If you’ve been following my social media spam, you already know I spent my Friday at Stylist Live by Stylist at the Olympia. I had always wanted to go, but since when it started I worked 9-6 it had never been possible. This year however I managed to get free tickets to the event and I spent a busy, inspiring day in Hammersmith listening to amazing speakers talk about wellness, beauty, business, technology, cultural appropriation, healthy eating, mindfulness, yoga, flirting and dating. Oh, and I got free manicures, hairstyling and makeovers in the process. How? Read on to find out more and to read the highlights of my day.
Emerald Street
I got all of this for free, and you can too. All you need to do is sign up to Emerald Street‘s daily newsletter, which is basically a memo of everything you should be reading, buying, doing, eating and drinking going directly to your Inbox. It’s London and Manchester-based, but if you’re not from there you can use it to keep up to date about what’s going on in those cities AND keep your score up. Because having a high newsletter-opening score sent a shiny free Stylist Live guest ticket straight to my Inbox!
Wellness and Healthy Eating
As someone who trains for at least an hour everyday, but then ends up doing five hours of back-to-back pole dancing, eating well and enough to avoid falling head-first onto the floor is kinda important. Still, everyday we are bombarded by “good” and “bad” foods, “good” and “bad” habits and it’s hard not to feel like a serial killer when, really, all you’ve done was eating a bit of cheese.
In two very poignant talks, Stylist Live’s guests reminded us to look after ourselves, be it through meditation or through that piece of chocolate you really want. In one of the first talks, founder of Mind Body Bowl Annie Clarke, nutritionist Pandora Symes and yoga teacher Claire Missingham told the audience:
“Give yourself that bit of cake – wellness is about less deprivation and more satisfaction.”
The speakers stressed the importance of being kind to yourself, whether that’s through a short meditation session (because sometimes you don’t have time to do the full 20 minutes) or through cooking a satisfying meal for yourself.
Even more focused on the right way to eat in 2018, a talk by eating disorder specialist dietitian Renee McGregor and Wahaca co-founder Thomasina Miers approached our relationship with food. McGregor said what I’ve always believed out loud: not banning anything from a young age is the key to healthy eating. She gave an example of the French’s habit of having a glass of wine with dinner, which helps kids grow up with a healthier relationship with alcohol – something Italians do effectively, too.
Allowing yourself a bit of everything, without splitting food between the good and the bad, helps us relax about eating, added McGregor. Miers said food is so much more than fuel: if you don’t get your relationship with it right, it can become a deeply upsetting addiction.
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation seems to be the key sins of our times, and a panel of incredible speakers helped the audience figure out when they were going too far.
Founder of Jewel Tone Beauty Ateh Jewel, journalist Coco Khan and presenter June Sarpong all agreed that cultural appropriation is now in the public eye due to social media giving everyone a voice, enabling everyday users to call out on what’s not OK.
June Sarpong said cultural appropriation begins when someone doesn’t acknowledge or credit the source of their cultural/fashion statement. However, she also added that sometimes the do-gooder movement goes too far, and prevents people from finding other cultures empowering:
“To my white sisters: you can do braids! It’s fine. But for Halloween, no blacking up!”
Dating
Flirting expert and founder of Flirtology Jean Smith shone a light on why the Tinder age just doesn’t make us happy. She said the reason we keep using our phones to date is that:
“Phones saves us from rejection.”
We’ve been taught to avoid rejection at all costs, she added, but it’s actually the best tool to weed out people who are not right for us. She suggested to put down our phones and flirt, walk into a room looking at the people in it (instead of scrolling down on Instagram) and to stand instead of sitting down. Apparently the acronym “H.O.T. A.P.E.” (Humour; Open Body Language; Touch; Attention; Proximity; Eye-Contact) is the key to finding out whether someone likes us, but to find out more you’ll have to watch her TEDTalk.
Pictures and StallsÂ
And now, the inevitable. Here’s a succession of pictures from the amazing brands I discovered at Stylist Live.
Among one of my favourite discoveries was SportFX Cosmetics, a water and sweat-resistant make-up brand that gave me a mini-makeover. I’m going to remember this for my next pole showcase!
My hands received a much needed manicure by the pop-up Diet Coke salon.
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My hair waves came from Headmasters UK and I sprayed some pink/fuchsia on them with Colorsmash UK, a coloured hairspray for all of those who fear hair bleaching more than the plague.
Let’s not forget technology. Thanks to The Flashpack agency, I got to immortalise a tamer version of tassel twirling with my Never Fully Dressed tee and Google Pixel 2.
I topped this all up with an alcohol-free pink Gin and Tonic from Stylist’s Gordon’s Gin Bar. What a time to be alive.
Pictures: Carolina Are
[…] Stylist Live I received a make-over by the SportFX team and I’ve been relying on their range ever since. […]