Cloud Nine Event Combines Best of Beauty & Fashion, Old & New to bring out the Glam in You

Hello my little cherries,

Have you been a bit stressed lately?  Could you do with some 'me' time?  If so, let us take you to 'Cloud Nine'

Cherry Picked Pop-Up Pamper Parlour has teamed up with Youlovefashion.com to take you to ‘Cloud Nine’ on the 8th September at The Lodge in East Dulwich, SE22 8EW, for only £8 including wine, a cupcake and entry to the outfit exchange (more on the door).

Prize Draw: Anyone who purchases a ticket before the 25th August will be entered into a prize draw to win a makeover on the night.

It’s evening combining the best of beauty and fashion, old and new to bring out the glam in you. The Youlovefashion.com Bazaar will be overflowing with handmade, original and vintage clothing and accessory bargains with stalls from Belle Coco and the like. Or swap some of your less cherished clothes in the outfit exchange. A seamstress will be on hand to make sure it all fits. Email roisin.wilson@youlovefashion.com to book a stall.

The Cherry Picked Pop-Up Pamper Parlour will be a haven of relaxation and pampering bliss. 9 beauty treatments are available on the ‘Pamper Production Line’, bookable in advance, with prices starting at just £5. They include everything from a reflexology session to a mini-manicure, massage or facial. Email cherrypickedstyling@yahoo.co.uk for prices and booking or if you'd like to offer services.

But we’re not stopping there. Why not treat yourself to a ‘Pin-Up’ style makeover and emerge a princess? You’ll get professional hair, make-up and clothes styling, a lesson in re-creating the look yourself and you can purchase the photographs that record your new look.

Or find out how fashionable your future will be with a tarot reading from the Sassy Sorceress whilst sipping on a Cloud Nine Cocktail. So don’t delay, book your tickets today here.

Starting at 7pm at The Lodge above the East Dulwich Tavern and running all evening, exclusive tunes from DJ KiRA will keep everyone chilled at this hot event. Tickets are priced at only £8 including a glass of wine and a cupcake (courtesy of Cory’s Mum’s Cupcakes) along with entry to the outfit exchange.

So come on girls, any glam-loving lady would be nuts to miss it. Why not pop along and get pampered!

The Basics 

Nearest Station - East Dulwich overground, 13 minutes from London Bridge  see map  

Outfit Exchange - clothes drop off 7pm.  The exchange will be running all evening and forms a small part of the event.

All clothes will be graded - please bring clothes you care about

No more than 3 complete outfits per person
3 pairs of shoes
3 bags
3 belts

The Big Swish? More like the Big Miss

Last week, I went along to really check out what all this ‘swishing’ business is really about.  Having received an email from My Big Wardrobe.com who organise The Big Swish, a roadshow of events where girls not only swap clothes but can also benefit from free beauty treatments (courtesy of Dermalogica) free makeovers and massages, I had extremely high expectations of my £6.50 ticket. 

On queuing for some time in order to register for the event, then queuing again to drop off my clothes followed by another queue as we waited to be allowed into the event, it quickly became apparent that this event wasn’t all it had been made out to be.  The function room in the basement of The Long Acre played host to a number of rails of clothes, crammed together so that it was difficult if not impossible to see the items of clothes as on the compere’s announcement, ready steady swish, a swarm of girls descended on the rails in a manner not dissimilar to the footage you sometimes see on the news of starving people clamouring for food parcels in disaster zones. 

Without even looking at the clothes, many grabbed armfuls of stuff from the rails which has already been stripped of anything truly decent by the VIP ticket holders who had been allowed to enter in advance of the pauper ticket holders.  I was lucky to spot an All Saints shirt dress which had been passed over, probably because the colour was more appropriate to Winter, a puffy pink skirt, and a couple of basic tops.  I went away with half the amount of stuff I took with me which actually didn’t bother me so much as the fact that I got nowhere near any of the gorgeous tops I’d seen hanging on a rail.

To be honest, it was an exhausting experience, battling to get to see clothes before they are snapped up by greedy girls in a cramped room.  Not fun.  But from talking to a couple of girls in the queue, it sounded as there are people who are taking this seriously. 

“That was my top,” said the girl behind me in her Essex accent.

“Oh, really.  Cool.  I’m a bit disappointed actually as I didn’t get as much nice stuff as I hoped but I guess that’s the risk you take.  I brought 15 items and took away 7.”

“What?  No.  You need to take all your items.  That way you can take the stuff you don’t want to another clothes swap and get things you do like.  In fact, I’m buying a £20 ticket next time so I can make sure.”

So it seemed that you could have people coming along, bringing rubbish clothes but spending £20 on a ticket and snapping up some of the best items before the others get a look in! Clothes swap?  I think not.

It certainly wasn’t my cup of tea and a long way from the relaxed, fun, warm vibe that we had going at the Cherry Picked Pop Up Pamper Parlour, if I do say so myself.

A first time for everything

Hey girls

So, it's all a bit nerve wracking this end as I enter the last 72 hours before the event. It's all been a bit of a learning curve but it's all coming together now; the goody bags are being assembled (trinkets for the first 20) and the cupcakes will be in the oven tomorrow. I hope that you've all bought your tickets and sorted the clothes you want to swap for the clothes swap corner. If you can drop them into the venue some time between now and then, we'll all be extremely happy bunnies.

So, I did actually have some news and wasn't planning to simply ramble on. Frocking Fabulous will be hosting a pop up shop in the mini-market and just look at the beautiful summer vintage dresses our lovely Helen will be teasing your purses with.

Additionally, Kei vs Ivy will be offering wonderful jewels to adorn yourselves with along with Accessorise-Me who'll help you update your handbag.

You can also get on the pamper production line where for only £50 you'll be pampered into a princess and take professional photos away to show off your new look.

Oh. And apparently, there's a name for this kind of party. It's called swishing?

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Love and Cherries

Nicola xxx