Point A Hotel Shoreditch ft Ballie Ballerson

[gifted experience]


If you are looking for a hotel in London that is affordable, quirky, great breakfast, modern and fresh; look no further!

The lovely team at Point A gifted me a trip to their Shoreditch hotel with a gifted experience of Ballie Ballerson. My work is actually based in Aldgate so it was a short walk for me and so nice to go to a hotel and chill on a Friday. The staff when I first got there were very friendly and explained how everything worked in the hotel (entry cards, breakfast etc!) If I'm honest I had a bit of a nervous moment, sometimes being invited to things like this and PR events can be a bit of a whaaaat moment but bloggers, influencers are all REAL social media savy people not celebrities... so you know... we get nervous too.

The room itself is simple, quirky and practical. At my home in London I am all about practical, fold away tables and chairs, so I am all about hooks on the wall, a chair hanging on the wall etc.


The design of the room is very 'Shoreditch', with a cute monochrome print, massive mirror (for all your 'night out' selfies but... the best thing about the room, is the light gives you the option to turn the room from a deep pink to green to blue. It is fun and definitely great mood lighting  If you are booking the hotel for you and a partner.

https://www.tiktok.com/share/video/6680604249979620613?langCountry=en


Ballie Ballerson was such a fun gifted experience to go along with the hotel trip. It is a ball pit club in Shoreditch which is walkable distance from the hotel. The thing that got me with Ballie Ballerson is the fact they have an ARIANNA GRANDE themed THANK U NEXT ball pit... can you get any more instagrammable?

The cocktails are great (click here) I got the dibbie daberson which comes with a dip dab! The Hit Me Baby One More Time even comes with a hair scrunchie, that way you can tie it up for the ball pit madness!

The breakfast is really great because there is a lot of choice, from cheesy pesto twists to yogurt with fruit and granola to a beautiful array of pastries. As a vegetarian I am all about continental breakfasts and the fact that they have gluten free porridge as well Is really inclusive. You can also have as much as you want!

Point A Hotels

Ballie Ballerson

Don't miss this London Christmas Experience 2018

It is easy to say that there are no shortage of things to do in London at Christmas time, the struggle comes in finding the needle in a hay stack that is not completely rammed and reasonably priced for quality.  

At the top of the Montcalm hotel, the aviary boasts views of the shard, sky garden and contemporary buildings of the city of London. The closest comparison I have for the top of the Montcalm hotel, is if you have ever been to New York. Imagine the Rockefeller Centre with the view of the Empire State building in the background; the Montcalm is like this with the shard in the background! 

'Elevate your festival celebrations and sip on sensational cocktails beneath the stars. Enjoy impressive views of London's iconic skyline.'

Me and Izzy got to try a collection of bespoke cocktails made with Icelandic Reyka Vodka. The first was a spicy apple cocktails with ginger beer and absinthe, definitely a cocktail with a kick and I appreciated the ginger sugar cube sweets on a cocktail stick. The second a rhubarb, aperol, marmalade and egg white cocktail with caramelised sugar; definitely one to surprise your senses. I do not normally like whisky so the third one pleasantly surprised me, featuring bourbon and whisky with creme de peaches and apricot puree. And lastly, my FAVOURITE, of which I shall not tell you the ingredients. Merely the wonderful name and the fact it is a warm cocktail called 'Coming Home For Christmas'.

Coming Home For Christmas Cocktail 

Bronze Package

£200

Olives, Hummus & Pitta Taramasalata and pitta Root vegetable crisps. This package includes the above cocktails and food, and you will still have a £130 drinks tab to spend. (Please note that a 12.5% service charge is included in the £200 package price)

Silver Package

£275

Almonds, Olives, Mini cheeseburgers and caramelised onion Fried, mac and cheese balls, chipotle sauce (v), Pigs in Blankets. Cocktail on arrival for each guest Almonds
This package includes the above cocktails and food, and you will still have a £170 bar tab to spend. (Please note that a 12.5% service charge is included in the £275 package)

Gold Package

£350

Almonds, Olives, Kentucky fried cauliflower, piquillo pepper ketchup (vegan)Turkey brochettes, Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, Rare roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, creamed horse radish canapés, Pigs in Blankets. This package includes the above cocktails and food and you will still have a £200 bar tab to spend. (Please note that a 12.5% service charge is included in the £350 package price)

 An exclusive experience awaits inside the igloos, they are available to book November-March and are changing with the seasons, If you're looking for somewhere to celebrate with friends and family check it out! 

#MontcalmExperience #Montcalmrlh 

Montcalm Hotel

Want me to feature your experience? Email me at hello@hannahjanewilliams.co.uk

Lots of love, 

Olay Whips Launch

 

Last week I was invited to an amazing pr event from Olay, for a launch of their Olay Whips collection! I have recently worked with them on instagram collaborations and thought you all may be interested in the event. Thirty seven feet above the ground, Olay wow'd with mystical smoke, cloud themed everything, panoramic views of the beautiful London skyline.

I though I would ask you all over on Instagram what you would all like to know about the new products/event, and here's what you said! <

Influencers walking around, celebrities such as Ashley Roberts and a casual DJ set from the Mac Twins. The venue was insane and the design was insane. If you have ever been to the sky garden you will be aware the views of London are cracking, with a direct view of the shard and st. pauls. Now imagine that, with an aerial artist, cloud themed food, free bar, ball pit, and every other possible photo opportunity for a blogger?! Olay definitely outdid themselves with this event, even a cheeky goody bag.

For about 2 years me and a girl called Izzy (A Dose Of Chatter) have been blogger besties, dishing each other out morale and generally following each other’s lives. Izzy recently moved to London, so i dropped her an invite to the event too! It was so lovely to finally meet her and I really feel like we are two peas in a pod.

New Olay Whips: Powerful Skincare. 

'Powerful results or a light as air finish? Why should women have to choose? Whilst many creams promise lightweight skin care, they can still leave skin feeling greasy, sticky or they don't deliver skin benefits beyond basic hydration. Enter NEW Olay Whips, created by Olay scientists to give  women the light as air finish they've been missing from their lightweight skin creams together with powerful results.'

How it works, results and benefits: 

The formulae uses active rush technology which holds and quickly releases (1000x) its weight in hydration, it has a matte effect which transforms from cream to liquid on contact, absorbing into the skin. As well as this, it is available with and without SPF30.

Regenerist - powerful results without heaviness. (This is the one I received, but I think that Total Effects would be more suitable to me.)

• actively hydrates to improve elasticity and firm skin for a lifted look
• helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• formulated with advanced amino-peptide complex II to regenerate surface cells powerful wrinkle results without heaviness 

total effects (protects skin without weight) 

• 7 skin benefits in one 
• helps skin to maintain its moisture 
• even skin tone appearance 
• enhances brightness 
• visibly smooths fine lines and wrinkles 
• minimises the look of pores 
• hydrates to make skin feel firmer 
• visibly reduces discolouration and evens skin tone 
• formulated with VitaNiacin and vitamins C & green tea extract to fight the early signs of ageing 

Luminous (lasting radiance without shine) 

• actively moisturises to even skin tone and minimise the appearance of pores 
• formulated with PearlOptics science for lasting radiance 

very difficult to pose classy on this 

Casual Shard in the back ground 

Cloud themed food

Lots of love, 

Why is everyone going crazy over Mrs Hinch? (Cleaning Expert/Internet Sensation)

If you have heard of Mrs Hinch, you have probably already been sent into a cleaning frenzy, running to your nearest savers/b&m bargains for your buddy and pine smelling goodness! If you have not, you are living under a rock, but also you are missing out on your mindset on cleaning completely changing.

 I will admit I have definitely caught the Hinch Army cleaning bug. A beautiful grey instagram home ware layout, Mrs Hinch is a lifestyle blogger talking about all things home ware and cleaning. Zoflora Fresh Linen is my new muse, I am obsessed with the scent and it is genuinely such a versatile product which can be used all around the home! For surfaces, mop and bucket, trigger spray bottle, neat down the loo, laundry, Ironing water, bins, radiators, cars, the sink and so so so much more!

Mrs Hinch's bubbly personality has helped her instagram rise to fame and will also play a huge part in her future success. Give her instagram video story highlights a watch and you will be laughing your head off (and crazily intrigued with what she is doing!). Mrs Hinch is making cleaning fun, by introducing names to her staple products like dave and 'minkeh', making the consumers buy into not only their effectiveness, but their ability to utilise the products and make cleaning a fun task for them. 

The organic nature of Mrs Hinch's growth, from a few thousand to 200K!!!! (Congratulations Mrs Hinch), has built consumer trust with her followers, it is rare that a consumer can look at an influencer and see complete transparency in the products she is recommending. It will be interesting to see how she uses this platform the Internet has gave her, to build her #HinchArmy to work with brands and make this into a fully functioning business. 

A follower's #HinchHaul, shopping they have made just because of Mrs Hinch's input! 

Why should home ware/lifestyle businesses be interested in Mrs Hinch? 

It is no surprise that companies are integrating influencer marketing into their marketing campaigns. With an organic following and a clear brand Mrs Hinch is the perfect target for these companies!  Using the Hinch brand would be an incredible marketing technique for the right company, If you are reading this and think that might be you, definitely check her out on Instagram. 

MRS HINCH'S INSTAGRAM 

If you haven't heard of her before, head over to her instagram ^ and have a look through her stories.


Staple brands to explore: 

Zoflora 
Minky
Stardrops
Flash
Vileda


I for one am excited to see what is next for Mrs Hinch and I am TOTALLY here for a cleaning revolution! 

First Class Honours in Music Management, UWL

University of West London, Wembley Stadium 

As I reflect upon my time spent at UWL, what I continually go back to is when I first decided to apply to study Music Management. My college teacher sat me down and said, some people start their personal statement with quotes or bios about themselves if they are stuck. I researched some quotes and found one which stopped me in my tracks; it was why I wanted to study my course.

'At the end of the day, I want the music industry to be larger than what it is today.' Daniel Ek, Founder of Spotify.

It is a quote that followed me through my whole journey at UWL, It reminded me that the music industry doesn't have boundaries and that there are entrepreneurial opportunities as well as option for growth into markets such as influencer marketing.

It would be easy to sit and write and say that the three years were plain sailing, but that would not be fair. There were friends gained and lost, I fell in love but out of love with myself and spent a lot of my months struggling to get into the right 'academic' mindset. Throughout my sixth form life I consistently felt like I was not smart enough, or that because I panic in exams that meant I am not academic. It was not until going to college to study business as well as starting my blog, youtube and social media platforms, that I realised there was more to me.

I have always been the type of human that likes to explore opportunities and work myself silly. In second year of university I decided to get involved with the beginnings of a music magazine at my university (www.themngr.com) of which I am immensely proud of everyone who created it and got involved. Academically in first and second year I did very well, to the point where I decided - do you know what in third year lets get a part time job at a huge tech company, run a magazine, maintain a relationship and friendships as well as gaining a first class honours. I was certainly ambitious.

I feel like I could go into detail about the modules I liked and didn't, lectures that I adored and others I questioned. But at this point in my development It feels more important to focus on what opportunities UWL gave me, and whether I feel more equipped for the outside world. The truth Is I do, the people I have met along the way have seen my potential, they have pushed me to be the best version of myself and strive for not only the best grades but the best life.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, ya girl got a first class honours degree in music management with the music management prize for my dissertation.

Boom.

Proto-col, Profusion, Embryolisse, Know Cosmetics (UNDISCOVERED BEAUTY)

As a blogger, you receive lots of make up from brands you may have heard of but never tried, or new brands that are gracing the instagram feeds of most people interested in beauty blogging. 

Truth be told, recently I have received items from the brand profusion, proto-col, embryolisse and Know Cosmetics. I thought I would do a blog post discussing the products and which ones I would recommend trying.

PROFUSION

Starting with profusion the two palettes, one called 'ProFace and the other named 'Naturals'. I actually did an Instagram story with the naturals palette testing it out. I was pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation, although it was tougher to blend then high end eyeshadow, the colours are so wearable on a day to day basis. The colours such as fearless a muted orange and amour a rose shade with a slight shimmer make the palette transferable from day to night. I do prefer the shimmers in the palette, specifically terrific and excited work well together with blue eyes. 

The proface palette is more for me because It is an all in one palette eyeshadow, blush, bronzer, highlight and brow product; even brushes! The eyeshadow shades in it are also majority shimmer shades which for me is way better than the naturals palette (majority matte). My specific favourite shades from it are 'certain' and 'sunny'.

EMBRYOLISSE

One surprise in my mail was Embryolisse moisturisers, this brand has been floating around the blogosphere, and I wanted to try them as Embryolisse is a very reputable brand. Just going to say straight away 'Lait-Creme Concentre' Edition limitee Paris, was just not for me. Although it was a good moisturiser due to it smelling slightly fragranced, I would use it on my body but not on my face. 

The other two however, have been my saviour for my dry skin during winter. The rich moisturising cream for dry dehydrated skin, has been my daily moisturiser and I do not want it to run out!  Whereas the Intense Smooth Radiant Complexion Is for anti-fatigue and anti-ageing mature skin, although I am 21 and there is not really a need for anti-ageing... yet... the cream does help the skin feel more lifted and healthy. 

PROTO-COL

Proto-col baked mineral shimmer are like a bobbi brown dupe. The shades are warm and probably would be more wearable in the summer than winter, meaning it's hard to pass a judgement on these products yet. The shade 'nude pink' is wearable with a full face of make up as a blush, which also has a touch of shimmer to highlight as well. 

KNOW COSMETICS 

'No Dark Shadows' to me the shade is too orange, even with my yellow under-toned skin, as well as this for the price with limited shade range (2!!!) I do not think it is worth the money (£15). 

'No Thin Lips' this product is amazing, I put it on top of my lipstick to help plump my lips, hence the colour in the tube; beauty blogger issues. 

'No Bare Brows' the eyebrow pencil on this, pleasantly surprised me. The waxy formulae made for easy application, more suited to a heavy face of make up for a night out. It is less of a natural look, but extremely long wearing. 

'No Bleeding Lips' the concept, I love. The product, I'm indifferent. I did not notice a huge benefit of wearing the lip liner, although my lipstick did not bleed, It seemed a little pointless. 

With these brands there is always going to be hit and miss, some products you will love and others you may question the use. With the beauty industry constantly changing, there is always going to be products that are innovative and different - but make sure you check online reviews before you buy! 

Lots of love, 

My 2017 Yearly Round Up

It has come to that time of the year, where we say good bye to the delights/horrors that they year has thrown at us and open ourselves up to a brand new year.

Back in 2014 I did a yearly round up on my blog, where I talked about blog success, personal life and genuinely how my year went. I feel like with how much I share on social media, there is definitely a lack of personal life throughout and although you may all know what my favourite red lipstick shade is, chances are you do not know my boyfriend’s name.

This year has been a bit of a corker for me, so I thought I would write it down on my website. In years to come I will look back on this and think, crikey, I forgot about that! Or future employers will find it and learn loads about my personal life… ANYHOW lets go.

January –

An amazing thing that I got to do in January was travel to Budapest, Hungary, with my boyfriend George. It was our first trip together, and already feels like well over a year ago. Baring in mind the temperature was around -10 degrees, exploring the ruined bars, thermal baths (always with a hot chocolate on hand) was incredible, and I could not have asked for someone better to spend this trip with.

Airbnb we stayed in

Thermal bath we visited

Super cool Ruin Bar

In January I took control over the forming of a music magazine at my university. It has been amazing to create a team of like minded human beings, create events, have a functioning online magazine and generally make new friends. It has taught me more about the music industry as it goes on, people management and how to make something grow from nothing.

http://www.themngr.com/

Other than that, I was back in London with a bang. Refreshers… happened and I spent valuable time with the ones I adore in London.

February –

On a real note, a dropped a lot of weight off in February, it tends to be the case after Christmas when I get back into Pole Fitness and attending the gym that this happens.

I attended a very cool art gallery with some of my best mates, which created a joyous amount of Instagram content. I even sang in a pub with my dad one evening!

One of the last things I did in February was venture up to Newcastle to celebrate one of my best friend Julia’s birthday. I absolutely love visiting Newcastle, and although I am not use to not wearing a jacket on a night out, or the amount of alcohol consumed in the north, I always have a cracking time with amazing company.

March –

In march I had my wonderful quirky and frankly much cooler than me cousin Rhos visit, which was delightful.

It was also George’s 21^st birthday which was super enjoyable to celebrate in London and his home town in Oakham, Rutland.

I also managed to surprise one of my best friend’s Abby up in Newcastle for her birthday, if I can import the video I will because frankly it was adorable.

April –

This month was a full on month for 1. Assessments 2. Gigs 3. Nights out/partying.

Apart from all that a very exciting thing that happened in April - I got a job! Huzzar! I was on the beach in Norfolk and after 3 interviews they rang me to give me the good news. This is how happy I was about it (taken on the same day for thisblogpost).

May –

In may I had started my training at my new job, the weather had also started to get a bit warmer which meant more exploring in London! It was not a particularly active month of my life, as I was working 38 hours a week for the month.

June –

June came along and BANG, we were hit with politics month. I am going to try not to sugar coat this and say; I was pretty devastated. As we have a cardboard cut out of Jerome Corbyn in our house/now flat… I will let you take that how you like.

This month brought Emily (George’s Sister) and Chris’ wedding. It was such a pleasure to get to see Eddie, Will and George walk Emily down the aisle and I would be lying if I said it was not extremely emotional. A beautiful wedding for two beautiful humans! Very happy for you both.

Grandma's Engagement ring, reset for my 21st

As well as this, In June, I TURNED 21!!!!!! I know. Old right. I mainly celebrated at home in Norfolk, with a gorgeous meal at the rooftop gardens in Norwich with my family and George, a meal with friends at Zizi’s, and a spa day with my wonderful mum and two of my best friends.

July –

IN JULY A RAN AWAY TO SPLIT IN CROATIA FOR A WEEK WITH LUISA ABBY AND JULIA AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE.

We took copious amounts of pictures, enjoyed the sunshine amazing food and drinks and generally un-winded. The highlight of the holiday for me was the KRKA waterfalls and the beautiful sunset cruise.

 

I also visited the Tate Modern in July with some of my main London gal pals. As well as celebrating Luisa’s 21^st birthday in Norwich with loads of my best friends!

August –

PRIDE! One of my highlights of my whole year, getting to attend Pride in Brighton with my friend Ellie and stay at my cousin Rhos’ was so much fun! I cannot explain how amazing it is to be in a city full of people who are completely accepting, embracing new and different, well apart from hearing someone saying bisexuality does not exist – but that’s just bi-erasure for ya.

As well as this we also had a lovely family weekend with Dad’s side of the family, It was so nice for George to get to meet them. The weekend contained Norfolk walks, barbeque's, sunshine, sing a longs and general family fun.

In August we moved into our new flat, a down stairs but still spacious room wise all the same! Although it has had its issues… without going into too much detail, I love living in a better location in Ealing and the flat dynamic is so much better.

September –

 

This month was a bit up and down. It had a really bad moment which I won’t delve into for personal reasons, but unfortunately someone died.

I think the best way to talk about this month is to talk about the good things that happened. Me and George ventured to Palma Mallorca, and had such a relaxing holiday in a 4* hotel. It was lovely.

October –

Pole fitness started up again in October and it is something I have thoroughly enjoyed throughout 2017, I would recommend it to anyone.

Also in OctoberI attended a PR event for Scent Addict which was super fun, I love getting toattend events like this!

Also I got to see my BAE perform (Gabrielle Aplin) at the ULU London which was just insane. She’s got the most beautiful voice ever, check this playlist

THIS IS ALSO THE MONTH I ACCIDENTALLY WENT DARK RED AND THEN GINGER. But we’re not gonna talk about that. Ha. (Video)

November –

Honestly this month was quite university heavy. With a lot of essays/reports to do, meetings, plans for the university magazine. It took up a lot of my time. Some highlights I have from this month are seeing Ady Suleiman at the Jazz Café Camden, attending the Long Way Home Agency Launch & Sun arcana gig.

Although my favourite has to be my 2 years with G. J

December -  THE MONTH OF CHRISTMAS.

Reality: Uni Work, Work, Driving back and forward from London because of my job.

I did get my hair dyed into a balayage and attend a really good circus in Great Yarmouth at the hippodrome (no animals), but other than that… it was Christmas!

 

I’m not sure what 2018 is going to bring me, I hope it is a year full of success.

Lots of love,