What's In My Bag Valentines/Night Out Edition

Morning All

My cough is still trying to defeat me so the post I had planned to do will have to wait! As Valentine's day is here on Friday I thought I'd share what I'd take out on a date with me. It's pretty much the same as I'd take out on a night out.

This year I'm technically single. I'm seeing someone but it's complicated (that's a whole other blog post ;)!) so my Valentines is likely to be a girly night in with my housemates. Not that I mind, it's easier! 

I do still like Valentine's day I think if you are in a relationship it is nice to celebrate that and if you aren't it's a good excuse for a girly night. 

For me whether it's for a date or a night out the smaller the bag the better (this only applies if I can actually walk in the shoe of choice otherwise the bag has to have space for flats!). I like to be able to just forget I have it which is why this Ollie & Nic one appeals to me. A purse and bag in one with space for the essentials that I can put over my wrist! It really ticks all the boxes. The gorgeous bright pink and the floral inside print just make it even better. The purse is also only £15!

In the main pocket there is space for cards and cash which make it easy to find and I like that it's not just floating in the bottom.

In the front pocket I keep a powder. A shiny face is never a good look! I love the vintage powder holder I have. My mum picked it up from eBay. I just pop the middle out of the powder I'm using at the time. Some are easier than others!

I usually carry a hairbrush .Not only does it double for a mirror (the one in my powder compact is usually so dirty I can't see my face) but it's handy for this horrible whether. Windswept and fabulous is not something my hair does! 

Mints are a must for me. Extra strong are the preferred. No one wants smelly breath and I always seem to order a massively garlic dish and forget when I'm on a date.

Nars concealer is something I can't be without at the moment. It's amazing. Creamy, great coverage and perfect for any touch ups that may be needed. Or in my case lately to cover up a pesky spot that's decided to appear.

I always like to carry a perfume on me to make sure I'm smelling pretty. The Ted Baker one is one I recently got sent to test and I'm loving. Perfect handbag size, lasts well, reasonable price and smells pretty! They can be purchased from Boots for £15

Lastly lip product of choice! A night out would probably be a lipstick but if I was going out on Valentine's I'd be picking this lip gloss because of the name! Beso which means kiss in Spanish. I was lucky enough to be given it after an Urban Decay event and have been wearing it non stop since the weekend. Non Sticky (perfect for kissing, no guys wants sticky lip gloss), subtle colour that just makes me lips look better and moisturising! The perfect valentine's lip choice! They are available now for £14

What essentials would you take on a date or night out?

Love M

xxx

   this post contains PR samples but opinions are always honest!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Dating!

This is a bit of a different post for us but we thought we'd share our experience with you. We decided that while we were both single we would try speed dating. We thought it would be something different to do for an evening and would be a fun night and something to laugh about in the future!

When we turned up at the bar it's safe to say we both wondered why we were doing it. Nerves kicked in and wine and vodka were needed before we went in. We both had thought it would be really awkward and had worked ourselves up that four minutes was a really long time. The nerves got worse as we were waiting to go up and when we headed we did it was strange at first as all the women seemed to group together and chat and the men did the same until it was time to sit down.

The session we went to the women had to sit and the men moved around so as all the women sat down the guys then made their way around the room. We were given a piece of paper and you get to chose whether to ditch, date or friend someone. You enter these choices the next day in your account online and then get given the email addresses of any matches that you get.

The Good

We were both pleasantly surprised how easily it was to talk to the majority of the guys. The four minutes go really quick and sometimes you found yourself just wanting a few more minutes with some guys. We definitely enjoyed a few drinks which helped conversation flow a little easier.

The next day was nerve racking wondering what matches you were going to get and what people had thought the same as you.

M has stayed in contact with one of the guys she was matched with and has since been on a date and is going for another. It wasn't anything I had expected and even before turning up for my date I didn't think it would be good as I had only previously spoke to this guy for 5 minutes. I soon relaxed and found myself easily chatting to him and turns out 4 and a half hours later I'm making my way home. I wondering if the dating nerves go or is that part of the fun of it. I'm looking forward to date no.2 now.

The Bad

The nerves in the beginning were hard and we found ourselves wanting more drinks but we knew we shouldn't drink too much. A drunk girl never comes across well! What we hadn't thought about until we were there was the fact that we were both likely to like the same guy. Sharing isn't caring in that case!! We both look for similar attributes in guys. It turned out ok in the end though.

Unfortunately for L, after being matched with one of the guys are talking to him quite a bit over a week or two it became clear that he wasn't who he said he was! It turned out he was a lot younger than he previously had said and was actually friends with her brother's friends! This would have been far too awkward to take any further and the fact he was so much younger was a turn off. Plus if he lied about a few little things what else is he likely to lie about?! So she sent him a message saying that she had met someone else...

The Ugly

There were definitely a couple of guys who didn't come across well!! First up we had a guy who proceeded to just stare at your boobs, that made for a very awkward and long four minutes! Unluckily for M she managed to get stuck with him sat there as there 4 minutes was before a break and he didn't move!! He also was telling us all different stories which we found out when socialising with some of the other girls afterwards.

We had a guy who proceeded to tell us it was his fourth time at speed dating and went on to tell us which dating sites were good and which ones weren't worth it. That was a little weird. Most other people said it was their first time at such an event which was a lot more comforting.

Lastly we had a guy who seemed to have prepared a speech! He'd ask a question that led to you having a short answer then he'd cut you off and give a little rehearsed talk, ask another question and then do the same again! We ended up wishing he'd just stop talking. He was very up himself and seemed to have the impression that he'd been and done everything and knew everything there was to know. After telling me about his love for poetry and his PhD in drug use in South America he was a little thrown when I told him I worked with drugs for a living....the conversation soon tailed off when he realised I knew more about it than he did. Awkward.

Another thing that was unfortunate was that there was an imbalance of men and women; a group of 5 men hadn't turned up. This meant that sometimes you were sat on your own which for L meant that every time the host got distracted and forgot that the time had gone over 4 minutes she was sat on her own....for up to ten minutes at a time! 

It was definitely a fun experience that we'd possibly do again in future.

What are your experiences of dating? Have you been to a speed dating event? Have you tried internet dating? Should we try that too??

L and M xxx