Tag: party

Improving My Craft & Shooting Myself

Back To Beginnings

In my earlier days of blogging I used to take quite a lot of my photos myself. Of course this was nothing new and I’m pretty sure you’d be hard pressed to find a fashion/beauty blogger who hasn’t (at least at one point), resorted to shooting themselves. The blogging life isn’t always as straight forward as it may appear and back in the days when I didn’t even have a tripod, I remember precariously balancing my camera on piles of shoe boxes and books, before hitting the self timer button, just to get the shot.

Obviously things have moved on a lot since then, for myself and for other bloggers alike. Photography equipment has improved, (I’ve since invested in a tripod, thankfully) and everyone seems to have massively upped their game.

These days many fashion, lifestyle and beauty blogs are just as much about the beautiful imagery as they are the written content/information. I myself enjoy both. As much as I love a good piece of written content, or an informative piece, I do love the impact certain imagery can make within a blog post too.

Earlier this year I made it an aim of mine to learn how to edit photos and become better acquainted with my camera settings. I’m going to be honest, I went years using SLRs, not really knowing what I was doing with them (oh hey there auto function).

Damien has always known how to use a camera and so adopted the role of my street style photographer (aka Instagram husband) early on and when I’m out with friends and decide to shoot my outfit, I’ll often just (now I know how), get the settings right, then pass them the camera and direct them where to shoot.

Whilst their help has been invaluable, especially as blogging has evolved into a job for me, I’ve recently been drawn to the idea of getting back into the habit of shooting myself again. I think this comes down to an amalgamation of things; One being the limited hours of daylight now it’s winter, leaving only the weekends available for Damien to take my shots, which hasn’t been happening much because we’re currently having the busiest weekends ever. Two, wanting to continuously improve on my editing skills but not having enough photos to edit. Three, being inspired by my super talented friend Onyi who takes self portraits of herself and her husband Craig, every single day (check out her daily photos here, they are seriously amazing). Four, as I mentioned in my previous post ‘Inspired by home’, I am continuously inspired by my home at the moment and I’m constantly seeing different areas that I think would be cool to shoot in.

This beautiful Free People dress arrived in the post on Saturday morning and whilst Damien was busy painting, I took the opportunity to do a quick shoot in our living room. For these shots I set the tripod up super high and angled the camera downwards to get a more aerial style shot. I really wanted to show the elegance of the dress and I think I managed to capture it quite well.

So right now I’m really finding enjoyment in taking self portraits and improving my photography skills. I’ve started using the hashtag #SamiosSelfPortraits on Instagram, so if you’re interested in seeing more of the photos I shot of myself, you can check them out all in one place there.

Samio x

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December 11, 2017
Personal Shopping & A Festive Party Outfit

On Tuesday I was invited into Manchester Arndale’s TopShop store for my first ever Personal Shopping Experience and my quest was to find a festive party wear outfit. As part of the personal shopping experience I had the luxury of my own private changing room and my personal shopper, Hannah, was on hand to show me all the jazziest and new in party wear pieces, which definitely took the hassle out of the shopping experience.

Topshop really do have a party wear look for every occasion and so I was spoilt for choice. You know I like my understated outfits but this time, rather than play it safe, I really wanted to jazz things up a little for the festive season. So whilst sticking to a quite simple base outfit, I decided to go for something a bit different by glamming up the look with a very bold (yet might I add fabulous), emerald green leopard print faux fur coat. I don’t think you can get much jazzier than that!

The coat was a piece that Hannah had actually picked out and it had been hung on my rail when I arrived at my appointment. Had I of seen the coat whilst browsing around in store, I admit I probably would have walked straight past it with my bikers on in search for something simpler, but as Hannah presented it to me styled with a selection of outfits, I instantly took a shine to it. I began to see a number of styling opportunities with the coat piece, both dressy and casual, and so before I knew it I was swanning around my changing room in it, quickly deciding that I had to have it!

Another piece in my outfit that I absolutely feel for were these fabulous boots. Ahhh, look at them. I’d actually spotted them earlier whilst browsing around in store and after I mentioned them to Hannah, she kindly went and grabbed them for me in my size and brought them to my changing room. Not only did they fit perfectly (and look amazing) but they actually felt really comfortable too, which I think is quite important when heading out to party!

No party wear look of mine could be complete without a bit of lipstick and yes I was enticed by Topshop’s amazing beauty selection. I had to stop myself from going for five different lipstick shades and managed to narrow it down to just one. I went for a beautiful brown shade called Muse and then I spotted their beautiful Chameleon Glow eye shadows. Just when I thought I didn’t need another eyeshadow in my life, one jumped out at me that was like nothing else I owned. It was the shade called Shuffle The Cards and it has a beautiful rose gold two tone effect that I instantly fell in love with.

I left my personal shopping appointment feeling my shopping trip had been a success. It’s not often I go into a store and am able to find a full outfit I love all in one place. The best part about the Topshop Personal Shopping is that it’s completely complimentary! So if you’re in need of a wardrobe revamp or just a quick fashion fix, it’s the perfect place to go to get style advice and help you shop with ease. I’d definitely recommend it and it’s available in selected flagship stores, you can book an appointment here and if you’re planning to book in Manchester I definitely recommend Hannah Twist who was my personal shopper on the day.

Also, if you are Manchester based, then you should check out the Get Party Ready weekend, which is taking place on the 17th and 18th December in Manchester Arndale’s Topshop store. Customers who spend £40 in store that weekend will be eligible to receive a complimentary express gel manicure, mini party makeover! Th

Samio x

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This post was sponsored by Topshop, however this does not affect my opinions – check out my disclaimer for further information.

December 15, 2016
Burrito Party Challenge at Revolución de Cuba

Revolución De Cuba in Manchester is a restaurant and bar I know all too well. I’ve enjoyed many a meal in there, sipped on numerous cocktails and partied the night away there – on several occasions… It’s a place I’ve often gone to enjoy good food, some really good cocktails and they often have a live band playing which always crates a great atmosphere. This occasion was no exception and this time I was invited along with a few fellow bloggers to take part in a burrito and mojito masterclass and challenge.

On arrival we were welcomed with Cuba Libres and nibbles and it wasn’t long before chef Jaymi was giving us our burrito making masterclass…

Of course being a chef, Jaymi made it look so easy and for most people it probably actually is, however for me, the challenge proved all too much and as you can see, my burrito didn’t quite turn out how I had hoped.

It’s probably no surprise that I didn’t win the burrito challenge, however looks can be deceiving and my burrito actually tasted rather good (if I do say so myself).

Emma’s creation (left) is an example of how a burrito should look and mine is, let’s just say, a unique creation.

After a few more cocktails it was time for the mojito making masterclass and challenge. This time we were expertly shown how to make two types of mojito – a classic and a Cuban. Then it was our turn to get behind the bar and have a go at doing it ourselves. The challenge was to see who could make a mojito in the quietest amount of time.

I decided I’d mix it up a little by making a passion fruit mojito. My time was 1:10 but unfortunately I was beat, with the quickest time being 55seconds. My passion fruit mojito was pretty tasty though – I know what I’ll be making on the weekend.

After our burrito and mojito masterclass and challenges had finished, a few of us hung around to enjoy some more cocktails. I decided to try something different and go for a pineapple and chilli flavoured mojito and it was really good!

Overall the evening was really good fun. I’d be love to go back and do this or something similar again with friends, as it makes a change to your average evening eating or drinking out and it would be perfect for a birthday or special occasion with a group of pals.

Have you ever tried a cocktail/food masterclass or something similar?

Samio x

July 30, 2015
Nemesis Model Party

It’s not often that I blog about my nights out, usually due to the fact that there’s nothing flattering about drinking too many cocktails, dancing like an idiot and occasionally falling over (yes I am often that person). However for last Friday’s night out I decided to make an exception. No, unfortunately I can’t say I didn’t get up to my usual night out antic, however I decided it’s one night out I would actually blog about.

Last Friday night saw my mother agency, Nemesis, throw their biggest party to date for their website re-launch. Being the camera whore I am, I managed to get a in a few decent photos on the night (as well as some not so decent ones that fortunately won’t be on this blog). It was a free bar all night so it wasn’t long until clients and models alike were mingling and showing their best moves on the dance floor. Needless to say we had a brilliant night and there were lots of funny moments. Here are some of the official pictures from the night…

You can check out the new Nemesis agency website here.

Samio x

October 17, 2014
My Month in Barcelona

I don’t even know where to start with this blog post. So much happened in a month, it’s hard to detail it all down. So without the elegance of a detailed account I’ll be concise to cut a long story short… I went to Barcelona to model at the end of June; intentionally I went for two weeks but ended up staying a month. This was my fourth time in Barcelona but my first time I’d gone there to work. I booked a couple of really fun commercials whilst I was out there, one which took me to Madrid to film for 4 days, where I worked with some really cool people and had so much fun.

Whilst staying in Barcelona I shared a flat in my agency with four other models; Maria from Spain (who was also my roomie), Natalia from Slovakia and Tara from L.A. The four of us all became really close and formed the type of friendship you don’t find everyday. Collectively we named ourselves the Cheeky Chicas (as you do) and stayed up most nights chatting into the early hours about anything and everything and giggling like school girls… We also had some pretty amazing nights out too not to mention our many adventures between castings and work during the day.

I also got to see lots of one of my oldest best friends, Lydia, who lives in Barcelona, with whom I did lots of catching up, eating and wine drinking. All in all my month in Barcelona was amazing, I met some really cool people, went to some really fun parties, worked some awesome jobs and made some amazing new friends.

Samio x

August 10, 2014
‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody…’

After a nice relaxing weekend away in the Lake District with my boyfriend, there was only one way to begin my week, with a party! Our friend was turning a year older, so of course we had to go out and celebrate with a meal and a couple of cocktails. Unsurprisingly a couple of cocktails turned into several and after going back to my friend’s apartment for more drinks at hers, we found ourselves making our way back out to party the night away.

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June 26, 2013