresh rose face mask, Kat von D tattoo liner and of course the Glamour Beauty Book SS18!  Since Glamour went online only this year, twice a year a beauty book is released in print to coincide with the two fashion seasons.  I keep being told in my professional life that digital is the future but I take issue with this.  I still don’t think you can beat the joy of leafing through a glossy mag, particularly when you might not have internet access, on a plane for example.

The festival is a fantastic way of trialling new products as well as a fab girls day out – I highly recommend it.  See you next year!